The truth about Top 5/10 unis etc

is there actually a degree that can get you the job..?

Where does it say that that is my definition of a genius?
Also, I can tell you that this particular person doesnt really care whether an employee he hires is a genius or not - I know this because he actually told me. For the record he said that he is more interested in the personality of job applicants than their intelligence (bearing in mind that he has CV's filtered by his secretary so that only the best applications ever reach his desk). However i am sure you know more because you have a superb resource like this website at your disposal.

From some of the things I've read, this statement seems to be kind of true...like it doesn't matter if you've got a first from Oxbridge/LSE, if the people interviewing you don't like you, they won't take you. In the IBD and Sales side you do need to have a good/likeable personality in order to do business with clients properly. In the trading side, its your P&L that matters and even if you're Einstein, if your P&L is crap (which it can be, even for Einstein ), you'll soon be sacked.

Genius doesn't neccesarily mean $$$ for companies. And when you consider that within most divisions in IB, it won't make a blind bit of difference if you have a PhD in string theory from Cambridge or whatever, because that amount of knowledge is simply just surplus to the job in hand.

Was it not the case the even 20 or so years ago, people were getting into IB with just A-levels? (might be down to old boy network but still won't hire you if you can't do the job).



The reason a lot of people go to do a masters at these universities is because of the fact that it will improve their employability within IBs. One of the reasons their employability might not be good is because they have a degree from a lesser university.

Agreed - not ALL masters are about research. I was too vague in my terminology.

My point remains this: Doing a masters will not put you at a disadvantage against students with just an undergrad degree, but it won't put you at an advantage (unless it's Maths Phd or MBA etc.). Therefore, I'd only do one if i had to because i couldn't get offers otherwise.

Perfectly agree with your point. Undergrad and MSc's (tought masters) aim same jobs at equal chances.
However, coming back to chizzinio's question. Can a posgrad from a top ten boost your career prospectives at the same level of undergrad from the same university, my answer is, in general terms, YES. Of course, it's always be better to have a strong undergrad degree and you may have a bad time explaining why you have a weak undergrad.

Of course it's an advantage. Why do you think so many graduates in finance/management have fantastic employment prospectives? It's because they have the school s network/brand name that allows them to land the interviews.

So, im right in thinking having oxbridge/lse on your application masters or undergrad can increase career prospectives. I dont think i explained my question very well. You see, I will be applying to the likes of Cambridge, LSE, Imperial, UCl and Warwick, and obviously, I assume that Cambridge and LSE would give me the greatest advantage when applying to IB. The other places I am applying are all strong unis, but the problem is im an ambitious perfectionist, and if i didnt get into LSE or Cambridge for undergrad, I would most certainly apply there for masters. So, my undergrad degree will be strong (or ill take a gap year and reapply), so would a strong undergrad matched with a cambridge/lse masters give me an adavantage? Some people have actually recommended against this because 'banks want young minds', but what difference would a year or two make?

thanks