Hey dude

I am really no authority in defining chances. Else, I myself wouldnt have applied for a LBS. LBS has a facility to mail ur resume to Peter Johnson, their admissions officer and he will reply back with a review on your profile and ur chances. Take that up.It may not give u the answer u seek, but no harm in trying.
Haas is core financial engineering...as i mentioned earlier and again is a top program in the US... so competition is going to be tough. Dont have a clue on the HEC program.
IE busines school also has a new MFin and that seems good.

Best of luck

well.. i have not really "researched" on univs in uk.. but without doubt, lse, oxford, lbs and cambridge are probably the top univs/schools in the uk.. not looking at any order.

LSE is very academic. Oxford, Cambridge and LBS will be more professional. Cambridge's course is very new though, so is LSE's MSc in Finance(full time).

warwick is good as well, from what i have heard. But dont have more details on those courses.

there r 3 types of courses in this area:
1. fin engineering/fin maths : heavily quantitative ( 70% math and 30% finance probably ).. these are geared towards a career in quants/risk management/trading/structuring etc
2. finance: these are very CFA type courses... more on general aspects of finance: corporate finance, asset pricing, M&A;, valuations etc.. more suited for IB roles/PE/VC/ asset management
3. financial economics: only oxford has this..from my knowledge.. this mixes the finance one with a dose of economics.. again suitable across corp fin or trading roles.
Most US univs would offer 1. Most UK/Europe ones would offer 2 and 3. It depends on what you want to do. If it is trading for sure..then financial engg/fin math would be ur best option.

Check out this forum.. GMAT Club Forum & Discussion Board • View forum - MS Finance

Hi anuj

Thanks for your wishes. My background(mentioned it somewhere).. i am a comp engg from the mumbai univ, passed out in 2006, got placed at Lehman Bros in Mumbai in IT... had lot of interest.. so took the FRM exam and passed it last yr... got to move to a core finance role within Lehman( now Nomura). got a gmat score of 720.

From my research, financial economics is gr8 bcoz it allows you to structure your course either as a financial engineering prog/ or a corporate finance kinda program. The first 2 sems.. are a little more quantitative than usual Ms in finance courses.. with asset pricing and econometrics etc.. but in the final sem, you can completely look to specialize in corp fin/ private equity/ m&a; etc or you may go deeper in cap mkts.. trading etc
Prospects.. well ,no clue on how placements were last yr, but traditionally, ppl from the course get placed in traditional IB roles, asset management, VCs and even consultancy jobs.

Next yr, we dont know how things will pan out. I am looking to enquire more abt the placement scenario this yr. will let know if I find any concrete info.

Hey fellow puys

I got an admit from Oxford's Said Business School for the MSc in Financial Economics (MFE) -2009-10. I would be glad to help anyone with regards to the application for the same.

I am awaiting LBS MiF results and would most probably take that if I get it. Lets see what lies in store.

@anuj: i guess your work-ex is your USP and you should highlight that in your applications. If you have moved from IT to finance without a postgrad degree, it talks a lot of your passion and motivation.
Although, I feel that work-ex will be appreciated at places like LBS/Oxford or even IE/HEC etc..ie primarily business schools. LSE gives lot of importance to academic performance... (one indication is that your recos need to be academic compulsorily).. so along with LSE, look at the other schools as well

Hey puys

I got in Oxford as well, but for the MSc in Financial Economics course. Any others who got in for the same???

I applied only to these 3 programs, coz didnt want to go in for a Financial engg prog in the US. In the UK, I guess, these 3 are the top 3.
LSE takes in people depending on the requirement of the specific prog. for e.g MSc in Finance and Accounting requires a background in accounting, which you may not have. Try for the new MSc in Finance course... that doesnt require any pre-knowledge.
The drawback abt LSE is that its an academic course... you would be probably one of the few "experienced" ppl. So, you could possibly land with a lower Analyst kind of role. Plus, I dont think you would gain a lot by just undergoing a very theoretical course. But at the end of the day.. its LSE and a big brand. But the course doesnt match up to the fees you gotta pay!!!
Oxford also has a avg work-ex of 2.5 yrs...u shud try for that.

Hi ankit

to answer your queries... you need to determine if you want a masters in (core) finance or a financial engineering(quant) program. If its the latter(i.e you want to move to areas of cap mkts i.e as a trader/quant/risk manager) then US offers the best choices... princeton, berkeley, stanford, columbia etc
If its core finance(i.e you want to get into investment banking/corp finance/asset management/VC/PE) then UK would offer the best courses..as you already mentioned LBS, followed by LSE, Oxbridge.

Now, I have applied to LBS MiF and LSE MSc Finance and Oxford MSc in Financial Economics. I got iv calls from LBS and Oxford. LSE is rolling and is still evaluating my application.

Your background should be good for most of the US programs,since you have done coding..and those courses want that.

My background: comp engineer(mumbai univ... distinction), worked for 2 years at an ibank in technology, then took the FRM exam and passed..got an internal shift to the finance department in valuation control.( this i guess helped me get an iv call especially at LBS)... candidate for CFA Level 1 etc...

PM me if you need any further details ... Best of luck

didnt think i wud be the first one to post a news like this...
checked the application site..
am waitlisted.. :(

You have been placed in the waitlist for admission into the ISBs one-year Post Graduate Programme in Management which commences on April 12, 2009. Please check your email for details.

Waiting for the email now...

Hi ruchir

same here.. applicant to R1 for ISB... its a gr8 initiative to start a new thread for R2( there isnt a R3... so you may want to rephrase the title of the thread ).. but agreed that the original thread has gone way too long for anyone to browse through 500 odd pages.

R2 applicants... best of luck... pray for us, while you are it