Help Choosing Between Birmingham, St Andrews, and Exeter for Economics

Hi everyone,

I’m in Year 13 and finalising my UCAS application but struggling to decide on my third university choice for BSc Economics. My goal is to get into a top job in finance or investment banking in London, so I need a university that will give me the best chance to achieve this.

Here’s my current UCAS list:

BSc Economics at King’s College London (my most ambitious choice)
BSc Economics at Bath (also ambitious and highly regarded)
BSc Economics at Queen Mary University of London
BSc Economics at York
For my third choice, I’m considering:

Birmingham: I like the city and qualify for a contextual offer, which makes it a strong insurance option. If I receive their contextual offer, I could make Birmingham my insurance choice instead of York, allowing me to focus my firm choice on a more ambitious university. I’ve also heard Birmingham is stronger than York in terms of target universities for finance.
St Andrews: I don’t like the location, but it’s highly ranked (top five for economics on some league tables) and seems to have a strong reputation, which I’ve heard is very important for investment banking.
Exeter: Offers a placement year, which could help with networking and gaining experience, and it’s also well-respected.
My predicted grades are AAA, so I need a university with entry requirements that match this (no lower, no higher). I want my third choice to still be a strong option for my career goals but also realistic to get into.

Out of Birmingham, St Andrews, and Exeter, which is better for getting into investment banking or high finance in London? Or is there another university you’d recommend that’s stronger and has AAA entry requirements?

Thanks so much for your help!

Mohsin

Reply 1

Ch4r1ie608

Original post

by mohsinK

Hi everyone,
I’m in Year 13 and finalising my UCAS application but struggling to decide on my third university choice for BSc Economics. My goal is to get into a top job in finance or investment banking in London, so I need a university that will give me the best chance to achieve this.
Here’s my current UCAS list:
BSc Economics at King’s College London (my most ambitious choice)
BSc Economics at Bath (also ambitious and highly regarded)
BSc Economics at Queen Mary University of London
BSc Economics at York
For my third choice, I’m considering:
Birmingham: I like the city and qualify for a contextual offer, which makes it a strong insurance option. If I receive their contextual offer, I could make Birmingham my insurance choice instead of York, allowing me to focus my firm choice on a more ambitious university. I’ve also heard Birmingham is stronger than York in terms of target universities for finance.
St Andrews: I don’t like the location, but it’s highly ranked (top five for economics on some league tables) and seems to have a strong reputation, which I’ve heard is very important for investment banking.
Exeter: Offers a placement year, which could help with networking and gaining experience, and it’s also well-respected.
My predicted grades are AAA, so I need a university with entry requirements that match this (no lower, no higher). I want my third choice to still be a strong option for my career goals but also realistic to get into.
Out of Birmingham, St Andrews, and Exeter, which is better for getting into investment banking or high finance in London? Or is there another university you’d recommend that’s stronger and has AAA entry requirements?
Thanks so much for your help!
Mohsin

Hiya, I’m also applying for economics/ economics related courses. I think that among the 3 Exeter is deemed as more targeted but I’m not too sure. I think I read somewhere that Exeter and St Andrews are semi-targeted unis. I also considered St Andrews but found that I didn’t want to study there so it didn’t make my top 5.