[zemki]

Hi, new member here.

I did not get a chance to apply for those prestigious universities mentioned in almost all the posts as they all closed. I applied to University of Surrey and Kent and received and instant offer from Kent but holding off for Surrey's reply. I applied both for international finance and economic development, because I am interested in that field.

After reading all the posts on this subforum, I'm really starting to worry that these uni's are not to go for (but they are cheap tuition fees, 5.2k compared to LSE 23k!).

I got a 2.1 in BSc Geography and economics but my economic marks are much better than my geography marks.

Should I apply for 2013/14 to the top uni's or just accept the offer from either Kent of Surrey?

Another question is...Surrey or Kent?

Thanks for reading.

[DarrenClarke]

It depends on what you think is a prestigious university, could you name a few that you might apply to next year?

Btw Surrey and Kent are both fine institutions and the price seems good too for a course with finance in the title.

[zemki]

Thanks for your reply.

By prestigious, I mean like top 6 in the league tables - LSE, Imperial, Warwick, UCL, Cambridge, etc.
Also if I dare to say ...that have high employable rate after the course is finished!

I tried to do a search on Kent and Surrey individually on this PG forum and NOTHING came up.

I saw on the Guardian League table for economics 2013 that Kent was no.6 and Surrey was no.8 but I am doubting the credibility of this table, and also maybe it's for undergraduate?

[DarrenClarke]

Well their pretty good institutions and maybe a tier above Kent & Surrey in terms of international prestige, but even if you wait until next year, there is no guarantee that you would get onto the course. By what you said about your high economics marks you would stand a chance obviously but it depends on other factors like references and personal statements ect.

Also could you afford the course at say LSE?

Personally if i felt i had a good chance to get into the top 6, i would wait, do a years work experience and apply for 2013. You would then have a good degree, good work exp and some money to help with your course. The only downside is you have to find work for the year out.

Hope this helps

[.ACS.]

There are much better universities out there than Kent and Surrey which aren't as expensive as LSE/UCL/Oxbridge/Warwick and will get you into a decent job, or academic career.

I guess the most important question is: why do you want to pursue the Masters programme? What sort of career do you envisage for yourself?

[zemki]

Darren, I agree on your reasons and yes would be really good to get work experience, however it is very difficult to get internship/work experience that would be relevant to the course of career I would like to take..

ACS, I agree that there are better university's than Kent or Surrey however, the 'better' ones are all closed, as I am a late applicant and I feel that I should just get a masters out of the way and then find work straight after that. Also Kent and Surrey do 'International Economics and finance, with development' which is something I would like to specialise in and apart from just doing masters in straight economics, which I found only to be offered by the those top 6 uni's.

To be honest I really want to work in an international organisation or institution (financial or economic) in the near future but I lack work experience (none!) and I think a masters would be a good addition to my CV, which is my reasoning.

Any thoughts?

[Optimistic03]

As said earlier, it depends on what you want from the Masters. Some times, work experience before Masters gives you an edge, as you would have had relevant experience and the Masters would prepare you for a higher level in employment rankings. Getting a Masters degree without work experience would not give you that edge. You may have to start from entry-level or close to entry level. It also depends on the country you are from though and how things work. In my country, it is much better to get work experience first. Hope this helps.