Is 720 GMAT (Q44/V44) a killer for Msc Finance?
I just had my first attempt at the GMAT and scored a 720 Q44/V44 (IR Score - 8). The Quant is quite low but I managed to do quite well with the other sections, landing me with an overall 94 percentile.
I'm too burnt out/busy to take the GMAT again, but I'm wondering if my profile is still enough to give me a shot at top Msc Finance-related programs.
- Double major in BA/Economics at Taiwan's top business school, 3.9 GPA
- Made the dean's list, ranked 1st, 2nd, 5th in my class for various semester, awarded scholarship
- Graduated high school at age 15
- Half Australian-Thai, speak three languages, studied all over the world
- Three internships at consulting companies/banks abroad, including an internship at a top-tier investment bank
- Have my own startup company
I'm looking to apply at the following programmes, do I stand a chance with my relatively low Quant score? Should I additionally try to get CFA L1 or pursue other measures to strengthen my profile? I'm quite worried about my Q44.
Oxford - Msc Financial Economics
Cambridge - Mphil Finance
LSE - Risk and Finance/Msc Accounting and Finance/Msc finance
Imperial - Msc Finance/Msc Investment and Wealth Management
UCL - Msc Financial Risk Management
LBS - Msc Management
Chill out. You'll be fine.
Are you seriously asking if a 720 GMAT with your resume isn't good enough?
I can't tell the trolls from the unnaturally neurotic sometimes.
hahaha
I heard it's an average of Q50 for LSE and Oxford programmes. A Q44 puts me in a disappointing 58th percentile.
Why are you doing a MFin again? You seem to be good enough to get a job now.
By the way, you graduated high school at 15? Are you like 18 right now?
I traveled for two years before starting my undergrad (22 now). My university is well known in Taiwan/Hong Kong/Singapore, but it is unheard of in Australia/UK/US, which is where I want to work. Hence the need to get a degree from a well-known institution.
A 720 is a fantastic score (good job!) but you're right to be worried about the 44Q. I'm not worried about your intellectual horsepower but it's a low number and that makes it a red/orange/yellow flag. If you have time, and and MFin makes sense for you, then something like a CFA could actually be a good idea! It is rigorous, it shows career alignment, and it'll offset that Q score.
On a side note - I wanted to ask the MFin question as well. Yeah, you've had some exposure to finance, but with a startup of your own now, and what it seems you've been doing in terms of consulting internships too, why an MFin?
I'm looking to get into an Asset Management role upon graduation, of which I have no experience in yet. Would taking both the CFA and an Msc Finance be a bit redundant though?
I say CFA is often what people in the industry do~
MSF is often taken by people who cannot have enough recruiting or need a "rejuvenation" because they screwed up as undergrad.
if you can find a nice job now, you don't have to do a MS Finance. Your profile could already be competitive for top 15 MBAs and they'd take your... diversity, international experiences, and good work ex (suppose you do well)
Or people who weren't business undergrads
agreed ~ it's kinda listed under "people who don't have enough recruiting", you know~
People do an MSF for a variety of reasons:
1) Bad UG performance (2nd chance) 2) Poor UG Brand (rebranding) 3) Career change during UG (another shot to intern, recruit) 4) Non-Business UG's who want a finance background 5) People who want to go to grad school before starting work 6) People who have sub-optimal jobs and want to go back to grad school and shoot for a "blue chip" job which will increase their MBA chances
Everyone who is doing an MSF should realize that whatever their stated intentions, the professors who teach and run these programs don't look at them as a joke or some 12 month long IB stamp of approval. This is graduate school. The classes dive deeper than what you will see in UG and frankly, what you would see in 99% of MBA classes. If you don't love finance and have an interest in finance you will find these programs difficult.
@OP - Your GMAT is fine. Focus on other aspects of your profile.
Well said, Ant. +1
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