harshgoyal wrote:Hi all,
I visited the website of many B-schools where it is mentioned that for MSc in Finance, applicants need to have a undergraduate degree in finance, economics or mathematics. Does that mean, that engineers are eligible for such degrees or not?
The reason why some masters ask for an undergrad degree in Economics is that not all masters are equally challenging. There are some masters that virtually take it to the next level in terms of knowledge. You are required to have solid base knowledge of the field before you apply. An example would be the Msc in Finance from HEC Paris: the courses are advanced and you are supposed to have taken at least a course of statistics or econometrics before you enroll. Where I come from (Romania), these are called "deepening masters" (sorry for the rough translation, I cannot find a better term). Since we're in line with the European Bologna system, there are similarities between what's in my country and what you'll find in other European countries. These masters are often called "masters of science". BTW, I received my acceptance to the HEC masters yesterday
Another type of masters would be the "complementary masters" (again, a rough translation). These masters are designed to be taken by all sorts of people, from doctors to engineers. You will also get introductory courses in this type of masters. Again, to give you an example, check out the Masters of Financial Economics from HEC Paris. You can download the two brochures from the programs that I've mentioned and compare them, just to get an idea of the differences between the two.
Why you should not apply to an MBA without work experience
I was almost 100% convinced I'd be applying to the Columbia MBA this year. I took the TOEFL and was ready to start the essays when I attended this session with MBAs from Tuck, Tepper and Said Oxford. I knew the guy from Tuck from last year's session and he'd been the only person who had told me: go for an MBA as soon as possible, don't waste time etc. This year however, he told me a different story: wait a few years, maybe around 2. I asked him what made him change his mind. His answer was that last year (his first year as an MBA) he hadn't gone through the recruitment process for an internship or job. He said he values job experience differently after this! He told me that there are two reasons why you should NOT go for an MBA without proper WE:
- you won't make the most of it. You'll be in a class where everybody has had much more hands on experience than yourself and you'll most likely feel slightly overwhelmed.
- you'll need to work extra hard to land a good job. Head hunters won't just hire you for having an MBA, they'll hire you for documented stuff that you can do. You need to have awesome grades, but that still might not be enough. Your starting salary will of course be higher than that of a guy who only has a bachelor's, but it won't be much more. And remember: you're coming out of school with huge amounts of debt, so you need all the cash you can spare!
Trust me, I had all the numbers: 770 GMAT, currently the only one in my year with a perfect GPA (likely class valedictorian), 117 TOEFL iBT, exchange experiences in Portugal and the US, internships at a law firm and property management firm (where I was offered a promotion in less than three months), member of the student council with good extra curriculars, won a number of French national contests etc etc.... I decided to go for a masters in finance instead, just because I know I CANNOT MAKE THE MOST OF AN MBA!
Hope this helps someone in the future...
