Masters Decision Oxbridge/LSE vs HSG/ETH vs Sciences Po
Hello everyone,
I have the following problem: I'm soon facing the choice of pursuing my Master's degree and need to make a decision.
Here are the options:
- Master's in Economics at Oxbridge/LSE
- Quantitative Economics/Finance (Miqef) at HSG
- Quantitative Finance at ETH/Uni Zurich
- International Economic Policy at Sciences Po (a bit different from the above options, but I also find the program very interesting)
A little about me:
- I completed my Bachelor's in Economics at a good/state university in a European country, with a good university and high school GPA, and a good GRE score.
- I speak German.
- I've done a few internships in (management/economic) consulting, although not with major companies.
- I had an internship at the EIB Bank in development financing.
- I have experience working in a developing country.
I'm hoping to do another internship, with a bank, ideally in Trading/Sales/Economic Research.
My goal(s): I would like to work in the financial sector in a role that allows me to explore my interest in macroeconomics and overall economic trends. I see potential job opportunities in areas like Macro Research & Strategy at a bank, Commodities Trading, Sovereigns Coverage, etc. In terms of location, I am flexible, I would be open to working in DACH, but London is obv is also tempting.
However, I would also like to keep the possibility of a PhD open (in Europe is fine, does not have to be the US/UK).
From conversations with alumni, I'm relatively confident that I can get into the mentioned programs (except possibly ETH, but there's a chance there too). The question is, which of the above programs is the best choice.
I have the feeling that UK Masters in Economics make the most sense primarily for an academic career in the UK/US, and might not necessarily pay off for other jobs. The cost would be around 40-60k, which is a very significant amount for me. Does anyone have experience with these programs? Does an Economics Master's in the UK really offer such great job prospects? It seems to me that most graduates primarily go into economic consulting, which wouldn't be worth such a significant investment for me...
Does anyone have experience with the Miqef Master at HSG? Is it recommendable? Is the Quantitative Finance Master at ETH/UZ better regarded by banks/companies? Or is it relatively irrelevant to employers? I know that in the German speaking area, the choice of university is traditionally way less important than e.g. in the UK.
Finally, is the Master's program at Sciences Po a good choice for a Bachelor's graduate in Economics, or is it more of a political science program with an economics touch? Can you find a good job in France if you don't speak fluent French? How good is this programme for a career in e.g. sovereign ratings research?
Thank you in advance for your opinions and advice!
Advice from LSE MSc Finance student, do a programme that is 1.5 or 2 years in length if you want to maximise your chances of breaking into finance / research. Job market is…
Hey, thank you for your advice! So in that case you'd advise against the UK, since most UK masters are 1 year?
Do Oxbridge and LSE, would be worth the cost in your case given your plans.
ETH master is for quant role and will also likely obliterate you, you need a STEM background to thrive there.
Sciences Po is distinctively below these other schools for what you want to do.
Thanks for your reply. I agree with you on ETH, the programme would be very much quant-heavy. Hence, I am leaning towards HSG if I end up going to Switzerland.
Regarding UK masters, are you sure it will be worth it? From stalking people on LinkedIn, it seems that there aren't too many people ending up in research roles in finance (simply because there aren't too many out there), and those who do often have prior internship experience.
Overall, I have the feeling that most people doing fancy UK master's who manage to land a nice job afterwards do so largely because they have significant prior internships. Generally, to what extent does the university name make up for worse/missing internship experience?
Imho UK masters are very worth it, especially from such global brands as LSE and Oxbridge. There aren't many people in research many due to selection bias but you will have most (all?) doors open with such degrees. Hard to say how much a fancy degree compensate for lackluster internship experience, given that there is also a strong correlation between people with strong internship experience and stellar degrees, but I would assume it compensates somewhat (you really won't get an exact answer on this).
Now the price tag is very hefty, and if you know you want to stay in continental europe your whole life I would say maybe they are too expensive. All in all keep in mind that careers are very long and having Oxbridge/LSE on your CV will serve you all your life (even back home), even if the gain may be marginal in the short term.
What is your GRE and GPA?
Not major companies as in less than B4, boutiques? I agree that lots of msc students moving into high finance roles typically have good prior internships, so I think it's important you quantify this.
If you like DACH and speak German, I think this is the play. On a 1yr program if you don't get an elite summer internship, you face an up hill battle. But you do mention you're open to Phd so that alleviates some of that pressure.
Have you considered Bocconi ESS or MSF and WU Vienna Quant Finance?
I'm pretty sure I graduated top of my class, so my GPA is solid, my GRE is 332 (166/166/5), so also decent I would say (bit low on the quant side maybe)
In terms of internships, I would say its decent, but to some extent quite niche (e.g. econ consulting, work at a development bank + M&A at a small Management Consulting Firm). I am trying to get one at a bigger name for the upcoming summer though.
I have indeed also looked at WU, but for personal reasons, I would rather not go to Vienna for my master's. Bocconi is a good school, but I have visited classes there and quite frankly did not find the teaching/campus that impressive (+ I did not like Milan so much). Also, it seems like more of a classical Finance master, less on the research/quantitative side. Unless I am wrong about this?
GRE score is good, I don't think you would have any issues.
Bocconi ESS is more research/quant, I think. I'd do an application just to see if you can get a merit scholarship. But yea Milan is super expensive.
Personally, I'd seek out more opinions on the UK jobs market. Paying 45k gbp just to get a 45k gbp job is meh.
I would go for a UK Masters with a strong brand name :
- Oxford MFE
- LSE MSc Economics
- Imperial MSc Econ & Strategy
Does MFE really give the pathway desired? I assumed OP meant a more traditional econ degree and I thought the MFE to be a program for IB mostly?
The MFE is a nice programme in that it is more academic in nature than e.g. LSE masters in finance (as far as I know). However, I agree with the first reply that it does not seem like a programme for people who want to go into more research/quanty roles.
Moreover, it is crazy expensive at 60k, and not sure its placement record justifies that price tag, judging from LinkedIn, and, again it is only 1 year in length, which means few/no opps for internships.
Would do Econ at Cambridge/Oxford
Hmm, okay, could you elaborate why you think it would be the best choice?
Oxford is mad expensive (60k, and seems mainly for people willing to go for and able to afford a PhD at Ox/US), and Cambridge is less expensive (40k), but only 1 year, which means fewer internship opportunities. I'm also not sure if oxbridge is really better than LSE for graduate econ. So if UK, it seems LSE is the way to go. Unless you have a different opinion? Lmk what you think :)
Mostly due to brand recognition with employers that gives you insane flexibility when deciding between working in the DACH region or the UK. Im German myself and the connections between Oxbridge (most notably Cambridge in this case) and the DACH regions employers is excellent.
They are all good options depending on what you want to do and where you want to live. Don’t over think this and get working on your applications. It is not like you're applying to 10 schools, just a few here.
I do agree with the comments for the 2 year HSG program length and time finding a position has a great point. Great reputation in DACH and your get good internships and takes the pressure off finding FTE right away, just the internship. Allow you to concentrate on the academics.
Also, for UK one year programs your in a country you’ve never studied or had an internship you will be looking for a job before you even start school. Which is why some of the schools having 1 year programs have you start networking before arrival.
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