Worth transferring from UK to US?
I am asian american currently at one of the low-target British uni (UCL/Warwick) and interested in IB and strategy consulting. I went to high school in the States, but I ended up in UK because I wanted to live in Europe at some point in my life and because my applications with US did not go well (My choices were Fordham Gabelli, PSU smeal, etc, which were all my safeties. My fault is at applying to only ivys. I did not even apply to top 25 like gtown, vandy.... I was naive, dumb, overconfident). Back then, I thought my chance at breaking into IB would be higher in low british target than in non-target american ones, so I attended one in England.Now, having spent a year in UK, I think that the job opportunity here as an international student isn't great and that the prestige of my uni isn't strong outside UK. Considering network is very important in American recruiting, I do not think I will be able to direct apply to SA positions in the States as well. So big time reality check. I regret my decision to come across the Atlantic. For these reasons I am considering to make some changes and build plans. There are three possible plans for me.Plan A: Finish off uni in UK(only two years left) and meantime working my ass off to get London SA and in case I don't get SA, do 1year master in UK(Oxbridge/LSE/LBS) to improve my odds in London. Then, finally lateral transfer from London to US after spending few years in London.Plan B: Finish off uni in UK, trying hard to get SA London. In case of no SA, then do MFin in US (Vandy, WUSTL, etc).Plan C: Transfer to American universities. (I am thinking of applying to colleges that are prestigious yet taking good chunk of transfers such as Vandy, USC, Northwestern, NYU, etc). Because I thought either plan A or B was feasible, I am actually studying GMAT for masters or even deferred MBA in US schools, even though deferred MBA isn't stated in the plans above. (It will be plan D haha)However. I found out that it is in fact pretty possible to transfer out from UK to US after my second year and saw few have done it on linkedin. This got me thinking whether transferring out to US gives me better chance overall for my career. Yet, there are still a lot of things to consider. As I had military duties for my asian nationality, I am about 2 years older than my peer. Plus, my first year grade got screwed up with pass/fail due to COVID19, so I am likely to lose a year or so when I choose to transfer. This means that I need four years from now to complete my bachelor in US (a year in UK + 3 year in the states) compared to 2 years for UK bachelor.With these in mind, is it worth choosing plan C over Plan A or B exclusively because of job prospects in UK and prestige of my uni? Is it going to be a worthwhile investment that will boost my career or at least my chance at IB?Sorry for the long read and really appreciate your opinion.
If you want IB and if you have the green card… just go back to US cause it will be much much more easier for you to break into IB than EU. Asian is over-represented in both countries anyways.
The tuition fee is about the same, but I think US might have even lower living cost for students.
I hold dual citizenship haha so yeah I am american, not a green card holder. Do you think I should just transfer out after my second year instead of doing masters degree in the states after my bachelor in uk?
Your degree won’t make you an investment banker. Your internship and network are more important
I think an early move will be more beneficial for your preparation
I would transfer back as a sophomore and go through a recruiting cycle that way.
As an outsider, it is usually very difficult to migrate to or spend time in the UK. People would give a lot to get this chance in life and you have to ask yourself:
- is there anything you like about the UK that would make all of this worthwhile? Is it the culture, a certain demographic, or a certain hobby or a group of friends? the girls?
Once you leave, this would be hard to obtain again, because as we age we can't just move back and forth in life without losing too much time/money/effort
- If you see your focus in life more in the US, then I'd would transfer back and graduate in the US with a decent planned out recruitment season ahead of you
No I don't have anything in the UK that I fancy over US. So yeah I want to go back to the states at some point in my life. But the thing is that if I transfer back then I will essentially lose two years as I need four years to complete my bachelor in the states compared to only two years in the UK. The opportunity cost will be enormous I believe. If I chose to do masters after my bachelor in UK then the difference would be down to a year. Do you think it is still worth it to transfer?
Look into where your focus of life would be and concentrate your efforts towards that place. Your studies and recruitment are only a part of your life, there is more to it.
As many have pointed out already, recruitment in the US is quite different and would require you to be available in the right location/time zone/office. Sometimes finding the right job in the right company means running into the right people during a recruitment event.
You already said that you don't have any links to the UK and no reason to be there - wasted time and opportunity is worse than wasted money.
Best of luck in finding the right decision for you.
Have been in similar situation, pm if you want to speak about it
the system says daily PM limit reached :(
I am in a very similar position to you. Asian-American who studied in the US and currently attending UCL/Warwick. One difference is that I didn't have permanent residency in the US so I chose to come to the UK for IB. Thankfully, I was able to secure a spring week and converted the spring to a summer. UCL and Warwick were two of the biggest schools represented at my spring week so I don't think that is an issue. My two cents: stay in the UK because not getting a spring isn't the end of the world and you can still get a SA. Going back to the US will be significantly harder imo because you will have to network and learn how to succeed in a different system of recruiting. Plus, being Asian qualifies you as a minority in the UK but not in the US, something to keep in mind
How is UCL a low-target lol? Mostly everyone from my spring and summer internship was from there
Perhaps better phrased as the "lowest" of the targets. Mind you UCL has about 4 times as many students as LSE.
Yeah right "lowest of the targets". That's the way to phrase it
I see what you mean but I disagree. Many students who go to UCL don't care about IB on the other hand, most students join LSE just to have a better opportunity of breaking into IB. This therefore reflects in a higher proportion of LSE students within IB statistically speaking. IMO Oxbridge is the best target however, this does not correlate with the yearly statistics of university alumni receiving full time roles. For a majority of BB's a higher proportion of LSE, UCL and Warwick students usually break in year after year compared to Oxbridge students. At the end of the day a target is a target regardless, are we seriously ranking targets now lol
EDIT: For masters students UCL or Warwick are not targets. In the Uk to break into a BB as a postgraduate the only universities you should be looking at are LSE and Oxford.
Better off in the US - UK comp is a joke in comparison.
top EB - NYC like for like comp is 1.9x London comp vs GBP/USD of 1.28x (and they’ve been told there’s another raise coming - radio silence in the UK…)
Having spent time in both cities that’s not even close to reflecting tax and living cost differences
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