MSc Finance at LSE or Bocconi?

Hello,

I am currently completing my Bachelor degree in business at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and will be starting my MSc in Finance coming fall. I have been admitted to LSE (MSc Finance and Private Equity), Bocconi (MSc Finance, including a full tuition fee waiver), ESADE (MSc Finance) and SSE (MSc Finance) thus far. Although LSE has been my preference all along, the free tuition at Bocconi now led me to reconsider my choice.
I believe my chances to break into IB in the UK right after my Master (although my long-term goal is PE) are better if I decide to go to LSE, but what is other people's opinion on that? Would I have significantly worse chances coming from Bocconi? The MSc at Bocconi includes a mandatory internship, which LSE does not, and since I do not have much experience in banking, could that provide me with an advantage, as opposed to coming from LSE without major work experience?

Any help in making this decision is appreciated!

Thank you

 

LSE is one year, so no time for an internship and breaking into banking right as FT is very difficult. Bocconi for free with the opportunity to do an internship and break into banking seems like a more sensible opportunity. If you think about living costs on top of that, I think Bocconi is the clear favorite here.

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

Getting internship the summer before starting LSE program shouldn't be hard. The program starts in September if I'm right and you have plenty of time for internship. You also can use the LSE name to help you land internship. If you don't however, just do an unpaid one at a boutique. Don't go to boconni unless you're European citizen

 

Bocconi is great but I have to admit that MSc Finance at LSE is a target programme, so many people from there work in BBs in London. It definitely helps later when you are interviewed by a person that did the same course as you. If I were you I would go for LSE :)

Congratulations on your offer from LSE btw! I am still waiting to hear from them...

 

Hi,

I am also from the Netherlands and I am curious what your GPA is x/10 . Besides that were you involved in associations( committees, board) or were you a student assistant? In many rankings LSE tops but Bocconi is a rather good university and giving 40k in euros for London instead of 0 for Bocconi is quite a difference. Furthermore, London is a lot more expensive compared to Milan. Two links comparing for comparing uni's, LSE>Bocconi (but the difference in costs is like 70k (tuition+higher living costs) In news financial careers there are some rankings on percentage people in IB from LSE or Bocconi.

 

Hi,

Currently, my GPA is 9.3. I have been/am a student/teaching assistant for various courses, but have only been involved in committees to a rather limited extent. I actually decided for LSE now - in the end I just didn't think that Bocconi was the right place for me. Plus, I've heard that living costs are almost equally high in Milan....

 

Going to LSE would cost 70k for 1 year (tuition and living costs, although you could live cheaper, I'm assuming you want a fairly decent lifestyle). Bocconi probably 40k for 2 years (livings costs)?

LSE is the better academic option, and gives you better access to London jobs.

Most importantly in my opinion is the year difference, if you can secure an internship before the LSE MSc you should be able to secure a great job for afterwards. That's 1 year salary, experience, and networking you get over Bocconi.

So LSE you get a better name on your CV, better networking as a student, better education, better access to where you want to work, the benefits of working 1 year sooner, and, in my opinions, live in a better city. Is that worth the ~30k difference? The answer is quite obvious I think.

Although I do like Italian cuisine, and Italian women are quite nice.. Hmm

 

Hi SwedStudent, whoops, looks like nobody chimed in here.... maybe one of these discussions below is relevant:

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Any pros willing to rescue this discussion? Sterling Archer TiiaRo hamadd

Fingers crossed that one of those helps you.

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