Right MBA Program for Finance, Banking

There’s an old adage in the business world that personal success is driven not only by what you know but also by who you know.

The value of personal connections is something that experts say prospective MBA students should keep in mind if their goal is to enter the finance industry.

“I believe that finance, especially banking but also corporate finance, is a relation-driven industry, even more than you can expect,” Oscar Rodriguez Fuertes, an MBA student at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, said via email. “A program with a strong finance curriculum is a prerequisite to being successful in this industry, but in my experience, that is not enough,” said Fuertes, who recently worked as a strategic finance summer associate for Airbnb.

He says MBA applicants with an interest in finance should look for a b-school that has an abundance of alumni working in the finance sector, since those alumni can help them find work.

Business school professors suggest that finance-focused MBA applicants compare the job placement statistics of various schools to determine which offer the best prospects in investment banking, private equity or venture capital.

It’s important to look not only at the percentage of graduates who work in finance but also at the breakdown of where these students work, says Drew Pascarella, a lecturer of finance at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management.

“Diversity is key here; I’d rather attend a school with a broad array of recruiting relationships, both to maximize choice and to ensure that a merger or slowdown at one firm doesn’t materially impact the number of positions available to students,” Pascarella said in an email.

Here are five other tips experts and students had for b-school applicants hoping to join the finance industry.

1. Gauge whether students can convert summer internships into full-time jobs: Pascarella says applicants should investigate an MBA program’s conversion rate, meaning the percentage of its students with summer internships who are hired to work full time at the firm where they intern. This is particularly important in the investment banking industry, he says.

“In investment banking, the recruiting process is centered on the summer internship process,” Pascarella said. “Investment banks make the vast majority of full-time offers to their summer interns; few other offers are available. Because of this, MBAs need to make sure they can convert internships to full-time offers.”

2. Aim for a math-intensive MBA program: Mohamed Kamara, a first-year MBA student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, says he decided where to apply based on which business schools his professional mentors identified as having the most rigorous quantitative curriculum.

Kamara says that future finance professionals need to attend business schools where they will sharpen their analytical skills.

3. Choose schools with finance courses that intrigue you: Scott Edinburgh, founder of admissions consulting firm Personal MBA Coach, says applicants should look for schools with courses in finance topics they are really interested in, since programs vary in what types of finance they emphasize.

For instance, Edinburgh says, some b-schools offer a strong curriculum in behavioral finance. According to experts, this is a field that focuses on how emotions influence financial decisions and contribute to the rise and fall of markets.

4. Look for programs with courses that apply to both publicly traded and privately held companies: Craig Everett, assistant professor of finance at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, says that many b-schools offer an insufficient number of finance courses that teach valuation strategies that work at privately held companies, which is a problem because a majority of American companies are privately held.

He says MBA applicants should look for schools that will give them skills that can be applied at both public and private companies, especially if they plan on working in private equity, venture capital or entrepreneurial finance, since these are all fields where knowledge of private finance principles will be essential.

5. Choose schools with a balance of theory-oriented and practice-oriented faculty: “Having a nice balance is good because you get a strong academic theory from the true academics as well as more of a real-world exposure from someone who might be a visiting professor,” Edinburgh says. “Most schools have both, but some schools have more of one than another, and that’s something that I advise clients to look at.”

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