Which MSF programs should I aim for?
23 years old. I will be graduating in spring '18, but plan to start applying for grad schools by october of this year.
With the following info that I have provided below, which MSF programs do you think I would have a good chance of getting into?
From the U.S. and attend a no name university on the west coast. Started as a computer science major and switched to finance. GPA is pretty low at 3.0, but I had some personal issues that attributed to this, which I plan to briefly address in my admission essays. There will be a strong incline in my grade performance for my last year to show I can excel academically and hopefully improve gpa a little. Member of a fraternity and took a small leadership role within the organization for a year, various volunteer experience (feeding homeless, helping underprivileged children, etc.), a member of financial club on campus. Started 2 small companies. One was app development, other was product development. Made profits with both. Not involved in either one now. Worked in the same place for 4 years to get through school. Unfortunately, not relevant to finance. Plan to take GMAT in 2 months and score at least a 700+.
Open to attending programs throughout the U.S. (No specific location)
Would like to break into an analyst role at a reputable company/bank. Going for masters to rebrand myself and look more appealing for recruitment.
If you need any more info, please let me know. Thank you.
avoid another no-name school. start your search with only schools that houses a Top 25 MBA programs. Plus USC. and pitch some qualifiers for your two startups. Don't make it look like some garage band.
would anyone else be able to chime in on this?
Isn't a 300 GRE like a 500 GMAT? You are going to need a lot higher score than that to get into any mediocre program, let alone a good one. If you want to do IB you are going to need to score 670+ on the GMAT and go to one of the top programs. Outside of the top programs it is really hard to get into IB.
my fault. wrote the post at night and screwed the conversion up. Edited the post for clarity. I meant a GRE score equivalent to at least a 700 GMAT.
I think it is a bit silly to just assume you can score 700+ especially with low GPA but that is besides the point. You should really get at least a year or two work xp if you want to get into a top MSF
The low gpa isnt due to my academic ability, but a bad illness that occured within my family and I pretty much paid no attention to school during that time.
If I were to get a year or 2 of work exp, then wouldnt it make more sense to go for an MBA at that point?
Not necessarily, they are two different degrees made for different things. Look at your target schools, average age for MSF will probably be in the 26 year old area with 3 or more average years of xp
DO not get 2 yrs work experience before the MSF. Unnecessary....and if you do, you're much better off getting an MBA because an MSF will just recruit for entry-level jobs.
Go for: Villanova, Vanderbilt, USC
Princeton/MIT MSF (quant) curriculum are not designed for banking
Be aware, you'll find out very quickly if your Graduate CCD has their game together. Just finished up at Babson with my MSF as of end of May, Magna Cum Laude. Didn't even see phone screens while I was on-campus. Abysmal.
I'd just work for a few years and then gun for an MBA, you'll save money.
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