Target University vs. Degree Apprenticeship with JP Morgan

@Princepieman could I get your advice? You seem to be quite active on the IB forums

go to Warwick or UCL. apprenticeship seems like a pointless roundabout way to save what is going to be equivalent to a few bucks over the course of your career.

Honestly, UCL Degree > Most other things.

The Economics related courses at UCL are amazing and very oversubscribed, so if you can get that then you should go for it imo. My best advice however would be to keep your options open. Keep doing both things and see where you can get offers or where you can get into.

Though keep in mind, why are you getting into banking? Are you doing it for the right reasons, or are you just attracted by the big pay-cheques? Life isn't all about making money and remember that you will probably be doing this career for the rest of your life (though transferring out of it would be easier if you have a degree). Just food for thought

Even if I'd be getting a Finance degree from Exeter? Is the £50k debt really worth it?

I currently have offers from Warwick and UCL for Economics/Finance-related degrees (still waiting on LSE and St Andrews) and I'm in the second last stage of the application process for JP Morgan's sponsored-degree apprenticeship for an Applied Finance degree with Exeter University.

At the assessment centre, one of the assessors said that apprentices have gone on to front office roles in trading, however my end goal is to get into private banking and not investment banking/sales and trading so I don't know if I have a chance to get into my actual dream job.

Pros of Degree Apprenticeship:
- Exeter University Tuition fees covered by JP Morgan therefore debt free
- Will be paid a starting salary of £21k and gain work experience
- Blend of on-the-job experience and academic study (which will probably suit my learning experience more)
- Will gain industry recognised certifications

Cons of Degree Apprenticeship:
- Role is in the middle-office and I get the impression HR wants apprentices to stay in middle office
- My degree won't be from a target university and I am worried about how apprenticeships are perceived by other employers
- I won't get the 'university-experience' and won't get any more free summers
- One of the existing apprentices at the assessment centre didn't seem very professional (although to be fair he had transferred from Bournemouth) and I'd ideally like to be working with bright peers

Obviously, I don't have an offer from JP Morgan yet, however I'm wondering whether I should go to the Insight Evening when I could be revising for my mocks to get the grades to get into UCL/Warwick. Don't want to take another applicant's space and waste their time or mine if I decide it's no longer for me.

My question is for those with more experience than me, particularly someone who is at university now and applying for private banking grad roles, and what they would do in my situation.

This is what I was thinking. I would consider taking a degree from UCL/Warwick much more seriously if I wanted to get into IB, but I think I would prefer to work in Private Banking/Wealth Management so I'm not sure if the 'Target Uni' brand is as important.



From what I've gone through so far, I feel like the JP Morgan process is much more competitive and oversubscribed than the uni process. According to Which?, 50% of applicants get an offer for UCL/Warwick, but there's only gonna be 25 places for the thousands of applicants who applied for the JP Morgan position.

I'd be getting a degree from Exeter so it's not like I won't end up with one when the apprenticeship finishes, or are you saying that a degree from Exeter won't provide me with the opportunity to keep my options open?

bump for more advice? @Doonesbury @gr8wizard10

he who is not corageous enough to take risks will achieve nothing in life

I currently have offers from Warwick and UCL for Economics/Finance-related degrees (still waiting on LSE and St Andrews) and I'm in the second last stage of the application process for JP Morgan's sponsored-degree apprenticeship for an Applied Finance degree with Exeter University.

At the assessment centre, one of the assessors said that apprentices have gone on to front office roles in trading, however my end goal is to get into private banking and not investment banking/sales and trading so I don't know if I have a chance to get into my actual dream job.

Pros of Degree Apprenticeship:
- Exeter University Tuition fees covered by JP Morgan therefore debt free
- Will be paid a starting salary of £21k and gain work experience
- Blend of on-the-job experience and academic study (which will probably suit my learning experience more)
- Will gain industry recognised certifications

Cons of Degree Apprenticeship:
- Role is in the middle-office and I get the impression HR wants apprentices to stay in middle office
- My degree won't be from a target university and I am worried about how apprenticeships are perceived by other employers
- I won't get the 'university-experience' and won't get any more free summers
- One of the existing apprentices at the assessment centre didn't seem very professional (although to be fair he had transferred from Bournemouth) and I'd ideally like to be working with bright peers

Obviously, I don't have an offer from JP Morgan yet, however I'm wondering whether I should go to the Insight Evening when I could be revising for my mocks to get the grades to get into UCL/Warwick. Don't want to take another applicant's space and waste their time or mine if I decide it's no longer for me.

My question is for those with more experience than me, particularly someone who is at university now and applying for private banking grad roles, and what they would do in my situation.