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UCL Econ and Stats or Imperial EFDS

Hey, am wondering whether I should apply for UCL Economics and Statistics or Imperial Economics, Finance and Data science for my 5th UCAS option.

I have a 5.8 TMUA, A* achieved (Maths), 3 more A* predicted (FM, Econ, Politics), and 5 9s and 5 8s at GCSE.

I'm mainly worried about my PS, as it's certainly econ focused. There's a good amount of stats and maths, a smaller amount of data, and no mention of finance.
I think I could do well in the Imperial interview if I get one - but I don't want to spend too much time prepping as prepping for my Cambridge interview killed me a bit haha

I'm also worried a bit about EFDS as I've seen people on here, Reddit, and WallStreetOasis say it's a cash grab and not as respected as other Imperial courses as it's the business school and not the stem school and also because of how new it is. But I've also seen people say it's gonna be highly regarded with regards to internships and grad roles, moreso than UCL. So any clarity on this would be great.

I've also applied for Cambridge Econ, UCL Econ, LSE Econ, Warwick MORSE (offered).

Any help appreciated, thanks

Reply 1

marcus.0

You've already applied to UCL economics, why consider E&S?
I would rather see you apply to a safety with acceptable grade requirements that you can rely on as a backup.

With regards to Imperial EFDS, I have heard that their program is not as developed as their STEM side. However, employers do care about university prestige a lot in banking and similar services, and Imperial is considered a top target school alongside Oxbridge and LSE (through its probably the worst out of them).

If you like living life on the edge, apply to EFDS. Otherwise. apply to a safety.

Reply 2

mrman122

Original post

by marcus.0

You've already applied to UCL economics, why consider E&S?
I would rather see you apply to a safety with acceptable grade requirements that you can rely on as a backup.
With regards to Imperial EFDS, I have heard that their program is not as developed as their STEM side. However, employers do care about university prestige a lot in banking and similar services, and Imperial is considered a top target school alongside Oxbridge and LSE (through its probably the worst out of them).
If you like living life on the edge, apply to EFDS. Otherwise. apply to a safety.

Hi there, thanks for your reply!

Because of my TMUA and achieved A*, for WW MORSE my offer only needs two As on results day, one for FM and one either econ or pol, this is within my risk tolerance, and any other course I would realistically be happy to go to would want the same thing anyway apart from maybe Bath which could allow a B.

I’m considering E&S because I’m not certain I’ll get into UCL Econ because I’m home and my TMUA isn’t exceptional, and I’ve heard this can make it more shaky.

With regards to EFDS, I’ve really heard conflicting things on how competitive it is, and I don’t want to be rejected from both UCL and ICL when I could’ve gotten in for E&S, a course I would’ve enjoyed - I’m more enchanted by the idea of statistics than finance and data science. And on grad prospects, I appreciate the reference to prestige but I’ve heard conflicting things on banking forums about EFDS in particular.

Do you know how much Imperial would penalise my PS for not including finance and for including small references to data science?

Thanks :smile:

Reply 3

marcus.0

Original post

by mrman122

Hi there, thanks for your reply!
Because of my TMUA and achieved A*, for WW MORSE my offer only needs two As on results day, one for FM and one either econ or pol, this is within my risk tolerance, and any other course I would realistically be happy to go to would want the same thing anyway apart from maybe Bath which could allow a B.
I’m considering E&S because I’m not certain I’ll get into UCL Econ because I’m home and my TMUA isn’t exceptional, and I’ve heard this can make it more shaky.
With regards to EFDS, I’ve really heard conflicting things on how competitive it is, and I don’t want to be rejected from both UCL and ICL when I could’ve gotten in for E&S, a course I would’ve enjoyed - I’m more enchanted by the idea of statistics than finance and data science. And on grad prospects, I appreciate the reference to prestige but I’ve heard conflicting things on banking forums about EFDS in particular.
Do you know how much Imperial would penalise my PS for not including finance and for including small references to data science?
Thanks :smile:

Hi, UCAS reports a 15% offer rate for EFDS, which is on the lower end of numbers that I've seen.
If you think you will enjoy E&S more, go for it. At the end of the day, you can land an internship from anywhere - it just depends on the amount of effort you want to put in.

The things you probably hear on WSO are about the actual quality of the course. It's pretty new, so I imagine it isn't as fleshed out yet. However, a good quality course doesn't land you a job, and the skills needed for interviews and such are mostly built outside of the classroom anyway.

I'd imagine Imperial cares a lot about the PS though I'm not entirely sure how much it will affect your application. Probably a slight negative for not referencing all aspects of the course :smile:

Reply 4

mrman122

Original post

by marcus.0

Hi, UCAS reports a 15% offer rate for EFDS, which is on the lower end of numbers that I've seen.
If you think you will enjoy E&S more, go for it. At the end of the day, you can land an internship from anywhere - it just depends on the amount of effort you want to put in.
The things you probably hear on WSO are about the actual quality of the course. It's pretty new, so I imagine it isn't as fleshed out yet. However, a good quality course doesn't land you a job, and the skills needed for interviews and such are mostly built outside of the classroom anyway.
I'd imagine Imperial cares a lot about the PS though I'm not entirely sure how much it will affect your application. Probably a slight negative for not referencing all aspects of the course :smile:

Hey,

I spoke to my tutor about this dilemma and she said that E+S is a more competitive course to get into than Econ (About 1/5 as opposed to 1/3) because its so much smaller, so putting it down on my application really doesn't boost my chances of getting in to UCL regardless.

Have put down Imperial EFDS, probably won't substitute it out in the next two weeks, just don't want to be thinking about it over the break and want interview done ASAP.

If I get an offer - I'll put more thought into it then actually about the course itself.

Your responses have been very helpful though, so thank you a lot. Wishing you a happy holiday season and a great 2026 :smile:

Reply 5

davesmith3223

Hi
can speak for EFDS as an Imp student

don't do it
it is not a STEM UG which is what Imperial is good at
It does not lend itself well to internships / grad roles to the same extent as UCL economics
It is often also viewed badly by the STEM students so often there are clashes in societies regarding the course as a non-STEM UG course

Go for UCL Econ because it's way more developed, has an actual alumni network and is a top standard course that's been around for a long time

Reply 6

mrman122

Original post

by davesmith3223

Hi
can speak for EFDS as an Imp student
don't do it
it is not a STEM UG which is what Imperial is good at
It does not lend itself well to internships / grad roles to the same extent as UCL economics
It is often also viewed badly by the STEM students so often there are clashes in societies regarding the course as a non-STEM UG course
Go for UCL Econ because it's way more developed, has an actual alumni network and is a top standard course that's been around for a long time

Hey, I've applied for Econ at UCL, but I was deciding between applying to UCL again for Econ+Stats - I put EFDS down because I didn't think applying to E+S as well as Econ would boost my chances, so I need to consider this context before I make a decision

I have a week if I want to take out EFDS

Is it really that bad? I've seen people on LinkedIn with EFDS get good internships and spring weeks

Reply 7

txnuj

Original post

by mrman122

Hey, I've applied for Econ at UCL, but I was deciding between applying to UCL again for Econ+Stats - I put EFDS down because I didn't think applying to E+S as well as Econ would boost my chances, so I need to consider this context before I make a decision
I have a week if I want to take out EFDS
Is it really that bad? I've seen people on LinkedIn with EFDS get good internships and spring weeks

Hey, current EFDS student here, happy to share my perspective.

EFDS definitely isn’t a “bad” course. The internship and spring week culture at Imperial is very strong, and plenty of EFDS students do well across finance, consulting, and tech as you’ve probably seen on LinkedIn.

I personally chose EFDS over UCL Econ and don’t regret it. Life does seem much better at Imperial and the variety/focus of the course makes it v enjoyable.