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which is best for IB, a Finance MSc from a rubbish uni or an irrelevant MSc at LSE

Hi

I've decided to do an MSc to try and get into the Investment Banking industry.
At the moment I have a 2:1 in Biomedicine from Liverpool uni, ABB A-Levels (eng lit, biol, french) and 8A*s and 2 As at GCSE>

Have no IB-related experience, just 5 months unrelated work experience in a pharmaceutical advertising agency. I'm finding it impossible to get onto internships or to network.

My plan is to study an MSc so I can gain networking opportunities and enhance my CV.
Is it better to do a finance MSc at a 'rubbish'/non-target uni e.g. LJMU as I have an related background and no evidence of finance skills?
Or should I aim to do an MSc at a target uni but in an unrelated subject e.g. Organisational Psychology, so I can still network and have the brand name for my CV but just with no evidence of my interest in finance..

Doing a finance MSc at a target uni isn't really an option as the chances of me getting in with no relevant experience or academia are too low

thanks!
I'm not sure IB is the way to go with your education, it'd seem like management or pharmaceutical's would be your ideal place of work. I'm sure to learn the amound of knowledge required to get into Banking requires a similar amount of time as an undergraduate course.
Reply 2
Both are poor choices. If you have a 2:1 in Biomedicine, I don't see why you shouldn't apply for decent universities for Finance, or even top ones. How is your 2:1 in terms of percentage? If it's a low 2:1, you're going to find it very hard to get into a top university for finance, but you may be able to get an offer from at least a decent one.

By top university, I'm referring to Oxbridge, Imperial, LSE, UCL, Warwick, LBS and CASS (after Oxbridge and LSE, in no particular harder). By decent university I mean Durham, Bristol, Bath, Manchester, Edinburgh, St. Andrews, LSBF etc.

An MSc in Organizational Psychology at a top university is a waste of money if you want to go into IB. Just as an MSc in Finance at a university as low perceived as LJMU is.
(edited 13 years ago)
why is Cass in the same category as LSBF...CASS is a TOP tier Finance University..
Reply 4
This will actually depend upon what role you want in IB.

In general I would say they are the same, a decent (Manchester, Bristol, etc) MSc would get you to a BO/MO interview and perhaps to a FO interview at a smaller IB. As would a non-relevant top MSc.

Have you considered applying for smaller hedge funds etc in a back office role and then after a year or so transferring? This way you will have experience and therefore know what you want to do / be able to talk about real world finance to an extent. Plus you will be somewhere near 25-40,000 pounds better off.
Reply 5
Original post by Jump
This will actually depend upon what role you want in IB.

In general I would say they are the same, a decent (Manchester, Bristol, etc) MSc would get you to a BO/MO interview and perhaps to a FO interview at a smaller IB. As would a non-relevant top MSc.

Have you considered applying for smaller hedge funds etc in a back office role and then after a year or so transferring? This way you will have experience and therefore know what you want to do / be able to talk about real world finance to an extent. Plus you will be somewhere near 25-40,000 pounds better off.


Quick question mate, i've been accepted into Cass's MSc REI program so wondering what banks view 1) Cass and 2) REI students? And I'm not doing this course because I'm a finance reject, rather a genuine interest in this field
Reply 6
Original post by masterajb
Quick question mate, i've been accepted into Cass's MSc REI program so wondering what banks view 1) Cass and 2) REI students? And I'm not doing this course because I'm a finance reject, rather a genuine interest in this field


Cass is looked at highly.
I don't know what REI is.
Reply 7
Original post by Jump
Cass is looked at highly.
I don't know what REI is.


real estate investment

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