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MSc in Real Estate - Massive Dilemna

I was accepted to the MSc Real Estate Economics and Finance programme at LSE on the condition I complete and get a B+ or better in Intermediate Microeconomics. Well, I'm on the conditional course now and having a complete panic. One, it's been over 10 years since I've had to do any sort of calculus and I basically can't remember it at all. So, I may not meet the condition. And two, if this sort of stuff is a major component of the masters, I'm kind of not interested. (I am going to speak to admissions and the department today to clarify)

Looking at course offerings Cass Business School was a top contender for me. However, it seems like no one know what it is... My British friends have literally never heard of it. Should this be a concern? These programmes are expensive...

So my other choices are Cass, Reading and Aberdeen. I didn't get into Cambridge and the other schools I got into aren't really in the running.

LSE - MSc Real Estate Economics and Finance
http://www2.lse.ac.uk/study/graduate/taughtProgrammes2012/MScRealEstateEconomicsAndFinance.aspx

Cass - MSc Real Estate
http://www.cass.city.ac.uk/courses/masters/courses/real-estate#courses-details=1

Reading - Real Estate Finance
http://www.reading.ac.uk/Study/courses/taught/mscestatefinance.aspx

Aberdeen - International Real Estate Markets
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/prospectus/pgrad/study/taught.php?code=real_estate

My preference is to be in London because of making connections for work and I also have a ton of friends here. At the same time, I don't want to be frittering away money on a programme that isn't any good.

Seriously, desperate for advice. Thanks.

My basics information is I have a 2.1 in International Relations from 2005 from St Andrews and I've been working in Real Estate sales for the last 2-2.5 years. I want to get out of sales and I want to work in a more corporate environment - maybe aquisitions, analyst, etc. Hoping to clarify whilst on masters. I worked in other fields previous to real estate.
Reply 1
Avatar for gigi2183
gigi2183
OP
I forgot to mention, that my offer from Cass expired, but since the course doesn't appear to be full yet, I think I still have a chance. I am going to ring today.
Cass is unusual in that although the business school has a fairly strong reputation the university with which it is associated is a bit of an unknown. Most people therefore won't have any idea what Cass is, but it should have good recognition in industry.

Sadly I don't know much about the real estate industry, but the title of the masters you've given sounds like it will be heavily Economics and Finance based - if you can't deal with maths that's probably a bad plan.

I do think you need to get clarity over where you intend to go after the masters and whether they will actually help (i.e. speak to potential employers now, or at least look at a load of job specs). My general impression is that a lot of "vocational" masters courses in general are overly expensive and offer little in terms of your CV.
Reply 3
Avatar for gigi2183
gigi2183
OP
Original post by MancStudent098
Cass is unusual in that although the business school has a fairly strong reputation the university with which it is associated is a bit of an unknown. Most people therefore won't have any idea what Cass is, but it should have good recognition in industry.

Sadly I don't know much about the real estate industry, but the title of the masters you've given sounds like it will be heavily Economics and Finance based - if you can't deal with maths that's probably a bad plan.

I do think you need to get clarity over where you intend to go after the masters and whether they will actually help (i.e. speak to potential employers now, or at least look at a load of job specs). My general impression is that a lot of "vocational" masters courses in general are overly expensive and offer little in terms of your CV.


I see where you are coming from on how useful a vocational masters programme may actually be. My feeling is basically that I have been out of Uni for 7 years and haven't made much career progression having jumped around a bit at the beginning. I've basically been self-employed for 3-4 years (the last 2 selling real estate) and felt that my masters would put me back on track or back on the radar so to speak. Also, I feel like studying something more vocational will bide me some time to explore what my actual options are i.e. give support and direction through careers service, studies, networking etc. All of my experience is in the US. I now have my Italian Citizenship and plan on staying in Europe to work (most likely stay in London).
Reply 4
Avatar for sj27
sj27
14
Wthout any personal knowledge of the situation, I have repeatedly seen Reading praised on various forums for its real estate masters. (one claimed it is the third best in the world after 2 in the US, albeit with no backup to "prove" that). Is it not possible to get hold of some people in the industry and talk to them about the various programmes?

In the meanwhile, try to stop panicking :smile:. If you could do calculus once, you can do it again. Best course of action is to keep all your options open while you try to figure out which programme will suit you best?

Good luck!
Reply 5
Avatar for gigi2183
gigi2183
OP
I've stopped panicking about the calculus as much as I've come to realize that if this is the sort of thing I'll be doing, I'm just not interested in it. The course is very theoretical and less practical than what I want.


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Reply 6
Avatar for janjanmmm
janjanmmm
5
Original post by gigi2183
I've stopped panicking about the calculus as much as I've come to realize that if this is the sort of thing I'll be doing, I'm just not interested in it. The course is very theoretical and less practical than what I want.


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App


You'll likely get it every time you see the word "Finance".
Finance is all math these days.

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