Situation: I’ve been accepted to both the MFA program at London Business School (LBS) and the Master in Finance program at Bocconi University, the latter with a 100% scholarship. Now, I’m faced with the challenge of deciding which program to enroll in.
Quick profile: I’m a final year Portuguese undergraduate student in a Portuguese double bachelor’s program in law and business management. I’ve had some finance courses but, in my opinion, not nearly enough to break it into the IB/PE scene without first having a good master’s education from a top European business school. I am yet to have any internship experience in a relevant sector (only did a corporate tax internship at a Big 4 in Portugal). I am inclined to return to Portugal for work after the master’s, mainly for personal reasons but also because I have a bigger chance of landing a good position (especially in PE) that gives me decent responsibilities from an early stage.
My perspective is that LBS is more pratical and getting-the-job inclined, while Bocconi is more academically rigorous and demanding. I do feel the need to have a very strong education in financial topics, and I do not completely push away the possibility of doing a phd in the future (although it’s not a main goal), which is something that makes me lean to Bocconi, but I also feel that the extra year at Bocconi might be 1 year of work experience that I lose.
I would appreciate any help regarding this subject, thank you!