Bristol orgap year IB

Original post by moneymanJPM

Got A*AA and a place at bristol for maths/econ this september. However, i'm not sure if Bristol is good enough for front office IB and would prefer trying to reapply for LSE/UCL. Are chances for IB slim from bristol?Is it likely that i get spring weeks from bristol? how much would my chances increase if i went to lse and used my gap year to go to insight days and polish my cv?

I think you answered your own question when you gave me this sarcasm:

Original post by moneymanJPM

Man said Kings, but left out LSE.

Yes, your chances at IB are slim at Bristol. Apply for LSE/UCL and your chances of getting into IB will be exponentially better than they would at Bristol. By no means is it a poor university, but definitely not a target for City of London front office jobs. You won’t get spring weeks or networking events in Bristol like Maths/Economics/Finance undergrads in London do. Use a gap year to get this experience and network with the companies while you apply for a more established IB target university.

Reply 2

BusMan21

Original post by asif007

Use a gap year to get this experience and network with the companies while you apply for a more established IB target university.

This is far easier said than done. I would even scratch my head and wonder how you even network with companies when you're a NEET (not in employment, education, or training). What incentive do they have?

OP - sure your chances are higher getting into LSE/UCL...but what are you going to do for a whole year that will boost your profile that much? You need to also be aware that what you compensate with taking a year out to secure a London uni brand name then brings about interview questions like 'Why did you take a year out?...What did you do on your gap year?' etc.

Reply 3

Original post by BusMan21

This is far easier said than done. I would even scratch my head and wonder how you even network with companies when you're a NEET (not in employment, education, or training). What incentive do they have?

OP - sure your chances are higher getting into LSE/UCL...but what are you going to do for a whole year that will boost your profile that much? You need to also be aware that what you compensate with taking a year out to secure a London uni brand name then brings about interview questions like 'Why did you take a year out?...What did you do on your gap year?' etc.

Obviously OP is not going to be NEET provided they get a job during their gap year and save up for uni which is what most people do. They’re not going to just sit doing nothing for a year and expect to get in. Companies don’t need an incentive - they can speak to whoever they want at recruitment fairs, career talks etc - whether that’s school/uni students or people looking for a career change. I highly doubt the representatives care too much what you’re doing right now provided you demonstrate interest in the career and discuss with the right people. The responsibility is with the student to actually attend these things, ask questions, get some contact details, information about the career. Most people use this to work towards getting an internship - OP would be ahead of the game if they started their search before uni rather than in 1st year.

Interview questions about what you did/learned on your gap year are easily answerable. Trying to avoid those questions is a stupid reason not to take a gap year and potentially get into a better university. With A*AA grades I’m sure UCL, Imperial and LSE are achievable.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 4

john_iqbal786

14

Original post by asif007

I think you answered your own question when you gave me this sarcasm:

Yes, your chances at IB are slim at Bristol. Apply for LSE/UCL and your chances of getting into IB will be exponentially better than they would at Bristol. By no means is it a poor university, but definitely not a target for City of London front office jobs. You won’t get spring weeks or networking events in Bristol like Maths/Economics/Finance undergrads in London do. Use a gap year to get this experience and network with the companies while you apply for a more established IB target university.

Are chances still slim for a Bristol graduate trying to enter a London BB IB for a MO role such as risk management? Are targets and semi targets still a thing for MO jobs and similarly would a Manchester/leeds grad be competitive for a MO position or would the Bristol grad have much more of a chance?

Reply 5

username4451578

OP

Original post by BusMan21

This is far easier said than done. I would even scratch my head and wonder how you even network with companies when you're a NEET (not in employment, education, or training). What incentive do they have?

OP - sure your chances are higher getting into LSE/UCL...but what are you going to do for a whole year that will boost your profile that much? You need to also be aware that what you compensate with taking a year out to secure a London uni brand name then brings about interview questions like 'Why did you take a year out?...What did you do on your gap year?' etc.

Original post by asif007

I think you answered your own question when you gave me this sarcasm:

Yes, your chances at IB are slim at Bristol. Apply for LSE/UCL and your chances of getting into IB will be exponentially better than they would at Bristol. By no means is it a poor university, but definitely not a target for City of London front office jobs. You won’t get spring weeks or networking events in Bristol like Maths/Economics/Finance undergrads in London do. Use a gap year to get this experience and network with the companies while you apply for a more established IB target university.

Good points raised by both of you. Surely volunteering, working, writing on the market mogul and securing a few insight days would be a valid reason for a gap year?

Reply 6

Original post by john_iqbal786

Are chances still slim for a Bristol graduate trying to enter a London BB IB for a MO role such as risk management? Are targets and semi targets still a thing for MO jobs and similarly would a Manchester/leeds grad be competitive for a MO position or would the Bristol grad have much more of a chance?

Yes, your chances are still slim at Bristol for any City of London IB jobs, including middle office. IB is tough to get into and the majority of successful applicants are graduates of Oxbridge, LSE, Imperial etc. That’s not to say getting in is impossible with a degree from Bristol, but you’ll have more of an uphill battle. Be prepared to do a Masters to make your application more competitive and/or spend multiple rounds applying. Look at tier 3 and tier 4 banks, or consider getting a job in another sector for a few years before you can leverage this into joining IB.

I personally would recommend you look at places like Warwick that are higher up on the list of target universities. But out of the ones you suggested, Manchester would be my top choice. Much better reputation than Leeds and Bristol and a semi-target for IB provided you have internships and extra curriculars like involvement with Finance/Economics societies. Tbh if you’re not at Oxbridge or London, I suggest you do a Masters.

Original post by moneymanJPM

Good points raised by both of you. Surely volunteering, working, writing on the market mogul and securing a few insight days would be a valid reason for a gap year?

Exactly. All of these are good enough reasons to take a gap year. With your grades I think you can achieve a place at Imperial, LSE or UCL provided you use your gap year wisely. Get a steady job for some income as well as doing all these things you mentioned. But also apply for another uni as a Plan B in case you can’t get a place in London.

Reply 7

john_iqbal786

14

Original post by asif007

Yes, your chances are still slim at Bristol for any City of London IB jobs, including middle office. IB is tough to get into and the majority of successful applicants are graduates of Oxbridge, LSE, Imperial etc. That’s not to say getting in is impossible with a degree from Bristol, but you’ll have more of an uphill battle. Be prepared to do a Masters to make your application more competitive and/or spend multiple rounds applying. Look at tier 3 and tier 4 banks, or consider getting a job in another sector for a few years before you can leverage this into joining IB.

I personally would recommend you look at places like Warwick that are higher up on the list of target universities. But out of the ones you suggested, Manchester would be my top choice. Much better reputation than Leeds and Bristol and a semi-target for IB provided you have internships and extra curriculars like involvement with Finance/Economics societies. Tbh if you’re not at Oxbridge or London, I suggest you do a Masters.

Exactly. All of these are good enough reasons to take a gap year. With your grades I think you can achieve a place at Imperial, LSE or UCL provided you use your gap year wisely. Get a steady job for some income as well as doing all these things you mentioned. But also apply for another uni as a Plan B in case you can’t get a place in London.

From what I have seen online, many many people agree Bristol is a strong semi while Manchester is not (or not that strong). Where do you get the idea from that Manchester will be better for IB than Bristol? I could have gone for warwick but would rather study at either leeds or Manchester due to the environments.

Reply 8

Original post by john_iqbal786

From what I have seen online, many many people agree Bristol is a strong semi while Manchester is not (or not that strong). Where do you get the idea from that Manchester will be better for IB than Bristol? I could have gone for warwick but would rather study at either leeds or Manchester due to the environments.

Warwick is probably the strongest target uni outside London and Oxbridge. I recommend you apply there if you have the grades. All the others are semi target which means less people will get recruited into the top IB jobs. The decision is up to you whether you go to a uni that gives you the best possible career opportunities or somewhere with the right “environments”. By this I’m assuming you mean nightlife and big city which IMO are not exclusively good enough reasons to choose a particular uni.

It’s my personal opinion that Manchester has a better overall reputation than Leeds and Bristol. Obviously opinions will differ on this. But as they are all semi-target universities, I doubt it will make much difference which one of these you attend. You won’t get networking events, recruitment fairs, careers talks for IB etc at any of these places as much as Maths/Economics students at Warwick, London and Oxbridge.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 9

john_iqbal786

14

Original post by asif007

Warwick is probably the strongest target uni outside London and Oxbridge. I recommend you apply there if you have the grades. All the others are semi target which means less people will get recruited into the top IB jobs. The decision is up to you whether you go to a uni that gives you the best possible career opportunities or somewhere with the right “environments”. By this I’m assuming you mean nightlife and big city which IMO are not exclusively good enough reasons to choose a particular uni.

It’s my personal opinion that Manchester has a better overall reputation than Leeds and Bristol. Obviously opinions will differ on this. But as they are all semi-target universities, I doubt it will make much difference which one of these you attend. You won’t get networking events, recruitment fairs, careers talks for IB etc at any of these places as much as Maths/Economics students at Warwick, London and Oxbridge.

I am a late applicant for this year who just switched courses via clearing to Manchester after attending Bristol for a year. There is no option to go to Warwick lol. And if. There was. Then it passed 2 days ago when clearing opened as. The engineering places. There have gone

Reply 10

Original post by john_iqbal786

I am a late applicant for this year who just switched courses via clearing to Manchester after attending Bristol for a year. There is no option to go to Warwick lol. And if. There was. Then it passed 2 days ago when clearing opened as. The engineering places. There have gone

Ok, then I recommend you stick with Manchester and go there. I’m assuming you’re not having a good experience in Bristol hence why you’re moving.

Engineering degrees won’t get you considered for IB as convincingly as a strong Maths or Economics degree will. When I mention these universities, I’m talking specifically about subjects with heavy Maths/Economics content.

Reply 11

kagawa88

Original post by moneymanJPM

Got A*AA and a place at bristol for maths/econ this september. However, i'm not sure if Bristol is good enough for front office IB and would prefer trying to reapply for LSE/UCL. Are chances for IB slim from bristol?Is it likely that i get spring weeks from bristol? how much would my chances increase if i went to lse and used my gap year to go to insight days and polish my cv?

Is your A* in Maths? Anyway even if it is, you have zero chance of getting into LSE for straight Economics (even if you decide to resit your other subjects). You have a chance of getting into UCL for Economics assuming your A* was in Maths obviously. You also have a decent chance for Warwick Economics.

Reply 12

returnmigrant

21

All of you - there is no such thing as a guaranteed IB job, even if you go to Oxbridge.

If it was that simple then Firms wouldnt do the endless Milk Round interviews - they'd just advertise for 'Oxbridge with a First only' and appoint from there. So perhaps its time to drop the 'I assume', 'I've been told', 'My teacher says' type assumptions.

This is what Bristol has to say about Economics graduate careers : http://www.bristol.ac.uk/efm/careers/ and it includes IB. And Bristol ranks highly overall for employability - in this study it was above UCL, Durham, Oxford and Cambridge : https://www.highfliers.co.uk/download/2018/graduate_market/GMReport18.pdf

Go to Bristol - you'll have a great time and graduate with a valuable degree. What you do after that is totally up to you, not the Uni you went to.

Reply 13

username4451578

OP

Original post by kagawa88

Is your A* in Maths? Anyway even if it is, you have zero chance of getting into LSE for straight Economics (even if you decide to resit your other subjects). You have a chance of getting into UCL for Economics assuming your A* was in Maths obviously. You also have a decent chance for Warwick Economics.

Yeh A* in maths and As in FM and econ. Surely i would have a good chance to get into LSE for financial maths and stats or maths with econ. Also why are you so certain i have a 0 chance for lse econ lool?

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 14

Jesssmith5363

10

Original post by moneymanJPM

Yeh A* in maths and As in FM and econ. Surely i would have a good chance to get into LSE for financial maths and stats or maths with econ. Also why are you so certain i have a 0 chance for lse econ lool?

I don’t think LSE allow further maths unless you do 4 A Levels because they see maths and further maths as one. Idk anyone that got into LSE for a mathsy course that didn’t have 4 A Levels but you can always email and ask

Reply 15

username4451578

OP

Original post by returnmigrant

All of you - there is no such thing as a guaranteed IB job, even if you go to Oxbridge.

If it was that simple then Firms wouldnt do the endless Milk Round interviews - they'd just advertise for 'Oxbridge with a First only' and appoint from there. So perhaps its time to drop the 'I assume', 'I've been told', 'My teacher says' type assumptions.

This is what Bristol has to say about Economics graduate careers : http://www.bristol.ac.uk/efm/careers/ and it includes IB. And Bristol ranks highly overall for employability - in this study it was above UCL, Durham, Oxford and Cambridge : https://www.highfliers.co.uk/download/2018/graduate_market/GMReport18.pdf

Go to Bristol - you'll have a great time and graduate with a valuable degree. What you do after that is totally up to you, not the Uni you went to.

Yeh on paper that seems fine, but the reality is very few bristol grads make it into front-office IB and when they do its usually at tier3/4 banks, which dont set them up with good exit ops. Also your point about how IB could just simply be filled by people from 'Oxbridge with a First only" is just simply wrong. Oxbridge doesn't breed Ibankers like Warwick/UCL/LSE, there is a bigger emphasis on getting roles in academia/civil service and politics than finance, so there would definitely be clear supply side issues. Also certain oxbridge students could be absolute neeks with no social skills/experience or have done rubbish degrees like land economy/English/classics or history, so equally there would be demand side deficiencies. Yes university prestige matters, but equally there are other prerequisites in place as well.

Reply 16

returnmigrant

21

Original post by moneymanJPM

very few bristol grads make it into front-office IB and when they do its usually at tier 3/4 banks

Do you have a real source for this claim - or is it just 'I think'....?

Reply 17

Jdhdhdhd

2

Only oxbridge or Lse get FO Roles these days. Take a gap year.

Reply 18

kagawa88

Original post by moneymanJPM

Yeh A* in maths and As in FM and econ. Surely i would have a good chance to get into LSE for financial maths and stats or maths with econ. Also why are you so certain i have a 0 chance for lse econ lool?

Someone I know got the same grades as you and was instantly rejected by LSE. Take in mind everyone who gets an offer from LSE Econ basically has 3 or 4 A* predictions and it's like a 20% offer rate so very unlikely to take you on at all. Even with Financial Maths and Stats and Maths with Econ, you didn't get an A* in FM so your chances are instantly reduced.

Reply 19

kagawa88