MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here

Hi jaylu1217

Thanks for posting. Here is our assessment:
- Your GMAT and GPA are great, and you should be a decent fit with MS in Finance programs.
- You may not be the best fit with Fin Eng programs, and further work experience on the audit side may not be too relevant for that either. Some such programs may also require tech expertise in Python and R, and depending on your exposure/experience with these (we would guess it is not too much right now), you should select appropriately. For example, Berkeley has only a Master in Financial Engineering, while NYU has a Master in Global Finance (better) and an MFE (not so good).

You have good scores, but will need to beef up your math and programming abilities to really be a good fit for top MFE programs. If you have an offer from Big 4, I would suggest you take it and work for a bit. MFE programs place you as a quant which might not be where you want to go. With some good work experience and your scores, you could aim for an MBA.

With the point in the cycle we are in now, I usually always suggest working vs more schooling. Last thing you want to do is get graduate degree and enter a weak job market.

UT, Vanderbilt, WUSTL, MIT and USC are going to be your top branded MSF programs that is still your focus.

Hi jaylu1217,

I would like to say that you have a fairly good profile.
Precisely, your GPA is good and your GMAT score is quite impressive. Also, having the name of a Big 4, i.e., KPMG, associated to your profile is remarkable.
Contemplating on your GMAT score, a score of 730 is considered a fairly good score. More specifically, in response to the schools you plan to target like MIT, NYU, Columbia, UC Berkeley are very competitive with paper-thin acceptance rates. So, even with a good profile itself, you will be competing at level ground.
As you are targeting specialized masters (in finance), having a relevant work experience would inevitably add weightage to your profile and help your application stand out from your applicants. Since you are already working at KPMG, your profile already speaks of having a firm professional foundation.
Moreover, schools like MIT, NYU, Columbia, UC Berkeley consider work experience which you already have.
Apart from UCLA, and UT Austin, I am suggesting you a few more schools such as- Duke Fuqua
School of Business, Michigan Ross School of Business, Princeton and USC Marshall.
I suggest you apply in round 3 without waiting any further.
You can check our all-in-one service https://www.mim-essay.com/mim-all-in-one?gfc to know how we can help you with your applications, interviews, and scholarship.

If you have any other doubts do let me know, I’d be happy to schedule a call and discuss the same.

PS: the initial consulting call is absolutely free.

Hope this helped!

Hey Louis14

Is your CGPA a UK 1st/2.1/2.2?

To stand any chance of admission into LSE MFin or LBS MFA you need a 1st and to rank in the top 5% of your cohort, considering you are applying from a university which is not recognised or well known internationally.
I guess you can't take the GMAT or GRE right now because of covid-19, which could have considerably improved your chances had you scored in excess of 710-720.

It would be difficult to explain why you are interested in investment banking all of a sudden, considering you graduated three years ago and have no finance related experience (internship or extracurricular).
Bear in mind, IB is an extremely tough industry to break into. You need internships, a strong degree from a recognised university and a genuine interest in IB. Moreover, you are an international students which makes getting a job in IB in the UK even slimmer.

Your extracurricular are good but again they don't show any interest in finance or investment banking.

I would advise that you apply to the top tier universities in the UK (LSE, LBS) but don't get your hopes high. Focus on tier 2 and tier 3 universities in UK like Manchester, Lancaster. Try getting as much finance and IB related experience during your masters and then try for IB in the MENA or back home in Pakistan. Before you go into startup.

Which entry will you be applying for 2020 or 2021?
If your considering applying for 2020 entry, in my opinion you are a little late. You should have started in Sept/Oct. Applying early improves your chances slightly if your profile is not as strong.

Wish you the best!

Hey stuggle,


You have a pretty impressive profile, here are few strengths:
As you stated that you have graduated with the highest GPA possible and you are among the top 5% among your class this along with your extra-curricular would help you to wade off some of the competitive profiles in the first initial overview itself.


As far as your GMAT scores are concerned, it is not too low, and since you have CFA as well, you should not give up on the LBS MFA as this is an added advantage when you are applying to a finance program. Your overall profile, however, looks good and so do your extra-curriculars, so you can compensate for the low GMAT if you are articulate about how you highlight other profile strengths.

You have a good mix of extracurriculars your participation in various competitions and awards for the same activities can be used to showcase a holistic profile. Apart from this your leadership experiences, in the development council and organizing events, can be the bedrock for a good application that can give you an edge don’t forget to integrate the above points in your essays.

Further, you can exemplify your learnings and your interest in finance through your experiences as an intern in the big 4, and about your roles and responsibilities in the investment bank. These are in the pursuit of a holistic applicant and adcoms will appreciate it.

Your Essays are key to put all the above into perspective and showcase a different profile and define what skills you will bring to the school


If you are not looking out for a specific country then apart from your targeted school you can also consider some other top MFin schools such as:
Dream: Michigan's Ross School of Business, NYU Stern, MIT, USC Marshall, London School of Economics, LBS
Competitive: Duke Fuqua School of Business, Texas Mc Combs, ESSEC, ESCP, Rotterdam, University of Illinois, Vanderbilt, Mannheim, IE
Safe: Skema, FSFM

If you are planning to apply for fall 2020 intake you can consider Round 4 for the above schools as schools like LBS, LSE, ESSEC, ESADE is allowing GMAT waivers for the same.

Can you please let me know if you were interning during your UG only or post that? Beacuse if the internship peroid is when your were in college you should go for specialised masters that is Mfin and not MBA.

Drop me a text at 8810658356 with the details and I would be happy to help.



Hope this helps!

Hi sinet60,

Thank you for sharing your profile. From what you've described, you have interesting work experiences and life experiences that will bring diversity to the cohort. You are right to target Round 1 and take the GMAT relatively quickly. If you are targetting the top 10 MSFs, I do recommend a 730+ GMAT, especially because of lower than average GPA (despite having a good reason for your undergrad performance, you have to show the target school that you can handle the rigor with a higher GMAT and your GPA is not reflective of your true potential).

Besides that, strong writing is imperative. Be sure to convey why an MSF and how does it support your long-term goals.

Happy to discuss your profile further. When ready, please reach out.

Good luck!

Susan

Hey Arth1697,

You seem ambitious about pursuing a career in finance, which can be seen from your internships, certifications and courses you have taken up during your undergrad. If you properly portray your passion for finance in your application, schools will be interested in this.

Academically, your undergraduate degree being in the field of finance works in your favour, since MFin is a specialised masters program and most schools prefer applicants with a relevant academic background or work experience in finance, additionally the brand of your undergraduate college is also very impressive. However, your GPA is slightly on the lower end, but posing the right alibi for the same (health issues or your endeavours directed for holistic development) would allow you to overcome this drawback in your profile. While your grades do play an important part, your extracurricular activities matter as well, because AdComs are looking for applicants with holistically developed profiles.


Coming to your extracurriculars, you have a lot of achievements in varied roles, your participation in cricket and chess showcase your leadership skills and innate team spirit. Moreover, your winning in a Portfolio Management Competition showcases your proactiveness and ability to take on challenges and excel in them. Highlighting the accolades you won in sports here and how this has influenced your life would help authenticate your capability of creating impacts. Though to be clear, Adcoms are more interested in impact created rather than participation, hence adding quantifiable achievements in these activities would help enhance your application.


You also have a lot of social volunteering experiences which are again great value additions. These showcase your ability to take up initiatives, impact others, and empathize with other people. B-schools are looking for applicants that are future leaders and such experiences and qualities most certainly vouch for your abilities and strengthen your application.

Talking about your certifications, Both the CA and CFA directly add weight to your profile as they are in the field of finance they showcase your passion for the field and how you have taken steps to develop it further, which is what most B-schools are looking for in applicants.

As far as your work experience goes you have relevant experience in the field of finance which definitely acts in your favour, since Masters in Finance is a specialized masters and AdComs are looking for applicants with relevant experience in the field of finance. You ought to explain and highlight the major projects of your work and how these experiences helped to develop and further groom your skills and knowledge. Highlight why you chose these firms, how you have gone beyond the role, any initiatives you took and any kind of impact created to establish a connection with your goals and portray the knowledge gained from these experiences. Properly highlighting this would allow you to stand par with candidates having more extensive work experience hailing from big 4 brands. That said, connecting your work experience and your decision to pursue a masters is very important.

As far as the GMAT goes, a score of 720 and above with 50 or more in the Quant section, would allow you to target the finance programs in top schools. You should definitely aim to score as high as you can since a strong GMAT score would bolster the AdComs confidence in your academic abilities and improve your acceptance chances.

Of the schools you are targeting, LSE, LBS, HEC, Oxford and St. Gallen come under the dream category while Imperial and ESSEC fall under the competitive category. Dream schools have a very stringent acceptance rate of 12-15%. Hence, it is always better to target a mix of dream, competitive and safe schools. Looking at your profile you have a 50% chance of getting admitted to the schools in the dream category and a 70% chance of getting admitted in the schools in the competitive category.

Apart from your targeted list ESCP, FSFM, IE, ESADE, UCD and TCD are some other schools in the Competitive category that you can target.

Lastly, while you have a competitive profile, to increase your chances of getting admitted at these schools you would need to ensure that you have a very strong application (consisting of - Essays, LORs and Resume) to back your profile. You need to showcase your journey, what makes you different from your peers and how you are a great value addition to the school. A strong application increases your chances of acceptance by up to 30%!

On this note,  if you are looking to target the top B-schools and want to create a strong application that highlights your strengths and overshadows your weaknesses, you can follow the link below to Book a Free Consulting call to connect with one of our founders to gain in-depth knowledge of the application process and chalk out a winning strategy.

https://www.mim-essay.com/book-an-appointment-form/

Hope this helped!

Dear all,

I would be very grateful for some feedback on my potential chances regarding applications to M.Sc. programmes in Finance or Investment Management.

Background: German citizen, studied in the UK for 3 years (GSCE, then International Baccalaureate).
Undergrad Info: GPA of 3.0/4.0 at a technical university consistently ranked as the best German university. My programme is a combination of Management (60%) and Computer Science (40%). I spent two months abroad in South Africa on a study project. My thesis was at the Chair for Capital Markets.
GMAT: Planning to do the test in summer, aiming and preparing for >720.
Extra-curricular: Very active member in a student consultancy and the investment club at my university.
Work Experience: Internships at Allianz (Digital Factory) and Deutsche Bank (Asset Management), both 4 months.
Voluntary work: Business plan consultant for inmates aiming to become entrepreneurs after their release.
Special Achievements: Elected Head of House & Head of Sixth Form in my high school.

Target Masters: LBS, Bocconi, LSE, Imperial, HEC

Thank you & kind regards

Hello,
I am a June 2019 pass out in B. Tech ECE with 67.30%. I couldn't find a job and earlier I prepared for CAT and couldn't clear. So afterwards I decided to give GMAT a try I gave my first attempt in FEB 2021 with a score of 530(Q-46,V-17,IR-3) and prepared for 6 months for verbal hoping to get a 680 or so, and apply in Round 1 deadline to get a decent university in USA or Canada and apply in Masters in Finance but I again end up getting a same score 530 (Q-47,V-17,IR-5,AWA-6). I am a little confused should I apply with score of 530 or prepare for 2 months or so and apply in round 2 or to get a job and reapply next year for 2023 intake that would be too much time wasted. Your recommendation is highly appreciated.

There are a few question :-
1. Should I be preparing for IELTS or TOEFL or BOTH side by side as my first preference is USA and second is Canada.
2. If I apply in Round 2 what are the chances of getting admitted considering my profile. I don't want to apply in a low ranking university and have a bleak chance to get employment.
3. Is there anything else you recommend doing side by side to make my profile stronger.
4. I wish to apply with a good GMAT score try to get admitted in a university under 300 rank. Would that be possible if I apply in round 2 with GMAT 650+.

Hi everybody. Newbie here so sorry if I'm breaking any rules. I was hoping to get my profile reviewed for a couple of competitive finance masters programs that I'm interested in.

Undergrad major: BSc Accounting and Finance + CFA L1 Candidate
CGPA: 3.96 (batch topper)
Have strong coursework in subjects like econometrics, quantitative finance, linear algebra, derivatives, data science and CS. Also have a good portfolio of hands-on projects in python, financial analysis, portfolio management etc.
GRE: 334 (167Q 167V)
Currently working on a research project on ESG investments as well.
Cofounder of a welfare foundation focusing on minority communities.
Vice president of the Finance club at my uni - also a national finalist in the CFA Ethics challenge.
Work experience:
1) Corporate finance internship at a Fortune 25
2) Research analyst at a boutique tech consulting firm

I am targeting 3 programs. MFE at Oxford, MS Finance at LSE and MS Finance at MIT. My main motivation for attending these programs is to break into an equity research role. My main concern is that my GRE quant is just an 89th percentile. Should I be retaking it to aim for a 170? I can easily raise it because i got a 170 in my diagnostic but just happened to get some seriously weird questions unfortunately, but not sure if its worth the time and money involved. Oxford's MFE has a 85 percentile quant cutoff for applicants and for MIT the median is 170 while the middle 80th percentile is 166-170.

Would be really grateful for any feedback, thanks!

GMAT is good, GPA is decent, but not great. I think you’d have a good shot at one of the LSE MSc programs. LBS MiM, maybe (Mfin is for experienced people and the MBA isn’t suited for you at this point).

I know Bocconi likes high GMAT scores. I would apply there. All the others are the top schools in Europe. I know their reputation and that European schools like higher scores than say the American programs would. I’d probably apply to as many as you can afford and have time for. Your odds will fluctuate depending on the strength and blend of the applying class.

Posted from my mobile device

Hey sy160,

Your profile looks interesting. One of the strongest factors about your profile is your CGPA. We will discuss more in detail. Let us have a glimpse at your target school i.e. MIT.
MIT is one of the most competitive schools worldwide. According to FT rankings 2018, MS in Finance at MIT Sloan is ranked 7th worldwide. MS in Finance at MIT has 2 options i.e. 12 months and 18 months. You can choose either of them.

So overall you have a fair profile. You have a strong GMAT score which can be one of your strengths while applying to MIT. You have been the founder of the Financial Management Association which can be used to showcase initiatives taken. You also founded a community library. Your experience at a community library can be used to compensate for the lack of work experience as you have done a fantastic job catering to thousands of individuals. In your extracurriculars, you can highlight your experience at Election commission and student ambassador.

One of the areas where you can face tough competition is a lack of work experience because there are many applicants who apply to schools with work experience in globally known brands or companies. Getting into MIT or any other school in MAsters in Finance can be challenging without work experience. So you can make your profile stronger by taking up some freelance projects, look out for some internships, certifications in a relevant field,

A few things that you can do to improve your profile can be take up some courses related to Finance, or get into a financial profile at an NGO, participate in some events or competitions related to Finance as it will add value to your profile. And most importantly, you should have well written strong essays that put all the above points into perspective. All these factors will surely help add value to your profile

Also, regarding the schools, you need to have some more options in hand to be on the safer side. It depends on which country you want to study.
Some schools that you can apply in are Princeton, NYU, Rotman School of Management, EDHEC, HEC, ESCP.

A lot of chances of your selection depends upon how you showcase your profile. So you need to make sure that you highlight all your strengths properly such as good GMAT, extracurriculars, leadership skills, initiatives are taken, etc. I hope that helped!

For a more detailed evaluation of your profile you can take our free profile evaluation: https://mim-essay.com/profile-evaluation?gcf
Hope this helped!

Your GPA is strong and you have a minor in math which will help you. GMAT is OK. Since MIT has a ton of international students I think they will understand that the verbal is what is hurting you.

https://mitsloan.mit.edu/mfin/apply/class-profile

As you can see, your GPA is higher than the class profile, but your GMAT is on the lower end. The program is mainly international students, which is shocking to me since international students have a hard time finding sponsorship. I suppose MIT has enough weight that it doesn't matter. Being international slightly hurts you in other programs, but with MIT you should be fine.

I think it is worth applying and I think you stand a decent chance. MIT has a huge class size. Lack of work experience, lack of prominence of UG school and GMAT on the lower end will be your challenges.

As for strengthening your application - higher GMAT. About it at this point.

Good luck.

Hey moike,
You have a fairly good profile - UK Schools are high on academics so the GPA and college rank work.
GMAT is within range for Oxford, LBS and LSE
This being said, you have 3 highly competitive schools on your list (Oxford,LBS,LSE) which have paper thin acceptance rates. Having a CFA, strong social volunteering experience, etc would have added more weight to your profile.Plus you will be competing with applicants with a wider experience in finance, so make sure to highlight all your finance related activities .
Imperial and Warwick are reachable with a strong application.
I would be able to help you out better (Gauge the selection chances more accurately) if I have more details about your profile.
Can you mail me your resume at support@mim-essay.com?
I know this sounds like a commercialized ID, but I personally read and reply to all the queries totally free of cost
Let me know !

I am currently a fourth-year student studying Accounting in Taiwan. I'm thinking of applying for MS finance or fineng programs in the US may be next year or 2022.
I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for the schools I should be looking at?
I have a GPA of 3.6~3.7 and I scored 730 on my GMAT (Q51 V38)
Work experience wise I am currently an audit intern at KPMG and I have offers at all the Big 4's.
I'm looking at schools like MIT, NYU, Columbia, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UT Austin (open to more suggestions, kind of want to apply for schools on the east coast)
And I am also wondering if it matters a lot for me to stay an extra one or two years at the big 4 for work experience, will that make a huge impact on my application?
If I can I would like to apply as soon as possible! Does anyone have any advice as to how I could improve my application or schools I should look into?

Hey Louis14,
To start off with, I would like to assure you that you have a pretty fair profile,
Since you have prior knowledge about the degree you want to pursue and have a good GPA as well, you don’t have to worry about meeting the cut-offs for specific schools,

Now coming over to the extracurricular activities which you have talked about, you need to consider everything you have done starting from the impact you created at the MUN Conference, to the people you led during your regional cricket tournaments this needs to be showcased very strongly because you are competing with people who have international experience, who have engaged in several types of national competitions, etc.

The work experience might cause you some hindrance as you have not mentioned much about how long the duration of your internships were, I would advise you to showcase the learning aspect during your internships as the same will be very crucial since you will be competing with people who have experience of working in top MNC.
To improve your chances of selection at LSE and LBS, I would highly recommend working on the GMAT exam and aim for a 680+ score.

Taking everything into consideration apart from your target LSE and LBS schools here are some other top schools you can look at as well:
1)ESSEC
2)ESCP
3)Warwick
4)CASS
5)ESADE

The above is a tentative list of schools you can target, based on your profile,
For assistance in your applications, we will be happy to help you,
You can check out our flagship service MiM All in One https://www.mim-essay.com/mim-all-in-one?gcf
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Hope this helped!

Hello again Louis14!
Glad that you liked our previous answer
Coming to your question, family business experience is taken into account when you showcase some quantifiable achievements. B-schools love people with an entrepreneurial spirit so this shouldn’t be a problem. However, it all depends on the way you showcase your achievements and work in your essays.

For scholarships, there are two different categories. Either you get a scholarship that is need-based or one on the basis of your academic excellence. Your academic record is pretty decent and you have good extracurricular activities on your plate as well so yes, you do stand a chance if you write your scholarship essays extremely well and explain the need for the same as well.

LBS has now given a GMAT waiver for this intake so you can try your luck but again, the competition would be tougher since applicants with MNC exposure would be applying as well. So I would suggest you to apply with a GMAT score in hand.

You can book a free 20-minute consulting session with us as well if you are determined to apply in the 2020 intake. Our expert consultants will let you know the best possible solution for your problem and also about the assistance which we can provide.

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