Hello.

I applied to NUS M.Sc. in Finance (Investment Finance) and I have been put on a waitlist after the final interview was conducted. The main concern was that I come from an engineering discipline, and do not have finance-related work experience. May I know if anyone could explain to me the waitlist concept of NUS?

I have offers from -
Cranfield University (M.Sc. Finance)
Henley Business School (M.Sc. Investment Management)
Exeter (M.Sc. Finance & Investment)

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thank you !

Does NUS have a different concept of the waitlist to other schools? See
- https://find-mba.com/board/usa/what-to-do-if-you-are-waitlisted-32330 and 
- https://find-mba.com/board/general-forum/waitlisted-how-to-get-a-seat-41080 

Thank you sir. I will check them out.

My take: they question the relevance of your work experience but their programme doesn't require work experience: https://mscfin.nus.edu.sg/admissions/admission-requirements/ Therefore, there's something else about your profile they don't like. 

PS Looking at your list, I would pick Exeter or Henley (and probably Exeter because of more Brits in the cohort, more internships and highest student satisfaction). 

[Edited by Duncan on Apr 27, 2023]

Thank you
for your recommendation sir.

They highlighted about having no finance-related degree or
certificate because I hold a B.Eng. Mechatronics Engineering (1st Class
Honours), and a BBA (distance learning). They also asked me about the
latest financial news/updates, and mentioned that it would be a waste of
time and money if I couldn't handle catching up on finance throughout
the programme or applying it in the industry.

Initially,
I was a bit surprised that when I sent them an email about the
application, they mentioned that I was exceeding the application
deadline by 21 days, but they did a brief review of my CV and
transcripts and opened the application portal for me to apply. And I got
shortlisted within 6 days of applying too.

But I was shocked to see that they were not satisfied with me enough during the interview lately.

This really feels like gaslighting from them. If they want a finance-related degree, then they should ask for it. On what basis are they assuming that you won't be able to follow financial news or struggle with the programme? I'm less I'm mistaken, the engineering maths I learned when I was 20 was simpler than the MBA maths I learned when I was London Business School. There's no differentiation and integration in the core curriculum. 

I think there's something else they don't like and you won't get off the waitlist unless you can find out what it is. Is there an NUS b-school alumnus from your country on LinkedIn? 

Yes sir. I've asked the alumnus, and she said that she got accepted directly without being put on a waitlist after she was interviewed. Her degree is an MBBS from a medical university in my home country, Myanmar, and she has work experience as a medical doctor but no finance experience at all. She told me that they want diversity, and they accepted her because she is a doctor.

[Edited by Thant Htet Sint on Apr 27, 2023]

Okay, so you are on the waitlist because they value diversity, are looking for other candidates who offer more diversity, and are uncomfortable giving that as the reason. The other objections they have offered make no sense.