Hi,

I am currently considering studying an MBA in the UK and have a few questions. I have been working full time now for around 5 years and most of my experience is centered around the energy sector. I used to work in Australia at a electricity generation company and worked in multiple roles in trading and finance with my last role their being a short term energy trader.

I then left and went travelling around the world for 8 months then landed a job in the UK as a Energy Consultant at a small company that sells modelling software and also consultancy in energy markets and modelling. I haven't had a proper 'manager' title but as a consultant I have done a bit of work on my own in other European countries for clients and also trained up juniors in my previous roles.

I studied a double degree in Commerce and IT then did an extra year and graduated with an lower second class honors in IT too. My university grades are pretty scattered with a few fails in some subjects in my mid years but then also quite a few of distinctions and high distinctions in later years. Will my failures in some subjects effect my admission?

I haven't done the GMAT yet but just started studying for it I suspect my ability I would probably sit around 650ish.

I have worked almost exclusively in the energy and while I do enjoy it I wouldn't mind seeing what else is out there. I did enjoy trading so potentially getting back into trading or something finance based might be of interest. I guess I am not 100% sure of exactly where I want to end up after I do a MBA I just feel that doing one will help me 'find myself' along the way and I can narrow the things that are of interest to me and then narrow down on what I want my career to be focused on. Will not having well set out reasons/goals effect my applications?

In terms of schools over here I have been considering Imperial, Cass, Manchester and Warick. Cambridge would be a stretch school limited by my uni GPA / GMAT. I would also want a school that had decent alumni connections around the world since one day I am probably plan on going back to Australia to live but are more than happy to do some time working in London for 3-10 years if need be. Also a school with a decent reputation outside of the UK would be important to me as well.

Yes, the weak grades will be noticed. I think you need to clarify your goals and get a strong GMAT to compensate, some way over 650 for the schools you are looking at.

Look on LinkedIn to see how large the alumni networks are of these schools in Australia.

There's a good list of schools at http://www.find-mba.com/board/27082

Hi,

I am currently considering studying an MBA in the UK and have a few questions. I have been working full time now for around 5 years and most of my experience is centered around the energy sector. I used to work in Australia at a electricity generation company and worked in multiple roles in trading and finance with my last role their being a short term energy trader.

I then left and went travelling around the world for 8 months then landed a job in the UK as a Energy Consultant at a small company that sells modelling software and also consultancy in energy markets and modelling. I haven't had a proper 'manager' title but as a consultant I have done a bit of work on my own in other European countries for clients and also trained up juniors in my previous roles.

I studied a double degree in Commerce and IT then did an extra year and graduated with an lower second class honors in IT too. My university grades are pretty scattered with a few fails in some subjects in my mid years but then also quite a few of distinctions and high distinctions in later years. Will my failures in some subjects effect my admission?

I haven't done the GMAT yet but just started studying for it I suspect my ability I would probably sit around 650ish.

I have worked almost exclusively in the energy and while I do enjoy it I wouldn't mind seeing what else is out there. I did enjoy trading so potentially getting back into trading or something finance based might be of interest. I guess I am not 100% sure of exactly where I want to end up after I do a MBA I just feel that doing one will help me 'find myself' along the way and I can narrow the things that are of interest to me and then narrow down on what I want my career to be focused on. Will not having well set out reasons/goals effect my applications?

In terms of schools over here I have been considering Imperial, Cass, Manchester and Warick. Cambridge would be a stretch school limited by my uni GPA / GMAT. I would also want a school that had decent alumni connections around the world since one day I am probably plan on going back to Australia to live but are more than happy to do some time working in London for 3-10 years if need be. Also a school with a decent reputation outside of the UK would be important to me as well.

Will not having well set out reasons/goals effect my applications?

Thanks guys for your comments so far. Assuming I couldn't get into Cambridge for example and I believed my longer term career interest was in finance after a MBA would I then be looking at somewhere like Cass?

Even though a worldwide alumni network would be good for the foreseeable future I am open to stay in London so a good alumni network base here would be also a plus. I have read through some other threads and people have commented on certain programs being quite compressed (Warwick) and where as others like Manchester are better if you are thinking of changing fields due to the possibility of an internship and a more relaxed learning pace.

One other question, I quite like more practical/case study based learning do the teaching styles vary between schools greatly?

The educational experience is not just about the 'teaching' style but also about the use of projects, group assessment, internships etc. The shorter, more intensive programmes will have much less of that educational experience.

Assuming I couldn't get into Cambridge for example and I believed my longer term career interest was in finance after a MBA would I then be looking at somewhere like Cass?

Assuming I couldn't get into Cambridge for example and I believed my longer term career interest was in finance after a MBA would I then be looking at somewhere like Cass?

Cass would be great if you wanted to get into financial services in London - according to LinkedIn, it's just behind LBS in London-based financial services representation. It's 12 months rather than Manchester's 18 months, so it might feel more "compressed" as you say, although I'm not sure that would be a huge issue.

My friend get admission offer for masters in account / finance from Manchester Business School and Edinburgh Business School. He is done CA and big 4 experience (KPMG and Deloitte). After masters he want to live and work in big 4 in UK. Which is better for job in UK Manchester or Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Business School, which is at Heriott Watt, is not great. Do you mean the University of Edinburgh Business School?

Edinburgh Business School, which is at Heriott Watt, is not great. Do you mean the University of Edinburgh Business School?

Those are both good programmes. Neither is in the top tier for MSd finance http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/masters-in-finance-pre-experience-2012 but they are strong for accounting. In both schools, students have good accounting knowledge on the way in.

PS The Edinburgh programme seems to be better for accounting; the MBS programme is a CFA partner, so it's more focussed on financial analysis. At Edinburgh, Advanced Management Accounting is in the first semester, and is followed by International Management Accounting in the second semester. At Manchester I think the students come in with a bit less accounting knowledge, and do Advanced Management Accounting only in the second semester.

Those are both good programmes. Neither is in the top tier for MSd finance http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/masters-in-finance-pre-experience-2012 but they are strong for accounting. In both schools, students have good accounting knowledge on the way in.

PS The Edinburgh programme seems to be better for accounting; the MBS programme is a CFA partner, so it's more focussed on financial analysis. At Edinburgh, Advanced Management Accounting is in the first semester, and is followed by International Management Accounting in the second semester. At Manchester I think the students come in with a bit less accounting knowledge, and do Advanced Management Accounting only in the second semester.

I think Durham and Warwick are the places to focus on.

The UK Universities with the biggest alumni networks in accounting are Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Durham, Loughborough, Warwick and Bristol.

Also look for business schools with the strongest finance programmes, if non-accounting roles in the Big 4 are interesting: Oxford, Cranfield, Imperial, Cass and Henley.