The "Is this university/course good enough for banking/consultancy?" thread

hmm... Okay thanks for ur replies. So summing it up, all the uni reputation does is just get u a better chance of getting an interview... not actually getting the job?

yup. i have re-iterated the cold, harsh realities as well.
bt there is no point being utterly negative about these things atol
im sure your perfect response to the OP would be: "dude forget about it....you stand no chance"
well im sorry that isnt the approach!!!
il say again. IT WOULD BE HARD...VERY VERY HARD.... bt the sky is the limit.
if one is out there and takes advantages of opportunities, even from A-level to build up that INTEREST/PASSION for a certain role.

hmm... Okay thanks for ur replies. So summing it up, all the uni reputation does is just get u a better chance of getting an interview... not actually getting the job?

you know what, fine! your right, chances would be "diminished"
so the OP, please forget about an IB career
as that seems to be the consensus on TSR.

lol.
Ok it's probably not a good idea to give hope to such people.
its a wiser idea to show the harsh realities...
but still that it is perhaps 'do-able' for reasonable uni's.

and well, if 80% of recruits is from the top 5 uni's. well then there is 20% isnt there. so yeah, there is still some hope for those who are "up to it"?

"To stand a good chance at getting into a FO division at a top investment bank, you want to be at either Oxbridge/LSE, or another targeted top university."

That is not a negative statement whatsoever.

Obviously my advice is to be optimistic and try your best if you're not at a top uni to get amazing ECs to try and stand a chance, but you need to understand the harsh reality that, even with those, your chances for FO are not that good. But when you put more weighting on the optimistic side in your advice, you are giving false hope.

The 20% would consist of people who are either exceptional, got lucky by getting an interview and performed well, or had connections. Bristol > Notts, and it would kind of fall under the consortium of unis, which IBs target. Operations and Middle Office is more open to non-top 5 unis. But still, Ive been to many many interviews...ranging from Goldman Sachs, to Lehman Brothers, to JPMorgan and asset management companies, etc. and I always see Oxbridge, LSE, Imperial, Warwick and UCL (not that many compared to Ox/LSE) peeps. If you make yourself exceptional and stand out from the ussual crowd if you are not in the top unis, you will have a shot. To me, work experience (financial) is probably the most important factor that can help you. I personally would hustle to get any financial work experience pre-uni or during 1st yr summer (by cold-calling/emailing HFs, boutiques, etc.) in addition to spring weeks.

Hi all, planning to either go to soton or manchester for Maths and Finance/Maths and Financial Maths.

I was wondering, do companies like ppl with just a pure Maths (g100/g103) degree, or something like maths and finance/maths and financial maths? because i read somewhere that companies prefer to train their employees in their own way, hence maths and [econs/finance etc..] is not as attractive as a pure maths degree? Im mainly talking about internships..

Also, i was looking thru a few companies, (HSBC, Deustche Bank etc.) and all seem to ask interns to be in their penultimate year of study (at least 2nd year...), but then again I see some ppl on this forum applying for interns in their 1st year at uni and even after a levels! I was wondering, could someone direct me to those companies and even specific links where I could apply for after a level summer internship or 1st year uni internship?

thanks everyone.

hey what I meant is that it states you must be in ur penultimate year at uni, or fresh graduate.. not 1st year.. But assuming by ur post, i can just ignore that requirement on their website and just apply anyways?

Hi all, planning to either go to soton or manchester for Maths and Finance/Maths and Financial Maths.

I was wondering, do companies like ppl with just a pure Maths (g100/g103) degree, or something like maths and finance/maths and financial maths? because i read somewhere that companies prefer to train their employees in their own way, hence maths and [econs/finance etc..] is not as attractive as a pure maths degree? Im mainly talking about internships..

Also, i was looking thru a few companies, (HSBC, Deustche Bank etc.) and all seem to ask interns to be in their penultimate year of study (at least 2nd year...), but then again I see some ppl on this forum applying for interns in their 1st year at uni and even after a levels! I was wondering, could someone direct me to those companies and even specific links where I could apply for after a level summer internship or 1st year uni internship?

thanks everyone.

A Maths degree (whether single or combined) from a good university is an excellent option, so do whichever you find more interesting/think you would be better at. If you have a degree in a quantitative subject, I don't think IBs are concerned about what it is in.

One thing though, I personally wouldn't go for a degree in financial mathematics for undergrad, since its too specialised. I think a normal maths degree would allow you to build up a much better understanding of maths and teach you much more of the skills involved in solving mathematical problems, which is ultimately what IBs and other companies like in maths graduates. Financial maths is much more about applications.

The usefulness of law depends on whether you want to enter as a professional/experianced hire or straight from undergraduate.

If you do your LLb (Ox/Tab/UoL/LSE/Manc/War/Bristol) --->LPC (BPP/CoL)--->Training Contract (Magic Circle/Some Silver Circles/Top tier US firm), you'll be in pretty good shape to move into the corporate finance groups of investment banks. Not many qualified lawyers will move into compliance because you get paid more in law firms (generally). Wall Streets Corporate Finance great Bruce Wasserstein did his JD (Juris Doctor) at Harvard Law School, as did many others from his generation of Corporate Financiers, and the route still seems extremely viable today.

Getting into Investment Banks with just an LLb, probably won't stand you in good stead in comparison to say an Economist - and unless you've got good work experiance and a demonstrable interest in finance (e.g.) President of Society/Interships/Work Experiance etc, you'll probably find it more difficult to break into corporate finance, and almost certainly impossible to move into S&T. Compliance is however a good option to "get your foot in the door."

The type of people who do a law undergraduate and move directly into front office IBD/S&T tend to be Oxbridge/LSE types from what I've seen.

My personal recommendation (its what I intend to do) is to become a qualified solicitor at a top top firm (UK or US) then move into banking as an associate. Do an MBA and then the world is quite literally your oyster.

* Should add that the list of universities i've given is by no means exhaustive - but be realistic! South Bank University aint going to stand you in good stead...however much some people will tell you it will.