Achieved 4 A*s - UCL Econ or reapply?
Achieved 4A*s in A-Levels. Received offer for UCL Econ; should I reapply for Cambridge Land Econ/LSE Econ and Politics to increase chances of getting SWs for FO IB?
I have a few internships/work experiences already on my CV at BBs if that changes anything.
I therefore think I would enjoy LSE/Camb much more due to the more motivational environment, better cohort, and better teaching; however, getting into IB is the most important thing. Considering reapplying at UCL, as there is no risk to this approach (only potentially a £6,000/£9,000 short-term cost which isn't an issue for us, especially if it opens more doors in the future).
Thank you for your help!
You sound like the perfect fit for LSE
Genuinely. Please spare a fine establishment of UCL of your persona;)
I can’t tell if this is a troll or not
UCL Econ grad here.
To address your questions & comments:
1. You are making an incorrect assumption that there are major differences between top UK targets in terms of probability of getting into IB. Whether you are at UCL/LSE/Cambridge/Warwick/Imperial/Oxford there is very little difference. All it does is tick a box when your CV is initially screened and give you access to on campus events and networking opportunities (which are likely almost identical across all of these universities). The rest is determined by you as a candidate and what else you are offering (languages - particularly important in London, extracurriculars, performance in interviews etc.) Setting yourself back an entire year for a marginal perceived prestige bump is moronic when the delta is so tiny. In fact being located in London will arguably make your life a lot easier for recruiting than being outside.
2. Not sure where you got the idea that UCL Econ is such an inferior degree but I can tell you for sure that Cambridge Land Economy is less prestigious than straight Econ at any of the targets I mentioned above (it's completely different in terms of course content so if your interests genuinely lie in Economics I would avoid this). Yes I agree that the teaching quality at Oxbridge is a step above all other universities but at LSE this is very similar to UCL.
3. Myself and plenty of my friends / cohort had 3, 4 or 5 A*s at A level or 43/44/45 in IB. So its unlikely you are going to be an academic outlier.
Thank you
Yeh sure buddy, Econ at Warwick/UCL is more prestigious than Land Economy at Cambridge. Pretty delusional to think your lectures in advanced microeconomics and other theoretical bullshit are more useful for a career on Wall Street than spending time necking jug's of Pimm's in the hallowed halls of Trinity College while whispering slurs about the leftist scum at the Cambridge Union. Do you truly believe these PPE kids at UCL hold more cachet than the angelic voiced Eunuch Choristers who study Land Economy at King's College, Cambridge? UCL is lame and don't let your 3 years of rubbing shoulders rich internationals who don't invite you to their Yacht parties in Hong Kong delude you.
Land economy is a glorified geography degree for kids who want to do econ but failed at maths
What a moot point considering Geography at Cambridge is miles ahead of UCL Econ, like Art History at Yale beats Finance at Ross
top target school > top degree at lesser school, come on man everyone knows that
if you're judging a Uni course based on how many A* people get, im really not sure if you're fit for any of the 3 unis you've mentioned. LSE may be a perfect fit to surround yourself with miserable losers
Ridiculous to throw away UCL offer for chance at LSE or Oxbridge. Ask yourself this - next year would you be comfortable only putting down 2 UCAS choices? If no stick with UCL. Can always do masters If needed but if you already have WE (how btw? Assume connections or SEO?) Then you should be fine for SW either way.
Thank you. Mixture of both; a few BBs have Sixth Form WE programmes that I applied and got into.
Have also heard that BBs are looking to diversify away from Pure Econ degrees. Would LSE Econ + Politics / Camb Land Econ therefore be beneficial in this regard, even though the courses are similar(ish) the uni reputation would carry more weight?
I would be reapplying at UCL either way as the financial cost isn't an issue (so wouldn’t be reapplying with only two UCAS choices), with the most important thing being competitive for SWs/SA roles.
Yeah adding some woke sociology add on to a Econ degree won't make you subject diverse especially from LSE. If anything they'll take Oxbridge classics.
Why not defer UCL and try apply for American colleges if you think you're an amazing candidate.
Diversifying means hiring a finance-minded engineering major or someone with a unique major or work experience, picking up a double major doesn't count. You still fall in the Econ bucket
That said you are being kind of ridiculous. You will have every shot at finance roles from UCL, if you don't get an offer it is your own doing because you will have every opportunity there. Absolutely a waste of time to take another year to reapply.
Take UCL offer and don’t look back
Bro just read your thread history… how insecure do you need to be to create 3 threads about UCL reputation lol
Consequence of endless WSO prestige threads
I would wager there are more UCL people in London IB than any other university. UCL Econ is an IB beast for hiring.
My IB group has more UCL alumni than any other university, and half of them did a humanities degree (English, History, Philosophy). Turning down UCL Econ and losing a year would be a utterly braindead move especially since you could always do a 1yr masters at Oxbridge/LSE post undergrad if you really care.
I'd honestly advise against it. Everyone and their mom applies for IB roles at LSE, and it gets really competitive. UCL is equally competitive and is less of a bubble.
W take! This is what they don't tell you about recruiting. Summer internships can't all just be filled with LSE students
Thank you. Would I be better off applying Springs first year at UCL, while applying Cambridge Land Economy at the same time? Switching course to the latter (assuming I'm fortunate enough to receive an offer), if I don't manage to get/convert any Springs?
Dude why even bother reapplying to Cambridge? Literally doesn't make that much of an impact
I promise, once you're at uni, you're not going to think about Cambridge. Cambridge is muchhhh busier than UCL, and you won't have as much time to apply to springs. And that's assuming you get an offer (iirc, some courses don't allow applications from first years at diff unis?).
Your best bet is to make a CV and a CL, and start applying as soon as possible. Use the LSE BIG or King's M&A tracker and get cracking. If you're not convinced by UCL's solid track record of placing people onto springs, go on LinkedIn and look at some company/people's profiles. You'll be okay. UCL Econ is really tough to get (a lot of people at LSE didn't get UCL offers lol) - make the most of being in a fun uni in London, and apply early!
Take UCL lmao. This would be like turning down Columbia and taking a gap year with the hopes of reapplying for Wharton (LSE equivalent) or Harvard (Oxbridge equivalent). No one would say wait the extra year- everyone would say take Columbia.
I wouldn't be turning down UCL. I would be reapplying for Cambridge/LSE WHILE at UCL, so there's literally no risk involved
my apologies. misunderstood. That makes more sense
re-apply, ucl is overrated as an institution. they are only legit distinguished in eg medicine, law and computing
best take here lol.
the retarded US prospects on this forum are now being replaced with retarded fragile ego UK prospects who go to UCL
UCL may be a target but it is not a tier 1 university, especially when they realise they are competing vs every tier 1 university in europe and 50% of a intern and FT class will be female
Thank you. I intend to reapply (at UCL) for Cambridge/LSE for Land Economy/Econ and Politics.
Does the course matter for IB recruitment? Or would either suit well.
You shouldn’t take it at all, take a gap year and reapply…or two or three - as many years as it takes but your 4A*s shouldn’t be anywhere near a place like UCL
Current land economy undergraduate. This thread is absurd. You will be treated as a strong candidate anywhere you apply, in real estate or IB, because you study an economics/finance adjacent degree at Oxbridge. Of course once you start interviewing you're on a more level playing field, but I've felt that I am given more leeway due to Oxbridge name. In the UK, only LSE Econ and Politics would compare and I've never met an LSE person who isn't a try-hard.
those courses are fine. start learning a foreign language, try and get any relevant work experience possible and try to precise and position for whatever investment career focus you want (sector, product, PE, PC, RE, HF, LS, SS, Buyout, esoterics, MM, LC etc)
There is no difference between Cambridge Land Econ and UCL Econ. In fact, I would say UCL Econ is actually better. Doing straight Econ at any of Oxbridge, LSE, Warwick, UCL is more rigorous and academically challenging than Land Econ (and Econ/Pol) given the quantitative nature of the degree. There are kids at each of LSE, Warwick, UCL Econ with straight 9’s GCSE, straight A*s A level or 43/44/45 IB. Many Land Econ kids will have worse grade profiles. Many guys who study Oxbridge Econ wouldn’t have offers into LSE/Warwick/UCL Econ.
The point here is that being at any of these unis shows you have strong academic ability/grade profile. Exactly which you get into is a large part luck based and employers recognise this. It therefore becomes all about the individual and how you come across in interview. After an interview process there is always a preferred candidate. It won’t matter if you do Cambridge Econ (let alone Land Econ) and the other does LSE/Warwick/UCL Econ if they interviewed better.
congrats on UCL
If you’re a home student in the UK-Cambridge does not allow you to reapply to it while attending another UK institution. They would reject your application even if UCAS allow you to make it.
The only way to reapply there is to take a year off. Oxford may be more lenient .
To my knowledge, Oxbridge won’t know whether you’re a re-applicant and current uni student. Don’t need to disclose.
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