Reapplying to LSE from UCL?
Im in UCL, although the uni is alright. From the recruiting standpoint it seems that the advantage of attending UCL compared to the other good UK unis are close to nonexistent.
People say that as a UCL intl student who speak no EU languages it is virtually impossible to land a decent job in london since UCL is notorious for incompetency of intl students(Yes im asian). Most importantly, UCL is perceived as no different from UK semi-targets such as Kings outside of UK.
However, LSE is significantly better regarded in both UK and Overseas although some of their courses have lower entry requirements and higher offer rates than mine. (which does not matter at ALL)
And since the uni brand matters more than the course, is it worth reapplying to less competitive course(think International social&public policy) that allows me to take optional Econs&Finance modules in LSE?
My friends in LSE/Oxbridge and US targets advised me that LSE is worlds apart from UCL and if you don't reapply you will regret it for lifetime.
First off, which year of study are you in?
If you're leaving your course in between to attend LSE, I think this is unnecessary and foolish.
People from non targets are getting into ib and UCL is way better than a lot of UK unis in terms of brand image.
If you're main aim is getting into ib, I suggest you pursue it the normal summer -> grad scheme way.
You being in LSE won't suddenly give you magic powers of recruitment, I know a lot of people who weren't able to secure anything despite being at LSE.
If you're that concerned and don't get into ib through your normal course of graduation, then maybe consider doing a masters, however, as I mentioned before, people who come from non Russel group backgrounds are getting into ib, it's less about the uni and more about your efforts (at least as undergrad level).
If you're friends are advising you to quit a good uni in between your course for another one to start from scratch, they're not your friends.
I am in yr 1 and it would be idiotic to ditch UCL to try LSE if I were a UK national/PR but realistically I have to navigate my chances at Asia upon graduation. And UCL is less respected compared to the local unis as somehow it is perceived as 'worse' than them.
If you have the financial resources, maybe try considering a masters from Oxbridge / LBS / LSE post graduation?
I'm pretty sure you won't get a direct entry at LSE and have to basically drop out of UCL after a year (pay fee for a year) and then go to LSE and start from year 1 - essentially wasting a year.
Wouldn't a better option be to do the undergrad and then apply for a masters (since in the previous situation - you're dropping out and wasting a year) you might as well do the masters and spend the same year at LSE as a masters student, fruitfully?
I hope the above makes sense.
Alternatively, you can try getting a job post UCL which is very much doable even if you're an international student and then return back to Asia with work experience (big brand on CV trumps undergrad / masters at big unis)
You need to rethink your job strategy then. Best case is securing a position in the UK at a multinational firm that appreicates the prestige of UCL, and then take the first oppurtunity to transfer to ur preffered country.
They told me that although UCL is a good school, being an intl student in UCL itself is a yellow flag in Asia. Wheareas LSE somewhat guarantees you an interview if you didnt mess up OAs and have adequate relevant experiences. (Considering the placement results of the seniors that Ive witnessed the conjecture is exaggerated but not a total BS)
I understand your situation, view my reply to your point above, hope it makes sense.
Good luck!
do you recon I could break in with an Archaeology Bsc at UCL?
Met plenty of UCL students during my SA at an American BB. Your uni shouldn't be a barrier to break into IB
Yeah but what I am concerned with is that I am not british nor EU citizen which makes me pushes me to the lowest of the priority list(non DEI) and UCL is the least among the targets.
lol this is such horseshit - I’m Asian and went to UCL for a non-finance degree. I went off to do a top masters and ended up in banking and now at a top SM. At no point did being from UCL make people question my ability both in the UK or in Asia.
Of course my masters helped, in so far as it convinced people I am financially inclined, but the difference between UCL and LSE is so small that the people who are recruiting you at the top shops will not care. And if they do, then you probably don’t want to work there either.
my advice would be to recruit hard to try and secure springs/summers and FTs, which would be much more advantageous on your CV than UCL/LSE undergrad. Failing that try gun for a top master and recruit again.
If it is true than I would just assume that those people were just flexing with their uni prestige. Somehow Ive seen warwick graduates from my country breaking into BBs but for UCL its quite rare.
u are without a doubt not seeing the whole picture. Placements can be heavily skewed based on industry connections, family connections etc. Furthermore, a lot of countries have an inherent bias towards certain unis because of positive experiences with past students from that uni. If they've gotten 10 kids from Warwick and all of them were well prepared and excelled in the company, it only reason that they'll continue to recruit from Warwick. IMO, what ur seeing here is the fact that Warwick is perhaps more heavily asian, or specifically theres a lot more ppl from that specific country there thus u have more people actually applying for those jobs from warwick vs ucl.
May I ask u which subject u studied
'Investment Analyst in HF' is spot on, there's a marginal difference between UCL and LSE. If you think you're not getting looks in recruiting because you're at UCL rather than LSE, it's much more likely that it's down to yourself/experience/CV rather than just sole brand name of what University you attend. No point transferring, you'll waste first year tuition + accomplish down the drain (that's at least 35-50k or even more just there). Stick where you are at UCL, grind to get a first year summer (Springs are not the end of it and if anything they're deeply flawed with their selection process but obvs helpful if you land one), network like hell both in London and Asia to get something. You've got plenty of time, most of my friends at uni in first year did fuckall and just went out all the time whereas I probably over-tried with networking and apps grind (fortunately it paid off very well). Rather than stupidly transfer and cost yourself an extraordinary amount of money just to try get into LSE, if you've got nothing lined up in 2.5 years try do a masters at LBS/HEC/US etc and focus on GMAT
similar background to you - can i please dm?
do you recon I could break in with an Archaeology Bsc at UCL?
I don’t know the Asia specific angle, but UCL and LSE are effectively the same for recruiting in UK finance. Same for Imperial. Doing internships or practicing to interview well will make a much bigger difference. Oxbridge has an edge but that’s not the question here it seems. LSE just has way more finance focused people so it’s a self selection thing mostly
I suppose the industry puts a lot of emphasis on prestige which may mislead/blind people.
Quite surprised to hear this. I was at a US BB in London and UCL was well represented alongside Oxbridge, LSE, Warwick and a bunch of international schools. I saw 3 summer analyst cycles and UCL placed well. FWIW I went to a semi-target and still broke in. If you're targeting IB, I don't think switching universities will pay huge dividends, but would instead focus on getting experience (internships, societies, entrepreneurship), networking and nailing applications / interviews
Hi,
Was in a similar position last year - got high A-level grades and was considering reapplying to Oxbridge/LSE/Imperial for better career prospects using the name of the university to carry my application through.
I’m currently at the University of Bath studying a non-finance degree, so you could say I have a near 0% chance of breaking in any of the competitive internships. I'm also an international student from Eastern Europe, and in EE, similar to Asia, there is a very big stigma around uni prestige and that anything not LSE/UCL/Oxbridge/Imperial is useless and not worth attending.
I gave myself a month or two at the beginning of my first year to apply to spring weeks and see if I had any luck before applying again on UCAS, and obviously, I received a total of 0 offers.
But I decided to stick it out, do a summer internship at a bank in Europe, and see if I have any more luck in my second year.
Fast forward a couple of months, I got an internship offer at a BB (think MS/GS/JPM).
What I’m trying to get to is that it matters more about how quickly you can develop as a person, how likeable and coachable you are, and how interested you are in the industry. You need to get across as someone who the people interviewing you would enjoy working for 12+ hours every day for months/years.
Your university name only gets you to the first interview, where they also take into account your online assessment performance.
Focus on moulding your personality into someone who’s super likeable but also is trusted to get stuff done at the highest level, and then focus on getting a good internship during/after your first year and learn the technicals perfectly.
I’ve plenty of friends at LSE/Oxbridge who are struggling to get any internships this year, it’s not like those universities automatically guarantee you an offer. UCL is a target uni and there are a lot of UCL alumni in the industry, so try to make use of that too.
That being said, the finance industry is notoriously hard to break into and requires an immense amount of luck to get through each application stage. A big advantage of UCL is that it’s not ultra-focused on finance, so it might be easier for you to pivot to something else if you decide finance is not for you.
A lot of people have received really good offers from lower ranked unis, so it's really up to you to focus on yourself and block out the delusion coming from the outside.
East asian stigma is a bit more toxic actually. They accuse those who went abroad to study of being not good enough for asia and 'fled'. Only ivys/oxbridge and surprisingly NUS are the exceptions. LSE is only respected among the finance bubble and often bashed. They say 'isnt it a school for non-STEMs after all '
Sounds like koreans
Regardless, your advice is inspring and insightful. Good luck on your journey and Bath is a great school, be proud of yourself.
really interesting, would love to hear more about how you secured that summer internship at an EU bank studying a non-finance degree, as I'm doing the same trying to get a relevant internship
UCL is good enough.
Wasting a year and going to LSE for an inferior course will likely raise more questions. I would recommend to remain at UCL and apply for LSE/Oxbridge for masters if you fail to land an IB gig from UCL.
I'm at GS. My SA class has Asians from UCL (Intl) with no European languages. My flatmate is at MS, he can say the same. Agreed, not sure on Asia-specific angle, but in London, university choices of LSE/UCL shouldn't be a deciding factor for changing your college experience.
What are you on about lad! ??? The hardest fact you’re gonna have to accept in life is that this is most definitely a skill issue
Take a chill pill hardo
'UCL is perceived as no better than Kings outside of UK'
That's why QS ranks UCL as 9th in the world whereas KCL isn't even in the top 30
In my experience some of the less competitive courses at LSE such as Econ History or International Social Public Policy are basically designed for the people who didn't back themselves getting into Econ or Maths&Econ/PPE/Finance which is reflected in lower requirements. Don't get me wrong, you have to be very clever to still get into Econ Hist/ISPP but you won't stand out as much as LSE Econ and I doubt LSE ISPP is so much better than whatever course you do at UCL that you're at a disadvantage in recruiting. Brand over course but in your position, you're at a top uni and still a first year. Don't deep it
Excellent idea. Don’t beat yourself up if you end up staying @ ucl though because its still a country mile better than all UK semi-targets (kings, notts, bristol, etc) and anyone that disagrees is wrong. Only one close to ucl is warwick and ucl is still loads better.
That being said don’t underestimate lse, regardless of what the websites say even when course specific it does simply take more to get into lse in all cases. You will need to put considerably more work into your application regardless of the fact that course doesn’t matter.
I got a lot of expert help for my undergrad application with ucas, and if you’re applying just for the purpose of lse my advice is to only apply to that one course on your entire ucas application. That way you can literally name lse throughout your personal statement and let them know you’re all for them. Last bit of advice, don’t apply to more than 1 course @ lse, they have a policy where you can only be considered for one course at a time so if you apply to more than one someone reads your personal statement and automatically allocates you to a course of their choice so you risk not actually being allocated to the course you want to be considered for
It's funny that I have just yapped about it yesterday
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/job-search/warwick-vs-oxbridgeimp…
May as well put in your application and Tri right. Otherwise, you’ll never know.
Skill issue
i would never hire anyone from kings lol...
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