Applying to LSE from a 'Polytechnic' University

My ultimate career goal is to go into consulting, working for KPMG or one of the other Big 4. However, I study at Nottingham Trent University and I don't feel that the my establishment is reputable enough to even be considered by one of these companies, so I've reasoned in my head that, the only was I can really 'stand out' is if I have a masters (which I know in some cases can also lead to entering a position with higher pay).

My grades have been quite strong in uni. I'm on placement year abroad as of right now at a really good company and I return to finish my fourth and final year in October. In the summer between my first and second year, I worked abroad and came to London to intern in the city. So I have a lot practical work experience in addition to speaking two other languages (Spanish and Punjabi).

Two masters programs at LSE have really stood out to me: Economics and Philosophy and Economics and Management.

My question is, if I gained a first at NTU, combined with my work experience and languages, would I even be able to apply to LSE coming from NTU? If so, would my chances be slimmed down because I come from Trent?

I've heard of people going from a 'polytechnic' undergrad to pursuing postgrad studies at a Red Brick, but never heard of the jump from polytechnic to LSE/Oxbridge or the likes.

Reply 1

alleycat393

Which uni you come from doesn't really matter, especially one like NTU. Focus on getting the grades and with the amount of experience you have you'll be fine. You may want to think about whether or not you need the masters though. Have a look at jobs you're interested in and see what the requirements are.

Reply 2

post-grad-u-ate

Higher ranked universities do like people who have proven themselves at lower ranked universities, though some would argue it is easier to get better grades there. My friend got into St. Andrews and another got into Warwick (though paid 25k just in tuition!), they were both international students, so paid more than most and they come from middle class backgrounds in their countries.

Concentrate on your placement and getting the best result you can in your degree and be realistic, LSE is one of the best universities in the world, not just the UK. University of London is a good place to look though, SOAS, QMUL, KCL, RHUL, and recently City University is joining the University of London which might be interesting.

Getting caught up in elitism and ranking might stifle your potential, so really analyse who you are and what you want to do, as for example, you might be really interested in fashion and want to work for brands like Adidas and then as you mature, you could go on to work for a brand like Hugo Boss and with this ambition you would want to study for the masters in strategic marketing at the London College of Fashion, which is a part of the University of the Arts, which is not ranked at all compared to LSE, but within the fashion industry it is the elite.

St. Andrews might be a good crack as it is tucked away up in Scotland, Surrey is good and in the top ten and Loughbrough, York, Bath and Bristol. You'll have a good shot at getting into a good university.

Make the most of your work placement as that will be just as, if not more important to show your potential.

Reply 3

BasedChunk

Original post by post-grad-u-ate

Concentrate on your placement and getting the best result you can in your degree and be realistic, LSE is one of the best universities in the world, not just the UK.

.

That's exactly the point and is why I feel I need to apply there.

With the job I am doing, my manager is the Director of 6 countries and so in my work, I am responsible for those too and the work that I have been doing is more inline with consultancy. I'm identifying opportunities in the market place of these countries so the international strategic dimension to my internship is very strong. I'm trying to find the most humble way of saying it but long story short, my work will be generating some crazy revenue to the company in the next 5 years. Do you think that this would qualify me to apply to a global university like LSE?

Thank you so much for you input by the way! It's incredibly useful

Reply 4

post-grad-u-ate

Well realistically you have a smaller chance of getting accepted but you can always try.

What about Newcastle University in London? MSc International Management, tuition fee is 5,600 as compared to LSE which is 20k.

Also, Exeter, Lancaster.. which has an excellent management science department, if not the best in the country.

I think you would have a better chance if you gained 2-3 years work experience and this would give you time to consider if masters study is really what you need to be doing.

Again, you wouldn't even have to move city to go to Nottingham and study MSc Operations Management.

Consulting is a vast area, do you know what you want to specialise in?

Reply 5

BasedChunk

Original post by alleycat393

Which uni you come from doesn't really matter, especially one like NTU.

You may want to think about whether or not you need the masters though.

One question. What do you mean when you say 'especially' one like NTU?

And to what I understand speaking to many people within the Big 4 firms, they definitely value a masters if you're looking to apply for a higher position straight out of uni!

Reply 6

alleycat393

Original post by BasedChunk

NTU isn't exactly a terrible uni so there's nothing to worry about. And that's great, you have your answer then.

Reply 7

BasedChunk

Original post by post-grad-u-ate

Well realistically you have a smaller chance of getting accepted but you can always try.

I think you would have a better chance if you gained 2-3 years work experience and this would give you time to consider if masters study is really what you need to be doing.

Consulting is a vast area, do you know what you want to specialise in?

Yeah I mean, I fully understand that an application to a top tier uni will be an uphill struggle so I'm ready for that. I'm just really relying on my experience and languages to carry me a little which in total clock to about 1 and a half years of actual working experience (2 if you count part time retail work).

What I do at my internship is to figure out where to open stores. We need to know about retail locations, spending power of cities, demographics etc to propose where we can open up stores. I'm good at it and its something I enjoy quite a lot, sharing knowledge and opportunities with people where they thought a particular location had no hope, to then for them to find out a place can drive hundreds and thousands of dollars is great to see in their face. So I'm not actually sure what area of consultancy that would fall under!

Reply 8

1775339

You've got to remember too that a lot of masters programmes aren't all that competitive because many courses don't fill up. This may change with the postgraduate loans scheme but we will see.

If you've got the marks and your placement looks great on your CV then go for it! No harm in trying.

I went to a former polytechnic and applied to Oxford for my masters and didn't get in. I went overseas to the Netherlands instead to Utrecht which technically in the world rankings is the same as a UK top ten. Not that rankings are massively important.

Reply 9

souman

Original post by BasedChunk

Few points.

Big4 are recruiting from ex poli unis! It's nothing like investment banking where if you are not from certain unis you have no chance. My undergrad was ex-poli and all 4 big4 were on the career fairs making presentations etc. Many of my course mates got into pwc. So why not apply directly next year?

Many people who do masters do them because they want to re-brand themselves and have good uni on their cv. You will be surprised how many people dont do masters because they want to learn more and enrich their academic knowledge, but rather because of cv building. Top unis know this desire to re-brand and are milking it with their huge tuitions. If a top uni rejects you for a masters it would be because you dont meet academic requirement, i.e if you want to do economics, you need quantitative undergrad. If you have a 1st from london met in appropriate degree, you have every chance!

Also, you seem to like your placement. Why not come back to them after uni and work for them?

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Reply 10

post-grad-u-ate

Original post by souman

Top unis know this desire to re-brand and are milking it with their huge tuitions.

Amen!

Some people literally don't care if they repeat the same stuff they just want Nike or Adidas on their CV instead of Gola and Hi-Tec.

Reply 11

ppapanastasiou

Original post by souman

While I partially agree with your statements degrees from ex-polys tend to be less demanding, recruiters know this and that puts you at a certain disadvantage. This is the sad truth!

Reply 12

Oilfreak1

Where you did your undergrad isn't even a factor.

1) Is your undergrad relevant?
2) Is your prospective uni asking that your undergrad be accredited by the appropriate body?
3) Is your undergrad accredited by said body?
4) do you meet minimum grade requirements?

Thats all they care about. My course has Harvard/oxbridge graduates as well as Leeds/Manchester graduates, its the PS/interview that get you in not where your undergrad is from.