Need help choosing schools

Hello, I am at a crossroads as to which undergrad programme to choose for pure IB.

I recently got accepted into Queens Commerce in Canada, which is one of the top 2 programmes in Canada for recruiting and I got an offer from UCL Pholosphy and Economics in the UK, which is solid. However im a Canadian citizen and I have connections in the Toronto area for IB already, and its a lot safer in terms of tuition and risk reward. If I go to UCL, I get access to London markets which can have better TC. What should I do? Is UCL much better even if I pay International tuition?

9 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I'm also a Canadian citizen studying STEM at Oxford, got offers from all of the Canadian universities. Think about it this way: 

  • Queens BCom usually has 500 kids / year. I feel like (just a rough estimate, someone correct me if I'm wrong) they have around 5~10 kids / year successfully recruiting to top US firms. Remainder will go into big 4, canadian banks (not front office), etc. I have a lot of friends at Ivey/Queens, seems like they're having a really hard time recruiting into US firms. Canadian banks usually want diversity hire.
  • A typical STEM degree at Oxford usually has 200 kids / year. I feel like half (maybe slightly less) will recruit successfully to some sort of finance role. The remainder will go onto do their PhD. 

However, the caliber of students at Oxford is a lot higher than Queens so this is expected. What I'm trying to say is: Do you think you'll have an easier time being the top 1% at Queens or being the top 40% at Oxford? No correct answer here. Choice is up to you. In my opinion, I really think it depends on the person but for me it was Oxford. Oxford and UCL are different of course; for UCL I'd maybe say you need to be in the top 15% of your class to get a job in high finance. 

Talk to people other than myself to see what they think. Remember I'm just a random stranger on the internet but I'm happy to answer any questions you might have :) 

 

Voluptatem repudiandae neque ducimus voluptatum commodi officia eius quo. Accusantium et explicabo sint error repudiandae quisquam at a. Iste earum ut nihil quo ratione cupiditate commodi autem. Voluptatum aut reprehenderit occaecati exercitationem. Dolorem sit eius vero ut soluta rem. Ut qui et vero ipsam aliquid dolore ipsum.

Sapiente dolores voluptates quis tenetur ad dolorem non. Est nulla et quos sequi omnis libero consequuntur.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
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...”