WHU vs Bocconi
I found out this morning that I was offered a place at WHU for Msc program. Based several conversations with Bocconi alumni, I'm pretty sure to get into Bocconi as well.
I attended WHU's campus. The location and not-so-fun atmosphere is terrible but everyone I met was really smart and school has a very strong network. Also there'll be only 40 students in the Master's finance track.
No strong preference of country, non-EU, speak only English and French, no finance internships yet (might do one this summer)
A straight entry into private equity/venture capital would be cool (I heard PE/VC recruiting not structured as it is in the US)
Opinions?
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WHU is a strong school. I've seen some people on linkedin coming from that school with top notch finance job in London. Having said that, the network is still limited since, as you said, there are not too many students there.
On the other hand, Bocconi is a massive feeder for IBD/Finance in London and the MSc in Finance there is a 2 yrs program that will allow you to get a summer internship between your first and second year. An internship is a conditio sine qua non to get full time job in London right now so it is something you have to keep in mind.
If you are not interested in learning German or working in Germany, I would go with Bocconi. Stronger network, more people working in finance, 2 yrs program....
i think that WHU has better programme and that you will be able to get more opportunities since it is a top-target for whole German-speaking area, but also places well in UK, Scandinavia, etc. You have top finance conferences at WHU every year, with people from firms like KKR, TPG, SVC, Bain, McK, Lazard and other usual big names (BB banks, consulting firms etc.). I actually never saw lower tier firms coming there at all. Its a place with great network with absolutely top guys and top students from all other German/Swiss universities visit it for the conferences, workshops etc. You are right about entry route for PE/VC in EU, especially in Germany. Huge amount of PE/VC firms visit this place, try to get some info on "Campus for Finance 2013 Vallendar" on google, to check firms that came, speakers etc. If you go for Bocconi, at least visit this conference.
Bocconi has a good brand, but (in my humble opinion) programme is absolutely trash, quality of the students is low, and those top opportunities are usually reserved for native Italian-speaking guys there who are also best students. However, you might be still able to land interviews with top places or if you go back home - if you manage to marketing yourself well. I think that people here mostly place in Big4 (i actually know like 50 people studying there), and only the very top guys place at London IBD or even get the chance to interview there.
P.S. Studying at WHU can be boring as f i guess because you live at the campus away from Frankfurt and there are so few students there.
Probably the teaching quality and students quality is higher at WHU, as animalz said. However, it is NOT difficult to get an interview with a BB if you have a good CV. And it is now difficult to get an internship in IBD if you are able to land multiple interviews... Both schools will give you that opportunity even if, at least at Bocconi, you must have all the riight stats on your CV (ie. top notch GPA, international experiences, ECs).
Asking this on behalf of a native Italian friend who was there with me on the test day. He has both offers in hand and says he's 50-50. He wants to make it to a Hedge fund in the long term. I suggested him to go with Bocconi but he's worried about the high mathematical/irrelevant content, him not being able to maintain a good GPA, huge ~250 student class size to compete against and Italy's struggling economy.
From my point of view - I was always kinda frustrated because I didn't study in London/Frankfurt/Zürich/München etc. I was able to get lots of interviews and everything, but often travel costs aren't covered, which was a problem for me and I did not attend at least 50% of AC's and interviews/events because of this. Also, if you want to network and grab a coffee with some analyst etc., you will want to actually be in a city where you could meet this person. That is why I would always recommend relevant financial centres. WHU is like 1hour from Frankfurt, and you can reach other cities with ease because of the Deutsche Bahn and cheap flights. Not sure about Milan.
If your friend wants to work at some Italian HF - then he should go to Bocconi and knock on HF firm doors when he gets there. At least thats what I'd do. If its London - idk, but networking is super important here, especially if you can meet someone in person.
I can't comment on high mathematical/irrelevant content. Also, I wouldn't be looking for a job in Italy if I wasn't at least fluent studying in Italian. There are certainly opportunities, but if you check online recruiting websites such as eFinancialCareers and other, you will see that 90% of postings are for native/fluent speakers etc.
I would go to Bocconi only because of school's brand, big network, and nice (although often cold-hearted) city, and because I already have strong internships and network.
Speaking from personal experience and hear-say, WHU (next to EBS) is the top-feeder to IB in Frankfurt at least.
Both schools will get you BB and elite boutique interviews in Frankfurt, Milan and London. However, breaking into PE or VC right after your master's will be tough. They tend to hire former IB analysts and consultants rather than fresh (graduate) students.
In terms of banking placement in London, both will give you plenty of opportunities. WHU is obviously much stronger in Germany, whereas Bocconi is stronger in Italy. I would base my decision on factors like the city (Vallendar is awful btw), costs, curriculum and other factors.
Btw, WHU has a strong Startup scene, this might be interesting for you as well given that you are interested in VC.
And quality of students at Bocconi isn't low, WHU and Bocconi are pretty much on the same level.
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Thanks, 2 SB's for each of you. WHU it is. Campus for finance, in addition to very well accomplished alumni, was one the main reasons why the school was one of my top choices. The fact that mandatory exchange semester can be done at MBA classes of Columbia/Tuck/Kelloggs/LBS etc (as long as my class ranking is good) is a great added bonus.
If he want to make it ot a hedge fund he should not care about the struggling italian economy since he will just need to move to London anyway (as an IBD/ER analyst). Anyway, the GPA thing is very relevant. If he is not going to graduate with 110/110 or 110L/110 he will probably have some difficulties to get a top entry level job...
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