MS in Finance Forum

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michaelw1936

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MS in Finance

Post by michaelw1936 » Tue Sep 07, 2010 11:39 pm

I currently attend a large public university as a Finance major. As of right now, I would be able to graduate in three years. However, I have heard that graduate/professional schools view this type of student as immature, not to mention I'd hate to leave college early, so I'm looking at ways to extend my college years to four while not completely wasting my time. One such way would be to pursue a Masters of Science in Finance, which I could complete in one year. The Masters program would be something that I would really like to do, however I have done some TLS lurking and the general consensus seems to be that graduate degrees are a waste. I know that I would like to do BigLaw, possibly M&A or Antitrust, so the MS makes sense to me (naive 0L?). Essentially, would getting the Masters hurt my application in any way, or would Adcomms simply be indifferent to it? How would future employers feel about it? I suppose my other option would be to study abroad or maybe get a year of w/e. Thanks

dustinv

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Re: MS in Finance

Post by dustinv » Tue Sep 07, 2010 11:47 pm

I'm currently in the same position as you and am about to graduate with my finance degree in 3 years (I just turned 20 this past month). I don't view my graduating early as a hindrance though. If anything, with a strong personal statement and resume you can demonstrate to law schools that you are mature and a high achiever despite your relatively young age.

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2014

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Re: MS in Finance

Post by 2014 » Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:26 am

If you can afford it, get it. It will do no harm to you if you get good grades, and will be of some use when you are interviewing for jobs if a finance background is helpful. Additionally if you have a hard time finding legal work, it gives you a backup option. Don't count on it getting you into any law schools you aren't numerically qualified for though.

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maroonzoon

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Re: MS in Finance

Post by maroonzoon » Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:47 am

I would get some work experience, otherwise you might not have much credibility. In general, law schools value majors that demonstrate analytical ability...I don't want to rag on a major, but unless you took number theory or some other hardcore math courses, they may view finance as not so rigorous. Some law schools specifically mention looking at classes and seeing if someone took the "path of least resistance." If you have the extra time, I would prove that person is not you, without sacrificing your GPA too much. Or keep your 4.0 and get 170+ on the LSAT...

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oshberg28

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Re: MS in Finance

Post by oshberg28 » Wed Sep 08, 2010 6:29 am

maroonzoon wrote:I would get some work experience, otherwise you might not have much credibility. In general, law schools value majors that demonstrate analytical ability...I don't want to rag on a major, but unless you took number theory or some other hardcore math courses, they may view finance as not so rigorous. Some law schools specifically mention looking at classes and seeing if someone took the "path of least resistance." If you have the extra time, I would prove that person is not you, without sacrificing your GPA too much. Or keep your 4.0 and get 170+ on the LSAT...
You think Finance is one of the easier majors!? :shock:

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ResolutePear

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Re: MS in Finance

Post by ResolutePear » Wed Sep 08, 2010 6:40 am

oshberg28 wrote:
maroonzoon wrote:I would get some work experience, otherwise you might not have much credibility. In general, law schools value majors that demonstrate analytical ability...I don't want to rag on a major, but unless you took number theory or some other hardcore math courses, they may view finance as not so rigorous. Some law schools specifically mention looking at classes and seeing if someone took the "path of least resistance." If you have the extra time, I would prove that person is not you, without sacrificing your GPA too much. Or keep your 4.0 and get 170+ on the LSAT...
You think Finance is one of the easier majors!? :shock:
Yes, it's the general consensus. Ranks just above History and somewhere below I.T.

Not that it's 100% accurate, but I like to consider Finance a watered down version of an Accounting major since an Accounting major can do everything that a finance major can do, but the converse is not true.

ViIIager

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Re: MS in Finance

Post by ViIIager » Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:35 am

I agree with Pear on the difficulty, except if its Quantative Finance (in other words, not that easy present value = future value * (100-i) blahblah). QFIN, and pimping, ain't easy.

If you can get an MS in a year at a reasonable cost, it sounds like a nice move. Then again, if you're cost-adverse and just want to move on to LS asap, hit 4.0/170 and profit.

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