Hey guys,
I recently got an offer for Cass' MSc in Finance program. Still awaiting responses from Imperial (MSc in Finance) and LSE (MSc in Accounting & Finance).
Profile: french/english native speaker, swiss, 680 GMAT, two 6 months IB BB internships (1 back office, 1 front office).
My goal is to work in London/NY while I'm young so doing a short 9-11 month MSc in London is ideal I think. Looking for a quantitative role, not interested in pure corporate finance related stuff like M&A, maybe ECM could interest me though. By quantitative I mean hedge fund/trading floor/...
Currently doing an internship on the trading floor (FX sales) of a BB in switzerland. I might be offered a career start contract at the end of it, that would be awesome but then I'd have to work 4-5 years before asking for a transfer to London/NY. I'm young and I really want to work in a big financial hub when I'm still young and have not constraints. I realize I might sound picky and that if they offer me a full time I should go for it without hesitating but I'm thinking long term here, not 3-4 years down the road.
I could of course shop around for similar positions at other banks, even in London/NY, if I don't get offered a contract.
Now, I applied to LSE MSc A&F and not the LSE MSc Finance because I know I didn't have the grades to get into the MSc in Finance....and since they're almost the same degrees, except for 3-4 mandatory accounting classes, applying to the MSc in A&F is the best chance I have at getting into the LSE.
I'm still waiting for 2 responses but looking at my situation now, is Cass a good option?
Cass has no reputation in the US. It will not help you to get a job in NYC. Also, quant roles go to people in the States with quanty degrees like Financial Engg or just plain old STEM degrees. I will try and get the job in Switzerland. I would not leave the BB role for Cass. Work for three or four years get an MBA. Or work for one or two years, work on your quant skills and apply for MFE programs in the States.
Well, if you get into LSE or Imperial, then go to LSE or Imperial. If not, there's not much of a choice for you, right? Don't know what answer you are looking for? LSE A&F might be more suited for M&A / corporate finance-type positions while Imperial is perfect for more quanty positions. Anyway, both programs will allow you to interview with top banks for top positions. Cass generally is not on par with LSE or Imperial but it is not as bad as some people on the internet make it sound.
However, Cass admits a ridiculous amount of candidates knowing that applicants generally choose the top programs over Cass. Since you're swiss, I would rather go to HSG, apply for internships in London, rock that internship and then get a return offer than go to Cass, but that's just me..
Fully agree with above_and_beyond. To be honest, out of all options (incl. taking on the potential job), Cass is the "worst". If you prefer getting a degree instead of working in Switzerland, that is fully up to you.
Btw, I wouldn't consider most ECM work to be very quantitative...
I want to do a 1 year program, 2 years is too long for me at this stage.
I don't speak German so HSG is a no go for me, 99% of people there secure positions in Frankfurt/ZH, plus St.Gallen is boring as f***.
I don't know how much you want to work in NYC. But if you do I would look at American MSFs namely for NYC would be MIT and Villanova. But as you said you like quant then you should look at MFE programs; Columbia MFE will place you well in the city. Also, ECM is not really that quantitative.
By NY/London, I meant a big financial hub. Zurich is second tier, pretty big though, don't get me wrong, it's the second biggest financial center in Europe, but still.
I mentionned ECM because I've talked to many ECM guys and all of them have told me that it's more financial markets related than M&A. That's the reason I mentionned it.
So you guys seriously think I should try to land a job first, work 2-3 years and then go back to school?
With my 2 six-month IB BB internships, even if I went to Cass, I thought it would be relatively "easy" to find something in London after my graduation. Plus Cass is a real business school, it's orientated towards a practical approach and I heard lots of graduates land IB front office jobs.
Man you will get an offer from LSE, just chill. With a 680 GMAT and a FO off cycle intership why the heck would A&F reject you? A&F is full of students from India and China with no work experience and a 650 GMAT.
Perhaps my grades, which aren't amazing. They're average, there's a progression over the years but the overall grade is meh. Degree thesis is amazing though.
I dunno man, I'd like to think so. If I get into the A&F at the LSE then I'm 99% sure of going, you can't really turn down an offer from them. But still, nothing is certain, this is one of the top programs in the world, getting in is no easy task.
Somewhat unrelated. I'm from a similar background: swiss native french/english speaker applying for UK MFin programs. I got an offer for the Msc Finance at LSE. Switzerland being so small, it's hard to find people in similar situations online and I'm sure we could learn something from each other. PM me when you get the chance
Msc Finance - Cass Business School (Originally Posted: 06/12/2014)
Hey!
I'm Gianni from Milan, Italy!
I really need your help :) !
After my bachelor's graduation i'd like to apply for admission to MSC Finance at Cass Business School.
I would like to know if it is too hard for me to be accepted :
I have a GMAT of 670, is it enough? what is the minimum to be accepted?
In order to be admitted is important the average of the votes?? my GPA is 3.2/4 (Usa) - 50-59% in UK -- in Italy 26/30
Unfortunately, at the beginning of my bachelor's degree career, I received a little more than the minimum voting in mathematics, but I have the utmost both in statistics and in advanced statistics , also i attended the profile of "Quantitative Methods for Finance" , where I often received the highest rating. IELTS 7.0 BEC Higher ICFE Internship at LSE Summer School - Business Analysis and Valuation - Principles of Accounting
Do you think that I am not qualified enough to be admitted to the Msc at Cass?
I hope you can help me :)
Thank you!
Have a nice day!
Gianni
Are you applying for 2014 intake? I believe application has closed this year.
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