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MsC in Finance (International Student)

Hello everyone, I am from Portugal and this year i will finish my undergraduate (Management).
I want to get a masters in Finance in the Uk, but i have some questions.
Is there enough time for me to complete IELTS and GMAT and apply for next year?
Or should i wait 1 year and take my time to be more prepared? Im 20 years old and i would like to get into a top University like Warwick or Imperial.
Another question, in the future i would like to get into financial markets, investment banking.. which top Universities suits better these careers? Funding is a big deal too, fees are too expensive so i should rely on a scholarship (is too hard to get one?)
I have some people willing to help me in the process, but i dont know if i should advance now or wait.
Thx
Reply 1
IELTS is straight forward. GMAT :I heard as a guidance that 100 hours prep is normal. Some pple need more, some less.
Imperial and Warwick have good MSc in Finance, more analytical and cover some IB specific issues such as Sales, Trading, derivatives, risk management and option theory. I think realistically you need a 2:1 GPA, great recommendations, some internships and a minimum GMAT of 660 or better.
The other good MiFin courses are LSE and LBS (work exp required).

Note: If you do not have sufficient funding, forget UK MiF courses. Warwick and Imperial provide very little funding. In rare exceptions, Warwick offers 25-50% scholarships for stellar applicants, but you still have to cover the rest.
Reply 2
Original post by Tcannon
IELTS is straight forward. GMAT :I heard as a guidance that 100 hours prep is normal. Some pple need more, some less.
Imperial and Warwick have good MSc in Finance, more analytical and cover some IB specific issues such as Sales, Trading, derivatives, risk management and option theory. I think realistically you need a 2:1 GPA, great recommendations, some internships and a minimum GMAT of 660 or better.
The other good MiFin courses are LSE and LBS (work exp required).

Note: If you do not have sufficient funding, forget UK MiF courses. Warwick and Imperial provide very little funding. In rare exceptions, Warwick offers 25-50% scholarships for stellar applicants, but you still have to cover the rest.



Thanks for the answer!
Well i know i can get 2:1 GPA, some recommendations and the GMAT score. I havent done any internship, so i dont know if it affects me alot. (I could do it this year)..
Funding im eligible up to 10000 gbp (loan) , the rest would be harder. I could get some scholarships (from Portugal and from the university) and a Professor i have who works in a bank told me they could help me too.
So yes its hard, but i can try.
What about Lancaster or Manchester, what can you tell me? I know they are not so good, but they are better than most of the unis in Portugal.
Reply 3
I would strongly suggest a summer internship, preferably in finance: banks, auditing, tax, management reporting or just accounting. Adcoms like some relevant work and it looks good on CV when you interview for jobs.

Funding is even difficult to obtain for Brits. I know a few Brits who got admitted to MSc courses at LSE, Warwick, Imperial, Bristol. Unfortunately they could not secure enough funding to pay £26000 tuition plus living cost. So they had to decline offers even they are academically suitable.

Manchester (MBS) has a good business school and active finance club. I organises company visits to London financial services firms and some firms come to campus for recruiting. MBS uses flexible learning with group projects, consulting work with real life firms and case studies. It used to be in the upper tier, but nowadays is not as highly regarded as WBS, Imperial, LSE and LBS. MBS is possibly less analytical and quant. I would think MBS is more in the bracket of City and Cranfield.

Lancaster (LUMS): The undergraduate BSc Management courses are good, high entry criteria selects smart students, good teaching, decent partnerships with firms for internships. Good student satisfaction. But not so well known for MSc Finance. It has a superb reputation for its MSc Operations Research degree.
Reply 4
Original post by Tcannon
I would strongly suggest a summer internship, preferably in finance: banks, auditing, tax, management reporting or just accounting. Adcoms like some relevant work and it looks good on CV when you interview for jobs.

Funding is even difficult to obtain for Brits. I know a few Brits who got admitted to MSc courses at LSE, Warwick, Imperial, Bristol. Unfortunately they could not secure enough funding to pay £26000 tuition plus living cost. So they had to decline offers even they are academically suitable.

Manchester (MBS) has a good business school and active finance club. I organises company visits to London financial services firms and some firms come to campus for recruiting. MBS uses flexible learning with group projects, consulting work with real life firms and case studies. It used to be in the upper tier, but nowadays is not as highly regarded as WBS, Imperial, LSE and LBS. MBS is possibly less analytical and quant. I would think MBS is more in the bracket of City and Cranfield.

Lancaster (LUMS): The undergraduate BSc Management courses are good, high entry criteria selects smart students, good teaching, decent partnerships with firms for internships. Good student satisfaction. But not so well known for MSc Finance. It has a superb reputation for its MSc Operations Research degree.


Thank you once more!
Yeah i know that studying in the UK is expensive, but lets face it its top education.
Yeah i had in mind to take an internship, but my professor wants me to go now (kind of). But yeah ill wait, get a better cv and prepare myself better.
About living costs i would work on part-time so i could pay them.
Which Universities would you recommend with fees lower than 20000 gbp ( if i cant get that amount of cash)? (In Portugal Masters are 2 years, 1 should be intense xD)
Thx
Reply 5
It would be tough to earn living cost with a part time job. You will be lucky to earn enough to pay your monthly rent. Another option would to take a gap year after yr BA and work full time to earn some savings. Lot of Brits do it and unis understand.

I think there are a few good UK MFin courses at more reasonable rates. They are not in the aforementioned top 5, but in top 15-20 at internationally known unis in various rankings (FT, QS, THES, Shanghai). They maybe not as good as Warwick, but I don't think the course at Warwick is 3 times better to justify the tuition difference. This is what my friend said who got admitted to LSE, WBS but could not afford their tuition. He went to one of this 5. Living cost are lower than London.

MFinance Tuition £9200 to £14500
Strathclyde
Glasgow
Birmingham
Nottingham
Bristol

But honestly, for that budget you can also consider MFin in France and Holland. They have great programs at RSM, UC Dublin, HEC, ESSEC and ESCP. Tuition maybe even lower than in the UK. With Brexit, some London based banks plan to shift operations to Europe.

Original post by FFB
Thank you once more!
Yeah i know that studying in the UK is expensive, but lets face it its top education.
Yeah i had in mind to take an internship, but my professor wants me to go now (kind of). But yeah ill wait, get a better cv and prepare myself better.
About living costs i would work on part-time so i could pay them.
Which Universities would you recommend with fees lower than 20000 gbp ( if i cant get that amount of cash)? (In Portugal Masters are 2 years, 1 should be intense xD)
Thx
Reply 6
Original post by Tcannon
It would be tough to earn living cost with a part time job. You will be lucky to earn enough to pay your monthly rent. Another option would to take a gap year after yr BA and work full time to earn some savings. Lot of Brits do it and unis understand.

I think there are a few good UK MFin courses at more reasonable rates. They are not in the aforementioned top 5, but in top 15-20 at internationally known unis in various rankings (FT, QS, THES, Shanghai). They maybe not as good as Warwick, but I don't think the course at Warwick is 3 times better to justify the tuition difference. This is what my friend said who got admitted to LSE, WBS but could not afford their tuition. He went to one of this 5. Living cost are lower than London.

MFinance Tuition £9200 to £14500
Strathclyde
Glasgow
Birmingham
Nottingham
Bristol

But honestly, for that budget you can also consider MFin in France and Holland. They have great programs at RSM, UC Dublin, HEC, ESSEC and ESCP. Tuition maybe even lower than in the UK. With Brexit, some London based banks plan to shift operations to Europe.


Thank you!
From the ones you mentioned, which one is the best?
Also what do you think about Durham?
I will have to think alot so i can make the best decision.
Reply 7
You need to do the due diligence yourself and go through each of the aforementioned programmes. consider it prep work for a huge investment in yourself. Check:
Curriculum and electives of advanced quant modules
Does programme have a Bloomberg trading room for simulated financial markets ( crucial for Sales & trading)
How good is careers office in getting financial firms to come to campus for recruitment, treks to London
Where do alumni end up
Focus: General finance, controlling, investment (CFA 1st year equivalent), sales & trading (product knowledge)
Student led finance club organise guest speakers, alumni etc

Durham is a nice parent uni, but the MSc Finance programme is not very good. Tuition is pricier than peers. Meh

Original post by FFB
Thank you!
From the ones you mentioned, which one is the best?
Also what do you think about Durham?
I will have to think alot so i can make the best decision.
Original post by Tcannon
I would strongly suggest a summer internship, preferably in finance: banks, auditing, tax, management reporting or just accounting. Adcoms like some relevant work and it looks good on CV when you interview for jobs.

Funding is even difficult to obtain for Brits. I know a few Brits who got admitted to MSc courses at LSE, Warwick, Imperial, Bristol. Unfortunately they could not secure enough funding to pay £26000 tuition plus living cost. So they had to decline offers even they are academically suitable.

Manchester (MBS) has a good business school and active finance club. I organises company visits to London financial services firms and some firms come to campus for recruiting. MBS uses flexible learning with group projects, consulting work with real life firms and case studies. It used to be in the upper tier, but nowadays is not as highly regarded as WBS, Imperial, LSE and LBS. MBS is possibly less analytical and quant. I would think MBS is more in the bracket of City and Cranfield.

Lancaster (LUMS): The undergraduate BSc Management courses are good, high entry criteria selects smart students, good teaching, decent partnerships with firms for internships. Good student satisfaction. But not so well known for MSc Finance. It has a superb reputation for its MSc Operations Research degree.


Hi!
MSc in Finance: MBS, RSM, Durham, Bristol, Bath, Queen Mary in your opinion which of these courses is better for a career in IB in the city?
Original post by Benjamin994
Hi!
MSc in Finance: MBS, RSM, Durham, Bristol, Bath, Queen Mary in your opinion which of these courses is better for a career in IB in the city?


RSM offers finance and investment advanced, for €2,006 however the application window for september has closed but will open for 2019, i would highly recommend it for IB...if i could do maths i would do it lol. But ill do my masters in change management and consultancy or strategy there as soon as i finish in Nottingham!
Original post by Realitysreflexx
RSM offers finance and investment advanced, for €2,006 however the application window for september has closed but will open for 2019, i would highly recommend it for IB...if i could do maths i would do it lol. But ill do my masters in change management and consultancy or strategy there as soon as i finish in Nottingham!


I've got offers from all those universities but still don't which one to choose. Undecided between RSM( unfortunately I am not a EU citizen therefore i have to pay full tutition fees) and Durham...
Original post by Benjamin994
I've got offers from all those universities but still don't which one to choose. Undecided between RSM( unfortunately I am not a EU citizen therefore i have to pay full tutition fees) and Durham...


Go to RSM its strictly a business school..........that will give you a different feel, and Rotterdam has alot more business connections on the ground then Durham (area). Durham is a better name for English or the arts. It doesnt scream in reputation for an amazing business school.
Original post by Realitysreflexx
Go to RSM its strictly a business school..........that will give you a different feel, and Rotterdam has alot more business connections on the ground then Durham (area). Durham is a better name for English or the arts. It doesnt scream in reputation for an amazing business school.


Thank you very much! However, I'm a bit concerned about the transition towards the London job market! It will be easier if I study directly in the UK, don't you think so?
P.S RSM has a good reputation in London?
Original post by Benjamin994
Thank you very much! However, I'm a bit concerned about the transition towards the London job market! It will be easier if I study directly in the UK, don't you think so?
P.S RSM has a good reputation in London?


The dutch and british have always had good relations and there should be no reason you cant work with a dutch degree...its Erasmus university, ie Erasmus exchange...every person in europe has heard of that lol. Besides thinking a bit more deeply, alot of london jobs will move to the EU going to one of the top business schools in the EU will be no deteriment.

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