MIF at HEC Paris vs. ESADE vs. SSE vs. Bocconi vs. IE vs. St. Gallen
Hi everyone,
I just got admitted to HEC Paris and ESADE for the MIF intake 2019. Moreover, I am still awaiting the admission results from SSE, Bocconi, IE, and University of St. Gallen.
My background:
- BA (Hons) International Business Management, specilisation in Finance
- GPA 4.0
- 1 internship at Deutsche Bank, 2 internships at PwC
- planned career: executive position in M&A at a bulge bracket
The question now is: Where should I go?
Of course, overall, is the better choice in terms of ranking (FT ranking: #1 pre-experince MIF) and prestige. The big BUT here is that joining HEC's programme requires me to make considerable financial commitment that is not easy for me to make, whereas studying at SSE would be free for me.
Now I don't know how I should decide, given the following criteria the MIF should meet:
- Placement
- at tier 1 bulge bracket IBs in an international financial centre (e.g. London, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore)
- international prestige of the school and the programme
2. Curriculum
- wide range of relevant courses regarding M&A, corporate restructuring, VC, PE
- not an overrepresentation of quantitative courses (don't get me wrong - quant is a must but I do not want to join a programme which is super quant-heavy)
- fair grading and achievable top grades (for instance hard to achieve at Bocconi, based on what I have been told)
- high practical orientation
3. Network
- prestigious partner schools (e.g. LSB, LSE, Oxbridge, Ivy League, Tsinghua etc.)
- strong company ties with MBBs and tier 1 bulge bracket IBs and boutiques
- strong alumni network
4. Campus life/Community
- good team and community spirit
- good relationship with professors
5. Excellent value for money ratio
- I don't want to spend tons of money on a programme, with which I have the same/comparable long term career prospects as with a cheaper/free programme.
Excited to read your comments! :)
HEC has probably the best finance master in Europe and is the strongest continental target for London.
Why not LBS/LSE?
LBS does not offer a pre-experience MIF. Moreover, I am a bit concerned with the Brexit now...
They do. It's called Master in Financial Analysis (MFA)
https://www.london.edu/programmes/masters-courses/masters-in-financial-…
I have recent experience from Bocconi's MSc in Finance, thought I would share my two cents. 1. Placement is very good. People are placing in all BB's and the EB's as well, both in London and Frankfurt. The school is obviously well-known, and it helped me break into IB, coming from no experience. 2. The finance courses are great, but half are very quant-heavy, at least the first 1-2 semesters. But for example, one of the more IB-related courses are taught by a GS director, kinda cool. 3. The partner schools aimed specifically at finance are not THAT prestigious, but there are some great schools in general (Top 10 BS in US etc.) You can find the destinations on their website. 4. The Italians kind of stick to themselves, especially since alot of them did the BSc at Bocconi together. Great comraderie among internationals, though. The professors are helpful and open for contact, but it is kind of hard to establish a relationship with them. 5. Depending on your GMAT score, you will almost certainly get a scholarship for atleast 50% of the tuition, which makes it a great value/money offer.
BUT, SSE also has great placement in London, is supposed to be less quant-heavy and less stressful, and it's free. So it is for sure something to think about.
Let me know if there is anything else you want to know.
Thanks a lot for your helpful feedback!
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