HImba88 wrote:
Hi Anthony,
Firstly, thank you for doing this. I read through the Q&A on WSO and it is full of great advice, hoping for the same over here.
Was hoping to get some advice on if a MSF would be appropriate for someone in my situation.
Basic Stats:
-25 years old
-3.48 UG GPA, 3.83 Major (Business)
-Small, private liberal arts school w/o OCR for banking/finance/F500
-740 GMAT (48q, 44v)
Got into business/finance late in UG so no internships. Been working at a regional commercial bank managing commercial real estate. Would have approx 3 years of work experience when I apply and 3+ by the time I hopefully matriculate. Ideally I would apply to MBA programs, but I don't think my current work experience is strong enough to get into any top programs. Would like to use MSF to break into finance opportunities.
Targeting CMC, MIT, WUSTL, BC, Villanova. How are my odds at my targets? Am I too old to do a MSF? I know 3+ years WE starts to get out of analyst placement range, but if possible that's what I would like to go for. Ideally looking to get into IM or IB.
Sorry for the long post.
Glad it helped.
You will be on the bubble, IMO, when you graduate. I usually advise people to avoid the MSF if you have more than 3 years experience. I was in a similar situation as you though as I did my MSF with 3 years of post UG experience. I found slight difficulty when applying for IB positions, but was still able to land a good FO gig.
You'd be a good candidate at all schools, getting into Nova, BC, and WUSTL. You'll be competitive at CMC and MIT also. If you get into MIT you could probably use the MSF as an MBA substitute since the brand will be strong enough. You might want to consider UT Austin also as McCombs is a top business school, especially in the Texas area.
I do think you would be pretty competitive for many MBA programs. Maybe not M7, but I could see you getting into Cornell, UVA, Duke, Yale, etc. All great schools.
Do you want to stay in real estate? Have you considered a masters in RE. Georgetown has a great program. As does MIT. Might be something to consider. You could also add another year or so of work experience and target 1 year MBA programs. In fact, I would probably recommend a 1 year MBA if you end up doing the MSF. I think if you did a Boston College MSF and then say a 1 year MBA at Northwestern or Cornell you would be in a good position.
Lots to consider, but I think your raw stats are good enough to open all these options up to you. Keep me posted on your progress! Good luck!