MPhil in Finance Cambridge vs. MFE Oxford vs. MFE or MF LSE vs. MFA LBS
Hi everyone,
I am currently a student in Paris in what we call Grande Ecole (Centrale Paris more specifically for those who know what it is) and I'm willing to apply to a Masters as part of a double degree (you have to know that Centrale Paris is an engineering school which forms the best engineers in France, and we have, at the end, the grade of MSc in General Engineering if we do a double degree abroad, or a MSc in some specialty if we do all of our curriculum there).
However, I am hesitating a lot as to what Masters I should choose. I should start my carrer in Europe (and finish it there too) and I am going to take a gap year next year in order to do internships in finance (so my application would only be for the 2019-2020 academic year).
What master would you recommend (nowadays, because most of the topics in WSO are quite old), among all those I'm listing below, in order to start the best way possible in Europe ?
- MPhil in Finance @ Cambridge
- MFin @ Cambridge
- MFE @ Oxford
- MFE or MF @ LSE
- MFA @ LBS
Knowing that I would only have a year and a half of relevant work experience.
Thank you very much for your answers,
Sincerely
Up ?
Would rank Cambridge, Oxford, LBS all above LSE
Same. Spot on. GS HR for pre-experience M.Sc. also shares the same view on ranking these schools.
Wait for MBA. Even lower tier MBA is better than MSF. MSF is actually for those who did poor out of undergrad and want that little nudge or push.
No it's not. The usefulness and purpose of a MSF largely depends on whether you live in Europe or USA and your advice is flat out wrong for Europe.
Why do they do MSF in Europe? Because of that very reason. I recently talked to Boconni undergrad and he works at L/S fund (also he's nearly 30 now). He got what he wanted out of undergrad. Most Europeans and Brits can't though, especially those who don't graduate from top tier ones and hence the need for a Masters degree.
Seeing your previous post history, I now realize that you are trolling, but I'll give a serious response.
Taking a Master's degree is simply the norm in a majority of the European countries, and therefore the BB's in London mainly recruit students who have taken Master's degree (better academics + more work experience). Yes, there are exceptions and a few universities in Europe will place people without a Master's at BBs, but your anectodal evidence isn't of much use considering it's contrary to the norm of a lot of countries in the EU.
Therefore, it simply isn't people who just did poorly for their undergrad (which was original statement), it's just much harder to do without in the EU, and it's very common to go to BB IB with a master's degree, and for that reason your statement about MSF vs MBA doesn't make sense either.
Cambridge's MFIin is post-experience, so you can rule that one out, and the Mphil at Cambridge is research-focused, so unless you want to do research I'd focus on LBS/LSE/Oxford
Interestingly enough, despite Cambridge's M.Phil. being research-focused, their website still indicates descent BB IBD and MBB placement. (They don't publish a program brochure, like other programs, nor a comprehensive fact-based employment report, they just list the hiring companies by name (similarly, nor does HEC).)
LBS given their career service, then Oxford, LSE and finally Cambridge (MPhil).
Oxford MFE 2016 employment report: 46% IB ("sector") placement, highest class gmat (744 if I remember correctly). Oxford brand: best you can have in the UK;
Cambridge M.Phil. Although the curriculum is very tough & theoretical. You have to be highly academically motivated.
LBS Best possible choice if you want to focus more on career "plotting & planning".
LSE GMiM would allow you to do an MBA business schools">M7 US MBA exchange semester during your 2nd year. M.Sc. Finance is on par with LBS MFA.
Depends on OP's preference: - Do you prefer to have that Oxbridge "prestige" on your resume; - Do you prefer to have a solid business school rebranding/experience? Then in that case: LBS & LSE
Apply to all programs. They're all great programs to get you "started in Europe". And then, when you get offers, the real talk about making a decision on which one to attend begins.
Wish you the best of luck, Châtenaysien.
I did not know about the LSE GMiM's exchange program. It looks very solid. Even the non-M7 schools are extremely good (McCombs, Fuqua, Ross). How beneficial do you think it would look on your resume? Given that it pretty much doubles your tuition, but it gives you 2 chances at a solid SA position.
This makes it so solid. Especially given the fact that pretty much all of LSE's business-oriented M.Sc. programs are equally targeted by the BB.
Frankly I don't think that'd help with the internship & job applications. That would be beneficial, I think, for prospective H/S/W MBA applicant, 3-to-5-years down the line: a solid GPA during said exchange semester would put your application in a very good position
Your statement about all of LSE's business orientated programs being equally targeted is not very accurate. I did my undergrad there and knew people doing pretty much every business related masters. The quality of students in the different groups varies hugely. I knew two people who got into the GMIM program with 500-600 gmat scores and a low 2.1s from LSE whereas the Msc Finance requires a minimum of a first class degree and a much higher GMAT.
Outside of Msc Finance, Msc Finance and private equity and Msc Finance and economics LSE's other business programs are significantly easier to get into and have much worse recruitment. Most people I knew from the other programs either went to big 4/Accenture type firms in London or went back to Asia/Eastern Europe. Msc Finance, finance and private equity, and finance and economics all place very well in London investment banking. I was at an assessment centre last year for an EB where about two thirds of the candidates were from a Grande Ecole engineering background followed by LSE Msc Finance.
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