Ankur Mishra decided to apply to specialised Masters in Finance programs instead of the general management MBA degree. And he chose Europe for his higher education, instead of the other popular masters degree destinations (USA, Canada).
He explains the rationale behind his choices, as well as his application and interview experiences.
Master of Finance in Germany (FSFM) vs Switzerland (St. Gallen)
by Ankur Mishra
In 2015 I completed my bachelors from IIT Kharagpur in mining engineering, being from an odd branch didn’t help much but I took a few courses in economics and stats. I started working as a team member for a startup (truckerrs.com) and after working for 9 months, I starting preparing for GMAT. I scored 710 (38 verbal, 49 quant).
Why Master of Finance degree in Europe
I chose to apply for Master of Finance (MoF) programs instead of MBA because I wanted to choose a highly quantitative course which offers me a wider range of positions to choose after I graduate. A finance masters gives me the opportunity to choose from a wider array of modules related to finance and banking.
I approached MBA Crystal Ball on recommendation of a friend, after talking to Sameer I got in touch with MG and he started to paint the picture of how the whole application process works.
MG provided key insights into my profile which helped me present a more fluent and stronger image. It was honestly a great learning experience, working on my essays and the whole profile piece by piece prepared me for facing interviews ahead as we figured out the short comings and worked on them simultaneously.
While choosing school my main focus was to choose a program with strong modules focusing financial products and capital markets. I wanted to choose a program which will provide me opportunities as well as time to gather experience.
Choosing Europe for higher studies was based on the fee differences between the programs in US vs Europe in comparison to the mild starting salary differences.
Also, in Europe most firms have opportunities for working students which helps a lot building up profile, gathering experience and of course money!!
Application strategy and interview experiences
I applied to 3 schools – St. Gallen, HEC Paris, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (FSFM). I worked on my essays with MG for FSFM as the topics covered the contents for all the three applications.
I got recommendations from professors who taught me in bachelors and completed my applications along with my CV.
Within a week or so, I got interview calls from St. Gallen and FSFM.
For St. Gallen the interviewer was their admission officer, the interview was 20 minutes long and straight forward. It included general questions about my profile and bachelors degree. They gave a short case study to solve and it all went good.
For FSFM the interviewer was Anne-Sophie Ruez, their student advisor. The interview lasted 35 minutes or so and was a fun experience as she called upon a panel of three students to solve a case study with. It was an exciting interview and working with 3 students to solve a transportation problem was quite a learning experience.
FSFM vs St. Gallen
I got admission letters from both interviews and I chose to go to Frankfurt since it provided better career opportunities after as well as during my studies.
Also, the living costs in Germany are very low in comparison to Switzerland as well as the program fees itself. FSFM also had a very international program with an effective career and placement cell. After taking to some current students as well as alumnus of the school i finalized my decision.
My only advise to people who are planning to apply for masters programs in Europe is that be prepared to learn at least one language. It might not be required to study or for college but it can be a big boost for internships and job opportunities.
Read these related articles:
– Masters (MS) in Germany – Costs in Rupees, Top universities, Eligibility requirements
– MBA in Germany: ESMT
– Learn German language to access the non-English speaking world
– Top Masters in Finance Programs
– MBA in Germany for Indian Chartered Accountant after 30
Image credit: spiegel.de
Hey Ankur and MCB team,
Awesome to see an article on the MSF course at Frankfurt School.
I would also be joining the August batch this year.
Shedding some light on MSF v MBA, I think one has to be sure why Finance? why the specialist skill-set? and then compare it with an MBA program.
Since I come from an IT background, MSF was my choice to transition into Finance. Moreover, I have completed my German Language Certification. It is always wise to learn the language of the country you are targeting in Europe. This helps you explore more opportunities/ job prospects. In a complete picture with cost factor included, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management seems to fit nicely.
Frankfurt School (FSFM) also has a really good curriculum and their tie-up with FIRM for Risk Management concentration, the one I am taking, aligns the curriculum with needs of FRM certification.
To add, Frankfurt is a financial hub. There will be good options for internships and full-time jobs, yet again, its better to have some command over German language and a little perseverance to achieve an opportunity. This is what I gather as of yet!. Will add on this experience once I go through the grind myself.
Regards
Prateek
My 10th result is 8.6 cgpa
My 12th 77.4%
My graduation (accounts hons.) 71%
I dont have any experience because i have just compeleted my graduation recent year
Wanted to do ms from abroad for my academic career . Please suggest me now what are the choices i have?
Shashank,
For MS, ideally you should have already applied in your final year. If not, then you should be applying while on the job. A break such as this is usually not great.
Even so, research on the target schools/programs while you prepare for your GRE (if not done already). Once you have the target set, we can help too: https://www.mbacrystalball.com/mba-essays#sopreview
Hi MG,
I have a BE Degree(in Computer Science) and have about 11+ years of work experience in IT Services( primarily Data Integration and Business Intelligence). I would like to do either an MBA/MS to enhance my functional knowledge, i.e Industry Based learning from the business perspective rather than technical. Can you suggest some good institutes? My criteria are the following: 1) If in India I can afford a 2 year MBA if it helps me switch careers to the techno-functional or business related fields 2) If there are 1 year Indian MBA courses which don’t need a GMAT 3) If in the US/Europe is there any course under USD 50K
Thanks for your help in advance,
Abhishek
Abhishek,
MBA after 30 is usually tricky (read this: https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2012/11/13/mba-age-over-30-too-old-for-bschool/). We focus on GMAT based programs so am afraid I won’t be able to suggest options for #2.
You should ideally aim for the 3 IIM one year programs which still have folks in your experience bracket. The international MBA programs usually cost a lot more: https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2013/09/14/mba-cost-in-india-usa-europe-comparison/
Hi,
I have experience of 2 years in IT industry.Is this experience helpful in getting good colleges?.Like if we got GRE score of around 295 , can we get a college having the required Gre score 305 with this 2 years of experience in IT.
Venu,
Most good schools expect 4-5 years of pre-MBA experience (read here why: https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2011/08/21/work-experience-why-is-it-important-for-international-mba-applications/). And don’t consider selecting schools purely basis GRE – that is just one factor; there are several others: https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2015/12/07/what-is-most-important-in-mba-applications/
Hi MG,
I have around 8 years of IT experience that includes 1 year working in UK. I wanted to apply for MBA program in Europe\US in 2018. Could you please help me to evaluate my profile and provide your assistance in application process.
Sure, start here Mayank: https://www.mbacrystalball.com/profile-evaluation
Hi, I am currently pursuing my CA Final exams and i have done my articleship from Deloitte for 3 years. I’m planning to pursue MSc in Finance from universities like HEC, ESADE, Bocconi, etc. Do i need to learn a foreign language to end up getting a job post my masters? How difficult is it to get a job in Europe coming from an Indian background?
Language definitely helps a lot as without that, it would be tough to flourish in those geographies. It does take fair amount of effort through internships and networking to get a good offer generally speaking.