Choosing Between Reading and Loughborough for Economics & Investment Banking

Hello Everyone,

I hope this message finds you all well. I am currently deciding between Reading University and Loughborough University for my undergraduate degree in Economics, with the intention of pursuing a career in Investment Banking. I understand that both universities have strong programs, but I'm having some difficulty making a decision.

From what I've gathered, Loughborough has a great reputation overall, particularly in areas like sports and engineering. However, in the specific realm of investment banking, it seems that Reading might have a slight edge. According to some online rankings I've come across, Reading is ranked 18th in the EU for investment banking, whereas Loughborough doesn't appear in the top 50.

I'm aware that university rankings can fluctuate and can be based on various factors, not all of which might be relevant to my personal circumstances or career goals. Still, this discrepancy does give me pause.

I'd really appreciate any insights or experiences you can share to help me make a more informed decision. For those of you who have studied at either of these universities, or who work in investment banking, I'd be particularly interested in your views.

Specifically, I'd like to understand more about the following:

The quality of the economics program at both universities.
Opportunities for internships or other relevant work experience.
The universities' connections within the investment banking industry.
The general reputation of both universities within the investment banking sector.
Any thoughts, advice, or personal experiences you can share would be extremely valuable. Thank you in advance for your time and insights!

Best Regards

Reply 1

Euapp

21

Choose whichever one you feel offers the course that interests you the most. Some people will say that neither are really target unis for IB but I wouldn’t take much notice of them. If you take the opportunities offered and proactively make your own, then you can succeed. I read economics at Loughborough ( a long time ago) and people said that I would never get a Big 4 job offer in London. I proved them wrong getting several. So just go where you think you will be happy and will thrive. Make the most of your degree and the options it offers and then create your own opportunities.

Reply 2

ajj2000

20

Original post by hedge1

According to some online rankings I've come across, Reading is ranked 18th in the EU for investment banking, whereas Loughborough doesn't appear in the top 50.

I'm not sure where you read this - it would seem unlikely at best. Possibly some confusion with Henley Business School as a postgrad institution which has a very high reputation?

Reply 3

hedge1

OP

3

Thanks for the fast response! Can I ask what university you went to, as you said that you didn't go to a target uni, but still got a job.

Additionally, if you were to be 100% honest, in my situation which of the two I said would you chose? Loughborough or reading as your main choice? On top of those, I was also accepted by Cardiff which I have completely neglected, but im not opposed to it. 😁.

Original post by Euapp

Choose whichever one you feel offers the course that interests you the most. Some people will say that neither are really target unis for IB but I wouldn’t take much notice of them. If you take the opportunities offered and proactively make your own, then you can succeed. I read economics at Loughborough ( a long time ago) and people said that I would never get a Big 4 job offer in London. I proved them wrong getting several. So just go where you think you will be happy and will thrive. Make the most of your degree and the options it offers and then create your own opportunities.

Reply 4

hedge1

OP

3

Hello, I got it off the website, https://edurank.org/economics/investment/eu/

Original post by ajj2000

I'm not sure where you read this - it would seem unlikely at best. Possibly some confusion with Henley Business School as a postgrad institution which has a very high reputation?

Reply 5

Euapp

21

Original post by hedge1

Thanks for the fast response! Can I ask what university you went to, as you said that you didn't go to a target uni, but still got a job.

Additionally, if you were to be 100% honest, in my situation which of the two I said would you chose? Loughborough or reading as your main choice? On top of those, I was also accepted by Cardiff which I have completely neglected, but im not opposed to it. 😁.

I read economics at Loughborough which isn’t a target uni for IB, but neither is Reading. You’ll have to work hard to create your own opportunities if IB is what you really want. My reasons for choosing Loughborough were related to my sport rather than the planning of my future career, but if you’re proactive nothing is impossible.

Reply 6

Loughborough University

Official Rep

16

Original post by hedge1

Hello Everyone,

I hope this message finds you all well. I am currently deciding between Reading University and Loughborough University for my undergraduate degree in Economics, with the intention of pursuing a career in Investment Banking. I understand that both universities have strong programs, but I'm having some difficulty making a decision.

From what I've gathered, Loughborough has a great reputation overall, particularly in areas like sports and engineering. However, in the specific realm of investment banking, it seems that Reading might have a slight edge. According to some online rankings I've come across, Reading is ranked 18th in the EU for investment banking, whereas Loughborough doesn't appear in the top 50.

I'm aware that university rankings can fluctuate and can be based on various factors, not all of which might be relevant to my personal circumstances or career goals. Still, this discrepancy does give me pause.

I'd really appreciate any insights or experiences you can share to help me make a more informed decision. For those of you who have studied at either of these universities, or who work in investment banking, I'd be particularly interested in your views.

Specifically, I'd like to understand more about the following:

The quality of the economics program at both universities.
Opportunities for internships or other relevant work experience.
The universities' connections within the investment banking industry.
The general reputation of both universities within the investment banking sector.
Any thoughts, advice, or personal experiences you can share would be extremely valuable. Thank you in advance for your time and insights!

Best Regards

Hi @hedge1,

It's great to hear that you're interested in studying at Loughborough.

I just wanted to say that you can always use the email at the bottom of the BSc Economics course page to contact someone who is involved with this course for more advice.

In terms of the points you've mentioned above, you may want to take a look at the placement year information on the course page too.

From your original post, I do believe career information is important to you too, and so I wondered whether you'd taken a look at the careers information on the course page and also checked out the Careers Network at Loughborough? Here, you'll be able to find more information about the careers support offered at the University.

Finally, I wanted to say that, for me, it's important to go to somewhere where you see yourself being happy and choosing somewhere where you can see yourself studying! That's why you could also think about location, societies or sports offered, accommodation and the campus itself when thinking about which university to go to.

I hope this helps :smile:

please do feel free to ask if you have any other questions.

- Lindsay

Original post by hedge1

Hello Everyone,

I hope this message finds you all well. I am currently deciding between Reading University and Loughborough University for my undergraduate degree in Economics, with the intention of pursuing a career in Investment Banking. I understand that both universities have strong programs, but I'm having some difficulty making a decision.

From what I've gathered, Loughborough has a great reputation overall, particularly in areas like sports and engineering. However, in the specific realm of investment banking, it seems that Reading might have a slight edge. According to some online rankings I've come across, Reading is ranked 18th in the EU for investment banking, whereas Loughborough doesn't appear in the top 50.

I'm aware that university rankings can fluctuate and can be based on various factors, not all of which might be relevant to my personal circumstances or career goals. Still, this discrepancy does give me pause.

I'd really appreciate any insights or experiences you can share to help me make a more informed decision. For those of you who have studied at either of these universities, or who work in investment banking, I'd be particularly interested in your views.

Specifically, I'd like to understand more about the following:

The quality of the economics program at both universities.
Opportunities for internships or other relevant work experience.
The universities' connections within the investment banking industry.
The general reputation of both universities within the investment banking sector.
Any thoughts, advice, or personal experiences you can share would be extremely valuable. Thank you in advance for your time and insights!

Best Regards

Hi @hedge1,
It's great to hear that you're considering Reading! It sounds like you're really well versed in the conditions and expectations you need to be met for your undergraduate degree, which is a fantastic situation to be in despite the dilemma you're in at the moment.

In terms of what Reading can offer you, I can speak from my own perspective having almost completed an undergraduate degree here that it is a welcoming, supportive and relaxing place to study. I'd encourage you to take a look at our campus and facilities, accommodation options, and a number of our student opportunities to get a feel for what life is like as a student here and help you make the best decision.

In terms of the course itself, I believe ours to be especially stand-out on the basis of its flexibility: you have the option to study economics as a Bsc or Ba, can enroll on a joint degree such as Economics and Maths, Finance, Geography or International Relations, and also have the option of a placement year to help you build skills and expertise in your areas of interest. (You can have a look through all our course options here).

Moreover, and one of the most attractive things I found about my own course at Reading, is that there is a huge emphasis on employability here. Our courses are designed to teach you to think analytically, support you with gaining professional experience, help you create connections with industry contacts through our extensive industry networks, and will offer you intensive career workshops to prepare you for applying for a range of different careers. We have a dedicated placement coordinator for Economics, and with our excellent links to various industries, they can help you find placements (whether it be a summer internship, short-term work experience, or placement year) for a variety of career paths. As one of our current economics students put it: "for the placement I'm doing, the firm put out the offer to Reading students first because they`ve forged a connection, had placement students from our University before and found them great hires, so they put the offer out for the placement to us first."

If you'd like some more firsthand information about studying Economics here at Reading, I'd encourage you to contact Owain, Jack, Mweo or Tom through our Unibuddy platform, as these are all current students of some form of our Economics degree, so can give you some more detailed and insightful perspective!

If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask us, and I hope this has been helpful!

Kath :smile:

3rd Year History Undergraduate

Choosing Between Reading and Loughborough for Economics & Investment Banking

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