Just sharing my thoughts and what I have heard. I was speaking with one my professors just last week. We were talking about my plans after graduation and I was telling him that I was interested in going to grad school. My first choice is NYU. Just like you I know that its much more preferable to go to a top shcool. I have some friends in the area that I could room with and the networking possibilities are great. What my professor told me was that if your really set on going to one particular school that one way you can try getting in by taking classes as a non-matriculated student. After taking a few classes, given that you do well, it is much more likely that the school will accept you when you reapply. At this point you have taken classes in their program just like veryone else and done well. You have just proven yorself. It makes sense to me. I cant imagine that a professor would be wrong about this (atleast I hope not) and its something that I might look into should I not get in where I want. I am looking at an MS in Computational Finance. As someone else already mentioned in this thread, its a much better option than an MBA for someone who wants to work in the financial industry in one way or another. Hope this helps and answers your original question.