Cass Business School - good enough?

Baxus2010

Very soon, Cass will want my reply on the deferred offer from last year for 2013 intake into MSc Corporate Finance. I started this thread as I am not sure if I should proceed with it as planned or "wait another year" and get into a better school.

About me:
I am turning 23y in 2013. I have a BSc in Corporate Finance from a top university in Scandi (not SSE). I worked as corporate advisor in a Scandi bank within retail banking for 1,5y full-time, 0,5y experience from working at leading financial services company (think Bloomberg, Reuters, FactSet) and I am now a long-term intern in FO Fixed Income Sales in an investment bank here in London.

My goal has always been to finish off BSc+MSc and then head into M&A at IB. As I started to work a bit just before my BSc ended, I got used to working which actually changed my plans from going into MSc straight away to now working for almost 3 years. I am now an intern for the first time (first 2 jobs were full-time real positions), doing grunt work but I have had the opportunity to explore specifically Sales more than before as I was so focused on IBD.

For me it is basically important to work in a challenging and dynamic environment with a lot of client contact while I still have good career and get payed well for that. Lately, my thoughts are switching from IBD to Sales. Because the life these guys have compared to IBD is like a dream. What worries me on the other side is that reading about "exit-opps", IBD have quite some while S&T do it the whole life. So I start thinking "Could you really do this for the rest of your life?". Knowing myself, probably not which brings me back to IBD. However, I see that several people around me have been here for 5-6y and they still love it a lot... For me, a wierd sight..

So, where does Cass come in to the story? Well, I applied to them because I wanted to do MSc in Corporate Finance, be in London and skip doing GMAT. However, living in London while working here now makes it easier for me to consider schools outside of London. So the last thing standing is, either I find Cass acceptable and do it or I "do something for one more year" and prepare GMAT so that I can apply to schoold like Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, HEC, LBS with intake fall 2014. I know I will not be old with 24y, but starting a MSc then feels sooo late.

Lastly, is Cass good enough to help me land interviews in IB combined with my experience? (I will look into possibility of grad position in my current bank, but I never close any doors)
I applied to several IBD summer internships for next summer with Cass on my CV and everything the same except from this internship I have now and NOBODY got back to me which makes me think Cass isnt that strong. If I got any interviews next year, I would most likely assume it is because of IB Internship I am doing now. What do you guys think?

Reply 1

prospectivEEconomist

Doing a generalist Masters in Corporate Finance will add no new knowledge when you have a Bachelors in Corporate Finance. You should look into applying to Warwick and Imperial.

CASS is a good school, but doesn't have the "wow prestige" factor.

Reply 2

Baxus2010

Original post by prospectivEEconomist

Can you elaborate on "doing a generalist masters in cf" ? My idea behind that was to advance my skills and show that my interest really lies within that area. The thing is that my BSc in Corporate Finance only had one semester of CF courses, so a 1y MSc would develop those skills.

Regarding Cass, its a mess in my head. All the people Ive talked to from Cass loved it and most of them found solutions for their FT placement. However, I am aware of that it is not the best school not even in London, which makes it a difficult choice. I mean, when I am already paying that much money than I want to make my money worth it. If it is not good enough, well, then I'll way 1 more year and start a MSc as a 24y old but at the right place for me.

Reply 3

Baxus2010

Is Cass MSc Corporate Finance a huge difference compared to MSc Finance at Warwick? Imperial sounds to quant which I dont really feel is my way. Warwick could be an option, but I would like to stay in London for networking and lifestyle purposes ?

Reply 4

Cass Business School

Official Rep

Hi Baxus2010

The MSc in Corporate Finance had its first intake in September 2012 so unfortunately we don't have any data on the employability of our graduates from this course yet. We do have some information about the MSc in Finance (which previously included a pathway in CF) on our website. though.

If you are based in London now it might be a good idea to come along to one of our Information Sessions when you will be able to meet some of our careers team to get some advice and feedback from them. The next one for our finance courses is on Thursday 17 January at 18.30 which you would of course be very welcome to attend.

Best wishes and good luck for the future wherever your studies and career take you!

Cheers
Tim

(edited 11 years ago)