Warwick vs Oxbridge/Imperial for Quant - Gap Year Advice?

Hi everyone,
I'm a grade 13 student applying to UK universities and would greatly appreciate some advice from those of you with experience in quant trading or quantitative finance.
To give you some context, I’m predicted a 44/45 points in the IB with the following subjects:
Maths HL: 7
Business Management HL: 7
English B HL: 7
Physics SL: 7
Chemistry SL: 6
Spanish A SL: 7
I’m looking to pursue a career in quantitative trading (QT) and have recently applied through UCAS for several undergraduate programs at UK universities:
Warwick: MMORSE (Maths, Operational Research, Statistics, and Economics)
UCL: Mathematics and Statistical Science
LSE: Financial Mathematics and Statistics
LSE: Mathematics with Economics
Edinburgh: Mathematics and Statistics
I didn't apply to Oxbridge because I unfortunately missed the deadline (I'm from mainland Europe and I didn't receive any support/guidance to apply to UK), and due to sickness + a bad day I bombed the TMUA, which made me non-eligible for any Imperial math course.
At first I thought that that wouldn't be a problem because of LSE strong position (I thought it was top tier for anything related to finance) but as i continue reading forums and messages from people in the quant industry, I see that LSE is not quite the target option. From my list, it seems that Warwick would be the best (as it is part of the COWI group) but I still feel that in normal conditions I would have had a chance to get into Oxbridge/Imperial, which are the truly renowned universities for quant finance.
My key questions are:
1. Warwick MORSE vs other options: From what I’ve read, Warwick's MORSE is highly regarded for quantitative finance. How does it compare to courses at LSE or UCL in terms of preparing for a career in QT or quant trading? Would it be worth it to take a gap year to reapply to Oxbridge/Imperial?
2.Gap Year Considerations: I am thinking about taking a gap year to reapply to Oxbridge/Imperial and study to get top scores in TMUA/STEP papers + address areas like coding (which I currently lack experience in) and improving my competition-level math skills. Do you think this is a wise decision for QT or should I dive into university and focus on gaining those skills there? Is the risk of being in the same situation (rejection from Oxbridge/Imperial when reapplying) worth it?
3.Oxbridge/Imperial vs Warwick for Long-term Career: If I don’t get into Oxbridge or Imperial or I decide to not take the gap year and end up at Warwick, what would be the long-term impact on my career prospects in QT? Would an MSc like the Oxford MCF make up for not attending Oxbridge/Imperial UG?
Any advice on these decisions, especially regarding whether a gap year will make a big difference, or insights into the best university paths for quantitative finance careers, would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,
I'm a grade 13 student applying to UK universities and would greatly appreciate some advice from those of you with experience in quant trading or quantitative finance.
To give you some context, I’m predicted a 44/45 points in the IB with the following subjects:
Maths HL: 7
Business Management HL: 7
English B HL: 7
Physics SL: 7
Chemistry SL: 6
Spanish A SL: 7
I’m looking to pursue a career in quantitative trading (QT) and have recently applied through UCAS for several undergraduate programs at UK universities:
Warwick: MMORSE (Maths, Operational Research, Statistics, and Economics)
UCL: Mathematics and Statistical Science
LSE: Financial Mathematics and Statistics
LSE: Mathematics with Economics
Edinburgh: Mathematics and Statistics
I didn't apply to Oxbridge because I unfortunately missed the deadline (I'm from mainland Europe and I didn't receive any support/guidance to apply to UK), and due to sickness + a bad day I bombed the TMUA, which made me non-eligible for any Imperial math course.
At first I thought that that wouldn't be a problem because of LSE strong position (I thought it was top tier for anything related to finance) but as i continue reading forums and messages from people in the quant industry, I see that LSE is not quite the target option. From my list, it seems that Warwick would be the best (as it is part of the COWI group) but I still feel that in normal conditions I would have had a chance to get into Oxbridge/Imperial, which are the truly renowned universities for quant finance.
My key questions are:
1. Warwick MORSE vs other options: From what I’ve read, Warwick's MORSE is highly regarded for quantitative finance. How does it compare to courses at LSE or UCL in terms of preparing for a career in QT or quant trading? Would it be worth it to take a gap year to reapply to Oxbridge/Imperial?
2.Gap Year Considerations: I am thinking about taking a gap year to reapply to Oxbridge/Imperial and study to get top scores in TMUA/STEP papers + address areas like coding (which I currently lack experience in) and improving my competition-level math skills. Do you think this is a wise decision for QT or should I dive into university and focus on gaining those skills there? Is the risk of being in the same situation (rejection from Oxbridge/Imperial when reapplying) worth it?
3.Oxbridge/Imperial vs Warwick for Long-term Career: If I don’t get into Oxbridge or Imperial or I decide to not take the gap year and end up at Warwick, what would be the long-term impact on my career prospects in QT? Would an MSc like the Oxford MCF make up for not attending Oxbridge/Imperial UG?
Any advice on these decisions, especially regarding whether a gap year will make a big difference, or insights into the best university paths for quantitative finance careers, would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

Have you got a warwick offer yet? Personally Id say that cowi maths stuff is very well regarded and its a bit of a lottery if/which one you get on. So if you have/get a warwick offer this year, Id go for it.

You have to be careful with taking a gap year because nothing is guaranteed and you are not sure whether you will het an Oxbridge offer.
My suggestion is to consider your current offers at Warwick, LSE or UCL. They are all excellent options and will prepare you for a career in finance. LSE is still a target uni, so I am not sure where you read that it was no longer a target uni.
Good luck

Warwick math department has an acceptance rate of 86% because they tend to accept everyone that reaches it's minimum entry requirements (which are very high) and then put difficult conditional offers so that only the best applicants can enter. By that metric, if I'm able to secure 40+ points in the IB, Warwick is basically a safe choice.

For quant finance the only targeted universities in UK are Oxbridge/Imperial. From what I've heard from people in the industry, Warwick is by far the next best thing to get into quant, then UCL, then LSE. The question here is wether going to the "best next thing" is worth it or if taking a Gap year and reapplying with real grades + much better TMUA/STEP grades is better. With that being said, I know that there's no guarantee that I'll get to Oxbridge/Imperial but it would be relieving to know that I tried and failed rather than not even trying ("what if" thoughts in the future).

For quant finance the only targeted universities in UK are Oxbridge/Imperial. From what I've heard from people in the industry, Warwick is by far the next best thing to get into quant, then UCL, then LSE. The question here is wether going to the "best next thing" is worth it or if taking a Gap year and reapplying with real grades + much better TMUA/STEP grades is better. With that being said, I know that there's no guarantee that I'll get to Oxbridge/Imperial but it would be relieving to know that I tried and failed rather than not even trying ("what if" thoughts in the future).

For quant finance the only targeted universities in UK are Oxbridge/Imperial. From what I've heard from people in the industry, Warwick is by far the next best thing to get into quant, then UCL, then LSE. The question here is wether going to the "best next thing" is worth it or if taking a Gap year and reapplying with real grades + much better TMUA/STEP grades is better. With that being said, I know that there's no guarantee that I'll get to Oxbridge/Imperial but it would be relieving to know that I tried and failed rather than not even trying ("what if" thoughts in the future).

Hi everyone,
I'm a grade 13 student applying to UK universities and would greatly appreciate some advice from those of you with experience in quant trading or quantitative finance.
To give you some context, I’m predicted a 44/45 points in the IB with the following subjects:
Maths HL: 7
Business Management HL: 7
English B HL: 7
Physics SL: 7
Chemistry SL: 6
Spanish A SL: 7
I’m looking to pursue a career in quantitative trading (QT) and have recently applied through UCAS for several undergraduate programs at UK universities:
Warwick: MMORSE (Maths, Operational Research, Statistics, and Economics)
UCL: Mathematics and Statistical Science
LSE: Financial Mathematics and Statistics
LSE: Mathematics with Economics
Edinburgh: Mathematics and Statistics
I didn't apply to Oxbridge because I unfortunately missed the deadline (I'm from mainland Europe and I didn't receive any support/guidance to apply to UK), and due to sickness + a bad day I bombed the TMUA, which made me non-eligible for any Imperial math course.
At first I thought that that wouldn't be a problem because of LSE strong position (I thought it was top tier for anything related to finance) but as i continue reading forums and messages from people in the quant industry, I see that LSE is not quite the target option. From my list, it seems that Warwick would be the best (as it is part of the COWI group) but I still feel that in normal conditions I would have had a chance to get into Oxbridge/Imperial, which are the truly renowned universities for quant finance.
My key questions are:
1. Warwick MORSE vs other options: From what I’ve read, Warwick's MORSE is highly regarded for quantitative finance. How does it compare to courses at LSE or UCL in terms of preparing for a career in QT or quant trading? Would it be worth it to take a gap year to reapply to Oxbridge/Imperial?
2.Gap Year Considerations: I am thinking about taking a gap year to reapply to Oxbridge/Imperial and study to get top scores in TMUA/STEP papers + address areas like coding (which I currently lack experience in) and improving my competition-level math skills. Do you think this is a wise decision for QT or should I dive into university and focus on gaining those skills there? Is the risk of being in the same situation (rejection from Oxbridge/Imperial when reapplying) worth it?
3.Oxbridge/Imperial vs Warwick for Long-term Career: If I don’t get into Oxbridge or Imperial or I decide to not take the gap year and end up at Warwick, what would be the long-term impact on my career prospects in QT? Would an MSc like the Oxford MCF make up for not attending Oxbridge/Imperial UG?
Any advice on these decisions, especially regarding whether a gap year will make a big difference, or insights into the best university paths for quantitative finance careers, would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

If you want to get into Qant, you have to go to a uni that is mathematically strong and these unis include oxbridge/imperial/UCL and maybe warrick. If you get any other uni, I would advice you to take a gap year and re-apply. I know a lot of people who got in after trying the second time so don't worry, you are not alone. I did not mention LSE as they are more well known for econ, however, their maths department is a lot weaker and that is why I don't think you should go there if you want to get into qant.

What was your TMUA result? And did you get rejected from Imperial or did you not apply for Imperial?

Warwick is pretty much a semi target for quant, 4th most regarded behind Oxbridge and Imperial. If you are able to get into Part III at Cambridge or MCF at Oxford then afaik this should make up for it.

I didn't apply for Imperial bc of my TMUA, which was a 3.1, terrible. I only had a week to prepare for the exam and the content is slightly different from the IB content (in my school integration is taught in November 2º year and the exam was October 2º year so I had to prepare alone that part. The reality is that the grade wasn't great and that's it, It was not a good day.