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Which is the best Uni...?

Hi all,


I am currently doing my AS levels and starting to think about uni application ect..the line of work I want to do is work in the City and be involved within trading at a bank. However I am not sure which unis will give me the best chance in achieving this.......I am looking at Manchester - BA economics....... CASS - Investment & Financial risk management.........Durham - BA economics or A&F...

Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated :-)

Regards,

CityTrader

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Reply 1
Doesnt matter, aim for the stars and maybe you'll reach the moon?

Negger: Just cause you didn't even pass the o-zone layer you ****ing failure
(edited 12 years ago)
UCL, Warwick or Nottigham will give you a solid career start as well.
Reply 3
Original post by kaosu_souzousha
UCL, Warwick or Nottigham will give you a solid career start as well.


Of course..but realistically I don't think I would be accepted
Reply 4
Warwick is generally very highly regarded for economics and mathmatics. There was a thread on here (if you search) that concluded...


This is from 2007
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

NOT MY LIST. you disagree? take it up with http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=351393.

any redbrick uni or russel group (or such equivilent) will put you in good stead.

Having said that a bad degree (such as a fail) from a good uni isnt worth toffee... The course and uni that allows you to do the best you can is the way to go. Dont get too concerned about which uni is 'best'. I have a friend at birmingham for economics who loves it and chose it over other unis listed there. A happy student = a hardworking student!

I hope this materially answers what you was looking for, however dont underestimate open days! get a good feel for each uni!
(edited 12 years ago)
If you dont think you will be accepted to UCL Warwick or Nottingham what makes you think you'll be able to manage a career in the city?
Reply 6
Original post by CityTrader
Of course..but realistically I don't think I would be accepted


The top few unis are equally hard to get onto... If it isnt being too rude perhaps giving us a suggestion of your predicted grade might help tailor the advice a little?

My own (prejudiced opinion) which im quite happy to admit is probably wrong, is that realistically and harshly if your not looking at AAB/ABB perhaps economic related degrees should be studied postgrad?

There are many routes into the jobs your choices would suggest. Do not feel one university degree is the one and only path...
Reply 7
Original post by HistoryRepeating
If you dont think you will be accepted to UCL Warwick or Nottingham what makes you think you'll be able to manage a career in the city?


Because..

A) My GCSE grades were average

B) My AS levels are Eco, Geog, His, Bio.....(no maths)....i intend on self - teaching myself the maths AS course over this coming summer holiday.
Reply 8
Original post by L-J-B
The top few unis are equally hard to get onto... If it isnt being too rude perhaps giving us a suggestion of your predicted grade might help tailor the advice a little?

My own (prejudiced opinion) which im quite happy to admit is probably wrong, is that realistically and harshly if your not looking at AAB/ABB perhaps economic related degrees should be studied postgrad?

There are many routes into the jobs your choices would suggest. Do not feel one university degree is the one and only path...


Yer sure

for AS

Economics (A).....History( A).........Geog (A)..........Bio (B)....... and then self - teaching maths over this summer holiday period.
Reply 9
Original post by HistoryRepeating
If you dont think you will be accepted to UCL Warwick or Nottingham what makes you think you'll be able to manage a career in the city?


Once you become established in the city degrees count for nothing. There are other routes to city type jobs. Some people who do not suite degrees excell in the city...

Degrees are just one method many companies use to distinguish candidates. Hard graft and several years experience are just as useful...
Reply 10
Original post by L-J-B
Once you become established in the city degrees count for nothing. There are other routes to city type jobs. Some people who do not suite degrees excell in the city...

Degrees are just one method many companies use to distinguish candidates. Hard graft and several years experience are just as useful...


Absolutely, In the City a degree at the end of the day is just to get you through the screening process ect.. but i feel that I might as well study something which I have an avid interest in and that is economics/finance.
Reply 11
Original post by CityTrader
Yer sure

for AS

Economics (A).....History( A).........Geog (A)..........Bio (B)....... and then self - teaching maths over this summer holiday period.


With a good personal statement i certainly think you should be aiming at these universities (the ones i listed barr oxbridge)- as long as you meet the required grades for the uni and LIKE IT then that should become a choice. I would personally say warwick as a choice because I PERSONALLY like it and because of its reputation, goldman sachs have been known to recruit steadily from warwick.

With those grades anything in the russel group and you cant go wrong. The most important thing really is GETTING A GOOD DEGREE.
Reply 12
Original post by L-J-B
With a good personal statement i certainly think you should be aiming at these universities- as long as you meet the required grades for the uni and LIKE IT then that should become a choice. I would personally say warwick as a choice because I PERSONALLY like it and because of its reputation, goldman sachs have been known to recruit steadily from warwick.

With those grades anything in the russel group and you cant go wrong. The most important thing really is GETTING A GOOD DEGREE.



Yep, absolutely

Thanks for your help :-)
Reply 13
A good thing may be looking at studying a law degree or combined law degree. It is often seen as a very reputable degree that shows genuine hard work. I say this as i say you have not taken mathmatics as an A-level, something the unis may require to study economics. Law degrees are very versatile and combined with a suitable masters give a candidate a very strong CV.
Original post by L-J-B
Warwick is generally very highly regarded for economics and mathmatics. There was a thread on here (if you search) that concluded...

Oxbridge (either)
(big gap)
LSE and (slightly slightly marginally behind) Warwick
(Gap)
Durham, KCL etc
(gap)
brum, manchester

any redbrick uni or russel group (or such equivilent) will put you in good stead.

Having said that a bad degree (such as a fail) from a good uni isnt worth toffee... The course and uni that allows you to do the best you can is the way to go. Dont get too concerned about which uni is 'best'. I have a friend at birmingham for economics who loves it and chose it over other unis listed there. A happy student = a hardworking student!

I hope this materially answers what you was looking for, however dont underestimate open days! get a good feel for each uni!


I don't think the gap between Oxbridge and LSE for economics is that big.

Also, not any redbrick or russell group university will put you in good stead.

I won't name names but there are two pretty weak universities in the RG.
Reply 15
Original post by ilickbatteries
I don't think the gap between Oxbridge and LSE for economics is that big.

Also, not any redbrick or russell group university will put you in good stead.

I won't name names but there are two pretty weak universities in the RG.


It is very easy to get carried away with 'strong' and 'weak' unis, which is why i tried to stress the good degree aspect. As to the gaps between universities they are not my words or beliefs merely the conclusion reached after a very long thread.

I do however believe that a 1st from any russel group uni will put you in fairly good stead for a job... Relative to each other there may be stronger and weaker however overall they are Good unis...
Original post by CityTrader
Because..

A) My GCSE grades were average

B) My AS levels are Eco, Geog, His, Bio.....(no maths)....i intend on self - teaching myself the maths AS course over this coming summer holiday.


That's kind of my point.

If you were doing Maths and F. Maths then you would be in a good position. Why didnt you do Maths AS??


edit: ROFL you didnt watch "Wall Street 2" and then decide to be a trader did you, because that would be unreally funny
Original post by L-J-B
Once you become established in the city degrees count for nothing. There are other routes to city type jobs. Some people who do not suite degrees excell in the city...

Degrees are just one method many companies use to distinguish candidates. Hard graft and several years experience are just as useful...


Oh please, the days of barrow-boys from the east end buying red braces and becoming traders are long, long gone.

At this point, in order to get a graduate position, you need to demonstrate a huge amount of affinity for maths, be an obvious hard worker and be of considerably above average intelligence.

There are people who can make it into the city as a second career, but that has its own set of challenges and would put you 3 - 4 years behind.

I work in the city, what are you basing this nonsense on?
To reiterate this - you need to find a way to demonstrate serious aptitude for maths.

If it was me, I'd talk to my school about letting me sit AS maths exams asap and potentially Maths too, and then self-teach like a mo.fo.

If you are good at maths, Maths a level is not very difficult.
In IB recruiting there is no gap between LSE and Oxbridge. It is not about getting a good degree, if you are at a target and are on course for a 2:1 that is all they care about. HR looks at the brand on the CV first so if you go to a lower tier Russell you will have slim chances at getting in with the big boys.

Durham has an investment/finance society sponsored by JPM, so get involved with that early and push for responsibility in your first year to give your spring week and internship applications some pop. I also hear that JPM are quite aggressive in employing from leadership positions from the Durham inv/fin society.

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