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Durham vs Manchester

hey, im Aidan and I've narrowed my choices down to uni choices to university of Manchester or durham. im stuck between the two as both offer very different things for me. I like durham for the prestige, the look of the uni , the connections you can make for later life, the fact that it is a target/semi target university for investment banks and the attitude around campus of academic excellence. however I like UoM because I prefer the course much more, it is more of a city university, there's more to do and from what it seems like it. its more respected internationally.

ultimately it comes down to reputation vs the course and I really don't know which one to pick. can anyone give me any suggestions

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You've just answered it yourself - nebulous snobbery, or academic suitability and everything you actually want from a University.
Go to Manchester.
If you like Manchester's course content and location better I'd suggest going for Manchester. When it comes to employers, I don't think prestige is worth much - especially between Manchester and Durham as Manchester is also very well-respected (and seems to be popular with employers?).

You've mentioned investment banks - are you going into finance or accounting of something? Sorry I can't make any specific comments on those as I know hardly anything about them.
Reply 3
Original post by aaron2578
If you like Manchester's course content and location better I'd suggest going for Manchester. When it comes to employers, I don't think prestige is worth much - especially between Manchester and Durham as Manchester is also very well-respected (and seems to be popular with employers?).

You've mentioned investment banks - are you going into finance or accounting of something? Sorry I can't make any specific comments on those as I know hardly anything about them.

id hope to do front office work in the finance divisions at jp Morgan, Goldman e.t.c - mainly asset management stuff. as they're so selective with the schools they recruit from. being a target/semi target school is very important to me
I see. You'll have to decide how much you'd like being at Durham then - if you'd still enjoy being there then that might be the way to go.
If you'd enjoy yourself a lot more at Manchester then I'd still say to pick Manchester.
'Prestige', whatever you think that means, will be no comfort if you hate the course - it could be a miserable 3 years.
Reply 6
Original post by McGinger
'Prestige', whatever you think that means, will be no comfort if you hate the course - it could be a miserable 3 years.

from what it seems on paper I wouldn't hate the course. I just much prefer Manchesters as I get to do economics. but maybe in person the modules won't be great. do you think the prestige of the uni will carry over to employment especially in the banking/finance sector
Original post by Aidan2411
from what it seems on paper I wouldn't hate the course. I just much prefer Manchesters as I get to do economics. but maybe in person the modules won't be great. do you think the prestige of the uni will carry over to employment especially in the banking/finance sector

Between Manchester and Durham there is actually no difference how those employers would regard you.
Original post by McGinger
Between Manchester and Durham there is actually no difference how those employers would regard you.


I don’t think Manchester is a semi-target though whereas Durham definitely is
Reply 9
Original post by Laurence00
I don’t think Manchester is a semi-target though whereas Durham definitely is

there is my dilemma as I really like the course at Manchester but obviously my route into IB will be far easier if I went to durham
Original post by Aidan2411
there is my dilemma as I really like the course at Manchester but obviously my route into IB will be far easier if I went to durham

If you like it that much, go for it. You're making it out to be your dream course here and anyway you can still get the job you want if you went to Manchester
Or equally NOT get it even though you went to Durham.
You are not guaranteed a graduate place anywhere, whatever Uni you go to.
Reply 12
Original post by Aidan2411
id hope to do front office work in the finance divisions at jp Morgan, Goldman e.t.c - mainly asset management stuff. as they're so selective with the schools they recruit from. being a target/semi target school is very important to me


If you are certain you want to do this then definitely go to durham. If you aren’t sure yet then go to Manchester as you seem to like it better, but personally if I was an aspiring IB analyst I would go for the most prestigious university because they don’t actually care what degree you do it’s all about the university for them.
Reply 13
Original post by HMxx
If you are certain you want to do this then definitely go to durham. If you aren’t sure yet then go to Manchester as you seem to like it better, but personally if I was an aspiring IB analyst I would go for the most prestigious university because they don’t actually care what degree you do it’s all about the university for them.

ive heard conflicting info about whether Manchester is a low semi target or a non target school and how hard it is then to push into IB going to a school like Manchester
Reply 14
Original post by Aidan2411
ive heard conflicting info about whether Manchester is a low semi target or a non target school and how hard it is then to push into IB going to a school like Manchester


From what I’ve heard Manchester is a non-target so it’ll be very difficult to break into IB from there. Also, networking with people in IB is much easier at a target/semi-target as they have representatives that visit those campuses and talk to students there. You’ll probably know how important networking is for a profession such as IB and I’m not sure BB IB firms like GS JPM MS send reps to Manchester. I could be wrong though and you could find out by researching it yourself. Just make an informed decision. After all, if you’re paying 9k a year to a university you need to make sure you get the best possible return for it.
Reply 15
Original post by Aidan2411
id hope to do front office work in the finance divisions at jp Morgan, Goldman e.t.c - mainly asset management stuff. as they're so selective with the schools they recruit from. being a target/semi target school is very important to me

I want to get into IB front office for a BB too. My advice is go to Durham, it's a low target/high semi-target and you would get into front office much easier. You still have a chance of getting into front office at Manchester but I would assume it's a lot harder as Manchester is a very low semi-target. It's only 3 years and you get to have the whole of your career made easier due to the prestigious of the university and entry to your first job. It's true they don't really mind if you have a psychology degree from a target uni, they would prefer that than an accounting degree from a low semi-target.

As I'm gonna put Manchester down as one of my choices, I searched investment banking analyst + Uni of Manchester in LinkedIn and there is a few in BB's such as JPMorgan, but most are at EB's or HSBC. However compared to Durham there is considerably a lot more in FO roles at JPMorgan, Goldman, Morgan Stanley etc.

Because I want to get into a FO role in IB I have narrowed it down to these choices based on my chances of getting in and academic ability in this order:

Durham
Bristol
Nottingham
Manchester
Original post by Aidan2411
hey, im Aidan and I've narrowed my choices down to uni choices to university of Manchester or durham. im stuck between the two as both offer very different things for me. I like durham for the prestige, the look of the uni , the connections you can make for later life, the fact that it is a target/semi target university for investment banks and the attitude around campus of academic excellence. however I like UoM because I prefer the course much more, it is more of a city university, there's more to do and from what it seems like it. its more respected internationally.

ultimately it comes down to reputation vs the course and I really don't know which one to pick. can anyone give me any suggestions


Go to Manchester.
Its important to enjoy your time at university, you want to thrive not pass the time.

The prestige gap between Durham & Manchester is negligible, they are both very well respected. Banks are ultimately recruiting individuals not universities. The university might simply help get an interview but I dont think the recruiters at banks will view any difference between the two.
Hey, maybe I can help as someone at Durham going onto a grad scheme in IB at one of the banks you mentioned next year.
I would definitely go with the University with the more appealing course (Manchester I think), as not only will your three years be more enjoyable, you're probably more likely to perform better academically if you prefer the content. Also most of the people that were on my internship last summer came from a huge variety of Uni's, including those less 'prestigious' than Manchester.
As long as you pursue internships in IB from year 1 and are a suitable candidate I would suggest that the importance of studying at either Manchester or Durham takes a backseat.
Reply 18
Original post by chbr19ac
Hey, maybe I can help as someone at Durham going onto a grad scheme in IB at one of the banks you mentioned next year.
I would definitely go with the University with the more appealing course (Manchester I think), as not only will your three years be more enjoyable, you're probably more likely to perform better academically if you prefer the content. Also most of the people that were on my internship last summer came from a huge variety of Uni's, including those less 'prestigious' than Manchester.
As long as you pursue internships in IB from year 1 and are a suitable candidate I would suggest that the importance of studying at either Manchester or Durham takes a backseat.


Irrelevant question to the thread but may I ask what you did in terms of work experience etc to secure an IB grad scheme offer? For context i’m going into my first year of uni in October (Imperial) and just wanted to know what to do to build my CV up.
Reply 19
Original post by chbr19ac
Hey, maybe I can help as someone at Durham going onto a grad scheme in IB at one of the banks you mentioned next year.
I would definitely go with the University with the more appealing course (Manchester I think), as not only will your three years be more enjoyable, you're probably more likely to perform better academically if you prefer the content. Also most of the people that were on my internship last summer came from a huge variety of Uni's, including those less 'prestigious' than Manchester.
As long as you pursue internships in IB from year 1 and are a suitable candidate I would suggest that the importance of studying at either Manchester or Durham takes a backseat.

that's really put my mind at easy, thanks

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