Trying to follow my dreams, need your advice!

Hi Guys,

I'm 23 years old and I would like to apply for a top business school next year to study marketing or management (Msc for both).

My profile:
- 23 years old, italian guy.
- BA in Communication Science at University of Turin (106/110 points)
- MA in Marketing and Communication at University of Turin (110/110 points expected)
- Reached A levels in Marketing, Methodology of Marketing and several courses in Economics and Sociology.
- Several job experiences, working as sales assistant now at Auchan S.p.A (since October 2008) in order to pay the university fees.

I want to study in UK because of the country, i love England in particular very much. In Italy, altough I'm a graduate with almost all A levels in any economic and social subjects the job market is completely stagnant.

So I would like to take a gap year in order to develop my skills, in English (TOEFL and IELTS) and maths (GMAT) and then try to apply for a top business school in Europe. If I'm particularly lucky I would kile to find some internship or some temporary job in marketing field, to add experience in my CV.

Considering that I already own a master degree, considering my age (24 years old next year) and considering my background do you think applying for a MSc is a good choice? Do you think I'll have some chances to be admitted in these school with good GMAT, good GPA (my marks are excellent, especially in Marketing) and good IELTS??

1) Cranfield School of Management
2) Warwick Business School
3) Durham Business School
4) Manchester Business School
5) Cass Business School

I think they're all in the top 10 in UK.

Thanks in advance.

Reply 1

Godwyn

OP

Maybe this is the wrong place to ask. Think It'll be better to move in "posgraduate section". Can someone (a moderator) help me on doing this? :smile:

Thanks guys!

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 2

kka25

18

In my *opinion*, no. You already have a MSc.

England? What do you mean you love England? Which part of it? You must have a particular place you like :wink:

Can't you get a job without doing the MSc? Or is the MSc a buffer for you to get a job in the UK?

*Regarding the first one, take it with a pinch of salt; I'm not in your discipline, so some other folks might have a different opinion : )

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 3

Godwyn

OP

Original post by kka25

In my *opinion*, no. You already have a MSc.

England? What do you mean you love England? Which part of it? You must have a particular place you like :wink:

Can't you get a job without doing the MSc? Or is the MSc a buffer for you to get a job in the UK?

*Regarding the first one, take it with a pinch of salt; I'm not in your discipline, so some other folks might have a different opinion : )

Thank you so much for your reply. I have an MA, non MSc, that's a big difference in Italy :smile:

Humanities courses, although a consistent part of economics and marketing, aren't considered so well like scientific courses. So my doubt: I would really like to have an experience of study abroad, developing a career in business and management.

UK and MSc seem to me the best choice to do it. A PhD could be an alternative but maybe it's too academic, i really don't know. I need some advice, although i'll have several month to prepare myself, I'm tryng to collect my ideas as soon as i can so i can concentrate on a particular target of program and school :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 4

kka25

18

Original post by Godwyn

Thank you so much for your reply. I have an MA, non MSc, that's a big difference in Italy :smile:

Humanities courses, although a consistent part of economics and marketing, aren't considered so well like scientific courses. So my doubt: I would really like to have an experience of study abroad, developing a career in business and management.

UK and MSc seem to me the best choice to do it. A PhD could be an alternative but maybe it's too academic, i really don't know. I need some advice, although i'll have several month to prepare myself, I'm tryng to collect my ideas as soon as i can so i can concentrate on a particular target of program and school :smile:

Woop

Sorry : )

But I do need to stress; some of the PG Masters in the UK unis are actually not as good compared to other Unis in the world (even those are subjective to scrutiny). Some of the PG Masters in the UK are just a recycle of their UG 3rd and 4th year courses really. Furthermore, you could also put them as a degree mill/factory, where they are not interested with you and your development, but your money.

But, all the above wouldn't matter if you have the cash for it and willing to put a lot of money without having any financial difficulties in future.

I advice you to VISIT the Unis first, then you could make a decision on which Uni to study.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 5

EGjeff

10

If you want to go into marketing or management then personally I wouldn't bother with further study, hell I don't think you even really need an MA. You'd be better off getting more relevant work experience and applying to graduate schemes etc.

Reply 6

TBD

7

Get a job for three years or so to get some experience commensurate with your current qualifications either in Italy or UK. Then consider an MBA for broadness or a MSc for specialism to give your career a boost. Going from one course to another around Europe sounds like fun, but in career terms may not help much unless supported by solid experience in applying the skills learnt.

TBD

Reply 7

TBD

7

Care to justify this damning of most of UK universities ?

TBD

Original post by kka25

Most of the PG Masters in the UK are just a recycle of their UG 3rd and 4th year courses really. Furthermore, you could also put them as a degree mill/factory, where they are not interested with you and your development, but your money.

Reply 8

kka25

18

Original post by TBD

Care to justify this damning of most of UK universities ?

TBD

There are a lot of these comments available; try LSE, and you'll find out what I'm talking about.

Reply 9

emilie18

14

You already have some really good qualifications, any employer would be able to see that straight away. I don't think you necessarily need to apply for a MSc - experience is often seen as more valuable - but if studying in England is your dream then go for it. Just remember that the fees here are reeaally high so you will just be adding to your debt (up to £9,000 per year just for tuition!).

Original post by Godwyn

1) Cranfield School of Management
2) Warwick Business School
3) Durham Business School
4) Manchester Business School
5) Cass Business School

I'd recommend looking at Aston Business School, it's in Birmingham. It's where I'm going in September and it's one of the best universities to study business in England. Just to give you an idea it's one of only 13 business schools worldwide which is triple accredited :smile:

Reply 10

ilovecatsforlife

2

If you can speak English very well, apply for jobs in London. Your an EU worker, so remember you're not restricted to the confinements of Italy. I'd say look elsewhere, because their economy is in turmoil, and the UK, French and German economies are still fairing far better; obv. you need to be able to speak English, French or German to an acceptable level.

Your post indicates you have a strong grasp of English. Come and work here :biggrin:

Though, you'll be competing with thousands of unemployed graduates - firms may like your Italian-ness

Reply 11

TBD

7

How about some more substantial evidence rather than anecdotes ? As a scientist I am sure you would prefer this.

TBD

Taken from "One Step Beyond: Making the most of postgraduate education" at http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/BISCore/corporate/docs/P/10-704-one-step-beyond-postgraduate-education.pdf

Satisfaction with postgraduate study
11. The HEA’s PRES and PTES also show that postgraduates in the UK have a high degree of satisfaction with their learning experience.
12. The most recent surveys found that taught students generally had very positive views about their experience, with well over three quarters agreeing that the overall experience met or exceeded their expectations. Satisfaction with career prospects corresponds with the main motivations given for undertaking postgraduate study – 89% agreed that the skills and personal development aspect of their course had met or exceeded expectations, and 78% felt their employment prospects has improved.

Original post by kka25

There are a lot of these comments available; try LSE, and you'll find out what I'm talking about.

Reply 12

kka25

18

Original post by TBD

How about some more substantial evidence rather than anecdotes ? As a scientist I am sure you would prefer this.

TBD

Taken from "One Step Beyond: Making the most of postgraduate education" at http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/BISCore/corporate/docs/P/10-704-one-step-beyond-postgraduate-education.pdf

Alright, lets talk scientifically; since you've provided the sources, you would need to indicate to me (us) what do you get from the sources and would need to explain further your findings; would you indicate to me how they gathered the data and how the came out with the conclusion? I would also like to know the sample; who are these people, where do they come from, the year of the data being collected, their grades/performances, age, sponsored/non-sponsored, country of origin, and other information that has been used to gathered the data.

Could you also indicate to me (us) what kind of statistical analysis/technique they did for the survey? Could you summarize it for us?

If the year of data collection has been almost half a decade old, does that represent the current year/situation? How so?

11. The HEA’s PRES and PTES also show that postgraduates in the UK have a high degree of satisfaction with their learning experience.
12. The most recent surveys found that taught students generally had very positive views about their experience, with well over three quarters agreeing that the overall experience met or exceeded their expectations. Satisfaction with career prospects corresponds with the main motivations given for undertaking postgraduate study – 89% agreed that the skills and personal development aspect of their course had met or exceeded expectations, and 78% felt their employment prospects has improved.

78% felt their employment prospects has improved - In what way? what happened to the other 22% then? Does that mean 22% hasn't improved? So, out of, say, 1000 sample, 700+ are happy, and the rest of the 200 are left high and dry? Bankrupt even? Since, this sample (some of the ) after all, are international students, so they have to pay a lot of money for this sort of education; don't they? Would you accept this is a good ROI for them?

Since the analysis states that 78% has a positive reaction, but say for example, you were a part of this 22%, what would you say about the survey's conclusion then?

89% agreed that the skills and personal development aspect of their course had met or exceeded expectations - Interesting; would you indicate to us that those skills are relevant to the degree? What kind of skills and personal development are we talking about here? Is there a possibility that they were just filler courses that the participants were happy about but proved no relevance to the degree?

Can you tell us about your source? What do you know/understand about the source that gave you the evidence to support those studies? Do you think they would have any bias? If someone were to say that they are no better than the league tables, then what would you respond to such inquiry?

I (we) do expect you to answer these questions since you've provided the evidence. I (we) have no intention to explore them in details because the research was done by you. Since you've proposed a scientific inquiry/discussion, thus, a level of a rigorous analysis by you is expected.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 13

sj27

14

Original post by kka25

Woop

Sorry : )

But I do need to stress; some of the PG Masters in the UK unis are actually not as good compared to other Unis in the world (even those are subjective to scrutiny). Most of the PG Masters in the UK are just a recycle of their UG 3rd and 4th year courses really. Furthermore, you could also put them as a degree mill/factory, where they are not interested with you and your development, but your money.

But, all the above wouldn't matter if you have the cash for it and willing to put a lot of money without having any financial difficulties in future.

I advice you to VISIT the Unis first, then you could make a decision on which Uni to study.

I tend to agree with TBD's take on this one. Just because some people find themselves in a recycled last year undergrad degree, (or just because some people battle with supervisors, whatever,) doesn't mean that you can tar an entire university system with this brush. If this was true generally I'm pretty sure it would have been figured out well beyond a few anecdotal comments on TSR. :rolleyes:

Reply 14

kka25

18

Original post by sj27

I tend to agree with TBD's take on this one. Just because some people find themselves in a recycled last year undergrad degree, (or just because some people battle with supervisors, whatever,) doesn't mean that you can tar an entire university system with this brush. If this was true generally I'm pretty sure it would have been figured out well beyond a few anecdotal comments on TSR. :rolleyes:

Hurm... the thing is, I got it from the Uni's own internal source itself! lol.

Reply 15

sj27

14

Original post by kka25

Hurm... the thing is, I got it from the Uni's own internal source itself! lol.

You miss my point entirely. You extend this to an entire university system. One uni in a couple of departments does not represent all masters' degrees on offer in the UK.

Reply 16

abbie89

Have you considered an MBA, rather than an MSc? They're highly regarded and most universities offer a suite of different pathways so you can tailor your experience to what it is specifically that you want to gain from it (ie. marketing, health management, IT management etc.)

I am not in Business but I have worked at Cranfield University and it is a lovely place. A little out in the wilderness, although it's only a 40-minute train journey from nearby Bedford to London. Can't help with any of the others!

Reply 17

Exulted

13

According to the recent statistics, youth unemployment in Italy is 35% :frown:

http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2012/07/09/as-europe-struggles-young-job-seekers-suffer-most and considering you work in sales right now, yes, I would suggest you to follow your dreams and apply to the UK Top 10 business schools.

You have really good chances to be accepted.

Following your gut feelings is a must do thing, otherwise, you would feel that you missed something in your life.
And if you have resources to accomplish your dreams, don't waste your time and start doing it as you planned.

All the Best! :smile:

Reply 18

kka25

18

Original post by sj27

You miss my point entirely. You extend this to an entire university system. One uni in a couple of departments does not represent all masters' degrees on offer in the UK.