UK Master in Finance Advice
Hi all,
I am a penultimate year Business Management student at a semi-target university in the United Kingdom (think Warwick, Bath, Durham). I am currently doing an industrial placement (12 months) in the Asset Management division of a BB in London.
I will be applying to the below schools for a Masters in Finance, and I would like to hear everybody's opinions in order to make a more informed choice.
Ideally, I am looking to pursue a career in Investment Banking/Management Consulting and I am currently averaging a high 2:1, although I am confident I will graduate with a First.
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Imperial College Business School (MSc Finance and Accounting) - This is my preferred option at the moment, I have met numerous people who have graduated from the programme and they are all doing very well professionally. In addition, I like the course structure and the fact that it is less theoretical and academic than LSE, Oxbridge.
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LBS (Master in Financial Analysis) - From what I have read, LBS is the best school in the list. However, I understand that the GMAT is required. Therefore, it would have to be significantly better in order to justify the extra effort of taking GMATs while trying to average a first in my final year.
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Judge Business School (MFin) - The course looks very interesting and I like the fact that it is a 'campus university', meaning life will be less hectic than studying in London. Also, Oxbridge is very well recognised internationally, surely more than Imperial. The only issue I see is that it is supposedly post-experience, although I have seen a number of candidates on Linkedin starting straight after finishing their UG degrees.
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Said Business School (Master in Financial Economics) - Same as above with the exception that this programme is pre-experience. However, from what I have heard, the programme is extremely technical and more Econ-heavy than the others.
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LSE (MSc Finance / Accounting and Finance) - Great name and recruiters in the city seem to love LSE grads.
What are your thoughts? Is it unrealistic for me to get into any of these courses? Are my expectations accurate?
Thank you all in advance for your precious advice!
I'm on one of the programmes which you've mentioned.
Career-wise they should all get you to where you want to go. Plus, your profile sounds great.
I don't know too much about Cambridge and Oxford since I didn't consider either. But Cambridge have the MPhil Finance which I believe is a 1 year pre-experience programme. It requires a First Class I think, so you'd need to push your average up for that. Both Cambridge and Oxford IMO are overly theoretical in curriculum, but offer really solid career prospects. They are both much cheaper than their London counterparts too. However, travelling for interviews will be a bit of a nuisance but this is a rather minor point.
The three I have more info on:
ICBS + Fantastic facilities + Really good course curriculum + Practical emphasis - Department in general is more maths focused (though this applies more to the MSc Finance course) - Brand name (especially at the MSc level) isn't as strong as the others. It is mainly known as a science / engineering university - At c. £33K, it's not as good value for money as the others since the brand isn't as strong but the price is the same
Good to know: the 'career statement' section in their application is really important. They want to know what you've done to date and how you think their programme will get you to where you want to go. The personal statement is also important here.
LBS + Best business school brand in the UK + The most practical-focused curriculum IMO + Great facilities + Many of the lecturers have industry experience + Inter-generational learning - you do modules with MBA students and can benefit from their experience and contributions in class - LBS is mainly known for its MBA programme. At the MSc level, MSc Management is more well known. Basically - MFA lacks the alumni network and recognition for now, but it attracts a high calibre of student
Good to know; GMAT is a must, even as a UK student. A GMAT over 650 + a solid 2.1 + good work experience will make you competitive
LSE + Fantastic brand name in general. However, one thing to note - LSE has more postgrads than undergrads. So, unlike Cambridge, Oxford and ICL which are more known for their undergrad reputation, LSE is known for both + MSc Finance has a lot of visibility (even though it's been running for around 10 years only), whilst the MSc A+F programme is the oldest one in the city (50+ years going now) so has a very large alumni network + Lecturers have stellar academic backgrounds (often top US-university educated) + MSc A+F is good value for money compared to the others, MSc Finance is reasonable for the brand - Small campus, lacks facilities - Course curriculum is not as practical-focused as ICBS or LBS
Good to know: academics are of course very important, but so are academic references
So to summarise, they're basically all great options in terms of careers. I think where they differ on is 1) how academic vs practical they are, 2) their brand in terms of the actual programmes on offer, 3) the facilities at each university and 4) the value for money.
You should be competitive for ICBS and LSE (both programmes) without the GMAT. LBS depends largely on your GMAT. Cambridge and Oxford will be unlikely without a first.