US Target Schools in the UK

Apologies if this is answered elsewhere - did not find anything. Is London IB known to take US educated undergraduate candidates, and if so, what are considered the US target schools (outside of I'm assuming LSE, Oxbridge)? 

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I don't think there are any fixed target schools list here in London for US but HRs are elitist AFFFF so make sure your school is globally known. Don't have to be Ivies, T10 or HYPSM and Wharton but needs to be USC/UCLA/Northwestern/Duke/NYU, etc instead of UT Austin/Georgetown/UNC Chapel Hill, etc if you know the drill. I think QS ranking is a decent web to see which schools are globally known, ideally top 50. I knew some folks from the US recruiting here and successful too, but overall London recruiting is significantly harder and more random than NYC so just keep in mind 

 
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As someone who used to recruit in both, candidate calibre in London on average is much higher than in the States cuz of those European Masters students with multiple deal experiences and speaking multiple European languages all trying to compete for internships in London where class sizes are usually only 1/2 to 1/3 of NYC. Meanwhile, in the States, most candidates don't have that much experiences - a lot of them don't even have any finance experiences or zero experiences at all, but you can definitely network to get interviews even if you go to a non-target. In London if you go to a non-target? Good luck. If you go to a target but barely have any relevant experiences like M&A, PE, corporate finance? Have fun observing a 26-year-old HEC/Bocconi/HSG Master student with MF PE, 3x BB, EB internships under their belt stealing your place - this is for SA and I'm not exaggerating at all. 

The only thing that maybe makes NYC recruiting seems harder is the interviews since some can be very technical. However, this varies by firms since some firms in London are even ridiculously more technical than the same firms in NYC. But one thing I can confirm is there's no such thing as modelling test or case study (for generalist programme) as in London. There's no such thing as AC in the US either. The Superday is our version of AC but none of them has group exercises, case study session, etc as London. Pretty much you're judged solely based on your individual interview performance. 

 

London with a London target school is already insanely difficult. Like the other guy said, if you go assessment centres you'll find hec bocconi escp kids with internships stacked. They also have access to a strong network of french/italians who are much more willing to help you than typical brits or Americans in London. Add to the fact that cohort sizes are much smaller, immigration is tough. 

 

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