UK top tier undergrad vs US second tier target undergrad for IBD in US

Hi Guys.

What in your opinion is better for IB in US (New York) : top tier UK university ( Oxford , LSE , Imperial ) or such US universities as Brown,NYU,Cornell,Pomona,Vanderbilt (not top but still target or semi-target) ? In terms of network of course any decent US university from top 30 beats Oxbridge because of location but in terms of prestige in US? What do you guys think about this matter?

19 Comments
 
Best Response

While I would agree that Oxford is best known, "LSE, Imperial" are definitely not any better off than "NYU/Brown" in prestige (or in recruiting)! A target in the US is any ivy or any school where all the major players have OCR. So the ivies and NYU are definitely targets, and Pomona/Vandy are probably semi-targets.

I kind of hate you for being just another kid on this site who will sell their soul for prestige. Do people on this school not realize where kids come from? Like three times as many kids in the GS class this year went to Brown and Georgetown than went to Harvard and Yale. So long as you went to a good school, you'll have a chance at IBD. But don't for a minute think that it is easier to get into a top IBD because you went to Oxford/Harvard rather than Dartmouth/Brown!

 

Put into groups and ordered within groups.

High targets: Oxford, LSE Mid Targets: Imperial, Cornell, Brown, NYU (East Coast Target) Semi-Targets: vanderbelt, pomona

I would go LSE/Oxbridge if I had that chance (which i did).

After the UK's top 3, it's a tougher choice since mid-tier US targets do pretty well at that point. If you had a Columbia in there, I would recommend that one after the top 3 UK schools. I know Imperial is really good in the UK but it doesnt have the same brand in the states. In fact, anything not LSE/Oxbridge/LBS isn't know in the states. And NYU really doesn't have much pull in the west coast where UCLA acts as a strong regional target,(it's actually harder to get into than Berkly since everyone wants to come to LA)

 
ciboPut into groups and ordered within groups.

High targets: Oxford, LSE Mid Targets: Imperial, Cornell, Brown, NYU (East Coast Target) Semi-Targets: vanderbelt, pomona

I would go LSE/Oxbridge if I had that chance (which i did).

After the UK's top 3, it's a tougher choice since mid-tier US targets do pretty well at that point. If you had a Columbia in there, I would recommend that one after the top 3 UK schools. I know Imperial is really good in the UK but it doesnt have the same brand in the states. In fact, anything not LSE/Oxbridge/LBS isn't know in the states. And NYU really doesn't have much pull in the west coast where UCLA acts as a strong regional target,(it's actually harder to get into than Berkly since everyone wants to come to LA)

Seriously?

 

as a side note, oxford is very overrated from the US perspective since only top notch US guys go there.

it is still an excellent school but slightly overhyped in the US.

 
leveredarbas a side note, oxford is very overrated from the US perspective since only top notch US guys go there.

it is still an excellent school but slightly overhyped in the US.

I'm not sure I fully agree with that. I do agree there is a sort of mythos around English schools and I've been asked if I dressed up like Harry Potter all the fucking time even though I went to LSE. But, of the Oxford guys i've met, they seem decent, not any smarter or dumber than HYPS guys I've met. At a certain point, the differences from one target grad to the next starts to decrease. That said, the British system is pretty fucking different than the US, especially Oxford and Cambridge (aka Oxbridge) with the tutors. There's a lot more self-study and less hand holding. Also people can and do fail courses which is very different than the show up and get a B+ to A- in the states.
 
cibo
leveredarbas a side note, oxford is very overrated from the US perspective since only top notch US guys go there.

it is still an excellent school but slightly overhyped in the US.

I'm not sure I fully agree with that. I do agree there is a sort of mythos around English schools and I've been asked if I dressed up like Harry Potter all the fucking time even though I went to LSE. But, of the Oxford guys i've met, they seem decent, not any smarter or dumber than HYPS guys I've met. At a certain point, the differences from one target grad to the next starts to decrease. That said, the British system is pretty fucking different than the US, especially Oxford and Cambridge (aka Oxbridge) with the tutors. There's a lot more self-study and less hand holding. Also people can and do fail courses which is very different than the show up and get a B+ to A- in the states.
You don't sound biased at all.
 

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