Which MS program should I accept? (Duke, Georgetown, Fordham)

Background: 

I graduated from a non-target a year ago and recently applied for Fall 2024 MS programs. I majored in Entrepreneurship (Business school), had a 3.2 gpa, no relevant finance internships, and my only extracurriculars were the investment and entrepreneurship club. 

I began working at a marketing company as a data analyst a month ago. I have 4 years of part-time work experience at a small marketing agency (during school) and a real estate internship.

My goal with a graduate program is to hopefully be able to recruit into finance as I didn't have any luck post grad and feel like I need a more formal finance education, along with a more prestigious business school. 

Programs:

Fordham MSF (in person)

Baruch MSF (in person)

Kelley MSF (online)

BU MET MS in Financial Mgmt (online)

Georgetown MSF 

  • Waitlist because I applied pretty late, hoping to get in but no guarantee

Duke MSQM: Business Analytics (online)

Concerns:

I feel like the best option would be Georgetown, but I'm currently on the waitlist so I need to make a decision as if I won't be accepted. 

I'm leaning towards Fordham or Baruch because they are both in NYC and in person, so the career resources and ability to network would probably be better than the others. 

Meanwhile, Duke is clearly the best business school out of all of the programs I listed but it's a Business Analytics program, not Finance. 

Would I still have a chance to recruit into finance with the Duke MS BA?

The Duke program is also part-time and 2 years long so I would be able to gain some working experience, but I will also be pretty old by that point to recruit into entry-level finance. The Fordham/Baruch programs are 1-1.5 years.

I would appreciate any insights or opinions on what I should do.

3 Comments
 

None of the above. Get some more work experience. Going back to grad school is not the answer this early in your career imo.

 
Most Helpful

For IB, GTown might be your best shot at this stage (still no guarantee). However, if you're okay with back/middle office or potentially even certain S&T roles and just want to work in the city + internally navigate to a better role, Baruch/Fordham whichever is cheaper will likely get your foot in the door. I say this because i know people who went to MFin programs in the city and simply being in the city/networking in person gave them a leg up, provided they were smart/capable and had a good personality. Masters can make sense in your case given you want to pivot early career.

 

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