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Do you have to go to the top 20 universities to be a investment banker?

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Original post by sohinder
im interested about investment banking but i dunno anything about it can someone gimme some advice into the job description and the structure of a days work e.tc.............


What division?
Original post by CPN
Surely Cass Business School is abit higher, isit not?


That list is horribly outdated, and wrong anyway.

In terms of the numbers of people that get into banking year on year from UK unis (regardless of uni prestige), it usually goes:

Tier 1
Oxbridge
LSE
Warwick/UCL
Imperial

Tier 2
Durham
Bristol
KCL
Notts/Manchester

After that numbers are so small doesnt really matter what uni you go to.
Original post by Zweihander
That list is horribly outdated, and wrong anyway.

In terms of the numbers of people that get into banking year on year from UK unis (regardless of uni prestige), it usually goes:

Tier 1
Oxbridge
LSE
Warwick/UCL
Imperial

Tier 2
Durham
Bristol
KCL
Notts/Manchester

After that numbers are so small doesnt really matter what uni you go to.


What about St Andrews?
Hmm... chances with a 1st in Mathematics from Royal Holloway?

(I've got no desire at all to get into IB, seems like too much lifeless networking and there's probably better ways to make money as a maths graduate; I'm just interested)

There's a few people on my course who think they could do it with a 2:1, and I really had to try and stop myself from putting them down. >_>
(edited 13 years ago)
Original post by multiplexing-gamer
I want to do Economics at the Royal Holloway. Is it good enough?
Sorry for going to the stereotype.[/QUOT

get yourself to London and a first from either imperial, ucl or king's
Reply 85
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Focus08
16
[QUOTE="mundum;30942031" contra="contra"]
Original post by multiplexing-gamer
I want to do Economics at the Royal Holloway. Is it good enough?
Sorry for going to the stereotype.[/QUOT

get yourself to London and a first from either imperial, ucl or king's


LSE you mean?
[QUOTE="mundum;30942031" contra="contra"]
Original post by multiplexing-gamer
I want to do Economics at the Royal Holloway. Is it good enough?
Sorry for going to the stereotype.[/QUOT

get yourself to London and a first from either imperial, ucl or king's


What about St Andrews or Edinburgh.
Reply 87
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orca92
13
Original post by multiplexing-gamer


What about St Andrews or Edinburgh.


It's possible; the universities not going to help you, you have to help yourself if you know what i mean. A St Andrews student with good relevant work experience, good extra-curriculars, and a non generic selling point, will stand more of a chance than a UCL student with none of those things.
Reply 88
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100
1
Original post by Zweihander
That list is horribly outdated, and wrong anyway.

In terms of the numbers of people that get into banking year on year from UK unis (regardless of uni prestige), it usually goes:

Tier 1
Oxbridge
LSE
Warwick/UCL
Imperial

Tier 2
Durham
Bristol
KCL
Notts/Manchester

After that numbers are so small doesnt really matter what uni you go to.


I have to disagree with your list. In my experience the vast majority of people on my internship and other ACs have been:

1. LSE
2. UCL
3. Oxford
4. Cambridge

After that, other Universities, including Imperial, have been rarities. I've met plenty of people from European and Asian Universities on MSc or equivilent programs, along with some Ivy League. This biggest misconception that I had was that UK Universities dominated investment banking roles in the London but UK students, from mt experience, barely make up 60% of successful applicants.
Original post by 100
I have to disagree with your list. In my experience the vast majority of people on my internship and other ACs have been:

1. LSE
2. UCL
3. Oxford
4. Cambridge

After that, other Universities, including Imperial, have been rarities. I've met plenty of people from European and Asian Universities on MSc or equivilent programs, along with some Ivy League. This biggest misconception that I had was that UK Universities dominated investment banking roles in the London but UK students, from mt experience, barely make up 60% of successful applicants.


You're basing your argument on anecdotal evidence? What is indisputable is that most people in banking in London within the past 5 years have come from Oxbridge & LSE, closely followed by Warwick & UCL. Imperial tends to be less common based on the fact most there tend to pursue a career in the sciences, but it's gets a relatively high number in.

Dont know where you're getting that 60% figure from though, considering roughly 80% of grads & interns in London come from the "Top 10" UK unis.
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 90
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Original post by Zweihander
You're basing your argument on anecdotal evidence? What is indisputable is that most people in banking in London within the past 5 years have come from Oxbridge & LSE, closely followed by Warwick & UCL. Imperial tends to be less common based on the fact most there tend to pursue a career in the sciences, but it's gets a relatively high number in.

Dont know where you're getting that 60% figure from though, considering roughly 80% of grads & interns in London come from the "Top 10" UK unis.


I'm talking more revenue generating roles, particularly IBD. I have no doubt that 80%+ of the total from all divisions come from top ranked UK Unis. Certainly when you look down the tiers into HR, Tech etc. you'll find a greater proportion of UK Uni students.

I agree with you about Imperial, I've met very few pursuing the finance route, which is surprising consdiering the quality of ICL grads.
To get the 'dream' job that all investment bankers are after, your choices are-

Oxford
Cambridge
LSE
Imperial college

If you don't get into any of the above, you will most likely just end up in a mediocre position, regretting being an investment banker.
Reply 92
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100
1
Original post by Cheesecakefactory
To get the 'dream' job that all investment bankers are after, your choices are-

Oxford
Cambridge
LSE
Imperial college

If you don't get into any of the above, you will most likely just end up in a mediocre position, regretting being an investment banker.


I think that's a real misconception. Certainly, LSE and Oxbridge boost an application. However, if you've missed UCL (and, to an extent, Warwick). You've also got to look at places like ESADE, SMU, SSE along with places like Bocconi. There are also some top US schools that have good representation in London.
Reply 93
Avatar for und
und
16
Why are people putting UCL above ICL? I would assume that the prestige associated (rightly so, as it's a tough course from what I've heard) with a Maths degree from ICL would put you in a better position to get a job as a Quant Analyst. Can someone tell me if I'm wrong?
Original post by 100
I'm talking more revenue generating roles,
particularly IBD I have no doubt that 80%+ of the total from all divisions come from top ranked UK Unis. Certainly when you look down the tiers into HR, Tech etc. you'll find a greater proportion of UK Uni students.

I agree with you about Imperial, I've met very few pursuing the finance route, which is surprising consdiering the quality of ICL grads.

So am I. There are a few prominent foreign schools that get good numbers in (SSE, HEC, St Gallen, Bocconi etc) but outside the small handful of unis that crop up year on year, numbers from foreign unis tend to be insignificant. You cant really put a specific number on it but usually you wont find more than 10% of a FO grad/intern class to be from non-UK unis. Now non-UK nationals is a different matter, there are loads of people in the industry who went to UK unis but aren't from the UK.
(edited 13 years ago)
Original post by und
Why are people putting UCL above ICL? I would assume that the prestige associated (rightly so, as it's a tough course from what I've heard) with a Maths degree from ICL would put you in a better position to get a job as a Quant Analyst. Can someone tell me if I'm wrong?


No one's putting UCL above ICL. If you want to start talking in terms of prestige Imperial is better than UCL, but in terms of grad & intern classes over the past 5 years UCL students have been more common in the industry than ICL for reasons mentioned above.
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 96
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und
16
Original post by Zweihander

Original post by Zweihander
No one's putting UCL above ICL. If you want to start talking in terms of prestige Imperial is better than UCL, but in terms of grad & intern classes over the past 5 years UCL students have been more common in the industry than ICL for reasons mentioned above.


But the thing about pursuing academic careers could just as easily be said about Cambridge graduates, and nobody is putting UCL above Cambridge. I guess ICL might be as antisocial as people say it is...
Original post by und
But the thing about pursuing academic careers could just as easily be said about Cambridge graduates, and nobody is putting UCL above Cambridge. I guess ICL might be as antisocial as people say it is...


Not fair to compare Imperial and Oxbridge because bigger student body and wider range of degrees at Oxford and Cambridge. Also you get a lot of people at Oxbridge doing History, Geography, and other arts subjects that end up in banking when they realise the career options in their subject are considerably more limited and less lucrative. You don't get that so much at Imperial, which I guess is a good thing.
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 98
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*Hakz*
15
Im guessing a graduate from a 1994 group university has no chance of landing a FO job then?
Reply 99
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Original post by *Hakz*
Im guessing a graduate from a 1994 group university has no chance of landing a FO job then?


Never say never. Exceptional candidates will often be succesful but you'll really have to stand out and prepare for a bunch of rejections.

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