How frequently are UCL grads targeted by MBB firms
I understand that UK MBB recruiting is heavily Oxbridge based. Would you say LSE/Imperial/UCL are targeted equally by MBB? Or is it LSE>Imperial>UCL
Thanks
Jul 03, 2020
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Would say LSE=Imperial>UCL but UCL places well into MBB, it’s one of the targets. Note that MBB in London is relatively small so it’s quite competitive. There’s around 100~ spots per year at MBB combined. If say 30 are from Oxford and 30 from Cambridge, you can guess how many are coming from LSE/LBS/Imperial/UCL, not that many, I’d say around 5~ per year.
As a reference point, it’s frequent for a BB to have 5 people from one of the target schools in their class. Banking is just THAT much bigger.
What about international offices, I would rather go to MBB middle east as I speak fluent arabic.
That would be quite easy I think, It’s much less competitive than London, especially if you speak arabic!
middle east consulting is extremely, extremely, EXTREMELY sweaty
the work culture is also shit / not meritocratic
this is not personal experience, just what i've heard but definitely keep it in mind
Do MBB recruit mainly through full-time pathways in London, or through converting Summers?
Not at MBB but from what I see 50% from each I’d guess.
Not sure what's going on with your math.
Assuming ~40 spots per MBB in London, that's 120 total spots.
Say 50% of those go to Oxbridge, 30% go to to LSE/Imperial/LBS pre-exp masters/UCL, 10% go to top international schools and 10% go to other good UK schools (Warwick, Bristol, Durham, York, Exeter etc).
That implies ~3 each (probably a bit more, more like 3-5 each) at each of the 4 schools for each MBB not 5 total across all of MBB.
Bain is much smaller than the 2 others hence 100 people all in per year rather than 120.
Oxbridge makes up 60% of classes, UCL/Imperial/LSE/LBS make up 25% of classes and 15% are from other schools. That means you get 5people from these school. Maths seems to be right, no difference with what I said at first.
I have a number of friends that have recently placed into Bain & Mck @ UCL. BCG is/was looking to build presence on campus (partnership with a few UCL societies) but indeed in the past they barely hired UCL. That said UCL was in their leaked recruitment guide for HR/analysts
Just out of curiosity, what other universities were there?
I have a copy of the guide - it breaks it down as such:
Priority Tier 1 Universities
Other Tier 1 UniversitiesOxford
Cambridge
LSE
Imperial
Trinity College Dublin
Tier 2 UniversitiesUniversity College Dublin
UCL
Warwick
Edinburgh
Bristol
Durham
Guy's & St Thomas Medical School
All other UK universitiesExeter
York
KCL
Bath
Southampton
Sheffied
St Andrew's
Cork
Glasgow
Nottingham
Leeds
Newcastle
Birmingham
Manchester
Queen's University Belfast
SOAS
Criteria To Pass Screening
Priority Tier 1: 2:1 + AAB at A-level (or equiv.)
Other Tier 1: 1st or 2:1 and Masters from Priority + AAB at A-level (or equiv.)
Tier 2: 1st or 2:1 and Masters from Priority + AAB at A-level (or equiv)
All other UK universities: Pre-screen to "No" pile regardless of grades
So interesting that places like QUB/Sheffield/Newcastle are on the list but better universities like Loughborough are not.
Lough is a complete non-target for Banking
loughborough is a sports uni that only ranks highly because it's student satisfaction ratings are through the roof. i've never met a truly smart person who went there. the academic quality is middling at best.
not a good uni. trust me.
While I agree it is not one of the very best universities, I don't really agree with your comment on academic quality. Some departments (engineering and product design spring to mind - as this is my industry) are top notch. I think the idea that Loughborough is only good for sport is a bit outdated, and I think it is on par with most of those Tier 2 universities listed. It is definitely more reputable than QUB - at least in my opinion.
Also - Lancaster belongs with them too.
sounds like you enjoyed your time at loughborough.
Loughborough at best is on par with Sheffield / Newcastle / Southampton. Lancaster at best is on par with Cardiff / QMUL / Liverpool. Neither are anywhere near top 10 or the Oxbridge reject / posho unis.
You're thinking about this in the wrong way.
If you look at Oxbridge + London, those universities are places they have hired from before, and were good hires. Therefore the assumption is that those universities produce good employees (whether you agree with it or not).
In terms of Bristol/Durham, its not that those universities are necessarily better than say KCL/Exeter/St. Andrews. But if you look on LinkedIn, there are fair amount of Principals from Bristol/Durham - I imagine those guys would complain if their alma matter were to be moved to tier 2...But there is no one to complain if Loughborough is auto-dinged by the computer filter.
Worth noting that a lot of those universities in tier 2 are not usually recruited from - i.e. Sheffield/Southampton etc. They are kept there in case someone who is a Medicine student applies (who usually have exceptional academics regardless of uni), or if someone has extraordinary ECs (e.g. Olympian).
Finally, as another poster has noted, league tables don't mean shit mate.
I doubt that Trinity College would be considerd a priority, and UCL wouldn't. Plus is this for general MBB recruitment or is it specific for MBB london?
UCL=LSE=Imperial. I'm part of recruiting for a London MBB
Could you please verify anonymous claims, his "copy of the Guide" shows that you can't even pass screening from UCL.
Are you blind? It clearly says "screen out if you don't have a first or 2:1 + masters from priority uni". None of this is conjecture, literally a verbatim copy from the deck.
Maybe have a read of the actual slide? https://imgur.com/a/rPftI2d
Hey, could you share the whole document? Or point me to where it can be found?
This is so bizarre. Why are UCD, TCD and Cork on here? Ireland is not part of UK. Are Irish Unis part of UCAS system? This is not MECE with International universities.
Also how often does BCG get applicants who study medicine at Guys do warrant a specific mention? I can't think of any other medicine exclusive unis from top of my head and Guys always seemed like a solid option so not arguing tier just weird to specifically mention it.
For UCL, take a look at this year and this summer's placement. v.high pick up
I know that 2020 UCL class is having big problems in the recruitment process
not the people I know
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