Do A-levels/High School grades matter?
And I would like to know how it is in London particularly. I have often heard that they don't matter and thats what one would think but I found this from the Imperial Colleges websites:
"Whilst there are no specific ‘A’ Level criteria for admission to MSc Finance, you should be aware that many banks and companies in the financial sector do have very strict grade requirements for their graduate programmes. Therefore, we strongly recommend that when you are considering your career options, you research the entry requirements of any companies you are interested in working for."
My A-levels (or what ever my countrys high school end exams are called in english) are rather bad but after that I have had perfect grades in every course possible at the uni. Thats because my motivation is so much better at the university than it was in high school. So I'm little worried that my high school grades will hurt my chances to get into finance.





I think the main problem is
I think the main problem is with poor a-levels, you can't get into good universities. If you do get an Msc in finance, you could get away with leaving out your a-levels on your CV as it would be 4-5 years in the past but some banks force you to disclose them in application forms. Just explain on cover letter if you have a good story.
Aside from the university
Aside from the university entrance problems, some companies require you have a minimum number of UCAS points - derived from your A-level grades - therefore yes, they are of importance.
The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.