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Top 20 UK unis for getting an IB Job

City bound

How tall are they? What colour hair do they have?

I do see what you are getting at, but considering the apparently fickle nature of these IB's, it hardly seems unreasonable for your undergrad to want to know all the details.

Reply 641

Singh_87

15

shady lane

I just wanted to make this one post and temporarily break my silence. I'll be starting at a bank and have seen the educational profiles of many of my fellow graduates.

There is not a single person in a front office position (IBD, S&T, ECM/DCM) outside of these universities:

Oxford
Cambridge
LSE
Warwick
UCL
St Andrews
Edinburgh
Bath (just one)

Here are the middle office unis:
Cass
Manchester (incl. Manchester Business School)
Oxford Brookes
Durham
Loughborough
Warwick (MSc HR Management or something)

The vast majority of those going into middle office have degrees in finance, economics, or math. Amongst the front office students, there are degrees in law, history, politics, and even one in music.

So...as I've said and I'll say again, for the front office, it appears that university reputation matters more than the course. If you are outside this circle (which I agree is flexible and differs slightly between different banks), you pretty much need a relevant degree just to get in the door, and it probably won't be the front door. This includes people who not only have finance-related degrees, but also MScs as well.

I see posts like this and think I really should stick with Warwick and not change my mind to Actuarial Science at CASS. I am surprised though, I would have thought that CASS do supply a few grads for front office roles. Shady, do you still not wish to tell us which bank this is? You could be doing me a huge favour if you tell me as it could affect what I study for the next three years in my life!!

Reply 642

Suc-Cesc!!!

7

City bound

How tall are they? What colour hair do they have?

lol

Reply 643

shady lane

16

It's not a bulge bracket bank (i.e. Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch). I imagine those are even more segregated when it comes to university background. You should really go to Warwick.

I have no idea about Cass but there are students with BScs in quite relevant subjects who are going to middle office accounting roles and technology. It must be their A-Levels. Either that, or they choose to apply to MO because they think they have a better chance (or they're not as ambitious?). Very few Oxbridge/LSE graduates would even apply for middle office roles.

EDIT: If you're still unemployed after the milkround and are willing to go to middle office, this might help: http://www.dresdnerkleinwortapply.com/london_apply.asp

Reply 644

Singh_87

15

shady lane

It's not a bulge bracket bank (i.e. Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch). I imagine those are even more segregated when it comes to university background. You should really go to Warwick.

I have no idea about Cass but there are students with BScs in quite relevant subjects who are going to middle office accounting roles and technology. It must be their A-Levels. Either that, or they choose to apply to MO because they think they have a better chance (or they're not as ambitious?). Very few Oxbridge/LSE graduates would even apply for middle office roles.

Thanks for the reply. Well, I would imagine that a fair few Cass students do apply to front office roles, but whether they are successful or not is another question. Would you say that if Oxbridge/London Trio/Warwick grads applied to middle office roles that they would have a huge advantage over the Manchester/Nottingham/Durham/Cass grads?

The only reason I am finding it difficult to decide between Warwick and Cass is that I still might want to be an Actuary after graduation. If I do decide to become an Actuary, then doing Actuarial Science at Cass will be great as you get alot of exemptions from the professional exams. However, Warwick, like you have said, has the prestige and is more of a target uni for IB's than Cass is. So, the question is; do I go for prestige and repuation at Warwick with a less relevant course, Computer Science and Business, or do I go for a great course but at a less prestigious uni that is Actuarial Science at Cass.

(p.s. I don't think I can change courses at Warwick, as computer science degrees are not that popular these days and therefore to fill their quota in the computer science department, I don't think they will let me switch to Economics/Morse or something similar)

Reply 645

unknown demon

15

Singh why did you not just re-apply to ucas instead at the start of the year.

Reply 646

Singh_87

15

unknown demon

Singh why did you not just re-apply to ucas instead at the start of the year.

At the time I was happy with my course and the uni. It's only till recent that the idea of becoming an Actuary has started appealing to me quite alot. Some people have advised me that Actuarial Science is a really good degree to do as it involves Maths, Stats, Economics and therefore I agree it seems to be a perfect course for banking and the actuarial profession. However, the only hindrance is Cass's repuation among Investment Banks.

Reply 647

Oldmannow

18

St.Andrews, Edinburgh, Bath but not Nottingham Bristol and York? intresting bank :s-smilie:

. but then again these universities are on the same level (most would argue that the 3 not included are better but w/e) so its fine.

Reply 648

v2006

singh which do you think banks prefer between chemical engineering and computer science at ucl?

Reply 649

Singh_87

15

v2006

singh which do you think banks prefer between chemical engineering and computer science at ucl?

Chemical Engineering.

Reply 650

anandbatra

shady lane

I just wanted to make this one post and temporarily break my silence. I'll be starting at a bank and have seen the educational profiles of many of my fellow graduates.

I'll be joining LSE for the MSc Accounting and Finance program in September. Since you are at LSE, have you met A&F grads? Do you know the placement stats of this program?

Also, how many postgrads from LSE would there be on that list?

Thanks.

Reply 651

CityMonkey

11

City bound

How tall are they? What colour hair do they have?

I wonder how many of them have a 9 inch shlong. Banks are known these days to pull out the measuring rulers in interviews, they wouldn't want anyone calling themselves a big swinging dick without actually having, you know, a big swinging dick...Boomboomboom, I can suggest a good plastic surgeon for you, he did an excellent job for me and now thanks to that I have multiple internship offers.

Reply 652

City bound

MonteCristo

I wonder how many of them have a 9 inch shlong. Banks are known these days to pull out the measuring rulers in interviews, they wouldn't want anyone calling themselves a big swinging dick without actually having, you know, a big swinging dick...Boomboomboom, I can suggest a good plastic surgeon for you, he did an excellent job for me and now thanks to that I have multiple internship offers.

One of the HR girls says that she can get me a full time offer based purely on that single criterion...

Reply 653

Who?

1

boomboomboom

are there more of them from oxford and cambridge(separately) than from lse

No, because, as it is widely known, people in LSE are, in general, longer :rofl:

Reply 654

supernova2

11

Alexey

No, because, as it is widely known, people in LSE are, in general, longer :rofl:

False! more chinese students at LSE :biggrin:

Reply 655

Epicurus

15

Why I say, is that a slur on the chinese race?

Reply 656

Aimless2007

False! more chinese students at LSE

lol, you better take that back, cos you have no idea wut u're talking about. Or maybe I'm just an exception, ^^

Reply 657

Johan C

13

Lol, loving the innuendo.

Reply 658

shonnino

shady lane

I just wanted to make this one post and temporarily break my silence. I'll be starting at a bank and have seen the educational profiles of many of my fellow graduates.

There is not a single person in a front office position (IBD, S&T, ECM/DCM) outside of these universities:

Oxford
Cambridge
LSE
Warwick
UCL
St Andrews
Edinburgh
Bath (just one)

Here are the middle office unis:
Cass
Manchester (incl. Manchester Business School)
Oxford Brookes
Durham
Loughborough
Warwick (MSc HR Management or something)

The vast majority of those going into middle office have degrees in finance, economics, or math. Amongst the front office students, there are degrees in law, history, politics, and even one in music.

So...as I've said and I'll say again, for the front office, it appears that university reputation matters more than the course. If you are outside this circle (which I agree is flexible and differs slightly between different banks), you pretty much need a relevant degree just to get in the door, and it probably won't be the front door. This includes people who not only have finance-related degrees, but also MScs as well.