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Which course is better for career prospects.

Alas, the time has now arrived for me to make a decision on the uni I will attend next year.
I've essentially received offers for Economics at UCL or Business Mathematics and Statistics at LSE. My thinking is that Economics is the more prestigious course however LSE is the higher regarded uni.
I can see myself enjoying either course and really like both unis in general, so I particularly would like some feedback on whether it is better in the long term (career prospects) to go for the more prestigious course or if the 'LSE-factor' is so strong that it is worth opting for that.
It's also worth noting I gain £6000 more in bursaries from LSE (over three years), which is rather minor in the grand scheme of things - but worth taking into account.
I would really appreciate some advice! Thanks.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Tibooster
Alas, the time has now arrived for me to make a decision on the uni I will attend next year.
I've essentially received offers for Economics at UCL or Business Mathematics and Statistics at LSE. My thinking is that Economics is the more prestigious course however LSE is the higher regarded uni.
I can see myself enjoying either course and really like both unis in general, so I particularly would like some feedback on whether it is better in the long term (career prospects) to go for the more prestigious course or if the 'LSE-factor' is so strong that it is worth opting for that.
It's also worth noting I gain £6000 more in bursaries from LSE (over three years), which is rather minor in the grand scheme of things - but worth taking into account.
I would really appreciate some advice! Thanks.


Depends, what do you want to go into?
Economics is a more prestigious course from a still very prestigious uni - I'd go UCL
Reply 3
Original post by cupsoftea
Depends, what do you want to go into?


Ideally investment banking, however the financial sector in general interests me - I'm willing to keep my options open!
@Princepieman is your man
Reply 5
Thanks guys, anyone else?
Original post by Tibooster
Alas, the time has now arrived for me to make a decision on the uni I will attend next year.
I've essentially received offers for Economics at UCL or Business Mathematics and Statistics at LSE. My thinking is that Economics is the more prestigious course however LSE is the higher regarded uni.
I can see myself enjoying either course and really like both unis in general, so I particularly would like some feedback on whether it is better in the long term (career prospects) to go for the more prestigious course or if the 'LSE-factor' is so strong that it is worth opting for that.
It's also worth noting I gain £6000 more in bursaries from LSE (over three years), which is rather minor in the grand scheme of things - but worth taking into account.
I would really appreciate some advice! Thanks.


You'll be eligible to apply for the same jobs, at the same firms at either of these universities, and both are equally targeted by finance firms. So any difference in 'career prospects' will be negligible. No matter what people jive and jirate about prestige and what-not.

I'd look through the modules available for each course to see which you'd rather study. Ultimately this decision isn't about career prospects, it's about which course of study you'd prefer going through for 3-4 years. Also check out what study abroad possibilities are available.

Personally, the extra grant from LSE would be a massive plus for me but then again, you might not enjoy the course there. The decision is yours, please don't do what most TSRians do and automatically opt for a university due to league tables.
Reply 7
BMS at LSE isn't exactly prestigious. UCL econ takes it on this one.
Reply 8
Original post by Princepieman
You'll be eligible to apply for the same jobs, at the same firms at either of these universities, and both are equally targeted by finance firms. So any difference in 'career prospects' will be negligible. No matter what people jive and jirate about prestige and what-not.

I'd look through the modules available for each course to see which you'd rather study. Ultimately this decision isn't about career prospects, it's about which course of study you'd prefer going through for 3-4 years. Also check out what study abroad possibilities are available.

Personally, the extra grant from LSE would be a massive plus for me but then again, you might not enjoy the course there. The decision is yours, please don't do what most TSRians do and automatically opt for a university due to league tables.


Thank you so much for the advice! But surely firms will have a preference over the courses taken by applicants in addition to the uni they're from - affecting my career prospects?
Reply 9
How did you apply for both Economics and Business Marhematics and Statistics? They don't really have much in common...
Original post by Tibooster
Thank you so much for the advice! But surely firms will have a preference over the courses taken by applicants in addition to the uni they're from - affecting my career prospects?


Let me tell you something: they don't care. You could be doing bloody Wizardry Studies - as long as you show commitment to the career you want to go into, have a solid CV and can interview well, you'll get picked. Both are already major target universities anyway.

So no, they won't 'surely' be choosing based on people's degrees because they plough millions of pounds into training new grads from scratch every year for 2-3 months, the vast majority of stuff you learn at uni will be useless on the job and they know that.

I'll have to reiterate, stop trying to please firms with your degree course choice; you don't owe them a favour.

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Reply 11
hi
i have got offers from ucl , warwick and cass for msc management . Any current student or alumni here please provide feedback .It will be a great help since i cant decide just on the basis of rankings .
Original post by Tibooster
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I'd personally choose LSE over UCL although I doubt the decision you make here will make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things.

By choosing the right economics options from BMS, you can make the course nearly the same as an economics student who chose some accounting/maths/stats options. Given this, I would choose LSE for the slightly better name value.
(edited 8 years ago)

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