LSE Economic History vs. Queen's Commerce vs. Ivey

I am in grade 12 and have been admitted to LSE Economic History, Queen's Commerce and The Richard Ivey School of Business. I am trying to decide between the 3. I want to make sure I get a good job (e.g. investment banking/consulting) out of university with not too much trouble. Here are the pros/cons that I know of each program so far:

Queen's Commerce:

Pros
-Most selective in Canada
-$8000 scholarship
-Nice new building, Goodes Hall
-Average starting compensation total: 70K
-Kington is nicer than London, ON
-Alot of good student groups
-Good student groups

Cons
-Won't meet new people; know many of the people going there
-4 years of business may be boring/unnecessary/too theoretical
-I know a lot of dumb people going there (though this could help me in rankings)

Richard Ivey School of Business:

Pros
-Good repuatation internationally for a Canadian school
-Good alumni network worldwide
-Average starting compensation total: 61,000
-Study whatever I want for the first 2 years and don't worry about grades too much
-$15,000 scholarship
-Case study method is probably something I would be good at
-Nice new building

Cons
-London, Ontario
-Possible that I won't achieve the necessary grade required to enter Ivey in which case I will end up with a B.A.
-Won't meet new people; know many of the people going there
-I know a lot of dumb people going there (though this could help me in rankings)

LSE Economic History

Pros
-90%+ of my peers think it has a better reputation that Ivey or Queen's Commerce--they say "LSE??!!! WOW! No Brainer go there"
-LSE has an international brand name (especially in Asia, apparently)
-Living in London is a good experience; museums etc. (though it could be tough because of crowding etc.)
-Only 3 years of study
-I am good at history and probably better at writing essays than doing math in a commerce program
-More interesting subject content for the most part; I remember sitting in on a business ethics class at Queens--what a joke
-Good speaker seminars etc.
-Meet students from around the world

Cons
-I went on to their website and the list of careers was weak; sales manager and academic mentor positions plague the careers prospects, though there are some good ones like "analyst"
-Starting salary of 32000 pounds (though I don't think it includes bonus and other compensation like Queen's and Ivey)
-Far fewer students get a job right out of university (which I want to do)
-Probably a more rigorous workload than Commerce/Ivey, but I'm not sure
-School cycle is different in Canada, so I'd have to get internships in London
-I have a network of family and friends in Canada that could make it easier to get an internship here than in London
-My highschool is one of the top in Canada and has a good brand-name
-Too much diversity; white people are probably a minority at LSE
-More rigid course offering (UK system is very focussed)
-Some of the housing is quite far from campus
-After first year there is no guaranteed housing: huge cost to living in London!
-Less of a "campus feel"
-Higher cost because I'm a foreign student

11 Comments
 

Honestly, I'd stick to queens or ivey. Both are good schools and have great alumnis for banking/consulting. Also, I think you got into Western and not Ivey. Ivey is only for 3rd & 4th years. And dont worry about meeting new people. As long as youre social and creative you'll find a "use" for almost anyone you meet.

 

Congrats, those schools are very good. If you want to work in Canada (IB, not 100% sure about consulting), you cant go wrong with either Ivey or Queens. I would choose Queens over Ivey though. There are no particular reasons, well probably I do not like the fact that Ivey's class size is getting bigger and bigger. Nonetheless I believe there are more BBs recruit at Ivey for their NY office than at Queens.

 

One of the main things that I'm wondering is if economic history is significantly worse than economics in terms of job placement. Also, people always say its great for jobs and it ranked 1st in the UK for jobs but why is the salary lower than Queen's and Ivey? Seems odd to me given its reputation...

 

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