Looking to move abroad: Profile Eval for LSE/Ox/LBS?
Hi all, I'm a first year specialized lending analyst at a very large NA bank. I realized I want to work abroad and was looking to an MSc program to do so. So far I have been accepted to the Vandy MSF program with $ but quickly realized its placement in London is zero. So now I'm applying to the 3 programs mentioned above. Let me know if I have a shot or should target other schools.
Goal: Place into a reputable London Investment Bank, most likely in a Levfin or DCM capacity as my experience is most transferrable there. Exit after a couple years into fixed income asset management.
Undergrad: Decent (non-target) California state school. Looking through alumni profiles we've sent a couple people to LSE/LBS but none to Oxford. Economics/Finance Major
GPA: 3.5/4.0 Cumulative, 3.7/4.0 Major
GMAT: 720 (Q48, V41)
Work Experience: Internship in operations at major mutual fund, internship in the specialized lending group at major NA bank, and now an analyst in the same role (~7 months as of now). In my current role, I have underwritten approximately $100MM in leveraged loans + loan portfolio management tasks.
I can't find much info on the class profile's of these programs, but I know oxford said their average GMAT is 745 and LSE said the majority of their class has 1st class honors so I'm a bit skeptical of my chances. I had a profile review call with someone at LBS admissions who said I have a decent profile so feeling the most confident there.
Oxford MFE’s average last year was 730. The current 744 may be a one off - i was shocked to see the new brochure.
You have a decent profile and it would be risky to just apply to one place - of course you should apply to all 3.
Just because no one made it from your uni to Oxford doesnt mean its impossible. If you have strong essays maybe you’ll get lucky who knows?
If I had to be realistic, I’d say you have low chance for Oxford and good chance for LSE/LBS. Get your story right, contact alumni, write good essays, have your mentors proof read them, apply and wait.
Make sure your CV highlights only the big boy things you have done - no one cares about the mundane day to day tasks. That $100m underwriting must go there certainly.
Also, the job placement is pretty much equally as strong from each of those universities. Pick the one where you fit in the best. Good luck!
That's good to know I have a shot. I'll definitely highlight my transactional experience on my application. Thanks!
730 is the one-off bud, all other years average gmat was 735-740+
For OP Oxford looks though since they focus almost exclusively on academics (GPA/GMAT), and while good your stats are below average. LSE I think is similar, but easier than Oxford on those requirements. I think you have a very good shot at LBS.
All programs place similarly in London, so you only need to get into one of them.
This was my suspicion as well. I didn't knock the oxford video interview out of the park either so not expecting much. LBS is truthfully the school I think I'd enjoy the most (least academic focus, most social, etc.) so fingers crossed.
I am at LBS currently, and for the MFA program they really value prior experience so make sure to stress that. They also value the networking aspect part so reach out to students/ambassadors/alumni and stress what an addition you will be for the LBS network, Cheers
Are interactions with Ambassadors tracked? It's difficult for me to speak with them due to time zone differences so I've only spoken with 1. We had a good chat but I didn't follow up or anything. Most of my info has been from the recorded info sessions.
I don't know to be honest but I do not think so. I think it's more to give you good answers to ''Why LBS'' and shows that you have done your homework getting in touch with the LBS community and so.
if you're set on london unis, apply to imperial as well. has a well-regarded msc finance programme, tends to place fairly well if i recall.
probably couldn't hurt to apply to ucl's msc economics & msc finance courses too - it's strong for econ, 2nd in london behind lse.
I wouldn't say set on London, It's more I only speak English at a workplace level, the UK offers graduate student visas and London is a strong finance center. I've looked into imperial and wasn't as impressed as the other 3 (at what point is it better just to go to Vandy and aim for NYC-IB is the calculus I'm doing), but I could take another look. Thanks!
Is vandy MSF to NYC IB a realistic/shown path? I’ve seen a lot of posts saying they place well in the south but I haven’t seen a ton of talk about the north Actual question btw
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