LBS (Mgmt) or LSE (Finance) or HEC (Finance)

Question

Hey guys,

I need your help as I got offers for all of the above mentioned programmes and as I have to make a decision in the next three days.
I don't mind about doing a management master or a finance master as I am interested in both areas and as I have the opportunity to specialise myself on finance at the management master of LBS (they offer electives).
Additionally, I visited all three universities and I could imagine myself studying in London or Paris.
Therefore, I'm really interested in how these programmes differ in their worldwide reputation.
My goal is to work in a consulting firm (McK, BCG, Bain etc) after graduation. Preferred location will be Germany.
If it won't work with a job in the consuting industry, I could also imagine myself working for an investment bank as I already have relevant internship experiences at top-tier investment banks.

Thanks a lot for your help, I will really appreciate it!

mooncakes · Answer

Why are you not going to a German school?

WHU, Mannheim, HSG, HLL all have great placements for MBB. I'd imagine it has to do with the strength of the German economy or the business culture encouraging consulting.

I can't remember the dates I set, but here's the data I got for % of students who attend MBB from said schools from a certain time period. Might've been graduates from 2003-2013.

I used linkedin edu to pull this information.
Obviously this doesn't paint a full picture: low sample sizes in some cases, exchange students probably get counted as attending the university, preferences might differ from schools e.g. NHH students would rather work in oil, lse in finance; mannheim/lse offer a lot more than just business and there's no way for me to segment the business students, etc. etc.

Regardless, it shows German schools are definitely a great place to head if your goal is MBB in Germany.

Anyways, you seem to already have a set of choices. I vote in favor of HEC. The LBS management program is relatively recent, has unimpressive placement to its peers, and you hinted at interest in finance which a MSC in Finance would better serve. LSE is fine but I've never been impressed by its placement statistics, it seems unnecessarily expensive, and HEC/LSE probably share similar reputations in continental Europe. Neither will do you wrong, really, but both programs are stronger than LBS's management for sure in placements.

If you have aims outside of Europe the LSE name will probably carry you better, but it's all moot if you land an MBB job anyways. Not many people are going to care if you went to Podunk University if you've got McKinsey on your resume.

Ivenski · Answer

Thank you very much for your reply, it seems that you really know what you're talking about! It helps me a lot...
 
I am currently at the University of Mannheim for my BSc in Business Administration (actually I am German) and I will graduate in June. I definitely agree with you that Uni Mannheim is a top school for all business-related programmes, I can just encourage everybody to go there! Nevertheless, as I have already studied there for my bachelor, I'd like to study abroad in my master...
 
I agree with you on that part, I think I will cancel the LBS programme from my list. Therefore, it remains LSE vs HEC.
However, you mentioned that the finance masters of HEC and LSE have pretty similar reputations in Europe, but outside Europe the brand of LSE outweighs that of HEC:
 
Although I prefer to work in Europe (Germany), I can't see any advantages of HEC if its reputation is similar in Europe, but minor outside Europe? So why do you vote in favor of HEC? (The fees for my master are not my prior decision criteria)
Thanks a lot in advance and I would really appreciate it if I would also get other opinions concerning my decision!

mooncakes · Answer

Yeah, I didn't clear that up. I vote for HEC because of a few factors:

1) I'm not impressed with LSE's placement. Check HEC's MSc in Finance page and its all-in compensation as opposed to LSE's MSc in Finance. HEC students seem better rewarded.
2) HEC is a small elite school. LSE, while elite, is a bit bigger. I prefer the idea of belonging to a small elite school.

Beyond that, here are issues personal to me.
3) HEC is on a campus. I prefer campus life over a big city life.
4) The UK is absolutely horrible for non-EUs looking for jobs.

LBS (Mgmt) or LSE (Finance) or HEC (Finance)

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