MSc in Econ or Finance

Hi all,

I am a second year student in Hong Kong majoring in Risk Management and expected to graduate in 2016. I am considering taking a master degree related to economics or finance (both quantitative or not) for career opportunities in ibanks or funds (Trading/Research).

I am heading to a first class honor(GPA>3.5/4.3 in my school), interned in the BO of a 2nd tier bank, part-timed in a top consulting firm, and interned in Big4 Audit.

Do I stand a chance for good unis? And which major you will recommend?

Thank you

Reply 1

Tcannon

Wow, great profile with good grades, relevant subject and internships. You also seem to have clear goals. Are you at HKUST, HKU or CU? These are well regarded HK unis and they send students to UK grad schools. You need at least a 2.1 (3.4 GPA) and good references.

The most regarded MSc Finance courses are offered at:
1st tier with target recruiting by IBs, career office tend to have good relationship with IBs:
LSE
Imperial (very quant)
Oxbridge (Fin Econ or Math. Fin)
Warwick

2n tier:
Cass
Cranfield
Bristol
Nottingham and Manchester

For research jobs, you may wish to look at courses with CFA accreditation (Warwick). LSE has good portfolio management classes, LSE and Imperial are good at risk management. As you certainly know, risk is middle office within IB whereas S&T are front office.

Reply 2

kennethmawk

Thanks Tcannon!

Ya, I am from HKUST.

I don't concern much about CFA, because I gonna take the level 1 in my final ug year anyway and may take the rest after that.

What I concern most is:

1. Cost-effectiveness of the courses (including tuition and living expenses, as I guess it vary a lot between London Uni and Oxbridge, right? Also the scholarship available)
2. Admission Chances (I expected Finance major emphasizes more on related work experience, like FO in banks, which I haven't got yet. And some programmes, like EME in LSE, is so competitive with low admission rates.)

Also, is it enough that I just barely fulfill the courses' language requirements in IELTS?

And yes, my goal is FO, so I prefer Econ/Finance over Risk Management as further study.

Thank you so much!

Reply 3

Tcannon

You have it figured out with CFA, that's good. HKUST has a great B-School. With regard to cost (tuition + living), the first tier is prohibitive. £25,000 tuition + £12,000 living is the going rate. But even Oxford's living is expensive.

Some B-Schools offer very few half tuition waiver 'scholarships', but it is still expensive. Oxbridge has a few full rides or check out HK funding such as Li KS, Swire. the brutal truth is that some gifted admitted students can't enroll due to funding woes. You need to be well off to make it work.

You need to apply to beat the odds. you seem to have good profile and competitive for most B-Schools. I thought HKUST degrees are taught in English and hence grads are exempt from IELTS? Otherwise, you need minimum of 7.5 out of 9.0. LSE also requires GMAT, I think at least 710+ score on quant section. I have seen admits with jumbo score of 780!

Good luck. I would suggest to contact the HK alumni chapter of your target MSc Fin, they are good 1st hand sources and most work in IBs. Final note: Visa for non EU people is capped and currently it is very difficult to get sponsorship for work in UK. So, do you intend to return to HK after MSc?

Reply 4

kennethmawk

Thanks.

I would like to know whether UK Master in Econ/B-School students normally got superb experience, like FO in BB before admission.

I reach the minimum requirement in IELTS, but I am thinking whether they are expecting more on this.

And yes, I planned to return HK afterwards, as Greater China seems to have more opportunities.

Thank you so much.

MSc in Econ or Finance

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