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Top 20 UK unis for getting an IB Job

The Top 20 UK Unis for doing an Undergrad
degree to get a Front Office* job at a Top 7 IB**
* Investment Banking, Corporate Finance, ECM, DCM & Global Markets (Sales, Trading, Research & Structuring for Fixed Income, FX, Commodities & Equities)
** Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, UBS, Lehman Brothers

01 LSE
02 Oxford, Cambridge
[small gap]
04 Imperial
[big gap]
05 Warwick
06 UCL
[huge, huge gap]
07 KCL
08 Bristol
09 Nottingham
(An MSc from CASS after an OK undergrad
and you're about on par with 07-09)
[gap]
10 Bath
11 Loughborough
12 York
13 St Andrews
14 Edinburgh
15 Durham
[gap]
16 Reading (ISMA)
17 Manchester
18 Royal Holloway
19 City (undergrad degrees)
20 Birmingham

This table gives an idea of your likelihood of getting an IB offer if you do an undergraduate degree at one of the above institutions.

LSE, Oxford and Cambridge give you your best chance of a front office IB job, and most British front-office grads at the top 7 IBs are from here (GS, Ci, MS, ML, DB, UBS, LB). I'm putting LSE first purely because of the additional networking opportunities of having the banks right at your doorstep, the ease at which you can meet young bankers who can help you etc. Imperial is perhaps better than these for some quant/structuring roles, but there are very few in IBD, sales etc given few there have top social skills.

There's an ongoing debate about which is better between Warwick & UCL. Warwick's maybe a slightly better uni with a better rep, but UCL has the London advantage, but it's perhaps easier at Warwick where so many more of the Economists, A&Fers etc go into IB, people all around you to give invaluable advice. At either of them you are perfectly capable of landing a front office job at a top IB if you focus on it.

Now that these 6 unis, which constitute maybe 90% of the British intake at the top unis is out of the way, things get a lot trickier, you guys outside this pret set really have work cut out if you want to make it. At KCL, Bristol, Nottingham you're gonna really have to shine if you want a front-office spot at a top IB. KCL has the location, Bristol the prestige and Nottingham the great careers service to help you on your way.

After this come 6 prestigious institutions with a pretty dismal record of getting people into tier 1 front office, but from here the 2nd division (the likes of ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Dresdner etc) are all really accessible - made easy particularly at Bath and Loughborough with the sandwich placement years giving you valuable experience.

The bottom five of the table will give you the occasional superstar making it big, but largely filling up the middle/back office and 2nd tier spots.

Hope that helps. The obvious counts, that university institution is only one piece of a large jigsaw, and an ambitious networker from Exeter has a better chance than a lazy ar$e from Oxbridge, but uni rep is damn important. This is purely my opinion based on experience - I have seen the CV books for maybe 1,000 new grads now from different top banks for the 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 grad and intern classes, so know very well where the talent comes from. Year on year the intakes are getting more and more impressive, and as this happens unis outside the top 6 are being increasingly squeezed year on year, as are people on course for a 2.1 not a 1st.

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Avatar for Ourkid
Ourkid
12
Thanks for that CT :smile:

I'm hoping to end up at IC, but UCL will still serve me well.

I'm putting LSE first purely because of the additional networking opportunities of having the banks right at your doorstep, the ease at which you can meet young bankers who can help you etc. Imperial is perhaps better than these for some quant/structuring roles, but most of them are too geeky and antisocial for the client-facing stuff.


Is this saying that IC is better for contacts and networking but the nature of IC applicants means that generally they tend to be less suited to client facing roles? If you could clarify that'd be great.

Thanks again
w00tt
CT has spoken, let this be stickied and start handing automatic bans to anyone with such a query.
Imperial is perhaps better than these for some quant/structuring roles, but most of them are too geeky and antisocial for the client-facing stuff.


Don't mean to blow the rasberry out of your wonderful post there CT, but I think that is perhaps a large generalisation. Anyway, I agree with the general structure, though I don't really feel there is a gap between your top 3 and Imperial. Ah well...
Reply 4
Avatar for Big4Monkey
Big4Monkey
OP
The Imperial dig was just a little joke, will amend it. But it's true - Imperial has a very poor rep for IBD and Sales, but is good for Quant/Structuring, as it has a geeky and anti-social overall rep.
Less Imperial grads in monkey work positions, sounds great to me...:wink:
Reply 6
Avatar for kyril
kyril
Well, I dare believe that LSE is pretty similar to Imperial. Or is it just me..
Reply 7
Avatar for Ourkid
Ourkid
12
lol... nicely put. :s-smilie:

Nonetheless isn't a 'very poor rep' a bit harsh? Assuming you show up to an interview with the appropriate prerequisites in place, then the fact that you're not an antisocial cs player would some through no?

w00tt
Reply 8
Avatar for Big4Monkey
Big4Monkey
OP
w00tt
Nonetheless isn't a 'very poor rep' a bit harsh? Assuming you show up to an interview with the appropriate prerequisites in place, then the fact that you're not an antisocial cs player would some through no?

"very poor rep" is the truth. If you make it to interview and all's fine then you're through, just very few of them do make it. Quite often it's fairly tough when NO SPEAK INGLEES
Reply 9
Avatar for Ourkid
Ourkid
12
Hehe:p:

Well I shouldn't have the English problem.

So you think my courses/choices (sig) are ok for getting into a range of IB?

Thanks
w00tt

EDIT: RE: the poor rep, is that in relation to the likes of LSE and Oxbridge? Or would you say in comparison to the next tier of universities you've mentioned?
Reply 10
Avatar for Ourkid
Ourkid
12
CT - I don't know how long you'll be online for so I'm going to ask some questions here if you don't mind :smile:

Would having AAAC at A level (Chemistry, physics, maths and biology respectively) and a first (ideally) from Imperial for Chem Eng (MEng) be enough for getting interviews?

My GCSE's aren't amazing either. A*AABBBBBBCC. Does this put me at a major disadvantage?

Would possible networking at Imperial make it a lot easier to overcome these difficulties?

I ask this primarily because I've just seen your profile. :frown:
Thanks again
w00tt
Reply 11
Avatar for Big4Monkey
Big4Monkey
OP
w00tt
CT - I don't know how long you'll be online for so I'm going to ask some questions here if you don't mind :smile:

Would having AAAC at A level (Chemistry, physics, maths and biology respectively) and a first (ideally) from Imperial for Chem Eng (MEng) be enough for getting interviews?

My GCSE's aren't amazing either. A*AABBBBBBCC. Does this put me at a major disadvantage?

Would possible networking at Imperial make it a lot easier to overcome these difficulties?

I ask this primarily because I've just seen your profile. :frown:
Thanks again
w00tt

Your A-Levels are completely fine.

Your GCSEs are ****e and will be a disadvantage depending on what the form looks like - I think Morgan Stanley all your GCSE grades stand out on the app form whereas Deutsche don't even ask for them.

Networking can't hurt anyone obviously. But do well at Imperial both academically and non and you can certainly land interviews.
Reply 12
Avatar for Ourkid
Ourkid
12
Excellent, thank you :smile:

One final one. What is your opinion on Chemistry (MSci) from Imperial (I have an offer already) against a more mathematical Chem Eng at UCL?

This is quite a big problem for me assuming I don't get Chem Eng at Imperial.

Thanks - final question for tonight, promise! :p:

w00tt
Reply 13
Avatar for Big4Monkey
Big4Monkey
OP
The Imperial Engineering courses have an outstanding reputation. UCL's don't.
w00tt
Excellent, thank you :smile:

One final one. What is your opinion on Chemistry (MSci) from Imperial (I have an offer already) against a more mathematical Chem Eng at UCL?

This is quite a big problem for me assuming I don't get Chem Eng at Imperial.

Thanks - final question for tonight, promise! :p:

w00tt

You've applied to a number of 'masters' degrees... what did you do for your BSc / BA / BEng? / BE, that is if you did anything at all?
diMo
You've applied to a number of 'masters' degrees... what did you do for your BSc / BA / BEng? / BE, that is if you did anything at all?


Most science degrees award you an MSci, MEng, MPhys, etc... should you stick with the course for 4 years instead of 3.
CityTrader
The Imperial Engineering courses have an outstanding reputation. UCL's don't.

Isn't Brunel the next best thing in engineering after Oxbridge? I heard this from a friend who's actually chosen to do engineering at Brunel later this year, could be a dud-load of information though.
fonzievision
Most science degrees award you an MSci, MEng, MPhys, etc... should you stick with the course for 4 years instead of 3.

Ahh right I see, so naturally its a 3-year-long BEng, but that 4th year will convert it into a masters. Cool :smile:
diMo
Isn't Brunel the next best thing in engineering after Oxbridge? I heard this from a friend who's actually chosen to do engineering at Brunel later this year, could be a dud-load of information though.


I'm sure he chose to do engineering at Brunel...
Please... I know you're not the most informed of people on this board, but make an effor.. do you really think Brunel is as good as Imperial, Warwick, etc?!
fonzievision
I'm sure he chose to do engineering at Brunel...
Please... I know you're not the most informed of people on this board, but make an effor.. do you really think Brunel is as good as Imperial, Warwick, etc?!

Obviously it's nowhere near as good, but every uni is great at something in a particular field, and pathetic in other fields. I'll asssume it's false info then.

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