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MSc from Bocconi or BBA from St. Gallen?

Hey everyone,

I would like to ask for advice regarding my studies.

Shortly about me:
23 years old. Completed high school with IB Diploma from a prominent Swiss boarding school. Undergrad completed last year from an international university in Germany - BSc in Logistics Engineering and Management. During studies did an accounting summer school at LSE, and interned at Porsche for six months in After Sales Supply Chain Management. After graduation took some time off and did a research internship at the University of St. Gallen.

My issue:
I am going to start my grad school this upcoming Fall. So far I got into MSc EMIT (Economics and Management of Innovation and Technology) program at Bocconi Milan and Uppsala University in Sweden (MSc Business and Management Entrepreneurship). Bocconi is by far way better than Uppsala and it's atm on top of my list. However, my dream school has always been University of St. Gallen. I have talked to their admissions office many times, and to make the long story short with my background in technical studies I lack business administration credits that would allow me to apply for their Master programs. What they allowed me to do is to apply for their Bachelor in Business Administration (BWL in German), which I did, and complete it in two years instead of two. Now, for most of you it may obviously be pointless to do another bachelor, but is it so? My question is what would you choose between the two - MSc EMIT from Bocconi or BBA from St. Gallen, which opens the doors for me to their master programs like SIM or MBF. Is it really a waste of time to do a bachelor in two years from one of Europe's best universities? My parents believe that HSG's reputation is stronger and though the two schools are similar in rankings UNISG is probably better - it is more difficult to get in for foreigners due to Swiss law, which assumes a quota of 25% non-Swiss students (I am an EU citizen). My argument is that doing another two years of undergrad could better be replaced with additional internships in the future and that Bocconi is just as well regarded as UNISG, but in practice I found that my parents advice has always been best LOL. On the other hand, regarding Bocconi's major I got accepted to, most of the treads I read are about their International Management of Finance programs - anyone heard of EMIT? - it seems really interesting, but not so popular - is that significant? I should add that although I have an undergrad background in logistics/supply chain management I want to go more towards economics and business and at some point try to go for IB maybe. In regards to the place where I see myself in the future I can only say Europe that's it - I have no specifics in mind, but the more international the reputation of school, the better (I speak English, Polish, German, and good Spanish).

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

~Tom

Reply 1

Joe955

Well...that's a very complicated situation. Honestly, I'd recommend you to go for Bocconi. It is highly placed in international rankings and it has a very good reputation in Europe. As for the EMIT, I know that: a few people choose it because it's quite specific. More people tend to go on with Finance or Management, instead of Management for Innovation and Technology. Consider you'd lose 4 more years. Good luck.

Reply 2

Lauri.

Original post by Joe955

Could you elaborate on how EMIT (a curriculum combining economics, management and law) is more specific than Finance? Shouldn't it be vice versa? EMIT is advertised as an interdisciplinary program, the students in the class have a wide array of different educational backgrounds.
___

I'm admitted to the EMIT course myself as well, starting this fall. I was initially torn between St Gallen's MBF (or finance in general) and EMIT as well. But I ended up not making an application to St Gallen once I got admitted to EMIT. I believe (hope) that EMIT would equip me with a better (more interdisciplinary) skillset for the job market of tomorrow, and perhaps a more (emotionally) rewarding future. I could probably succeed in IB if I put my mind to it, but I would likely be miserable at the same time. Also, the number of finance students admitted to Bocconi alone every year wasn't very encouraging to me (max 255 on master's level; and 130 for St Gallen, which is still quite high imo).

Anyhow, no-one but you can answer this question. If you deep down feel that a career in IB something you want to pursue, then go for it. But 4 years (or additional 2) is quite a long time to just try and see if it works out.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 3

mardusj

Original post by Joe955

Hi Joe955,

Thanks for your reply. I am indeed more decided to go for Bocconi at the moment... I chose to apply to EMIT because I had higher chances of getting accepted with my technical undergrad background. I think that if I applied for MIM or Finance Master I would have gotten rejected most likely. I have to admit though that Finance seems more interesting to me since its job prospects seem better to me (correct me if I'm wrong?). I guess switching majors is impossible though some unis allow it. On the other hand if I really want HSG I could apply for their master after my master from Bocconi but that would be probably pointless.