European universities brand strength in th USA

Hi,

I was wondering if you could share your thoughts, unbiased of course, on strength of UK/European universities/business schools brand names in the US for careers in consulting but also general university recognition. I would presume Oxford, Cambridge, London Business School, Insead and IMD are well recognized. Am I right?

What about other places, such as LSE, Imperial, King's, UCL, Durham, York, Edinburgh, HEC business school in Paris, IESE business school in Spain, etc.?

Many thanks

18 Comments
 

Yeah, I'd be quite interested in this too. From what I'm guessing LSE is very well known in the Banking world because of the sheer fact that it's LSE. But what about the others?

 
Best Response
CamondoYep, but what about the following universities/BS: Bocconi, ESADE, ESCP, St Gallen, etc. ?

meh out of the ones you mentioned, only Bocconi and St. Gallen have a top tier reputation across the European continent (don't yell at me for not mentioning ESADE, it doesn't place well in London and I'm using that as our standard)

as for the USA, only Oxford and Cambridge are well known. That's just how it is, very few universities have a name recognition that spans the globe. It's the same thing in Europe- if you ask a European to name an American university, he/she will 99% of the time say Harvard or Yale.

Out of the ones you listed, Bocconi is the one that would most likely be recognized in the USA, just because there are many professors in the economics/finance departments of top American universities who come from the Bocconi.

 
Affirmative_Action_Walrus
CamondoYep, but what about the following universities/BS: Bocconi, ESADE, ESCP, St Gallen, etc. ?

meh out of the ones you mentioned, only Bocconi and St. Gallen have a top tier reputation across the European continent (don't yell at me for not mentioning ESADE, it doesn't place well in London and I'm using that as our standard)

as for the USA, only Oxford and Cambridge are well known. That's just how it is, very few universities have a name recognition that spans the globe. It's the same thing in Europe- if you ask a European to name an American university, he/she will 99% of the time say Harvard or Yale.

Out of the ones you listed, Bocconi is the one that would most likely be recognized in the USA, just because there are many professors in the economics/finance departments of top American universities who come from the Bocconi.

You are suggesting that an average European professional has not heard of Stanford, MIT, Wharton, Columbia, and etc.? I very much doubt that.

I thought that LSE is far better recognized in the US then Bocconi or St. Gallen?!?

 

I've never met anyone who went directly from one of these schools to a US office. Not to say it can't be done, but I just don't know how much recruiting talks across continents - I know there's some regional cooperation, but not as much as I expected.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of Starwood Points
 

The only person I ever met who was a direct hire from Insead in the US worked in a support function at a "top two" consulting firm. No folks from those schools are not recruited into the US offices in general, although the French offices for both McK and BCG hire from them. I am not sure how much the German offices do.

 
GoldmanBallSachsDoesn't INSEAD share career services with HBS and another top U.S. school (i forgot which)?
wharton? i know they are partner schools but dont know if that also applies to its career services
 

Nobis quidem iure est rerum illum. Aut deleniti ut est illo dolores. Modi aut enim quo quia molestias et maxime. Sit voluptate magni quibusdam beatae inventore.

Sint asperiores omnis officiis et autem nemo. Ea consequatur facilis quo dolorem rerum facere corrupti voluptas. Harum autem corporis labore inventore officia non.

Facilis ipsum rerum ullam temporibus corporis aut quam. Eum rerum cupiditate soluta accusantium quibusdam. Et quidem velit voluptatem dignissimos doloribus. Rerum nisi optio fugit neque minus quibusdam. Perspiciatis facere reprehenderit ea culpa id qui. Dolorem occaecati blanditiis sunt.

GBS

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Consulting

  • Boston Consulting Group 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 99.0%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.5%
  • Oliver Wyman 98.0%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Consulting

  • Cornerstone Research 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 99.0%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.5%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.0%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.5%
  • Boston Consulting Group 99.0%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.5%
  • Oliver Wyman 98.0%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $361
  • Principal (30) $294
  • Director/MD (58) $274
  • Vice President (53) $247
  • Engagement Manager (111) $232
  • Manager (167) $172
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (115) $135
  • Senior Consultant (354) $132
  • Consultant (635) $122
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (162) $121
  • 1st Year Associate (575) $121
  • NA (16) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (390) $104
  • Associate Consultant (175) $100
  • 1st Year Analyst (1152) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (205) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (626) $67
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”