Requirements for entry into top Masters in Finance programs

For admissions in Top- MIF (USA and UK), what do the selectors look for. Just the GPA or extracurricular activities and undergrad school (shitty vs target seni-target undergrad) are also considered?

If extracurricular activities and type of undergraduate school is also considered how much weight in general do they place over each as compared to MBA admissions.

Who is in a better position Non Target undergrad (Business , econ, finance, accounting) + Top MIF or Target undergrad alone?

7 Comments
 

I don't know what coursework standard MFin admissions looks for...I would assume it would be similar to an MBA except they'd want you to have some background in finance, as well as econ and math. I know that for the more quantitative programs like MS Financial Engineering / Computational Finance / Mathematical Finance, the necessary coursework would include multivariable calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, probability and statistics, and C or C++.

What programs are you looking at applying to?

 

I will be joining a non target university (undergrad) and my concern is whether after 1 year , I should apply into target universities and start from the beginning or finish the non-target school with a good degree and apply to masters in finance at lse,oxford or cambridge.

So who is in a better position non target undergrad + top-3 (ms finance) or simply an undergrad from target?

 
Best Response

I'd recommend just going to a target school for undergrad. MS Finance students don't by any means have more recruiting opportunities than target schools, at least in the U.S., because the class size is much smaller. Here, every bank will recruit at Harvard, Wharton, etc. but that's not necessarily the case for, say, Princeton's MS Finance program. While they certainly have many recruitment opportunities, there are overall less recruiters due to the smaller class size, and some of the positions they recruit for will be for experienced hires.

I would recommend going to a target school. If you decide you want to get a MS in Finance either directly out of school or after a few years of work, you can still do that. Youll have equal or better chances at getting into a top 3 MS Finance program from a target school anyways. Although the standard path would be to go to a target school, work, and then get an MBA.

Any particular reason you're interested in the MS Finance program? Also, are you interested in investment banking, or another area of finance?

Hoping someone in the UK can comment too since things might be different there than in the US

 

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