MSF Value
Hello,
I am in a bit unique situation here.
I recently immigrated to USA from Bangladesh. I worked for 2.5 years in relationship management in commercial banking. I know this experience has no value in USA.
Now I am planning to study MS Finance. I am already selected for UT Dallas for Fall 2011. I am also a level 1 CFA candidate. I did my BBA in Finance with 3.91 GPA. My GMAT is 710.
My question is will MS Finance add value to my career into entry level career ??
I also cant attend MBA as I do not have sufficient experience. But I know i do need a US degree to make myself competitive here.
What should I do ??? Do Ms Finance or Economics or complete my CFA and try to find a job and then later do MBA??? Which track should I go for ????
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
I got my undergrad from top university in Bangladesh. But that wont help in USA, right coz for USA, I need US degree for job.
Target the MBA, a 710 GMAT is a great score, 2.5 years is fine. A score like that should place you in a target program. As you apply keep working on the CFA.
i tried for Stanford and Maryland. I went through interview stage but could not progress after that. I think my work experience is low compared to MBA standards, which is average 5 years.
What should I do ???? UT Dallas tuition for out of state is nearly $36,000. Now i need to make sure that my $36,000 investment will pay off. Should I go for UT Dallas or try for MBA or MS in Finance or Economics in SUNY and CUNY universities ??? (I am a New York resident and hence will qualify for in state tuition).
Where is ANT when you need him?
Private ANT and ask him. You should try for more programs other than UT Dallas. Villanova is a good program if you want to work in Philly or NY. Vanderbilt is also a good MSF to look at. Look at more MSF programs. With a 710 gmat score, you're not applying to nearly enough MSF programs.
After the MSF, work a couple more years, then do a top MBA.
yeah I think I might have to wait for fall 2012.
I know I have to do MBA ultimately but right now, considering my work experience, I wont get chance in top MBA schools. So at that time, I have to spend money again on MBA.
Hence I was wondering whether to spend so much money in MS Finance now because ultimately at the end of the day, money matters. I need to make sure my tuition expenditure will generate returns because I have to take FAFSA loans to partly pay my tuition. I dont want to end up jobless while taking loan because that will be ultimate nightmare.
I was thinking about Vanderbilt and Illinois. So I think I will try for them next year.
Then again, will I get a good job if I can pass CFA Level 1 this summer ???? I know I have start from scratch as I am a new immigrant. So I have to start from entry level position. Will I be able to apply for entry level analyst positions in good firms ? I know getting into top firms will be difficult and not realistic. I have to start from normal good firms and then apply for top firms after good performance. Which firms do you suggest for me ??
Kinda late in the day to apply for any more MSF's. I would hold back and work for another year and reapply for the top programs for fall 2012. I think you'd be competitive at Vandy and WUSTL. If you're looking to up your gmat score to say 750 (good score that you have now), you could even consider MIT and Princeton with your work experience.
I wouldnt go to UT Dallas, its a night program and not nearly enough to make you competitive for a job in the US.
MIT and Princeton would be unrealistic I guess. I mean if I had a undergrad from a similar level college, then I would have been optimistic. But to be fair, despite my good CGPA in undergrad, i still have a bachelors degree from a third world country and I dont think they will be impressed with just my GMAT score. Ofcourse getting into those universities would be great but i know chances are extremely slim and so I dont want to waste application fees, letter of recommendations on such a remote possibilities.
Having said that, another years work experience would be ideal time to prepare for the MBA. So perhaps that should be the goal.
Keep working and apply next year. Why not stay in commercial banking and progress into something with more leadership? You could do an MBA, but your going to need more solid experience.
Time for an mSF is past. Think about mba.
i know MBA later on will be best. But can i get a job in USA with my credentials ? I mean you have read my academic credentials ? Will they be sufficient ????
ANT, what made you want to do your MSF and MBA back to back because technically didn't you have enough work experience to just go for an MBA alone? In other words, you were more of an ideal MBA candidate with more than 3 years of experience right?
What about these professional programs?
http://www.scps.nyu.edu/areas-of-study/finance/
http://extension.berkeley.edu/cert/finance.html
Will they help me to secure a job in USA ????
Extension schools are kinda frowned upon, at least that is the sense I have gotten from people.
The NYU program, I am not familiar with or actually heard of.
yeah it seems so. :(
I really thin the MBA is the best course for you. MSF would be a lateral move.
Its hard to say whether you would get a position in the US, but it appears unlikely with a UT Dallas MSF. Save your money and work hard on the apps for the MBA.
I think you can a lot better than UT Dallas-caliber type school with stats like that.
3.91 GPA 710 GMAT and UT Dallas is getting your money? Regroup next year brother
UT Dallas gets 520 GMATS with 2.9 GPA's. UTDallas is for working professionals, i n Dallas, that want to stay in the city and work in finance. Do not go there.
hmmmm i think I will take ur suggestions since you guys are experienced about finance industry in USA.
So suppose if I apply for MSF next year, which ones should i target ??? Illinois, Vanderbilt, Purdue ???? How is the MS Finance program at SUNY Buffalo ????
Also if I take the MA/MS Economics route instead of MS Finance, will it be viable for my target career ????
Illinois (UIUC), Vanderbilt and to a slightly lesser extent Purdue are definitely good targets for you. UIUC in particular is majority international students and can probably help you with that too. The actual program at SUNY Buffalo is quality and so is their teaching, but as anyone here will tell you name brand counts and Buffalo doesn't have it. That said, if you can network their are a ton of Buffalo alum out their. I think your best bet is UIUC.
About the Econ. route, most are very academic and you may find yourself explaining why a masters in econ at every interview?
https://www.morganstanley.com/about/careers/culture/profiles/index.html…
If u look at the most of the profiles, I am seeing Economics undergrads and Masters. Hence I thought Economics might be valuable in investment banking.
I think I am gonna try all 4 unis. Illinois, Vanderbilt, Purdue and Buffalo. Buffalo will be extremely cheap for me as I am New York resident.
Hey, I actually did the MS in Finance for SUNY-Buffalo and wrote a review on Quantnet web site. I provided good details about the program. If you need any additional information, I will be happy to provide it. Tuition is really cheap (as I said in the review). However, if you are able to get into Berkeley, CMU, NYU (Courant), Princeton, MIT, then it is worthwhile to go into $100 K debt for the degree. You should not consider costs for these schools.
UIUC is a great engineering and accounting school, but we're talking about Finance. I'd move a step up and start looking at UMich/Ross and perhaps Berkeley with those scores.
Yeah but they seem to have great placement records as per their MSF program website.
SUNY-Buffalo is really cheap (about $10k tuition instate) and it is a very high-quality program. You should choose it before UIUC / Purdue, etc. Why pay $50 K tuition when you get the same quality education for $10 K. Of course, you should put in your applications to Berkeley, Princeton, MIT, CMU, NYU (Courant, NOT Poly), Columbia (MFE). Even if you get rejected by all of them, at least you know that you tried. If you do get lucky with one of these, then you are going to make a LOT of $.
I am totally with you on quality of the education, I know someone in the program and he has nothing but good things to say. However, it is really only known in NY circles and even then you may get picked after SUNY Binghamton or even Albany. Also since the OP is an International student he needs all the prestige points he can get.
How is the MBA at Binghamton ????? They seem to be accepting young candidates unlike other schools ???
If you have the math background, don't forget Chicago and Stanford as well.
aim for MIT and Princeton. These two programs will get you jobs. Other ones are only for domestic students.
I am also a domestic student now.
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