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The Top 50 Universities for getting Front Office Investment Banking Jobs - 12 UK Unis

C_Richards99

UK Ranking:

LSE (1)

University College London (5)

Imperial College London (7)

University of Oxford (9)

University of Cambridge (11)

University of St Andrews (29)

University of Warwick (32)

University of Bath (39)

University of Bristol (42)

10.

Durham University (43)

11.

University of Nottingham (47)

12.

University of Edinburgh (50)

*(X) denotes overall ranking

Ranking was created through the analysis of 272,000 CVs over a 12 month period on efinancialcareers (see source for more details).
source: http://news.efinancialcareers.com/uk-en/199099/top-50-universities-getting-front-office-investment-banking-job/

My comments:

Spoiler

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

Gnomes&Knights

Original post by C_Richards99

*(X) denotes overall ranking

Overall ranking for what?

Edit: Just realised *(X) denotes international ranking.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2

Gnomes&Knights

LSE, UCL and Imperial are UK top 3 only because they are located in London. Oxford and Cambridge would sweep the floor with them if they were located in a very large city.

Reply 3

Econight

Original post by Raymat

LSE, UCL and Imperial are UK top 3 only because they are located in London. Oxford and Cambridge would sweep the floor with them if they were located in a very large city.

This is excellent reasoning.

Reply 4

MAINE.

Original post by C_Richards99

UK Ranking:

LSE (1)

University College London (5)

Imperial College London (7)

University of Oxford (9)

University of Cambridge (11)

University of St Andrews (29)

University of Warwick (32)

University of Bath (39)

University of Bristol (42)

10.

Durham University (43)

11.

University of Nottingham (47)

12.

University of Edinburgh (50)

Spoiler

Would not pay any attention to any international ranking of unis, in any context....ever.

First and foremost the modus operandi of how recruiting works is completely different from country to country (eg. the entire process for getting into IB in the US is significantly different than in the UK), so not right to compare them.

Also this ranking combine unis from different contintents, but that results in misleading conclusions (such as the number of erroneous conclusions you have come to in your post). For example, combing unis from the USA, Europe and APAC, implies that this ranking would hold for recruiting in any of those regions, but most Americans have no knowledge of UK unis other than LSE & Oxbridge.

Moreover, I see names like "Uni of Delhi" and "Peking Uni" in that list, which are completely irrelevant in the context of UK recruiting.

Not to mention for every international ranking of unis I have ever seen the ranking methodology has always been highly questionable, and international rankings rarely tie to national rankings (which tend to be far more credible).

In short, it seems there is a high degree of statistical bias/error in eFC's list, so wouldnt put much stock into it. Much better representative list for UK recruiting is:

https://www.linkedin.com/edu/rankings/gb/undergraduate-investment-banking?trk=edu-rankings-ctg-card

Linkedin has millions of users, and hundreds of thousands in investment banking. This is definitely the most accurate ranking produced to date.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 5

Econight

Original post by MAINE.

In short, it seems there is a high degree of statistical bias/error in eFC's list, so wouldnt put much stock into it. Much better representative list for UK recruiting is:

https://www.linkedin.com/edu/rankings/gb/undergraduate-investment-banking?trk=edu-rankings-ctg-card

Linkedin has millions of users, and tens of thousands in investment banking. This is definitely the most accurate ranking produced to date.

Basically this. Anyway banking recruitment is very idiosyncratic with respect to the firm, country, even the desks that are hiring. I really don't understand why people dive so deep into statistical analysis of getting into a firm.

Reply 6

solarplexus

Is this for economic/finance related degrees mainly?

What about like ucl engineering?

Reply 7

MAINE.

Original post by Econight

For controversy.

Have to remember that eFC is essentially a newspaper, and like any newspaper its their job to sell sensationalism and controversy. Uni rankings are tantamount to saying "these unis are really good, and these other unis are really bad" and that gets people talking, and that's what gets the visits to their website.

Reply 8

Exceptional

Original post by solarplexus

Is this for economic/finance related degrees mainly?

What about like ucl engineering?

This list is focussed on the universities that are well represented in FO. The subject doesn't matter - you aren't more likely to get in solely because of your degree and UCL is great.

As you may know for instance, Imperial is third on this list and they don't do economics/finance at undergraduate level.

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Reply 9

solarplexus

Original post by Exceptional

still find it hard to believe that oxbridge is less represented?

surely there are recruitment fairs etc.?

and how come big names in the US are not in big cities yet they rank higher?

Reply 10

MAINE.

Original post by solarplexus

still find it hard to believe that oxbridge is less represented?

surely there are recruitment fairs etc.?

and how come big names in the US are not in big cities yet they rank higher?

The list is BS. As I said in my post, dont pay any attention to it.

Reply 11

daindian

Indian institute of technology is in that list, but it doesn't say which branch/location there's about 16 of them. It's like saying Russell group in this country, instead of each individual establishment.

Posted from TSR Mobile

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 12

KLL

Original post by solarplexus

still find it hard to believe that oxbridge is less represented?

surely there are recruitment fairs etc.?

and how come big names in the US are not in big cities yet they rank higher?

I wouldn't necessarily call new york, pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, san Jose or san Francisco small.. Or are you from Tokyo?

Reply 13

C_Richards99

Original post by MAINE.

Hmm that's an interesting conclusion you have made.

We analysed resumes on our database from individuals who went to the top universities in the financial markets where we have most coverage. This means the UK, U.S., Asia-Pacific markets and a number of Continental European countries – but mostly France and Germany. We then cross-referenced this against the proportion of people from individual universities working in front office positions – this means M&A, capital markets and a number of markets functions including equities, research and trading.

This is what it states about their methodology on their website and it seems pretty reasonable..

I don't know what Americans you talk to, but I can assure you that American Firms looking to attract the best talent worldwide will know that there are more than 3 universities in the UK - you sound incredibly naive for making that statement.

I'm not sure why you think LinkedIn's ranking is any better based on your previous arguments against ranking universities in general. Do you think that LinkedIn based their rankings solely on UK recruitment only? Graduates can very easily land an IB job and work abroad whilst simultaneously using LinkedIn.

Furthermore, eFC compiled their rankings based on the analysis of 272,000 CVs which is a sizable proportion of those looking to gain IB jobs in the past 12 months alone. I'm not arguing that it's the one true ranking for IB, but I think you should not be so abrupt in dismissing their ranking as it provides a useful insight nevertheless.

Reply 14

Econight

People need to read up on selection bias. LSE students are known for being ridiculously proactive in terms of IB recruiting. More to do with the reputation LSE developed (which they are trying to change) as a breeding ground for bankers. Oxbridge students tend to get lured into all different industries and onto further academia, where as at the LSE the mantra is literally banking or die for most of the student population.

Seeing people flare up on here about where their respective uni is on the list brings the real issue that people think getting into banking is the barometer of how good a uni is in this day and age. That is the sad truth.