Regular and Low Semi-Target Universities in the UK
Hey everyone,
I know the generic rankings for target universities in the UK, but what about the other universities?
From what I’ve seen, I’d assume universities like:
- Top Targets:
- Oxford
- Cambridge
- London School of Economics (LSE)
- Imperial College London (ICL)
- Targets:
- University College London (UCL)
- University of Warwick
- High Semi-Targets:
- University of Durham
- University of Bristol
- University of Nottingham
But where do other universities place? I assume the Scottish unis (Edinburgh, St Andrews, Glasgow) are semi-targets, as well as Bath, Manchester, KCL, and Exeter, but what about the other lower-tier Russell Groups like QMUL, Newcastle, Sheffield, Cardiff, Southampton, etc?
Would love to hear your thoughts on how these universities fit into the IB recruitment landscape!
Good list to be honest. Most semi-targets can all be bunched into one category with some exceptions - Bath, Bristol, and Durham have the best placement from what I’m aware but I think on paper they are viewed in a similar light to someone from say St Andrews. There are some lower-tier semi targets as well like Leeds (maybe non-target) and Manchester. Glasgow isn’t really a semi-target, more so just non-target.
The differentiation between target and semi-target is big but the differentiation within semi-target is really small so it doesn’t matter too much.
Sorry, quick question I'm looking at Mcs. Is St Andrews worth 15k£ more then bristol?
No
Both aren’t targets for MSc, just do whichever you feel you would enjoy more. 15k is quite a lot given they’re both comparable though
The list applies for UG, PG or both levels of study?
PG is a different ballgame
List is accurate
Super targets: Oxbridge, LSE, Imperial
Targets: Warwick, UCL
Semi Targets: Durham, Bath, Bristol, Edinburgh, Kings, Notts, St Andrews and maybe Exeter
Also keep in mind, for semi targets, that some firms hire from there while some firms don’t. You will see higher concentrations of some schools at some banks. Eg you will see a ton of bath people at Lazard and almost none at evercore
Exeter is for sure a semi for IB, really solid pipeline from Econ w/industry experience to JPM IB. For pretty much anything else it’s pretty solid low semi though, anyone outside the program mentioned above needs a Target Masters to break into their group of choice
I’m doing A+F at Exeter, is there any chance of me breaking straight out of undergrad, or will I have to go through big 4/target masters route
No, only that icl and ucl should be swapped
Every uni that's not a target or semi target (which are designations telling you about placement), by definition basically doesn't place anywhere consistently.
There is no point "ranking" them because chances of getting into IB from these unis is very low (significantly lower than it is for everyone else) and is probably more down to the individual than anything.
Uni doesn't boost your chance of breaking into IB nowadays by a lot. Focus on your CV not on rankings.
False, my IB class was all targets except 3 women. My PE firm also has never hired a non-target, so it certainly still is important.
Think you missed my point. Just because you go Oxford doesn't mean getting an IB offer is extremely easy now compared to a Bath student.
What kind of PE firm do you work at? MF/UMM/LMM?
Also, does this only include undergrad? Does having a target masters count?
I mean that really depends on the firm tbf like CVP only hires from targets -Warwick
Anything below Warwick is all a blur to be honest.
Maybe Durham stands out, but I could not tell you whether KCL or Bath or Notts is better than one another
Yep. All semi-targets are semi-targets. Someone from Durham isn’t going to get a look over someone from Edinburgh just because they are from Durham; they get put in the same basket.
This is the correct answer,a semi is a semi. Most people don’t realize that semis typically don’t have any formal pipeline and so what makes them a high/mid/low semi is the quality of candidates attending the school. And this is ofc somewhat self fulfilling which means “high semi’s”typically attract similar type of students year after year and “low semi’s” the same. However there is no rigorous admissions committee at these schools strictly maintaining the standard of applicants, meaning quality of grads can fall off a cliff one year, while there’s also tons of students that decide to go to semis over targets for whatever reason, which is also fluctuating.
All in all, what I’m trying to say is recruiters gauge the quality of a semi target based on the actual application they receive from said school and how well qualified those candidates are, not by some arbitrary rankings or measures of prestige
Is MSc Finance at Warwick target?
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