Visiting Business Schools in the UK - What I Learned #4 (London Metropolitan University)

A few weeks ago, I spent over a week in London to visit some family. Because I’m looking into studying in the UK for my MSc in Finance in a year or so, I thought this would be a great way to visit some schools there. I picked some of the obvious choices, including London School of Economics and London Business School, as well as a couple of not-as-well-known schools, including London Metropolitan University and Birkbeck, University of London.

I tried to fit in Cass as well as Imperial College, but I didn't have a chance to really meet anyone from admissions, so those posts would’ve been me stating information that you could easily find on their website (or on ANT’s site). I spent a few days to look around some campuses, do some research on the programs these schools offer, meet some people, shake some hands, etc., etc., etc. After all of this, I thought this would be a great thread to read for anyone who is interested in going to the UK for grad school.

My main point for this thread, however, is…are these schools really worth it? Are they worth the sometimes ridiculous costs for tuition as well as paying for living expenses in one of the most expensive cities in the world? In this final post, I’ll be talking about London Metropolitan University and I’ll be keeping the thread going through May.

London Metropolitan University

A quick and simple summary. When it comes to London Met, yes, it's not LBS or LSE. However, for someone to wants to study abroad for a master's degree in London and a fairly good cost and have a great chance of getting a full-time offer in finance, then you have London Met.

First, it prides itself in all the programs it offers, including an MBA program as well as numerous master's programs, including Financial Markets and Derivatives, International Financial Strategy, Corporate Finance and Investment among others. The main hurdles for people who want to be accepted are cost, gmat score, and entry requirements. For the 10-month full time masters program, it's 13,500 pounds, which comes to a pretty good $21,180. As for entry requirements, they expect an undergraduate degree in a finance related field. They also prefer some meaningful work experience.

Finally for the GMAT, although the website says they accept people above 600, when speaking to their admissions office, they stressed that if applicants have about a 700, it helps their application considerably, even to a point that it can offset a lack of work experience.

As with the other schools I covered, the main point of the trip was speaking with someone in the admissions office and getting as much information as possible. My discussion with a counselor focused mainly on recruiting and networking. Many financial firms based in London as well as from around the world come to recruit at London Met. The majority of the jobs available from around the world include places from South America, Asia, North America and everywhere in between. Apart from the usual recruiting season, the school offers so many on-campus presentations that students will always have opportunities to network.

So my take on London Met? In my opinion, it's a good, afordable place to go for people who would just like to study abroad a have a better chance of working abroad afterward than here in the states. Will you have a chance at GS? Unlikely, but honestly, is that the end of the world? The school still offers some good recruiting. If anyone else has a different opinion or were a student there and have some stories or useful information on the school, throw it on the board.

So there’s my take on London Metropolitan. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions. I still have that contact in the admissions office so if you want, I can relay your questions to her. That's the end of the thread, so I hope you enjoyed it.