Rejection from Bocconi with a 770 GMAT
Got rejected by Bocconi University Msc in Finance with a 770 GMAT. My GPA is 3.5/4 which is above average. For those of you guys who think GMAT is super important when it comes to graduate admission, as you can see, it's not. I'm not sure where should I apply next? I wanna study Masters in Finance in Europe, Bocconi was my top choice due to them offering a full scholarship. Can anyone recommend which university I should apply for Masters in finance, my budget is only around $20,000.
What were your ECs, WE & essays like?
Genuinely curious because that’s crazy
As to affordable masters - RSM,HSG,SSE are probably the best ones under 20k
I had 2 internships. 1 risk management and 1 investment analyst. Had some extra-curricular and the essay is not the best out there but good enough I suppose. I don’t know man, shit is strange. RSM application is closed for finance and investments. HSG’s living costs are too high and SSE is 2 years:(
Cost of living in St. Gallen is lower than in Milan, mainly as rent is significantly lower. Groceries are 20-30% more expensive, but thats managable if you don't spend a lot going and eating out.
Apply next year early to RSM and you are good. No need to worry ;)
You probably had a better GMAT than everyone who got in. Did your essays suck or something (be honest)? Or no Extra-curriculars?
I had 2 internships. 1 risk management and 1 investment analyst. Had some extra-curricular and the essay is not the best out there but good enough I suppose. I don’t know man, shit is strange.
They probably sucked a little bit tbh.
No matter how good a profile you have, it ultimately depends on your framing.
Essays sucking looks a lot more likely.
Here's my motivational letter, feel free to give advice.
Dear Admissions Committee,
I am writing to express my genuine interest in joining Bocconi University for my higher
education journey. The reputation of the MSc finance program at your university is world-
renowned and I would be honored to be considered for a place in the program.
Ever since I started my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Truth be told, I was
uncertain about my ultimate career path. I have studied a wide range of business-related
courses but it wasn’t until I enrolled in the Financial Investment class that sparked my passion
for finance. What really captured my attention in this course was the stock screening project
that challenged me to construct different portfolios based on the strength of the company’s
metrics and investment returns. Throughout this project, we had the chance to work closely
with our professor who showed me the means of collecting relevant data such as financial
ratios, stock prices in different time periods, and formulas in Excel to compute the Piotroski F-
score. After completing this course, I went on to specialize in finance in the final year of my
degree, solidifying my commitment to explore the world of financial investments.
financial performance. This project enabled me to witness the relationship between financial
Currently, I am working as an investment analyst intern at the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan
Republic (SOCAR) and my key responsibilities are identifying free cash flows for investment
decisions, monitoring and analyzing financial performance metrics, and asset allocation
adjustments. I found myself immersed in the process of researching and dissecting financial
information as well as the technical aspects of evaluating and producing reports related to
investment decisions. However, my journey in the field has left me with a thirst for more
knowledge. I believe there is more to explore in the realms of investments and portfolio
management, thus, my enthusiasm to do a master’s degree in finance aboard energized me.
I believe the MSc Finance program at Bocconi University is the perfect choice for me due to the
quantitative nature of the curriculum and the opportunity for students to specialize in their
second year. Moreover, a summer internship included in this program will allow me to apply
my academic knowledge directly to real-world practices, more specifically, working at financial
institutions as a portfolio manager where I can manage clients’ funds and invest in lucrative
financial assets through valuation. This is also one of the main reasons why I prefer Bocconi
over other MSc finance programs since most of them are one-year programs which is not a
good fit for me. If admitted to your program, I am particularly keen to contribute to academic
discussions pertaining to financial markets and investments since this relates to my academic
and professional background.
Beyond academics and work experiences, I was also given the chance to participate in Formula
1 held in Baku as a volunteer and I was responsible for communicating with tourists and
providing them information about the city and the race. During this time, there were times
when I had to remain calm and professional in dealing with large crowds so I could diffuse tense
situations effectively. This volunteering experience made me realize the importance of having
strong soft skills and motivated me to actively seek out other extracurricular activities that are
going to elevate my leadership and teamwork abilities.
I appreciate you taking the time to look over my application, I am excited about the prospect of
studying at Bocconi University and contributing to the ongoing pursuit of knowledge within
your institution. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Rufat Guliyev
Oh my brother, what is this? Did you actually copy paste the essay as is?
If you see my profile, I am generally the most uplifting "you can do it" guy but I am blanking to find positive things out of this.
There are so many grammatical errors, even a spelling error (misspelled "abroad"), and incoherent sentences. Just goes to prove that you are not detail-oriented.
The start is very generic. "Why this uni?" is not as specific and very generic. It does not sound researched. All you mention is 2-year and quantitative. But how? Why is it the best fit for you aside from an internship in the middle (explanation is also not as strong and believable). And never bring down other programs. Just say why this program is the best fit for you based on your profile.
The story is all over the place. You need to be more consistent in the flow. You have to control the flow of the story. As I was reading this, I consistently lost you. Are you trying to say this or that? It is not clear. You can be literary and have a story-like structure but cannot be incoherent. For finance, I would say keep it like a proper essay with a thesis, reasoning, and examples that support those reasonings.
Brutal honesty: if I was the admission officer, I would not grant you admission either. You are purposely showing that you are not detail-oriented and are not even willing to put in the work required to ensure your spelling and grammar are correct (let alone the coherence in the story).
Yeah that essay 100% went in the bin. Its really bad.
That's strange, a friend of mine was recently admitted to HEC with a worse GPA and much worse GMAT. I feel like your profile should be more than good enough to be admitted to Bocconi.
What GMAT did they score?
had he done relevant work or internhip?
Maybe they thought your too competitive for other schools with that score and profile and didn't want to decrease their yield.
Read his essay above and you have your answer.
nah its because bocconi (being italian) is SUPER gpa oriented and the competition is just THAT fierce. Should have applied for some other programs as they are easier to get into
Msc in finance admissions in bocconi are super GPA oriented. Most folks there have a 4/4 gpa (or slightly less if they come from STEM). Plus your essay doesn't address the relatively "low" GPA and it's very generic.
That’s what I thought too. Plus I should have applied in the second round since my profile is not that strong and the competition is intense in the 1st round. I have a chance to apply again, should I choose international management for a better chance?
IM is similar regarding to GPA , but you 'll have better chances there. Focus on what you can control: perfect your essay and make it more personal, create a narrative and express clearly why you want to study in bocconi. Consider applying to other unis, with your GMAT you can get pretty much everywhere. Another advice for the essay: don't put so much emphasis on your work experience, try to make your interest in finance visible and describe the trajectory that you'd want your career to take and why an Msc in finance (especially a super quantitative and theory oriented like the bocconi one) would help you achieve it. Btw, why would you want to do IM??? it's deeply different from the Msc in Finance. If you want i can get you in contact with people in both courses that can give you some infos, feel free to PM me. GL
its because of your gpa. bocconi (being italian) likely didn't even look at your essay.
Are you Italian? Or a shitty eastern euro country? That's the only way I see you not getting in with those scores.
I received merit but with a worse essay, better scores and attractive country for them to put in the class...
Anyways, nothing you can do.
Agree, RSM (closed in like August!!) ,HSG,SSE - I would add WU Vienna. Join a program like SIMC, then get into WUTIS (investment fund). Lots of good placement for WUTIS people.
The only way you see someone not getting in is because the committee would engage in blatant prejudice based on nationality?
Just because you’re clearly prejudiced(“shitty Eastern European Country”??) and have completely idiotic opinions (more attractive or less attractive countries) doesn’t mean that everyone else is.
Use this scholarship and educate yourself instead of looking down on people from countries torn apart by communism and oppression.
??? My point is the economic situation isn't as great... I have literally no opinion and do not care.
Anyways, If you have an attractive country that they can flaunt, they will give it to you. Welcome to the real world pal. You're out to lunch if you think certain nationalities don't get prejudiced by schools, companies etc.
Declined Bocconi's offer btw, stick to audit.
Congratulations on authoring the stupidest content I read today.
biggest bullshit I have read this week around here
Let this be a lesson to GMAT maximalists - no matter how high your GMAT score is above the average, if your essay is not well produced you do NOT stand a good chance of getting in unless the school is extremely non-competitive.
I actually asked the admission office the reason for my rejection. This is what they said.
Your application, considered as a whole, was not as strong as some of the others we received.
In particular, your selection result was mostly affected by
That's fair - 3.5/4 is not low, but perhaps a bit too low for Bocconi.
Out of curiosity, what do UK universities convert your degree to (is it a 2:1, 1:1 etc?)
The issue with Italian universities, including Bocconi, is that they're extremely academically focused. Contrary to the US, where your application is looked at holistically, in Italy your GPA is weighted way more than extracurricular or professional experience. It's a failed system in my opinion, too many Italians focus so much on education and GPA and then, once they graduate, they have to settle down to some mediocre jobs because academics consumed their time without allowing them to focus on gaining professional experience.
In fact, I've heard an Italian banker saying that they had numerous interns that were extremely good in theory, maybe the best in Europe, but they had no clue how to turn on Bloomberg. Half satire, but you get the point.
If I were you I would focus either on France/Germany/UK. Way more opportunities than in Italy and Bocconi students also aim at those locations, so by being at a local university where the bank is located you'll have an edge. Pick also a location where you would be comfortable in the medium-term reaching some fluency as local language in Europe is important.
Cheers.
this is so interesting. Is this purely Italy? I know France and other countries also are more academically inclined than US schools but is Italy even more extreme?
yes, italy is so much more extreme even in the European setting. i have a 4.0 gpa and any UK or US freshman intern would kick my rear as far as experience goes. the amount of studying you have to do here makes it much more difficult to get experience. just to put things into perspective, even big4 firms ask for a MASTER to intern there most of the time
Did anyone else see the subject line and assume Bocconi was an exclusive restaurant? I legit thought this post was going to be a parody where Bocconi is like Dorsia
Just wanted to point out how wrong is the person saying they dislike Eastern European countries: I’m from one of them and got accepted last year in the first round with 700 GMAT and 8.8/10 GPA
That guy is a certified cretin - have seen his posts around
Did you have work exp or internships? I have a similar profile
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