Profile Check for Master / FT

Hey everyone, I‘m in my last year now at a German university doing business management. I‘m looking to start a master‘s degree next fall and would appreciate some opinions on master admission and chances aftter that.


Short profile:

-Top3 university in Germany specializing in finance and accounting

-Top 2-3% of my class, would be a very high first-class in the UK (1.3 in the German system)

-exchange semester at a G5

-GMAT later this year, practice tests indicate I should be able to reach at least 700

-member of the student council for 2 years

-at my university‘s consulting club with some leadership responsibilities

-Big 4 Audit internship 

-Big4 M&A internship planned for next year (after the application)

-time for another 3 month internship (after the application, won‘t have confirmation when applying)
 

For my master‘s I‘m considering the popular programmes:

LSE Finance and AccFinance

Imperial Finance/Finance and Accounting

LBS MFA

Oxford MFE

In case I don‘t get into either of those, I would also consider Bocconi, HEC, SSE… 


So what you can see from my CV is that I am really lacking practical experience unfortunately as I have always focused on extracurriculars and academics. I‘m wondering how that will affect my chances of getting into the top UK programmes, also considering that my second internship will only be after the application. I will have confirmation of the acceptance to the internship though.


Also would a 2 year programme be better if I want to get into M&A/IB to get more experience or is that not that much of a big deal? I‘m aiming to stay in the UK for work.


Would also be interested in hearing from people who did summer analyst internships after they graduated their master‘s, how did that work?


Thank you very much, appreciate any opinions or advice!





 

Profile - good stuff, you're looking good! I'm a bit confused with regards to your big 4 M&A internship (have you not even applied yet? How are you sure you're going to get it?), but if you keep up a strong GPA and get that GMAT you're pretty much in. Would even advise that you go for LSE MFin and then have A&F as your backup.

Really don't see how you're lacking experience and it shouldn't be a concern.

2 year masters - AFAIK there are no top tier U.K. masters that are 2 years long? Even among top 10 in Europe, isn't it just Bocconi and HSG?

Either way, it doesn't really matter. With solid internships, you should be okay placement wise.

Quick question, what are your opinions on St Gallen? I know it's not the best for a career in the U.K., but it's also super popular for Germans, and I'm a bit surprised that it's not on your list!

 

I‘m (hopefully) doing the big4 M&A next year. Will graduate in January so enough time for two more internships. I‘m applying rn and from what I been hearing I should be able to get that (also have connections through career events etc there…). My concern is only that I won‘t even have started that internship when applying for the master‘s degree.

For to the experience I was referring to IB experience to get an offer after my master‘s.

For the 2y master, yes that would be Bocconi/Hec, not my first choice unis.

I don‘t have a negative opinion on St. gallen but I want to move to a non-German speaking country for language experience and culture reasons! I don‘t think it‘s a bad uni at all.

 
Most Helpful

Would you be looking at off-cycle internships that start in January?

When will you know that you have the M&A internship? Whilst it’s probably a bit silly to include it on your CV for masters applications, you can for sure include it in your motivation letter once you have the confirm (ie having secured an M&A internship before starting my masters, I am confident I will gain a skillet relevant to my future career in investment banking, etc. ).

Re your chances in the workforce after - can’t comment, not sure. I’m in a similar boat as you are (except have 1.5 years of work exp in audit at big4, 1st from a semi target U.K. uni, okay consulting internship, and a tonne of ECs), and have actually come to the conclusion that HSG MBF/Bocconi MFIn will be the best programmes for me, as they give me an opportunity to get a relevant summer internship under my belt.

Hoping someone more knowledgable on this can help you with the last point. Good luck!

 

Your profile looks really good! Though, I would try to focus a little more on GMAT; last years cohort at Oxford’s MFE had a 742 average score. People on average also only had 6 months of work experience so you’re pretty good there if you can snag the m&a internship. 
 

Have you looked into doing the CFA level 1? LBS looks pretty favourably on it and I would be surprised if LSE didn’t. Oxford doesn’t really take it into consideration allegedly but it doesn’t hurt to have it. I’m currently applying for 2024 so if you’re interested in practicing for the interviews send me a PM
 

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