Bocconi for London IB from CEE - Realistic Path?
Hi all,
I’m a high school student from CEE, aiming for London BB/EB IB. UK unis are too expesive, but my family can (just about) afford Bocconi. Need advice:
- Is Bocconi my best bet vs. RSM or Trinity/UCD for London IB? Better to do BSc + MSc (if needed) there, or BSc at home (e.g. SGH) then MSc at Bocconi?
- As a CEE international, can I realistically break into London IB from Bocconi? My quick linkedIn check shows ~95% of their London IB alumni are Italian - am I screwed?
- I’ve got some national olympiads and a solid GPA (nothing crazy), so I've got some basics. How do I stand out at Bocconi to land London IB - specific steps or experiences to prioritize?
Appreciate any advice.
Bocconi has an established pathway into London and European IB, so it's a much better investment than getting ripped off in the UK if you're not going to Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, Imperial etc. No need to worry, just network like hell at Bocconi and you being from CEE should not matter (I'd hope it doesn't but i am aware of the insufferable nature of some elitist Bocconi finance students). Although not London, have you considered Frankfurt for at least a starting role / internships? I'd imagine due to geography there would be more CEE bankers there, could be an option for you to start in Frankfurt before a London pivot (seen plenty of people do this, worked with more people from Frankfurt --> London than say Paris / Milan at the) but this could be more anecdotal. Best of luck
Thanks for the insights! Frankfurt’s an interesting option - didn’t consider it before - but I’m at A1+ German and doubt I’d be able to hit B2 in a year. Is fluency a must for IB there, or can I manage without? Appreciate it!
In an ideal world you do the Bsc at a european target like Bocconi and the Msc at a UK uni. If the choice is Bocconi Bsc + Bocconi Msc vs Cheaper target (HSG, RSM, etc.) Bsc + UK Msc I would do the latter. I wouldn't do non target Bsc at SGH as it becomes much harder to land a London job. If you can't do a UK msc tho Bocconi is still good and plenty of internationals land jobs in either London or continental Europe. The only concern would be that it would be virtually impossible to find internships in Milan if you can't speak Italian so you need to be sure you can find good internships during summers in your own country to make your resume competitive. But yes the path is realistic it will just be harder than if you were Italian.
Thanks for the insights! A UK MSc sounds great but feels impossible cost-wise unless I land a big scholarship or loan - both long shots. My endgame’s London IB, though I’m open to internships elsewhere. Problem is, I only speak my local language, English, and very basic German (A1/A2). Will I need local languages for decent internships in continental Europe, or can English carry me in places like Paris or Frankfurt? Are CEE internships competitive enough to get me to London eventually? Appreciate the help!
I didn't speak any local languages in undergrad and I landed very strong internships before going to UK after Msc. Generally my experience is the finance center which is most accepting of English only is Amsterdam (And Benelux in general). AFAIK Paris, Frankfurt, and Zurich have a far more strict requirement for German/French but I have only applied a little there so maybe I'm wrong. Generally tho with a Bocconi Bsc + Msc you should be competitive for anywhere in Europe if you have good experience
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Hey, thank for this insigthful comment. I actually posted a question just a few minutes ago and I think your answer would be really valuable. Could you check out my post and tell me what you think? Cheers
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Nah, don't worry. Most of the class are Italian, that is why the numbers are like that. Also, for every international bachelors class, there are 3 Italian equivalents (Italian version of the degree). The uni produces mostly Italian students. I studied there as an international student, and there simply wasn't that many CEE students in the class. Get good grades, you'll be fine. I got into IB in London as a non-Italian, with only the bachelors degree :)
Chose the Finance degree over Management though!!
Oh and join one of the many finance societies. Chose one of the ones that is least demanding hours wise (there is one called Jeme which acts like a cult, stay away). It will look good on your CV, and nobody will demand proof that you had meetings twice a week. (Most are fake anyway ahaha, people just join to put it on their CV)
lol at the jeme jab
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