Offers: Cass MSc in Finance vs LSE MSc in Accounting & Finance

Hey guys,

I've got two conditional offers for the upcoming 2014/15 school calendar (need to retake the TOEFL and get 107, shouldn't be an issue, and attend a summer course in the case of the LSE):

1) MSc in Finance at Cass Business School
2) MSc in Accounting & Finance at London School of Economics

What do you guys think? Is the LSE here the clear choice?

In my mind, here are the pros/cons of each:

Cass:

- it's a business school (as opposed to the LSE, which is much more theoretical-based)
- tons of courses to chose from, loads of subjects so that you can really personalize your master
- location
- connections with the City, there are quite a few people from the industry that teach at Cass
- it's a MSc in Finance as in that it's a pure finance degree, which I like a lot
- not part of the "big 4" (Oxbridge, LSE, Imperial)

LSE:

- reputation, brand name, doesn't really get better than this, everybody has heard of the LSE (unlike Cass)
- MSc in A&F is cheaper than MSc in Finance and that's why I put it as my first choice.
- you only need to take 3-4 mandatory accounting classes and for the rest you can basically get the same degree as the MSc in Finance
- MSc in Finance would have been ideal for me, I don't really enjoy accounting, but for basically the same degree, the entry requirements are a bit less tough

For info, as of today, I want to work in a financial markets related role, rather than corporate finance. Something in sales/trading/hedge fund/quant shop....but this might change some day. (btw, I've undertaken 1 IB back office internship and am currently doing an IB Sales internship in a BB)

Cheers

 
  1. there is no such thing as "the big four", stop throwing around terms that are meaningless
  2. i would recommend you actually try to get some placement data for each school before speculating on these kind of 'soft' metrics like "brand name"
  3. you're better off studying something you like and have legitimate interest in

i'm not advocating for Cass over LSE, but i think your impression of LSE is better than it really is incidentally, did you submit your GMAT?

.
 
matayo:

1. there is no such thing as "the big four", stop throwing around terms that are meaningless
2. i would recommend you actually try to get some placement data for each school before speculating on these kind of 'soft' metrics like "brand name"
3. you're better off studying something you like and have legitimate interest in

i'm not advocating for Cass over LSE, but i think your impression of LSE is better than it really is
incidentally, did you submit your GMAT?

thanks for your response.

I know there's nothing as the big four but when it comes to prestige, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and Imperial are often cited. I agree with you that such a term doesn't exist.

I have been asking around for people's opinions and all of them have said I should pick the LSE for my objectives. Whether it's friends that are current/former MSc in Finance students in the UK/Spain/Germany or even IB people that I meet on a regular basis, they've all mentioned the LSE.

I did submit my GMAT. Why?

 
above_and_beyond:

I would probably choose LSE due to 1) better brand 2) lower tuition. It's actually not as important as you might think whether you're doing a MSc in Finance or a MSc in AccFin as long as you have some solid experience under your belt. Btw, Cass isn't a bad choice either.

I agree, of course there are probably a few courses at Cass that would really interest me that I won't find at the LSE but if I'm thinking long term, the LSE is definitely worth it IMO.

I do have 2 IB internship under my belt so I guess that's ok. (BB IB back office, BB IB Sales)

 
UnclePanda:

I see both as pretty good schools. Obviously LSE carries more reputation weight.

Saying this, I'd choose whatever is cheaper! If your looking at working in London, it really does not matter which school you choose

what subjects are you referring to at CASS?

Tuition is basically the same for both. I haven't looked at other costs (living expenses, etc...) yet but I'm guessing it's pretty even.

At Cass, these are some of the courses I'm talking about that seem very interesting:

-Raising Equity Capital -Trading and Hedging in the Forex Market -Technical Analysis and Trading Systems -Energy Markets

 

Congrats brah, we are all gonna make it.

Brand name >> degree anyday. If you really care about knowledge just read up CFA books etc. Also from what I've heard LSE A&F can take almost same courses as Msc Finance except for very few ones.

Speaking from personal experience, people care about which school you went to and hardly care which degree you studied. 10 years from now, you might make a space for yourself in one of those short biographies. It's a choice and trade off you have to make "swissstud graduated from LSE (vs Cass)"

 
fours:

Congrats brah, we are all gonna make it.

Brand name >> degree anyday. If you really care about knowledge just read up CFA books etc. Also from what I've heard LSE A&F can take almost same courses as Msc Finance except for very few ones.

Speaking from personal experience, people care about which school you went to and hardly care which degree you studied. 10 years from now, you might make a space for yourself in one of those short biographies. It's a choice and trade off you have to make "swissstud graduated from LSE (vs Cass)"

Thanks brah.

Yeah, I mean, I'd be stupid to not accept the offer from one of the most prestigious universities in the world, who also happens to be the UK uni which has the lowest acceptance rate.

Any other opinions?

 

If you have to ask, you can't rate the A+F course that highly at LSE...

Let's be honest, if you had an offer for MSc Finance at LSE you would have never started this thread.

I would go with LSE as the course has decent alumni.

 
Best Response

Honestly, I've come to realize that reputation is really all that matters when it comes to bschools.

“Elections are a futures market for stolen property”
 

Thanks for your responses guys.

But, just to be sure, even though it's competitive than the MSc in Finance, it's still one of the best programs in Europe no? Would you guys agree with that statement. And the fact that you can almost, in the end, graduate with the exact same courses as the MSc in Finance people...

 

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