Washington university in St Louis (OLIN's) VS HEC MS Finance

Hi, Which one to choose between Washington university in St Louis (OLIN's) VS HEC for MS Finance.. I am an international student (Deloitte 20 months, Undergrad : IIT (India), CFA level 1 cleared)
As far as the brand is considered HEC is better than Olin. But US has better opportunities & English speaking nation. Can someone please post the review / opinion about Olin's MS Fin reputation with international banks ? Is it a target school for IB & Strategy consulting ?

 

I have never heard of HEC, so I would not be able to make any comments on its reputation on the street. Looking at your background (IIT), I am assuming that you would be a great candidate for more quant based programs, i.e. Princeton, MIT etc.

At the end of the day you should consider these things: Location after school: where do you want to work? Quality: WashU is definitely respectable in USA but not as much as IIT. Financial aid: if money is an issue?

 
Best Response
Abhi7:
I have never heard of HEC, so I would not be able to make any comments on its reputation on the street. Looking at your background (IIT), I am assuming that you would be a great candidate for more quant based programs, i.e. Princeton, MIT etc.

At the end of the day you should consider these things: Location after school: where do you want to work? Quality: WashU is definitely respectable in USA but not as much as IIT. Financial aid: if money is an issue?

Yeah ... Cost of Olin is at least 10 - 15 L INR more than HEC... Place of work.. Really I don't mind between US & Europe. When you say WashU is respectable in US ... Is it target school where they hire for IBD, MBB ? I heard it was becoming very difficult for International students to get a job in the US ... Any thoughts ?
 

I don't know what your application looks like, but I can tell you that the internationals at Wash U's MSF are extremely impressive, especially the ones in the quant track. I can also tell you that, relative to the domestic students, they're having a harder time landing solid internships/securing employment. Visa sponsorship is definitely an issue and the jobs/positions that they're applying for are extremely competitive. That being said, it's still early on in the process for them. Their track is 1.5 years long so they still have over a year to go.

I can't really comment on HEC other than the fact that it's considered a top program in Europe. I think it's in the top 5, behind Oxford, LSE, St. Gallen, and INSEAD.

“Elections are a futures market for stolen property”
 

HEC MSc in International Finance is a top notch programme, but the issue is that it is not well-known outside of Europe. As an Indian student, you will find it extremely difficult to secure an employment visa in the EU or the UK, meaning that you will probably have to aim for Asia. In Asia, HEC is not as well-known and thus you may have a tough time landing interviews.

WUSTL Olin's MSF is also a solid programme, although the strength of its reputation in the US itself isn't exactly analogous to that of HEC in Europe. Once again, due to Visa issues (albeit less stringent in the US), you will likely end up in Asia - and once again, WUSTL is also not well known in Asia.

If you are still considering WUSTL, then look at it's Global Master of Finance Dual Degree with Singapore Management University. A US School along with recruiting via a Singapore university might actually land you some decent FO positions in IB/AM in Singapore/HK.

Assuming that (1) you don't want a quant heavy degree like an MFE, but more of an MSF, and (2) you'll likely end up working in Asia due to Visa issues, I'd say that your best bets are the following (in no particular order):

MIT (MFin) Princeton (MFin) Oxford (MSc in Financial Economics) Cambridge (MFin) LSE (MSc Finance, MSc Finance and Economics) LBS (MFin)

Also, you're coming up on nearly 2 years of experience so you might want to consider an MBA instead - especially if you plan to break into IB or Strategy Consulting rather than a quant role. Why not just work for another 1-2 years and then consider a top-10 MBA in the US? That will help you far more than any of the above (except the Princeton MFin).

 

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