Debating gunning for a spot in a tier 1 UK masters (Oxford MFE, LSE MSc Fin etc). Don't know how I like my chances.
Grew up non US/UK, graduated from a top local school (~top 100 worldwide) with first class honours in economics. My GPA, converted to the US system, is 3.64.
3 years work experience at a ratings agency. Have CFA L2. I wouldn't bother applying if I couldn't get a 700+ GMAT, so assume I do.
Decent shot or nah?
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GPA is ok (Oxford and LSE would equate it to an upper-second), work experience is decent, so if you have solid GMAT (with a great quant score), you'll have your chances
Yeah the first class honours needs some explanation. Basically our degrees are 3 year, and you have the option of doing "honours" as a fourth year addition (it's basically a mini masters, you write a dissertation and take core postgrad classes).
Your honours year is graded the same way as the UK system, and you get awarded "First Class" based on that year alone. My overall four year GPA drags that down to a 3.64 however because I screwed up my first semester.
Oh alright, wasn’t aware of that. Oxford and LSE indicate on their websites that they convert GPAs of 3.7 and higher to a first class, which GPAs between 3.5 and 3.7 being equivalent to upper second degrees. You might want to check with them to see if your case is different
Yeah I'll try clarify with them, although I'm 90% certain they'll just take it as a four year degree and use the 3.64, would seem unfair otherwise.
For Oxford aim for 730+ GMAT, LSE a bit lower but still high. UG performance is good but first-class is usually just a requirement for those programs, would help if you received prizes/scholarship/highly ranked within cohort. Those program don't really weight work experience that much, but you should still have a solid reason why after 3 years you want a Master. Overall crush the GMAT and you should have a fair shot.
Appreciate the response. Don't have any special prizes or anything beyond a couple of "First in course" awards for random classes across the years. Tbh I can't really say much about my UG performance apart from "above average".
Also considering MBA programs as well - I hear LBS is quite a good program, not sure if you're in a position to speak about it or not.
Random awards like this are a plus certainly, honestly with a good uni and first you would be competitive on that front.
Have not thought about this, but a MBA might make more sense for you at this stage with decent years of experience (MBA > Mfin in my opinion, you can recruit for roles with more experience), and LBS/Insead are the top non US mbas so definitely look into that direction, you can get in with a much lower GMAT score but then having great work experience is crucial (not sure how ratings agency is viewed). Just crush the GMAT and throw your hat into the ring (could look into US ones too).
Other EU MBA are ranked much lower and frankly difficult to justify for their costs (but easier to get into), but you could still look into them: IESE, HEC, Oxford Said, Cambridge Judge.
Other Masters: HEC International Finance, LBS MFA (you get GMAT waiver with CFA lvl1), Cambridge post-exp Master, LBS post-exp Master
Was actually thinking of writing another thread about MBA vs MFin. Definitely agree it's a stronger program looking at the variety of placements, but it's just the cost - literally twice as much. I'm already nervous enough about coming through it all and not getting a top buyside/IB/MBB role aha, especially since my work experience isn't especially strong, nor relevant (closer to econ than finance, don't have any sector expertise either).
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