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The truth about Top 5/10 unis etc

Reply 40

15

Joint honour courses are usually significantly less quantitative than their single honour counterpart (with obvious exception to those that do Maths as the other).

You need to be numerate to do alot of market side work. Especially if it's going to be in the more mathematically dense FI area. Sure, you might be highly numerate doing that joint honours and so make it - but you're going to look a little worse than those on the single honour programme (not just because that one is so much more difficult to get onto). Those are numerate and mathematical tend to go for those more quantitative degrees to begin with.

There are less quantitative lines of work in IB. If you can stomach IBD...

Reply 41

Lady_Muck

14

President_Ben

No need to state the obvious...

Lady_Muck is such a sloane (wannabe?) :rolleyes:

Go away Ben! I'm not a wannabe anything, I either am or I'm not.

And I speak for the majority of my friends and shock horror, not all of them are sloaney (perish the thought!). And my mother isn't sloaney.....My stepdad and my dad are two of the most arrogant people on earth :p:

Anyway, you love it really :wink:

Reply 42

Lady_Muck

14

tom391

Old-fashioned social convention I guess?

It's one thing to shout about getting a 1st in Economics at the LSE, which is after all an extremely commendable achievemnt, especially as this is a student forum. Saying how much money you make at the age of 21 is perhaps less appropriate, and given said degree & job title, it's a safe bet that the guy is earning plenty - without needing to put exactly how much he does earn. Just a social more I suppose.

Equally, you could say it might give x in Lower Sixth that inclination to work harder because there is the scope to be earning £50k + in his first year of work.

Reply 43

Troy :0)

I just wanted to say that recently having been through internship applications, everything CitiTrader has said seems to be very accruate - from my experiences at least. If you want to work for an American bulge bracket firm, you'll need certain characteristics which include, an oxbridge/ivy league/top european school education in something quantitative and preferably relevant. I've recently met LOADS of analysts at this bank, and I didn't even meet one person that wasn't from one of these unis. I didn't even meet someone from LSE, but that could be because these firms recruit by 'school teams'. All of my interviewers had studied at Cambridge and they even put on a 'Cambridge lunch' for the 4 people they took from here, where I met people of all different levels that went to my uni!

When I was there, I asked how many people they took in IBD, and I was told that they usually take 10 from the UK, and the rest (60) come from overseas. If they took 4 from Cambridge, they must have taken a similar number from Oxford (I know they at least took 2 cos I met them), so that only leaves 2 or 3 spaces from ALL other UK unis! I'm not saying that it's impossible, but I'd imagine that if you don't go to oxbridge you'll need to be on track for a 1st and you'll need to be reading something relevant, like economics. I think I was very very lucky because I study anthropology, and haven't ever had a grade higher than a 2.1.......

I'm not saying that if you aren't from oxbridge and you aren't reading economics then you shouldnt apply...I'm just saying that the odds are against you, but it's not impossible.....find evidence for quantititive ability and start learning about the financial world in your spare time......in fact, if you're not doing economics, the most important thing is to KNOW YOUR STUFF....the quant skills can be easily proven by passing the numeracy test and brain teaser stuff you'll get at interviews if you make it past the form.

anyway, remember my experiences are for an internship at an american bb, so it's the 'worst case scenario' for non-oxbridge/non-econ students. I found the european banks much less discriminative, with MUCH easier interviews! Some of the people I met at these interviews were from ICL, Bristol, Edin and they got offers.

Reply 44

President_Ben

15

Goldman do it by uni in their recruitment.

And if it's 10 from the UK unis, UCL has scored quite well then. There are two UCL economists doing the IBD internship. Ivica and Polina are their names.

Reply 45

President_Ben

15

Well, I feel a bit letdown by the population of TSR when they get so ridiculously mercenary and (attempt to) flood someone with PMs...

Reply 46

fatboyslim

1

Going to the top 5 is a big advantage but not everything.
I study in Manchester University, and am going to be working for GS this summer in front office for internship.
I also know an ex manchester student who works there.
Before you say thats just one I dont know where anyone goes to after manc uni as I know no other graduates.
Ultimately its rediculous to say they wont accept anyone out of the top 5 because otherwise touring the other universities would be pointless.
Besides I spoke to people in HR who explicitly said once your at the interview the accademics have been accepted as passable and its how you perform on the day. Why else would you be taken?

Reply 47

Wrangler

2

fatboyslim

Besides I spoke to people in HR who explicitly said once your at the interview the accademics have been accepted as passable and its how you perform on the day. Why else would you be taken?

After completing my degree last year, I returned to CSFB for a second summer. The person I spoke to at HR said "we have decided to offer you X amount because of your past academic record". Where you got your degree, and what it was in, is not the be all and end all by any means. But it certainly counts for something.

Reply 48

posh_git

1

CitigroupTrader

For decent (ie GS, Citi, MS, ML, UBS, DB, BarCap, Lehman) banks in the FRONT OFFICE (the highest earners, the people who actually make the primary profit), easily the majority of British grads studied at either LSE or Oxbridge. Then each bank/division combo will have a small handful from places like Warwick, Imperial, UCL, Nottingham, Bristol. You will occasionally get 1 star candidate from somewhere like Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, but this is quite rare.

this guy at Lehmans did an eco degree @ surrey and is now working for them, FRONT OFFICE.

this woman works at hsbc, also front office, and did a degree at UMIST.

Reply 49

Spenceman_

Lol

Reply 50

ElWilson

14

posh_git - find me atleast 10 other people with similar academic backgrounds which they have and I will eat my hat.

P.S - It's not exactly like Citi is being pugnacious or aggressive - simply engraving into some people's minds the indeed importance of higher education.

Reply 51

Big4Monkey

OP

slick_rick

Why the ***** would a derivatives trader at a Bulge Bracket IB come on to a forum like this and go on like he has?

He is either:

1. Chattin sh!t. Ur not a citigroup trader, you dont earn £50,000+, and you do not have a 1st from LSE!

or,

2. Just a loser! Nothing better to do with your time. I would have thought someone in IB with a bit of money to spend might be out enjoying themselves in Central London? Obviously not.

Wow, I spend four evenings out and one evening at home, therefore I'm a loser. Going to Pangaea later tonight. I have a table. You'll never be able to afford one.

Reply 52

Big4Monkey

OP

posh_git

this guy at Lehmans did an eco degree @ surrey and is now working for them, FRONT OFFICE.

this woman works at hsbc, also front office, and did a degree at UMIST.

When did Lehmans person graduate? If they started in 2005 I'm extremely surprised. Anyhow, for every one Surrey person there's 99 from decent unis - look at the Lehmans graduate intake and you'll see more than half the Britons are from LSE, Oxford, Cambridge, handfuls from OK unis, and that one person from Surrey. And HSBC is an absolutely **** IB so the second sentence is irrelevant.

Reply 53

ElWilson

14

Check mate. lol.

Reply 54

slick_rick

CitigroupTrader

Wow, I spend four evenings out and one evening at home, therefore I'm a loser. Going to Pangaea later tonight. I have a table. You'll never be able to afford one.

Been there, done that! And movida, umbaba, funky buddha...... Don't assume because you earnt fifty odd k that you are now working your way up the rich list. It's a healthy figure for someone your age, but really is not a great deal in the grand scheme of things.

Money is not everything, take it from someone who has been born into it.

Reply 55

ElWilson

14

Why are you in IB then? For the 9-5 easy hours?

Reply 56

dsch

13

**** pangaea. Go somewhere grotty like 333... The guys lined up against the wall to your left as you enter earn more than CitigroupTrader :biggrin:

Reply 57

ssmoose

13

What chance would I have in IB coming from Durham (assuming a 1st or 2:1)? Would this be dramatically increased by doing a masters in London (ICL, UCL, LSE)? Or am I a no-hoper?