Hey guys - am just looking for a genuine, honest opinion
I graduated from UCL in 2024 with a bachelor's in biomed and am now looking to pivot into Healthcare IB. I got an offer from LSE/LBS/Oxford for masters in Finance and will most likely be joining Oxford. Realistically, can I make it in London? All of my internships so far are also irrelevant (in healthcare/marketing).
Can I do it?
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It's theoretically possible but without previous finance experience, just given the way UK recruiting environment is, there's a fairly high chance that you do not get into IB.
Because practically you don't have much of an opportunity to do internships and come in through typical channels.
Will the Oxford brand help at all?
I didn't write you an answer in complete isolation of your circumstance so yes it helps, but what I said still applies.
Btw my problem is absolutely nothing to do with your profile and everything to do with logistics. E.g. in the next few months, people will be applying for SA 2027. Some of these summers (not all) mandate that you are a penultimate year student. You will never be a penultimate year student in your current setup.
OCs are an option too but are largely taken by Europeans with a lot more relevant experience.
So your options are SAs that don't mind if you're a final year or penultimate year student (they exist but the pool is naturally smaller, idk how much exactly) or OCs where the average standard of competition is higher.
summer internship first, no chance straight FT recruiting
yep! that's the goal :)
UCL + Oxford brand is strong. I have seen UCL non-finance UGs like Biology, ChemEng etc. get summers anyways. Present your story well and know your shit and you got a fighting chance like anyone else
(clue in name, now VP in TMT)
Simple answer is yes absolutely, in fact you're probably in a better position as you actually understand the industry you want to cover due to studying it. Obviously do the summer > FT route but ignore anyone who sucks their teeth and says it isn't possible.
It's been done before, so there is precedent - especially in healthcare covarage. However the lack of any finance-related experience or background makes it challenging. Most Master’s in Finance programs are one-year degrees which don’t allow time for an internship in between.
If you’ve been working in a role aligned with your bachelor’s degree, it may be best to continue building experience until you reach the 3–4 year mark, then apply to two-year MBA programs. This route gives you the opportunity to complete a summer associate internship and recruit for associate position since you may be crossed out for analyst roles because of the lack of finance exp. That said, with a BSc from UCL and a Oxford Mfin you could get it done, trying to secure an off-cycle internship.
Pm me. We have very, very, similar backgrounds! I am starting in IB.
yes you can. UK banking/finance is very heavily dominated by a certain few schools which include LSE/Oxford/etc.
First step of getting interviews is actually surprisingly random and luck based so make sure you have a good resume (in terms of formatting and how it's written). Second, study hard and ace your interviews. No point interviewing if you can't convert. Use your past school question banks and well used ones like mаrginofаlpha. Best of luck with recruiting
Just want to provide a different take - I think it is in fact very much possible (many people in my EB cohort way back were in similar positions)
From memory when I was applying for SAs, only a few firms will on paper state that the role is for “penultimate year” and fewer actually insist that to be the case (Lazard comes to mind). Loads of firms don’t actually care - some of the BBs let you roll straight from your summer into starting FT (think BAML does this) whereas some of the EBs will just let you join the next class or start early.
YMMV as the market may have changed since I was in banking, but I think you’ll be in a pretty competitive spot given the Oxford MFE is very well represented across all major banks. Oxford also gives you quite good access to a lot of the firms, think they have a few case competitions where they hand out internship to winners, and they also have loads of firms come in for presentations at the business school.
The interview selection process is still random ultimately but I’d say it’s one of the better setups already
Would you recommend putting an intended masters on your cv so the grad date is extended for firms that require you to be a penultimate year and switching to normal final year for those that dont care
No don’t do that, that’s dumb. Intended masters means nothing and people looking at the CV will know
Just apply for a summer and see what they say
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