Need Masters in Finance help

Hello all. I was told to post here as you would be helpful in guiding me through this.

A little bit about me: I am a 5th year undergrad senior graduating in December of this year.

I am graduating with three majors in Business Economics, Finance, and Accounting at a large public university (Think SEC school)
I have around a 3.5 GPA.
2 local finance internships (nothing great)
1 internship with a F500 company
Participated in the Investment Fund at my school holding 2 positions here
Holding a research assistant position for now
Several extracurricular activities (Tutoring, honor society, several academic organizations, cultural organization)
I have taken the GMAT but scored really low.

I had several interviews this semester but received no offers. So I am frustrated. I really want to pursue a MFin program. Would it be a good idea to continue work as a research assistant (no pay) and possibly do an odd job here and there in the finance area and at the same time study for the GMAT for a year or 2 and then apply for MFin programs?

Would you guys be able to guide me on what I should do? I really need it. If any of you want to see my resume, I will be happy to send it out.

Thanks

 

You don't need to study for the GMAT for two years. Start studying now and if you can't land a FT position apply in January for programs. You can always choose to not start if something better comes along. Your profile looks pretty good. The GMAT you get will largely decide which programs your are competitive for.

 

Well I had taken the GMAT before in January of this year and scored really really low.. This was with a minimal amount of studying. I figured that after graduating in December, I could still hold the current research position I have right now with my finance professor and at the same time study for the GMAT for atleast a year or so and take the GMAT and hopefully do good in it to get into a solid American/European MSF program. I scored in the low 500s, this is how bad it was. Im really trying my best getting FT interviews. It's just so hard. I had interviews in public accounting through networking, I got a 2nd round with one them, but it's just so competitive. So I am back to square one...hence I am considering an MSF program.

 
Best Response

I'll jump out there and say it - if you have to study for a year or two to pull better than low 500's on the GMAT, you're in trouble. You said a bit about yourself (majors, gpa, extras) but you didn't say anything about what your goal is. I'm guessing banking? Or trading? Either way, if you want to do anything even slightly quantitative you are competing with people that can get a 700+ GMAT score with minimal effort. I prepped for 2 weeks and got a 750. I have a number of friends that were in the 700 - 750 range with zero prep, to around the amount of time I put into it. And there are plenty of kids that rock an 800. So, not trying to be Debbie Downer, but before you go spend $60k on a MSF, maybe you should carefully evaluate whether or not you can be successful doing what you think you want to pursue. The reality is, public accounting is like plan C for kids trying to break into Finance, and if you couldn't even land that, you're going to have a hell of a time competing with the ones that are competitive for more prestigious options.

Without even seeing your resume, an obvious question that jumps out at me is what happened to the F500 internship? How come that didn't translate into a FT offer?

 

It was in their financial reporting division which is outsourced to another state. There were budget cuts so I had to be let go. And there were no opportunities elsewhere.

Thanks for being honest. I guess I should forget about Finance too then.

 

I didn't say forget about it, I just said be careful about spending another massive chunk of money. You could easily end up in the same spot you're in now, but with another $60k in loans to pay back. I'd say just keep plugging away at the job search. Something will come up. Then, if you get a few good years of work experience in, maybe you're in a position down the road to take advantage of a masters.

 

You have a 3.5 in 3 business-related majors. No doubt that you can get a 700+ if you study the right way. I know plenty of people with poor UG grades who studied a lot and got 700+.

If you completely struck out during recruiting w/ internships/Univ. research under your belt, something else must be wrong (see: resume content, didn't apply enough places, didn't network, don't interview well) Figure out which it is and fix it. You'll be fine.

 

Well the thing is that quotas for how many students companies will take is fairly low. My school is weak. It may just be the competition that made me completely strike out for say 1 or 2 positions.

I will be graduating in December and I really want to boost my resume even more before applying to MFin programs next year. I figured I would study for the GMAT until it comes time to apply for the MFin program while continuing to work in this research position.

The good thing about Undergrad for me is that I didn't take out a single loan and got money from the school to add into my savings account. And I don't believe a 1 year MFin program would really be $60K...maybe half of this.

 

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