Please help me to choose the right uni. for Msc in Finance !!

Hi, I'm an oversea student and I really don't know much about the uni. in the UK... I've been looking for all of the school websites but all I can get are the courses information and fee or smth like that... What I need is to compare between each school cause they all look the same to me

Could you please give me some advice? Or which ones would you choose if you were me? (I am an upper second class student, Overall grades around 82%, IELTS got 7.0, major in information management and minor in finance)

Some of the uni. I found:
I'm very likely to apply for these: = Imperial = Edinburgh = Bristol = Manchester = Glasgow = Birmingham ; (I'm planning to apply 8 schools in case I fail all of them lol)
I don't know how to choose between these: = Warwick = Sheffield = Nottingham (heard it was like very rural) = Durham = Leeds = York = Newcastle = Liverpool = Exeter (sussex, essex, can't tell the difference!) = Cardiff
My consideration would be the environment(not too rural), reputation and their course structures (i'm good at math but hate computer science)

Sorry if this is too much to ask... But I do really need your advice! It really means a lot to me.. :thumbsup:

Thank you~

Reply 1

c2uk

14

Original post by Seedvalley

I'm an oversea student and I really don't know much about the uni. in the UK... I've been looking for all of the school websites but all I can get are the courses information and fee or smth like that... What I need is to compare between each school cause they all look the same to me

Could you please give me some advice? Or which ones would you choose if you were me? (I am an upper second class student, Overall grades around 82%, IELTS got 7.0, major in information management and minor in finance)

May I ask you what's your career goal and where you are from?

First thing is that you carefully read the entry requirements for the relevant courses, not all MSc Finance programmes may accept you with only having a minor in finance, and some only accept students with a first (for some countries it even matters at which university you have done your undergrad)

Then you can look at league tables, to get some indication, such as

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=Accounting+%26+Finance
http://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2014/jun/03/university-guide-2015-league-table-for-accounting-and-finance

Mind these are not perfect either (and are more for when choosing your undergraduate degree, as most measures are based purely on measures from undergraduates), as you can see both vastly differ in their rankings.

Then, you can look at the staff in Finance in the respective universities, i.e. who would be teaching you.

You should also look at the course content, and compare those with each other, such as how much contact time, and what modules (believe it or not, but this too can vastly differ), and what facilities do they offer (not sure whether relevant for your intended career / programme but Cardiff got a nice trading room in which all postgrads can work in and do a separate course).

Tuition fees + living costs, how much can you afford? This again vastly differs. London being considerably more expensive.

You can also compare the cities with each other, i.e. do you want to live in bustling city like London or Birmingham, do you want peace and quiet? Do you want a campus university or a city university; or somewhere in between like Cardiff (got everything you want, is quite compact but doesn't all the excitements like those bigger cities)

Reply 2

Seedvalley

OP

4

Original post by c2uk

May I ask you what's your career goal and where you are from?

First thing is that you carefully read the entry requirements for the relevant courses, not all MSc Finance programmes may accept you with only having a minor in finance, and some only accept students with a first (for some countries it even matters at which university you have done your undergrad)

Then you can look at league tables, to get some indication, such as

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=Accounting+%26+Finance
http://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2014/jun/03/university-guide-2015-league-table-for-accounting-and-finance

Mind these are not perfect either (and are more for when choosing your undergraduate degree, as most measures are based purely on measures from undergraduates), as you can see both vastly differ in their rankings.

Then, you can look at the staff in Finance in the respective universities, i.e. who would be teaching you.

You should also look at the course content, and compare those with each other, such as how much contact time, and what modules (believe it or not, but this too can vastly differ), and what facilities do they offer (not sure whether relevant for your intended career / programme but Cardiff got a nice trading room in which all postgrads can work in and do a separate course).

Tuition fees + living costs, how much can you afford? This again vastly differs. London being considerably more expensive.

You can also compare the cities with each other, i.e. do you want to live in bustling city like London or Birmingham, do you want peace and quiet? Do you want a campus university or a city university; or somewhere in between like Cardiff (got everything you want, is quite compact but doesn't all the excitements like those bigger cities)

Oh sorry I forgot to mention that I am a student from east Asia..
Yes I've noticed that the rankings varies very differently(that's why I am so confused), and I've been comparing all the courses of these schools and I found them all very attractive :biggrin:

(since the core courses for Msc Finance make not much differences) I've looked through their entry requirements as well, but since they provide not much information (just "must be good at quantitative skills", and I am.), I am therefore more confused lol.

As for my career, I'd like to acquire a job at banks or companies, I used to be an intern at the Standard Chartered Bank. I don't quite spend a lot of money and am able to cook by myself so I guess the money won't bother me too much..

As for the environment, I googled all of the pictures online and even looked through google map/earth, and it seems that only Nottingham, Durham and Exeter look pretty inconvenient. I guess I'll need to buy a lot of stuff to live there (if possible), so excluding the three mentioned, all the remaining ones look acceptable to me.. (And again back to the "I guess I'm going to apply all of them!" question lol)

But thank you very much for answering my question! It's quite interesting to know that they have a trading room, now I am considering Cardiff as well!

Reply 3

c2uk

14

Original post by Seedvalley

I don't quite spend a lot of money and am able to cook by myself so I guess the money won't bother me too much..

Well, rent in London can be twice as high as anywhere else, plus you may have to pay for public transport, which can be equally more expensive in London than anywhere else. It's important that you know how much money you've got available and can use before making a decision as to where you go.

It's quite interesting to know that they have a trading room, now I am considering Cardiff as well!

Cardiff just opened a new trading room, and as far as I know it's one of the best in the country.

just "must be good at quantitative skills", and I am

Cardiff's entry requirements for its MSc in Finance:

Applicants are expected to have an upper second class Honours degree from a leading university in a highly analytical discipline such as finance, finance with economics, engineering, or physics and mathematics.

I would question whether you qualify with your minor in finance for this. Also, as I said, Cardiff (at least for this programme) seems to care very much where you studied before, and not all universities in East Asia may be equal.

http://courses.cardiff.ac.uk/postgraduate/course/detail/p115.html

There's another really good degree at Cardiff though that might be of interest (it's also slightly cheaper, sharing many of the modules with the other one, including the optional one where you learn in the trading room):

http://courses.cardiff.ac.uk/postgraduate/course/detail/p159.html

Reply 4

poohat

18

Warwick has the best business school on your list by quite a distance, although Imperial has a better international brand name in general, although more for its engineering deparrtment. Warwick isnt very well known outside of academic circles.

I would go for Oxford/Cambridge/LSE/LBS and maybe Imperial as clear first choices, and then maybe Edinburgh/Warwick/Cass as backups. The others in your list would be a bit behind, although the places you have chosen seem a bit random and I'm not sure why you have picked places like Sheffield/Liverpool/Newcastle/Cardiff/etc over more established business schools like Cass/Lancaster/Strathclyde/Cranfield (it looks like you have just pulled your list off the Russell Group page on wikipedia, which isnt bad as a first approximation).

Have you considered other good European places like Insead/HEC?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 5

poohat

18

Original post by c2uk

Then you can look at league tables, to get some indication, such as

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=Accounting+%26+Finance
http://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2014/jun/03/university-guide-2015-league-table-for-accounting-and-finance

Mind these are not perfect either (and are more for when choosing your undergraduate degree, as most measures are based purely on measures from undergraduates), as you can see both vastly differ in their rankings.

These rankings are nonsense aimed at undergrads (as you say), and the Guardian one is just outright garbage - there is no world in which Strathclyde and Reading are better than LSE and Warwick. Also, Accounting and Finance at undergrad level is considered a niche degree, sometimes aimed at people who werent good enough at maths to get into Economics. It isnt even offered at many of the places that are top for postgrad (Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, LBS, Cass, etc).

When it comes to a masters, you probably want to be looking at overall business school rankings in general, and finance rankings in particular

http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/masters-in-finance-pre-experience-2013
http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-ranking-2014 (MBA ranking but it doubles as a general bschool prestige list)

google for alternative rankings to the FT's.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 6

Tcannon

18

A comprehensive list. Your first tier choice is solid Imperial, Edinburgh, Bristol, Manchester. But instead of Glasgow and Birmingham, I may consider seriously Cranfield SOM. It has a superb B-School, well regarded MSc Fin, student satisfaction, good facilities and placement. Located 42 miles from London, Milton Keynes has shopping mall and activities for sports, eating and going out. It does well in FT ranking for MSc Fin and Cranfield has good reputation in UK/EU.

I don't think LBS is suitable as its MFin requires at least 2 yrs's prior work. Exeter and Durham are remote and their Fin courses are not that strong.

If you wish to study in London, you have to factor in higher tuition AND living costs.

Reply 7

Seedvalley

OP

4

Original post by poohat

Warwick has the best business school on your list by quite a distance, although Imperial has a better international brand name in general, although more for its engineering deparrtment. Warwick isnt very well known outside of academic circles.

I would go for Oxford/Cambridge/LSE/LBS and maybe Imperial as clear first choices, and then maybe Edinburgh/Warwick/Cass as backups. The others in your list would be a bit behind, although the places you have chosen seem a bit random and I'm not sure why you have picked places like Sheffield/Liverpool/Newcastle/Cardiff/etc over more established business schools like Cass/Lancaster/Strathclyde/Cranfield (it looks like you have just pulled your list off the Russell Group page on wikipedia, which isnt bad as a first approximation).

Have you considered other good European places like Insead/HEC?

The reason I am not considering Oxford/Cambridge/LSE is that they all require GMAT. I didn't take the test, since it is not a requirement for most of the programs. Furthermore, they require very very high English levels, I've got a 7.0 on IELTS, Listening 9.0 (full marks) but still can't apply for them just because my writing is below their standards (poor grammar :frown:

). And yes, you caught me searching information from Wikipedia lol, and almost all kinds of resources on the internet.

Many people go to the British Council (official organization which provides Uni. information) for help, and I feel that they're kind of like "all the programs are good for you!" and I don't even know if they can receive any advantages if they convince me to go for a certain program... thus I can only google all the stuff and I found that Starthclyde/Cranfield.. 's reputation as a whole isn't as good as Sheffield/York...'s (from the rankings, and the professors I ask in my country) Since I need to get back to work eventually, I will pick ones that are more well-known so... (but the problem is that I don't know if the information I found is correct/ equivalent to what British really think..)

well I'm afraid that I can't afford that much French lol! There would be so many problems when it comes to accommodation, language, even people (sorry to say that but I think French won't look at Asian the same way they look at British..). But it would really be a nice choice if I grew up in countries nearby..

So may I ask whether the individual Msc Finance rankings outweigh the University's rankings for British? :confused:

Or is it just your favor to uni. and the ranking doesn't mean that much? Are there any University's Finance programs that you strongly suggest not to apply for?

Thank you for answering my question!

Reply 8

Seedvalley

OP

4

Original post by Tcannon

A comprehensive list. Your first tier choice is solid Imperial, Edinburgh, Bristol, Manchester. But instead of Glasgow and Birmingham, I may consider seriously Cranfield SOM. It has a superb B-School, well regarded MSc Fin, student satisfaction, good facilities and placement. Located 42 miles from London, Milton Keynes has shopping mall and activities for sports, eating and going out. It does well in FT ranking for MSc Fin and Cranfield has good reputation in UK/EU.

I don't think LBS is suitable as its MFin requires at least 2 yrs's prior work. Exeter and Durham are remote and their Fin courses are not that strong.

If you wish to study in London, you have to factor in higher tuition AND living costs.

oh that's two votes for Cranfield! Ok now I'm seriously considering this school. [My cousin who is a professor graduated from UCL told me that Cranfield is like a C level school (if Imperial is an A and Durham/York are Bs) that's why I eliminated this at first place.]

I've eliminated Nottingham Exeter Newcastle York and Sheffield these days btw. still considering the remain ones (afraid not to be accepted since my major is not Finance.. Is the chance not being accepted big? :s-smilie:

)

Thanks for your advice!

Reply 9

poohat

18

Original post by Seedvalley

well I'm afraid that I can't afford that much French lol! There would be so many problems when it comes to accommodation, language, even people (sorry to say that but I think French won't look at Asian the same way they look at British..). But it would really be a nice choice if I grew up in countries nearby..

I don't know about Finance MSc's, but most good business schools teach only in English when it comes to MBAs, even in France. For example:

http://mba.insead.edu/admissions/languages.cfm
http://www.hec.edu/Ph.D/FAQ ("HEC professors and staff members communicate exclusively in English with them, and PhD courses are taught entirely in English. Thus, there is only one language requirement: English.")

MSc courses might be different since they are less international than MBAs and maybe PhDs, but you should check.

Original post by Seedvalley

So may I ask whether the individual Msc Finance rankings outweigh the University's rankings for British? :confused:

Or is it just your favor to uni. and the ranking doesn't mean that much? Are there any University's Finance programs that you strongly suggest not to apply for?

It really depends how they are perceived in your country, so I wouldn't want to advise.

I think Cass/Warwick are usually considered slightly more prestigious than Cranfield though. They would typically be considered the best bschools after Oxbridge/LBS/LSE and maybe Imperial, but its hard to say how this translates into international reputation, or how they are perceived in your home country.

oh that's two votes for Cranfield! Ok now I'm seriously considering this school. [My cousin who is a professor graduated from UCL told me that Cranfield is like a C level school (if Imperial is an A and Durham/York are Bs) that's why I eliminated this at first place.]

Realistically its more like:

A+: LBS
A: Oxford/Cambridge/LSE (LSE doesn't have a business school or MBA program, but it does degrees like MSc Finance)
B+: Imperial/Warwick and maybe Cass
B: Manchester/Lancaster/Cranfield/Edinburgh/Bath/Nottingham/etc (all either well regarded business schools, or top Russell Groups with a strong brand name)
B-: Cardiff/Newcastle/Liverpool/etc (good universities but not as prestigious as the above, and less well known for their business schools)
C: Most non Russell Groups/1994s, apart from the few that are known for their business schools (Aston for instance).

Take this with a grain of salt though, because after you leave the LBS/Oxbridge/LSE megatier, its not obvious that anyone outside the UK will have even heard of the university, so it depends on whatever they happen to have been exposed to. It will depend on your country too, places like India are probably more likely to know Imperial because of it engineering departments.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 10

poohat

18

you might want to read this thread for other opinions: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=762215

Reply 11

Tcannon

18

No way dude, your cousin's argument is flawed. By most metrics (entry requirement, student stats, post salary and published research), Cranfield scores higher than York and Durham. The only reason the overall uni is less known is it focuses exclusively on postgrad courses, hence no undergrad.

I am not even a Cranfield student, but visited and spoke to students and profs.

Original post by Seedvalley

oh that's two votes for Cranfield! Ok now I'm seriously considering this school. [My cousin who is a professor graduated from UCL told me that Cranfield is like a C level school (if Imperial is an A and Durham/York are Bs) that's why I eliminated this at first place.]

I've eliminated Nottingham Exeter Newcastle York and Sheffield these days btw. still considering the remain ones (afraid not to be accepted since my major is not Finance.. Is the chance not being accepted big? :s-smilie:

)

Thanks for your advice!

Please help me to choose the right uni. for Msc in Finance !!

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