A Career in Finance with a History Degree? Looking at My Options

Graduate School Business School - MBA
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<p>I would like to enter into a career in finance - some kind of investment analysis in banking or vc is where I would like to be. I am a senior at Emory (which is a top 20 school) getting my degree in History. I have taken statistics for business, calculus I and II, and financial accounting and will be taking computer science and corporate finance to shore up my business/quantitative experience.<br>
I have a 3.7x GPA and I would expect a GMAT score over 700 (I recently started studying) since my intelligence scores and SAT are 99percentile +.<br>
What should I do?!
It's too late to get an internship in I-Banking for the summer, though theres still a chance of some finance related internship opening up over the next couple of months.<br>
My current plan is to apply to Masters of Finance programs and similar, mostly abroad. Should I try for a top 20 MBA program? There is a chance I think, albeit small, that one would accept me. I like USC, Haas, Stanford, and UCLA (though I would do my MBA almost anywhere).<br>
The specific programs I'm planning to apply to right now are: LSE MSc Economic History (will this open any doors?), LSE MSc Finance, Oxford MSc Financial Economics, U. of San Francisco Ms Finance (waste of money?).<br>
Thanks for any help!</p>

<p>P.S. Forgot that this might be pertinent. I was extremely ill and had to take a year off college, so I have one semester of W's. All in all you could say I am graduating in three years. Still, I hope the W's won't hurt me.</p>

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<p>Going straight from undergrad to an MBA is a difficult thing to do, not impossible, but "against the grain", if you know what I mean. You're probably aware of this already, but all of the top 50 MBA programs highly prefer at least a few years of work experience. </p>

<p>The reason being is that students with at least a few years of work experience are more of a complete package upon graduation (which is a huge aid for recruitment). True, there are some students who are able to make a transition straight over, but they are the exception and not the rule. I have seen some examples before, but they were students who had stellar marks and usually did something incredible like being an Olympic athlete and/or running a very successful business at a very young age. If you fit this description then by all means go for it. If you did get in, it still might be difficult for you to get the attention of the bigger finance firms considering the fact that you'd be competing with other MBA students who had more work experience and might be a better fit in the eyes of the recruiter (I'm assuming). </p>

<p>As for MS Finance programs there are quite a few in the US and I've heard that they're more popular and accepted in the EU. Judging from the fact that you listed LSE and Oxford in your post I'd guess that you've already been looking into them. There are a few others in England as well (LBS [requires a few years of work experience though], Warwick, Cambridge, etc.) and here is a link to an article about them: TOP</a> STORIES: To MSc or not to MSc?</p>

<p>Here is a link to a list of programs in the US as well:
M.S</a>. Programs in Finance at U.S. Universities (provided by Don Chance) </p>

<p>I am in a similar boat to you actually, but I have been out of undergrad for a couple of years now and want to make a jump to finance myself as well. I've considered an MBA, but don't feel that it is time for me yet.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, there aren't many 'prestigious' master of finance programs in the US, BUT there are some very stellar MFE (financial engineering) programs. Columbia, Cal, and Princeton all have MFE programs if I remember correctly. It is different than the normal master of finance and requires a much more rigorous quant background. It also leads to different positions post-graduation I think. Some of the better MS Finance programs I've found through my research are Vanderbilt, U of Illinois, and Boston College. </p>

<p>The English programs are likely going to be more pricey for a few reasons, but they have excellent connections to the banks in London. Supposedly there is a program set up where international graduates over there can get an automatic work visa for 12 months. You might be able to get one for longer via your employer, but this at least guarantees that you'll be able to work over there after graduation. Supposedly the majority of the bulge bracket firms recruit from a handful of these UK schools (including the two you listed), which you can't necessarily say about the US MS Finance programs. </p>

<p>From what I've read you can break into a bulge bracket firm from Vandy, SF, Illinois, BC, etc., but it's more of an uphill battle as I don't think that they readily MS Finance students from these schools. </p>

<p>Your grades and test scores look great, as well does your school. If you're thinking about applying for these programs to start next summer then you'd better get on the ball. I know that LSE highly recommends that you apply by the end of the year and the other US schools have deadlines in Jan-March. Score well on your GMAT and I'd bet that you'd be competitive to where ever you apply. Good luck and I apologize if my response seems a bit disorganized (it probably is!). </p>

<p>Oh, by the way, be aware that your GMAT school must be received by your application schools in order for them to consider your application complete (at least that's what I've heard). Per the GMAC (creators of the GMAT), it can take up to 20 days for them to receive your score after you've completed the test, so I'd keep that in mind if you're planning on applying soon.</p>

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<p>That was such a helpful post, thank you so much. You say that you can break into the bulge bracket from those U.S. schools - when u write SF, do you mean San Francisco? I think this is going to be my safety. The question is whether its worth going there, at all.<br>
I do not qualify for the financial engineering programs, though they do intersest me. I will need more programming experience, as well as multi-variable calculus and linear algebra.<br>
Do you think economic history from LSE will help me get an internship (and job) in the bulge bracket?
Also, do I stand a chance at schools like USC MBA? Thanks again.</p>

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<p>
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Also, do I stand a chance at schools like USC MBA?

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<p>Are you a member of the USC football team? Is your dad a big USC donor? Is your dad OJ Simpson? Did you invent "Crocs" in your parents basement while in high school? If not, I don't see why they would accept you based on your stats. Just my two cents.</p>

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<p>rockofeller,
By SF I did mean U of San Francisco, yes, but here is what I wrote about the MS Finance programs in the US: </p>

<p>"From what I've read you can break into a bulge bracket firm from Vandy, SF, Illinois, BC, etc., but it's more of an uphill battle as I don't think that they readily MS Finance students from these schools."</p>

<p>My point was that from what I've read it's <em>possible</em> to go from one of these programs to a bulge bracket, but it's an 'uphill battle'. The reason being, I don't think that the bulge bracket firms aggressively recruit the graduates from this US MS Finance programs. Could a student in one of these programs get their foot in the door at a bulge bracket firm? Absolutely, but don't expect them to come to you, like they would at LSE, the Ivy League schools, or a top-tier MBA. </p>

<p>I have had some contact with a few LSE students (in their master of accounting and finance program) and they remarked that the recruiting on the LSE campus (for bulge brackets) was excellent. They could think of a number of students who ended up at a major BB. </p>

<p>Would an LSE graduate degree in Economic history get you an internship and/or job at a BB? Of course I couldn't say for certain because there are a lot of factors, but judging by the high regard the school carries, I would guess that you could be very competitive. </p>

<p>Go to each program's respective site and see who recruits their graduates. Also, realize that these programs (especially in the US) are smaller, so they probably attract fewer recruiters, so you'll have to do some footwork to get noticed. </p>

<p>As for getting admission to USC for an MBA, I would think that it would be very challenging, to say the least. I have often seen undergrads ask this question, and the majority of them are met with a similar response: get a few years of work experience under your belt and then try. </p>

<p>I don't know your background in detail, so I couldn't say for sure. If though, you have stellar grades, get a very high GMAT score and have some sort of significant set of work experience <em>already</em> under your belt then you may be competitive. My advice would be to wait. Even if you were accepted, you'd still probably be at a disadvantage when compared to your fellow USC MBA comrades, the vast majority of whom will have 2-5 years of post-undergrad work experience.</p>

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<p>Well, let me give you a little bit more information.
My recent work experience:
worked approx. 6 months as a Personal Trainer 20-25 hours per week while convalescing.<br>
For part of that time, I took a role as the I.T. leader for a small group of free health clinics. This was an unpaid position and I was the sole person on staff for I.T. I did have some greater responsibility than simple computer work, for example making the recommendations on allocation of budget to the director of the clinics. </p>

<p>E.C.s at school:
Reader of poetry submissions for a literary magazine
published poetry in a literary magazine
Volunteered 4 hrs a week tutoring reading to underprivileged elementary school students for 2 semesters
VP of history national honor society, school chapter
was once Co-Captain of Intramural softball team</p>

<p>I know that it doesnt much compare to full time work experience.<br>
As far as USC is concerned...I doubt legacies matter but if they do then I have the maximum: my mother has her BA and MS from USC, one sister has her doctorate from USC, and the other sister has her BA and Masters from USC. </p>

<p>Questions:
How does admissions to business PhD programs compare to MBA as regards work experience?
How do second tier MSc Finance programs in the UK compare to the U.S. Programs as far as U.S. Job prospects? E.g. Cass, Warwick - do they have any U.S. reputation? Would I be more likely to have luck with a degree from USF?
Thanks</p>

<p>One final note - I will be getting a 3.9 or 3.8 GPA this semester. In semesters where I was not sick my overall GPA is 3.9+.</p>

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<p>
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A Career in Finance with a History Degree? Looking at My Options

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<p>Sounds like you're trying to pull a "Michael Lewis", who got a bachelor's in art history from Princeton, then a master's in economics from LSE and then became a bond trader at Salomon Brothers. He later went on to become the famous author of Liar's Poker and Moneyball. </p>

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How does admissions to business PhD programs compare to MBA as regards work experience?

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<p>Work experience is far less necessary for business PhD's as it is for MBA programs. In fact, a business PhD program might actually be a decent way to go, for reasons I will explain below. </p>

<p>
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What should I do?!

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<p>The business PhD program idea is a pretty decent one. But so would any such program that puts you in touch with the recruiting at any of the major finance recruiting centers. While it can be helpful to attend a program that is actually dedicated to finance, you don't really need it. For example, if you can get into any program at Harvard, Penn, Yale, MIT, Columbia, NYU, Chicago,LSE, Oxford, or any other such school that is known as a finance recruiting haven, then you can leverage that program into getting yourself facetime with finance recruiters. </p>

<p>Frankly, that's what Michael Lewis did. He openly admits that when he was at LSE, he probably spent the bulk of his time recruiting for finance jobs rather than actually studying for his degree. As another example, I know a lot of MIT engineering students who have no intention of actually working as engineers, but are instead trying to break into the finance industry, and are hence always hovering around the MIT Sloan School and Econ department even though they aren't Sloan or Econ students. </p>

<p>The point is, you want to put yourself in a target-rich environment that has wide resources that you can leverage. Obviously a specialized program would best, but if you can't get that, then a second-best choice might also work out well. For example, if you can't get into the Columbia MBA program, you might still be able to get into the Columbia history program and then just take advantage of general Columbia resources as well as the close geographic proximity to Wall Street.</p>

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<p>Why not sit for the CFA exam?</p>

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<p>
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Why not sit for the CFA exam?

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<p>Probably because formally becoming a CFA requires not just passing the exams, but also fulfilling the work experience component. </p>

<p>Now, granted, passing some of the CFA exams may help you to get a financial job. For that reason, I am not recommending against it. But it is certainly no guarantee.</p>

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<p>It is too late in the game for many PhD programs - but do I stand a chance at a good one, anyway? I mean, I'm not a superstar.
I do think I stand a good chance at a Masters in History just about anywhere, though...For one thing i can get as many rec's from history professors as I want.
Maybe I should apply to Masters in History at an Ivy?? That is what you are saying, right Sakky? Thanks for the info. Very intersting stuff.</p>

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<p>Rockofeller,
Talk to as many alumni as you could contact who are in the Financial Services industry. Don't worry about your academics. If possible, you could delay your graduation by one year so that you could include a summer internship with a Investment Banking firm. But that's up to you!</p>

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<p>Alumni of the schools I am applying to?
It is too late to get an I Banking internship, but the dean of Goizueta's undergrad program told me that if it looks like I won't be getting into any programs, then she may have some other internships (a hedge fund?) that come in at the last minute, in which case I would probably delay my graduation to take it.</p>

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<p>Rockofeller,
I meant the Alumni Network at your school's career placement center. Delay your graduation by a year in order to take advantage of the internship opportunities.</p>