6 Free Financial Modeling Lessons...and More.

Enter your e-mail below to get our new Free Modeling Tutorials ($200+ Value).

< previous | next >

Wharton or LSE undergrad for investment banking?
 

yangh's picture
(Chimp, 5
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 1:55am

I am lucky enough to get accepted into Wharton and LSE (for Maths and Econ). I am currently torn between the two universities. If i do go to Wharton, i will likely double major in Maths and Econ or major minor in the two subjects.

Thing is, till now, i am not sure whether i would like to work in europe or the united states. Both are amazing places, and the US has wall street while London is the financial capital of the world. I am however, VERY interested in working in an investment bank in the far east (where i am from) and australia. However, fundamentally, i would like to work internationally.

I am have also visited both universities and like them both equally.

If i would like to work internationally, which university would place better for an investment bank?

Tags:
Ambition's picture

haha honestly man, your damn

EN
(Gorilla, 717
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 2:08am

haha honestly man, your damn talented so it doesn't really matter too much I would think since you arent majoring in Finance at Wharton it may barely hinder your chances compared to LSE but it most likely wont have that much of an impact.

Again i cant judge any of these but if you are looking INTERNATIONALLY then LSE is better in my opinion but only by a small margin......

take my advice with a grain of salt....

I want a lady on the street, but a freak in the bed,

Go Bucks!!

SaucyBacon85's picture

LSE is more internationally

CO
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 2:32am

LSE is more internationally recognized (in my personal experience). You will also network with a more diverse group of people there. American institutions can be rather insular.

Given your goal of returning to the Far East, I would pick LSE.

And congrats on being accepted into 2 very fine institutions. Well done!

__________

SonnyZH's picture

Wharton > LSE London

HF
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 2:34am

Wharton > LSE

London >>>>>>>>>>>> Philly.

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.

yangh's picture

SonnyZH: Wharton > LSE London

(Chimp, 5
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 2:40am
SonnyZH:

Wharton > LSE

London >>>>>>>>>>>> Philly.

Why do you say Wharton is better than LSE?

EuroLocust's picture

You can't go wrong with

IB
(Baboon, 161
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 2:56am

You can't go wrong with either of them. From an international perspective LSE will probably be slightly better (reputation, networking, fellow students) while I dare to say that Wharton might have an edge on the quality of courses. For your very lucky case I'd go with LSE.

bbjhva's picture

If you wanna be an i banker

CO
(Orangutan, 298
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 2:58am

If you wanna be an i banker in HK/Singapore, Wharton. Any day of the week buddy. Wharton is anyway known for its tremendous finance prog, but more importantly i-banks in HK/SG are Ivy League whores - and whe nI say Ivy League I include Oxbridge, but not LSE.

But more than that...I just feel Wharton will give you a better education. Huge bias to US unis, I know, but there you go.

yangh's picture

bbjhva: If you wanna be an i

(Chimp, 5
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 8:28am
bbjhva:

If you wanna be an i banker in HK/Singapore, Wharton. Any day of the week buddy. Wharton is anyway known for its tremendous finance prog, but more importantly i-banks in HK/SG are Ivy League whores - and whe nI say Ivy League I include Oxbridge, but not LSE.

But more than that...I just feel Wharton will give you a better education. Huge bias to US unis, I know, but there you go.

Really? the thing is i am actually from Hong Kong and over here, i get the impression that LSE is a lot more well known (hong kong being a former british colony). I may really be wrong though. If i do go to LSE, would that disadvantage me a lot in Hong Kong and Singapore?

24837's picture

bbjhva: If you wanna be an i

CO
(Orangutan, 276
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 8:43am
bbjhva:

If you wanna be an i banker in HK/Singapore, Wharton. Any day of the week buddy. Wharton is anyway known for its tremendous finance prog, but more importantly i-banks in HK/SG are Ivy League whores - and whe nI say Ivy League I include Oxbridge, but not LSE.

But more than that...I just feel Wharton will give you a better education. Huge bias to US unis, I know, but there you go.

lol.
OP, take this with a grain of salt.

Steve Mallory's picture

This doesn't address your

ER
(Monkey, 64
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 8:53am

This doesn't address your question, but, if I recall, Wharton doesn't offer "majors". Everyone gets a BS in Economics. You have "concentrations" in various disciplines (finance, accounting, stat, marketing --- double concentration in finance and accounting is the most popular "banking" route). That's not to say you couldn't do an additional degree in the College. I think the economics major in the College is a BA.

BeastMode's picture

I'm not familiar with

AM
(Baboon, 163
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 11:20am

I'm not familiar with Wharton, but banks at LSE will recruit not only for London offices but many times Hong Kong and Singapore as well. I think that the academic reputations and recruiting of the two schools are about equal, and you're going to be able to get a great job in IB at both of them. If it was me the decision should come down to other factors:

1. Where do you want to live? Philly doesn't compare to London in my mind, and at LSE you can network more directly with bankers who work in the City without having to travel far.

2. What kind of academic teaching style do you prefer? There are world-famous professors at both schools, but teaching is not really an emphasis for them at LSE. It's more of an on-your-own environment than I expect Wharton (like other US universities) would be.

I think if it was me and I wanted to end up in Asia-Pacific eventually then I would pick LSE, solely for the better experience of living in London. Having said that, you really can't go wrong here.

streetwannabe's picture

I would say LSE solely out of

(King Kong, 1,320
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 11:29am

I would say LSE solely out of the fact that it is in London. Great place to network

"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."

Michael Scarn's picture

I think your experience

(Orangutan, 251
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 2:49pm

I think your experience living in London and going to LSE will be more interesting than with Wharton and Philly.

ruvermillion's picture

lol all the people who say

(Chimp, 13
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 5:49pm

lol all the people who say LSE underestimate Wharton greatly. Wharton is arguably even more well known than LSE in the business/ibanking/financial field. The Indian's worship Wharton and lets be frank, Wharton IS the top business school in the world along with Harvard. LSE on its best day couldn't beat Wharton on its worst

BlackHat's picture

If you want to work outside

HF
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 5:54pm

If you want to work outside of the States and you're certain about that, I'd say go with LSE. Given you want to major in math and economics I'd also recommend it. Wharton won't give you a very good theoretical economic foundation, but will give you a much better finance background in your 4 years there. Given your situation and desires though, I'd go with LSE. Plus London rocks, other than being expensive.

I hate victims who respect their executioners

Follow BH & Co. on Twitter: @DumbLuckCapital
twitter.com/DumbLuckCapital

DrPeterVenkman's picture

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ne

O
(Gorilla, 706
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 9:44pm

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2134240/Ov...

See my WSO blog

bbjhva's picture

Let me throw this at you. I

CO
(Orangutan, 298
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 10:14pm
DrPeterVenkman's picture

bbjhva: 1) I have a buddy who

O
(Gorilla, 706
 
Points)
 on 4/25/12 at 10:30pm

See my WSO blog

BeastMode's picture

The fact that someone's

AM
(Baboon, 163
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 10:54am

6 Free Financial Modeling Lessons...Straight to Your Inbox.

Confirm your name and e-mail below to get our best tips

Monkey Stats
Account information
We respect your Name and E-mail privacy. By joining you accept our terms of service.