Grad School Choice for 3yr Experience in HF, trying break into AM/HF in the US: MSF or MBA?

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12/18/16

I've read several articles in search for an ideal list for grad school in the US and have concluded my action plan below, but I still have some questions and would like to know how you guys think. Here's my quick stat:

Experience: 3yr boutique global macro strategy hf
Bachelor: econ at NTU in Taiwan, ranking #68 in 2016 Qs World Top 100 university
GPA: 3.5/4
Certificate: CFA LV 3 Candidates
GRE: 327 (V160, Q167) (->equivalently GMAT ~710. Long story for taking GRE instead of GMAT)

Motivation: want to try out working in the U.S, possibly also in buy side. But since my company does not have big brand name and I think it would be nice to sharpen some finance knowledge and quantitative application, a graduate degree should help me do both. So, question then becomes: MBA or Master of Finance?

Each has pros and cons for example:
MBA
Pros: experienced and diversified peers/ environment to learn more for later stage mgmt role.
Cons: Costly for 2yrs, <4yrs entry, less exposure to solid finance knowledge (exception: finance concentration)

MFin
Pros: Specialization of finance knowledge, cost-efficient (1yr), STEM eligibility
Cons: Peers with less experience, usually entry level job after graduation

->Since rarity for MFin program in top-tier schools, my decision currently becomes: Apply both, if, for example, MIT MFin give me admission, then MIT. If not, wait for MBA with finance concentration.

Still, my questions here are:
1. Do people mostly agree with the idea of attending MBA better given enough budget?

  1. Do experienced people come out from MFin get entry-level jobs too? Or maybe the experienced should not even enroll in MFin, if they are not industry changer?
  2. Would IDE at Yale and SIPA at Columbia (with intl fin and econ policy concentration) not work because widely different compared to B-school environment? Since as an econ major, I guess if not finance, further studies at econ-related might build good skill sets but less about career assistance and alumni networking into the finance field.

Just wanna know how you guys think. Thanks for helping.

mfin