Imperial Finance Vs. LSE Finance ??? Big Dilemma

Hi everyone,

I have read a lot of varied opinions on this , but i would like to know which course is better and has better prospects? I have offers on both for the 2010 entry.....

Any help would be much appreciated.

XX

Reply 1

awm55

7

Both are great courses. I think Imperial wins on the quantitative aspects of the course and is more geared towards trading and structuring, while LSE's course is more general (though it is easy to specialize). Imperial's course is also much more established.

I have also heard LSE's is less practical and more theoretical, but I cannot confirm that myself. LSE's course is more competitive with regards to entry standards, though that is partly due to how small the course is.

Reply 2

tom_jc

LSE for sure

Reply 3

prettypony

I'm not in the exact dilemma as you, but I'm choosing between Imperial MSc Finance and Stockholm School of Economics MSc Finance, and I'm going for SSE. Imperial is awesome but not 27k awesome imho.

Reply 4

tentop6521

5

what dilemma???? LSE Msc Finace hands down for sure over Imperial. The discussion would have been more interesting if we were talking about Lse accounting & finance vs Imperial Finance.

Reply 5

autumn489

OP

Well, i would a LSE PT Msc finance be better then Imperial FT ?

Reply 6

Pure Alpha

Hi autumn, I am in a pretty similar situation as I got an offer from Imperial a week ago. LSE's program is for sure not hands down over Imperial. It rather depends on your career aspirations and your background. Imperial's program is definitely more suitable for areas like trading, (quantitative) investment management and research. LSE's program would be a better choice if you are interested in IBD (like M&A, financing etc). Btw the programs are rather different in terms of curriculum and I would say that Imperial's program is more comparable with LSE's F&E which is also rather quantitative. Besides that you should understand that neither of this programs will guarantee you a job at a first tier investment bank. Here networking and connections play a much bigger role. So there is of course a risk when you pay such high tuitions... But that's life (and credit crisis). So you should really try to think about your career aspirations, background etc, don't make your decision simply because of some posts in this forum. But at the end of the day the two programs should offer somewhat similar starting salaries and LSE and Imperial are both first tier unis in the UK... Hope this helps

Reply 7

Snookie4President

Hey Pure Alpha & Autumn,

Would you mind me asking what your profiles are? I am wondering what it takes to get into LSE & IC Msc. Finance programs. What factors do you feel contributed to your successful entry?

My Profile:

University: Large State University
Major: Finance / MIS
GPA: 3.6/4.0
Excellent Internship Experience
Citizenship: U.S.
Target companies: Corporate Finance / Consulting

What are your thoughts on this profile?

Reply 8

autumn489

OP

Hi Pure alpha.

What do the starting slaries look like after LSE/Imperial program ?

Reply 9

autumn489

OP

Hi,

Your profile looks excellent. I dont see why you should have a problem of getting into any of the programs

Snookie4President

Hey Pure Alpha & Autumn,

Would you mind me asking what your profiles are? I am wondering what it takes to get into LSE & IC Msc. Finance programs. What factors do you feel contributed to your successful entry?

My Profile:

University: Large State University
Major: Finance / MIS
GPA: 3.6/4.0
Excellent Internship Experience
Citizenship: U.S.
Target companies: Corporate Finance / Consulting

What are your thoughts on this profile?

Reply 10

awm55

7

LSE's is more competitive numbers wise, but that is only because the MSc Finance is so small. Imperial's is more than double the size

Reply 11

Pure Alpha

Imperial's website mentions a median starting salary of £35k, Oxford's MFE had around £40k, so the salaries are in this range. Actually they are not that high, especially when compared with German speaking countries (especially Switzerland), I have some friends there and they can really laugh about these average salaries... But on the other hand, one should also not forget that these programs have a lot of international students (especially from Asia, at Imperial around 50% from Asia/Pacific as according to their brochure). And I guess that a lot of these students come back to Asia where the starting salaries are much lower, this makes these statistics somewhat biased... Besides that I think that Snookie4President has a nice profile. Actually it is normally enough to have first class honours and excellent recommendation letters to get into Imperial and LSE. The only exception in UK is Cambridge's Mphil in Finance. For this program one would also need a lot luck, but that's because of the small size and very low tuition of this program. Generally, the admission officers at these programs like to see quantitative backgrounds, so I would definitely advice you to ask your academic referees to mention your superb quantitative skills etc...

Reply 12

awm55

7

Pure Alpha

Imperial's website mentions a median starting salary of £35k, Oxford's MFE had around £40k, so the salaries are in this range. Actually they are not that high, especially when compared with German speaking countries (especially Switzerland), I have some friends there and they can really laugh about these average salaries... But on the other hand, one should also not forget that these programs have a lot of international students (especially from Asia, at Imperial around 50% from Asia/Pacific as according to their brochure). And I guess that a lot of these students come back to Asia where the starting salaries are much lower, this makes these statistics somewhat biased... Besides that I think that Snookie4President has a nice profile. Actually it is normally enough to have first class honours and excellent recommendation letters to get into Imperial and LSE. The only exception in UK is Cambridge's Mphil in Finance. For this program one would also need a lot luck, but that's because of the small size and very low tuition of this program. Generally, the admission officers at these programs like to see quantitative backgrounds, so I would definitely advice you to ask your academic referees to mention your superb quantitative skills etc...

MFE at Oxford will be higher as a much larger percentage of the class has work experience already

Reply 13

tentop6521

5

Get real. The admissions rate at LSE MSC finance is about 5%, and reputation and career wise regarded much higher than Imperial. Imperial is more comparable to the likes of Warwick. So yes, there is no comparision. Agreeded that Imperial seems to have a more quantatative track, but one can certianly adjust that at LSE with their elective choices. And comparing LSE Econoimics and Finance with Imperial Finance is downright foolish. Again a more interesting dilemma would be Accounting and Finance vs. Imperial Finance.
Anyways don't take my word for it, ask around the forum.

Reply 14

tentop6521

5

By the, Imperial Finance is a great program, but just not comparable to LSE Finance

Reply 15

Pure Alpha

No, I have to disappoint you, I was not rejected by LSE. But judging from your comment you must have had some traumatic experiences in the past. Yes and comparing LSE's A&F with Imperial's Finance program is not foolish, right? Besides that I never said that I would accept the offer from Imperial. But anyway, I am not really interested in some meaningless discussions with you. I think it would be really interesting to hear about placements etc from people who really graduated from these programs, as I am also unsure as to which program to attend and even whether to do a Master or not...

Reply 16

tentop6521

5

lol, yes I've been scared for life. Rereading my previous post, I think I came out harsher than i intended to. But seriously LSE A&F and Imperial MSC Finance is a valid comparison especially given if you choose the right electives A&F can be fairly quantitative. Personally I would choose Imperial if that were the case. But I know mates who've picked A&F over Imperial Finance. Anyways, related topics about this have been discussed before, so search the forum.

Imperial Finance Vs. LSE Finance ??? Big Dilemma

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