Hi everybody-

I'm new to this site, but I've got some basic questions about MSc programs in economics or finance. I've just began researching some of these programs, seeing as I am rising senior looking to continue my studies after graduation. The programs that interest me most so far are the MSc program at LSE, the MSF (or however it is denoted) at Oxford, and the MSF at Vanderbilt. I also noticed a program at Columbia that I cannot recall the name of. Does anyone know of another other equivalent/similar programs they would recommend?

My only concern here is that I am not competitive enough for these programs. I was wondering what kind of candidates these programs are looking for. Going into my senior year I have a 3.79 GPA, and I am a quantitative econ major. I'm also currently working on a research scholarship for the summer, dealing with the effects of globalization (somewhat more specific than this, but I won't go into detail), which will be the topic of my thesis. Do I have a legit shot at any of these top-level programs, because if not I'd rather spare myself the time and focus on getting a job.

Any opinions, comments, or thoughts would be duly appreciated. Thanks a lot everybody.

J. Smith

From: Cazari
To: brickcitie

I am familiar with the MSc programs in economics or finance at LSE. Very competitive programme with international intake. The prospectus states that you need to be very comfortable with quant subjects as LSE leans towards quant analysis. Your 3.79 GPA sounds good, a friend did his undergrad at Columbia and came to LSE for his MSc, he remarked that the at Columbia, he would get A grades where at LSE, the profs are less likely to give As.

MSc programs in economics starts with a 3 week math camp and lasts 1 year though some students opt for 2 years due to heavy course work. Your research experience and knowing about your thesis would help your application. Make sure, why you choose MSc programs in economics or finance and particularly LSE. Apply early.

Best guest speakers available among all economics departments. Central bankers, politicians, scholars, business editors.

Great, thanks for the info man. What you said about guest speakers just makes me want to go more. I guess right now I should probably focus on being able to articulate why I want to apply to programs like these. Any other input, or information on other programs would be great. I appreciate the help.

London Business School has one of the best Masters in Finance, and Cambridge also has a new Masters in Finance program. You may want to research those a bit.

Also, most of the programs you mentioned as are the ones above, are more practitioner based, and as a result typically require a couple years of work experience first. If you want to go straight out of School, think about Cambridge's MPhil in Finance. Otherwise, I cannot recommend enough a couple of years of work experience first. You not only will be more competitive for most programs, but you likely will have a better idea what you want to get out of the program.

Does anyone know how often schools respond with round 1 decisions before their publicized deadlines? For those who got decisions in R1 last year, when did you hear from the school in relation to their response deadline? I've noticed only a few schools say they'll respond by December, and hearing back in January is no good for avoiding unnecessary 2nd round apps. I'll be applying this year for the 1st time and am trying to figure out my R1/R2 application mix, so any input would be much appreciated.

Based on my experience, you will have to at least start preparing round 2 applications, since the amount of time between round 1 notification and round 2 deadlines is only going to be a few weeks at most. Based on my experience, I applied to Wharton and Fuqua in Round 1, and they released decisions on Dec 20 and Jan 21 respectively. Wharton's announcement was about 15 days before my other round 2 deadlines, and Fuqua was a few days after the round 2 deadlines, so I continued work on the applications for Darden and Kellogg, and submitted those as well. In short, you will at least need to begin work on round 2 apps, but you may not have to submit them.

Wharton began calling students who were admitted about 2 days before the deadline, and sent out the mass email to everyone on the deadline date. Fuqua did not release anything until the deadline date. Kellogg and Darden have more of a rolling announcement period overt the span of a few weeks, but the announcement dates have no correlation to when you submit the application or do the interview.

I know Wharton and Chicago both moved their decisions up before Christmas the last few years. Kellogg does rolling type admissions so its possible to hear very early, I found out in the end of November and heard a few people heard before thanksgiving. However, I have friends who didn't hear until the deadline that they were admitted, WL, or dinged. I think most schools wait until the deadline or might beat it by a day or two but not weeks.

If you thinking about applying to Kellogg, I suggest R1 since it's possible to hear very early. I didn't do much of anything on R2 applications since that was my top choice. It definitely removed tons of stress for me, I got to sit back and relax while others were stressing about decisions and R2 applications.

From: holz To: JPZ I too got an early answer back from Kellogg, but the general rule was that most schools waited until very close to their response deadlines to answer. I submitted most of my Round 2 applications before hearing back from Round 1 schools.

Also, because I wanted to give reference-writers plenty of time to work on their part, I tried to give lots of fair warning to them, which had me working on the applications well in advance of the deadlines. The reference writers didn't use the extra time though, and waited until the very last minute for all of them (I swear, one guy submitted at 4:59 for a 5:00 deadline).

So, the schools don't offer you much opportunity to say, apply to a handful of dream schools and get rejected, then readjust your strategy. You need to have your dreams, safeties, and etc ready from the beginning.

The advantage of the mix between Round 1 and Round 2 is that you have that extra time to prepare for Round 2 apps after you have finished with Rd 1. However, like others have noted, you still have to prepare all the material (and most importantly have your recommenders prepared). The advantage is that you MAY be able to save yourself the application fee if it turns out you don't have to apply in the end. But even there, I know some schools have their Round 2 deadlines before the Round 1 admittances come out.

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