KCL: Maths with management & finance vs Cass: Investment & financial risk management

(edited 3 years ago)

Both semi-targets and both will equally get your foot in the door.

Cass is very business / finance / banking / accounting orientated so if you're not interested in working in these areas.. I wouldn't bother. I can't give you much insight about Kings. Cass students do get F/O placements, although with IFRM, you'd be looking at S+T / Global Markets (as opposed to IBD) due to the quantitative nature of the course. Regardless, you'd still have to get your 2:1 from either institution.

http://news.efinancialcareers.com/uk-en/145537/the-best-universities-for-jobs-in-trading-ma-and-risk/

Make of this what you will.. I assume it talks only UG degrees as LBS/Cranfield isn't there.

King's is also well-regarded for IB, so if you like that environment/course.. go for it.

I got through interview stages for BBs and at the ACs the only other students there were holding offers from the target unis (Oxford/LSE/Cambridge (and I believe 1 guy from UCL) so Cass students obviously are well-regarded. Also I asked the recruiters at CS & BAML to clarify this point.

I'm in year 13 and have a summer intern offer in an IB (I'd assume partly because of my prospective uni).

None of the two degrees will be a waste of 9k (assuming you get the 2:1+) Good-luck in your decision making process. :biggrin:

Reply 2

gr8wizard10

Original post by lumiere

Thanks for the reply, so are you saying that the reason perhaps that everyone goes on about not seeing cass people in FO is because many people didn't do the course for it rather than they're not seen as capable of it? And doesn't that also suggest just how specialised and limited a cass degree might be?
All I know is I love maths and I'd say I'm pretty good at it (maybe a bit more lol) my biggest worry about IFRM was that there might not be enough maths and it might not be challenging enough, I even emailed cass asking if core modules could be switched as I looooved some of the actuarial science ones and she was just like no but we could switch you to that if you want...(some of the actuarial science ones seemed a bit TOO challenging lol)

Cass is predominately an industry orientated school. With regards to not seeing many Cass students in F/O, you have to take into account all the other universities that also get into F/O including international schools/postgrad only schools and the UK Targets which are Oxbridge/LSE/Warwick/Imperial/UCL who are generally prioritised. King's & Cass are both generally deemed 2nd Tier. They are both capable of getting interviews and after that stage it's down to the individual to impress.

Along with Oxbridge, Imperial and LSE; UCL and Warwick, the remaining members of the G5, are also top Universities to break into the profession from. After the G5:

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Durham/Edinburgh/Nottingham/Bristol

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Cass Business School (London)

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York/Bath/St Andrews

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King’s/Manchester

-http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Investment_Banking

I believe the main reason people choose to study with Cass is because of it's practical elements in relation to industry roles which gives Cass students an advantage when graduating. I personally chose to apply for IFRM as the course modules were exactly the things I needed to learn for what I wanted to pursue in the future. Cross-referencing this with recruiters at BB banks, I decided to firm them.

Again, if you're not interested in the specifics of what the course entails and prepares you to do, don't bother going to Cass (even the course director of IFRM advocates this). The course isn't designed for everyone and it seems you're more interested in Maths than actually learning the fundamental application of mathematics as a tool for investment or Risk Management. Cass has its academic side like all universities however places emphasis on what the workplace requires.

Acturial Science is a whole different branch of study relating to the insurance industry which is heavily focused on mathematical ability.

I think you need to take a step-back and look at what you want from a degree.

Reply 3

gr8wizard10

Original post by lumiere

The thing is I do sortof prefer the modules at cass way more than the ones at king's just because they seem more interesting and applicable, like I said maths by itself isn't directly related to financial theory and it is the applicable stuff that I want to learn. The reason I talk about maths is just because I'm good at it and know I enjoy it so it makes sense to play to my strengths at the same time, plus I don't want to go to uni just to get prepared for job x, I actually want to gain a lot of knowledge in whatever area the course is be that finance or maths or both. I didn't apply to cass solely because I know I want to do job x, I applied to both king's and cass as their modules seem interesting but the problem is I do have to take into account where am I more likely to get a job from or get further in life with just because it is something that does stick with you. Personally I don't see university as solely an education machine, to me it makes more sense to be a well rounded individual if I wanna get far and university can provide the opportunities be that studying abroad or taking part in societies or even having a diverse range of guest lecturers and I'm not exactly sure which one better allows that to happen.

In terms of reputation, they're about the same.

The rest is pretty much subjective as to the idea of what you think makes a good university experience. Cass do have pretty good societies and frequent events such as M&A or Finance Soc with well known guest speakers who come to visit.