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Bocconi (msc fin) Vs IE (mfin)

Dear all,

I have been admitted both to the IE's master in finance and to the Bocconi master of science in finance (CLEFIN- Italian class). I'm seeking info since weeks, yet I haven't been able to make up my mind yet. As the deadline to accept the offers are approaching, your wisdom will be highly appreciated.

My profile: Italian origins, good international experience (U.S. high school, year in China, year in london), 3.1 GPA from Bocconi undergrad program (finance major), good GMAT, 1 internship in small private equity fund in moscow. Goal: working in IB (preferably London)

Here are my findings:

IE's master of finance Pro:
- ranked n.2 in the world by the financial times
- 10 months long (i'm already 24, and would like to start working soon)
- very practical course
- alumni I talked to loved it there
- faculty seems really good, and admission office very friendly (in general it seems a friendly place to me)
- it's Pass/Fail: no cut-throat competition to get top grades (not sure if this is a Pro though, since I have too much of a low GPA for IB, and doing well in a grad course may save the situation)
- you obtain CFA level 1
- good graduate average salary (around 40k)

IE's Con:
- lower than bocconi in other rankings
- I spoke with 2 associates in JP morgan and 2 from Citi (london offices), and they had never heard of IE (weak international recognition, maybe because it is a young school? or was I unlikely in the sample chosen?), while they said to have plenty of colleagues from Bocconi
- Spain doesn't seem to be fairing well financially, not sure if studying finance in Madrid is a good choice now (not that Italy fairs much better..)
- less graduates employed 3 months after graduation than bocconi (93% vs 97%)
- many negative reviews online

Bocconi's Msc Finance Pro:
- being 2 years long, gives summer internship opportunity
- well-known in London
- very in-depth program (if i got it right, it covers up to 70% of CFA level 3)
- being already an undergrad there, have already flat and friends

Bocconi Con:
- taught in Italian (I'm already majoring in finance in English, so the jargon is not a problem..but employers may look down on a grad course in Italian)
- very hard course with looots of studying involved. I may graduate with very low GPA
- cut-throat competition: I heard students go as far as giving each other wrong notes on purpose. Compared to my previous education, Bocconi students are really competitive (not so friendly atmosphere), as London places go to the top 10% of the class (maybe less nowadays)
- some alumni seem to regret studying so hard, when less than 10% of what they learnt is used at work
- no info for graduates' average salary (but strong 97% employability)
- they have the same course offered in English, which has a better reputation

Financially:
IE costs around 34k, while Bocconi only 11k a year (22k total)..I'll have to ask a loan either way. However doing IE means finishing earlier (and hopefully work 1 year more), so the trade-off is similar (but it depends when I find a job and how much I'll get paid..which is quite a worry nowadays).

If you read this all, thanks a lot for your time. I would really really welcome any advice whatsoever, especially from current/former students or guys in IB (and anyone else having realistic information). Thanks a lot guys, and all the best to everyone!

Reply 1

InTheNameOf

I an from Spain and I had to face a similar dilemma: stay at home (IE) or move somewhere else (in my case to london). I moved to london becausr I wanted to study abroad, but it was a very hard choice.
I would not argue on your preferences, but I see some flaws on your premises:
IE is in no way unknown. It may be lesser know because it is only (up until recently) a graduate school, so there are fewer IE graduates than Bocconi graduates.
Both programs have the CFA symbol in their website, which means that they cover 70%+ of the CFA curriculum (neither will automatically give you the CFA level 1 though, you will always have to pass the exam).

IE is VERY competitive, they fail a certain percentage of students and, since they only admit 35 students, the student profile is fairly good. I don't know about the profile of an italian-only class.
Madrid work prospects are terrible, I admit it, but most of the graduates (except 1 or 2 in the last year) find positions somewhere else.
I trust this helps

Reply 2

Meroku

Thanks a lot for your prompt reply mate, and for the time you spent to help out.

I totally agree with what you said. I had put a question mark in the 'reputation' thing because I think that IE reputation is great, especially across academics.

Maybe I had bad luck with the (very) few bankers I talked to. And it's normal that a newer program with smaller classes such as IE mfin is still less known by workers already well on their 30s compared to Bocconi's msc, since Bocconi is there since longer, has bigger classes, and has had time to establish its name in london.
This does not mean that Bocconi's program is better though. if I had to choose between the two based on the specific courses taught I would have surely gone to IE, as it seems to me a more practical, less burdensome course. The staff there was also extremely friendly, and of the student life I was spoken incredibly well.
It all depends what one looks for, I guess. They are very different, yet both excellent programs (and this is why I was struggling so much and decided to ask for help here!)
One major advantage of Bocconi is that the 2 years course gives a very very deep preparation, and the chance to intern during the summer.
IE instead will probably offer a better student life, a faster route to the world of work, and broader cool courses like Negotiation (which can be useful in a wide variety of fields, unlike, say, 'Super advanced Derivatives')

All in all, I was really having a hard time choosing, as both school have their strong points.

Then today I got an offer of admittance from London Business School, master in management. I need to give this a few more days of thinking, but LBS program carries both strenghts of the two courses I was undecided upon (it's 1 year, has good reputation, good student life, and it's a practical course).. so for now I'm thinking to accept their offer. But these are life decisions..so i'll better sleep it out first and talk to my family.

Anyways. Thank you again for having taken the time to help me out :smile:

All the best mate!

Reply 3

InTheNameOf

LBS sounds great, but if I were you, I would go there only if you plan to get the finance knowledge somewhere else (e.g. take the CFA): you don't want to end up hesitating on an interview about a question that an Msc Finance graduate would consider a basic topic.

Reply 4

Meroku

Thanks for your concerns mate. To be honest, I too had had the same thought, and were in the past considering taking the CFA in case I'd end up being accepted to LBS' master in management. This way I could get a good grasp of the non-financial sides of business, and at the same time refine my finance knowledge, which I thought was a must for IB positions.

On the other hand, the bankers I spoke to told me that the interviews are less technical than one would imagine. .. I was sure that the basic formulas (WACC, Black-Scholes, etc) would be a must for an interview.. but the guys I spoke to told me that's not the case. They all came from an American liberar arts college, were they studied the main economics concepts, but almost no finance whatsoever. They told me I may be asked a case-related study, but it doesn't always happen for analyst positions (while it's really common for Associate positions). If that happens, I believe that the LBS course will have provided me with the relevant experience (from what I grasped on forums, they do case scenarios quite a lot).

Those guys also told me that the CFA is not really important for investment banking. It's way more useful for portfolio and asset management, and it requires a lot of studying..so they advice to spend that time doing something more useful for IB, like networking, or learning a new language.
One out of 4 though strongly suggested me to take it, saying that more than knowledge, the CFA gives an edge in terms of reputation ("that guy did the CFA? well then he must be smart")

But then again, I only heard a few voices on the chorus, so I can't say if their advice is generally good or not.

All in all, I'm pretty sure that both Bocconi, IE and LBS, gives their candidate a very similar stance in the market job, but through different means (a course is deeper, another more practical, another better for networking). Also it all depends from where one wants to work.. it may be that in Italy some employers never even heard of LBS, and so on. So it all comes down to finding the right fit for what one looks for.

As for me, today I took a look at the rents in London close to LBS..and damn, a room costs more than my entire flat in Milan.. that city is definitely not student friendly!

Reply 5

fours

LBS should be a no-brainer for you.

As far as technical interview questions are concered, take online financial modeling prep (BIWS/Training the street/Investment banking institute)

Reply 6

Meroku

Thanks mate :smile:

I did choose LBS (went pay the first instalment today), and I'm glad you support the choice.
Also thank you for your advice on technical questions: I'll make sure to go check those sites out.
Thanks once again to everyone who adviced.

I'm glad for the help I got, and am glad to help others: if anyone has questions for me (especially on Bocconi, and soon on Lbs), feel free to pm me.

Cheers everyone!

Reply 7

Mktsdz

Hi, I am french business school student and I am hesitating about my exchange year. I have as choices: IE, Bocconi, Cornell and Concordia university in Montreal. I know it s not a choice of MBA but still important.

Cornell is an Ivy League, thus my resume will look better with it, however it s not one of the top in business. As an US school i think it has more power than others in Europe. Negative side is that it s in Ithaca, NY. I am more a big cityperson, so it can be boring for me to live there.

Concordia is a huge school with good academic background. It s positive point is that it s in the heart of Montreal, I can also travel a lot.

As u know already, IE and Bocconi r bothe one of the best but they don t have same recognition as US schools (my dream is to work in NYC). I am not very attracted by madrid but as I saw IE is better than Bocconi in many rankings.

About Bocconi, I like the fact that I can experience italian way of life and the school is very competitive itself. I am not very excited about Milan.

I am very confused, What would u advice? My aim is to choose the best school that s going to help me in the future but also a good place to live for a year and to experience something new.

Thank u in advance,
Mariam