What are your career goals? All three have strong programs and even concentrations in finance. Pace Lubin has a larger network - many grads end up working in financial services companies like Citi, JP Morgan, etc.

Many St. John's graduates also end up going into finance - and into many of the same firms within similar salary ranges - but the alumni network tends to be smaller.

I'd think that if you were interested in finance, then you might consider Seton Hall a safety school. In terms of curriculum, career services, and alumni networks, it's of similar quality to the other two - it's just that graduate distribution tends to be broader, with many alumni in sales and operations roles.

I pm'ed you.......

I am currently 24yrs old with 2 years of experience in logistics/international finance for a large multinational apparel company. I would like to use an MBA program in finance and possibly a concentration in investment management to get a position of analyst at a well known financial services company such as the ones you mentioned.
I hope to parlay this experience as an analyst into a poistion as an associate with a smaller private equity form. This is just my ideal career path but who knows.
With that being said which of the 3 schools that I mentioned do you think would put me in the best position to pursue my career goals?

St. John's.

I have been leaning towards pace...... What makes you recommend st johns ?

St. John's.

Interesting - I'd be curious to hear about Duncan's reasoning for St. John's as well. Not that it's a bad school - but Pace does have a larger alumni network, and has a concentration in Investment Management, which could be relevant.

But like I mentioned earlier, these are pretty much comparable schools for finance (they're not NYU Stern or Columbia, but not bad either.) I'd take a close look at the curriculum and see which appeals to you - St. John's does have some electives in investment analysis and investment banking.

Pace is a better preparation for investment management than St. John's. However, for this candidate, St. John's is more realistic. Students there have an average age of 23, as opposed to 26 at Pace. Pace is more selective and in most ways is also able to bring more diversity into the classroom. However, starting salaries are similar from the two programmes.

St. John's also has great insight into Investment Management, and offers an MS in IM.

If the candidate had offers from both, then they should take Pace. However, right now, an application to St. John's will almost certainly be accepted, while Pace is much less certain (especially if the applicant is a US male).

Being a US male I think I am going to go with Pace. Thanks for letting me know about the diverse classroom atmosphere which is something ive heard about in regards to Pace and think is very valuable.

Thanks to both of you for the suggestions!

Good to hear - good luck with the program, and don't forget to drop back in and give us updates from time to time!