Don't know whether to take a gap year and reapply to Uni, or try for a masters
I'm very conflicted right now
After applying to university, I now have rejections from Oxford, LSE, UCL, and King's for Economics. Only York has given me an offer. Apparently I was rejected due to ''high competition", but at least LSE says it was as a result of my personal statement (which makes me feel horrible considering everyone I spoke to said it was of Oxbridge quality). For reference, I have 3A* predicted in Maths, Econ, History, an A predicted for FM with an A at AS level.
In fairness to York, they do appear on occasion as a medium to low semi-target, which is nice, and many students do go on to work in IB, but it isn't a target university, nor one I really wanted to study at relative to the other 4.
I have the opportunity to take a gap year and reapply with a better personal statement, or I can go to the University of York, then either try my luck with multiple firms, or perhaps go to York and aim for a masters at Cambridge/LBS/LSE/Oxford.
What do you think? Advice is appreciated, thank you.
Just take a gap year and reapply once you’ve got the grades. A gap year with 4-5 unconditional offers to choose from would be way more fun. In the big picture taking a gap year is nothing.
Would an MBA not be better? Or is it just too expensive.
Also, if I take a gap year, what should I do to help my odds?
You don’t just do an MBA. To do a decent one you need years of work experience; they’re designed to help people switch or boost their careers - not for undergrads that don’t have a grad job
MBA is pointless imo plus there's too many variables and things that could change before you even hit that point. Best thing you could do is just reapply and on your gap year do some relevant experience. Cold emailing for work experience works or look at any 'sixth form into banking programmes' as being a gap year student you are still eligible for those e.g MS FIF. Go have some fun too, not too often you get to just chill out and worry about nothing.
I was in your position, sort of. I ended up achieving stellar A-Levels, after less-than-impressive predicted grades, and could have gone to a much better university. I could have taken a gap year and reapplied. I chose to attend anyway.
I had a great time, I’m in a great position now and I have no regrets. That being said, if I was to do it over knowing what I know now, I’d have taken the gap year.
A year out is literally meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Go travel, explore, have fun. You won’t have this kind of opportunity again ever in your life, and I really do mean that. Attending Oxbridge a year later, or LSE, is going to supercharge your trajectory to the point where after you’ve been working for a couple of years, you’ll likely be ahead of where you would have been (career goals-wise) if you chose to go straight to uni now and attended York. Taking the year out will literally not work against you in any way.
Thanks for your advice, genuinely.
If I took a gap year out, knowing myself, I wouldn't aim to have fun and relax - I'd try and improve my chances further however I can. If what you say is true about just trying again and kickstarting where I can go in life, then it seems like the answer is clear as well to take out a gap year. It's not something I've ever really wanted to do at all, but it may well be for the best.
Looking back, my personal statement wasn't unique enough. I spoke too much about corporate taxes and didn't go in-depth about any peculiar subject. If I could go over again, I'd try and demonstrate knowledge beyond that base level. Try and be more unique, demonstrate a university level understanding that goes beyond the knowledge I presented.
If you have recommendations of what to do in a gap year, I'd seriously appreciate it. I know it should be a time to relax and enjoy myself, but I couldn't live with myself if I wasn't working to better my chances any way I could.
It’s good that you want self-development for your gap year, and you’ll be able to show that on your personal statement (albeit not many months of it given submission deadlines), but you’ll be 18 years old mate. Chill out a bit. You can’t get van insurance at your age; nobody is expecting you to be a star.
That being said, there’s ways to enjoy yourself and develop at the same time. Maybe go to a language college in Spain, live with a host family, and become fluent in Spanish? Volunteer in Australia helping wildlife? There’s plenty of things you can do, but don’t approach it with a hardo attitude, approach it with the intent of having fun as a priority.
I think you need to read a bit more on economics before applying again. Speaking about corporate taxes and whatever is not relevant at all; economics is an academic discipline which can encompass many things, like development, healthcare, whatever, it's not finance. This is probably why you struggled for offers.
If you don't want to study at York because you just don't like the university or course, then don't. No point, you won't like it and it'll reflect in your performance.
If your main reason is only attending a target (I wouldn't call King's a target nor say it does better in placements than York), then I'd be more cautious in taking a gap year. Yes, you might have an easier time applying for SW/SA. But there's no guarantee you'll get in next time around either. Plus, your profile relative to the other people at the uni better be stellar, you can't coast through just because you're at a target. I've seen some people do like nothing at uni, think going to a target is enough, and fail getting SW and SA.
From what I've seen, you're right, York seems to be a semi target (moreso as of recent), and their societies get attention/sponsorship from big companies. I did a Google and it looks like BofA is sponsoring their econ society.
I think the course is fine, I'm more-so concerned by the location and potential lack of opportunity. If I did go, I'd certainly be committed to trying to do better.
I wouldn't say my main goal was only attending a target. LSE had been my dream to go to for ages considering how well regarded it is and the location. I felt similar about Oxford, but I think that could just be the aura of such an institution. I'd probably enjoy my time more in London, or down south, than in a place like York, but in complete fairness I've never been to York as I was hoping for offers from elsewhere.
I wouldn't however, kick back and enjoy myself at a target. If anything, being at such a place, I'd want to achieve as much as possible. I would not let up on such an opportunity!
Per your last point, wow! I never actually noticed that; this whole time I was researching the Investment and Finance Society, but considering the Economics Society has a sponsor like that, York does seem to be moving up in the industry.
Regardless, I'll think more on it and ask my careers adviser at school.
Do a gap year. Best investment long term.... :)
Did you take a gap year? What could I gain from it, if you don't mind me asking
Such a decision will take away a year of my time, which I know is miniscule in the grand scheme of things, but I want to be absolutely certain.
No i did not. But getting the best uni name will help you throughout your career. :)
Didn't take a gap year but people who did seemed to recruit better for springs because they had way more time to prepare
Tbh unless you need to study econ, best strategy is apply for less competitive courses at top unis. Plenty of science courses at places like UCL are straightforward to get into. Would also say you'd be in a better position for recruiting because firms are increasingly looking for more diverse course backgrounds.
I actually did consider that before applying for Economics; i figured maybe economic history, or something similar would be better.
Frankly, I love economics. I can't see myself studying something else, as much as I'd love to maximise my chances as much as possible. But, you do raise a fair point, and if there is a next time, I'll consider it.
Tbh just apply to like ucl or Warwick for a course they have in clearing/UCAS extra if you’re set on finance. Econ isnt gna give u an edge in recruiting tbh. Unless you want to study academic econ and can’t see yourself enjoying something else?
UCL normally has like economics with geography or something in UCAS extra. I do a whatever degree at ucl and recruiting has been p straightforward, don’t think anywhere has turned me down cos of my degree at least.
If push comes to shove, I could possibly reject York than try Clearing for Durham Accounting and Finance, or maybe Nottingham or Bath.
Would I have a shot at that? I just want to be successful beyond Uni and go somewhere that I enjoy
Biased because I go to Bath but they offer industrial placements which are quite often exclusive to Bath undergrads. They are absolutely cracked because you’re only competing with a handful of people on your course. During SW/SA recruiting you’re competing with thousands of people from universities across the country. Worth taking a look.
did anyone else read this in a thick british accent or was it just me
Take a gap year. If you achieve your predicted grades, UCAS will see 3A* straight away. They won’t even care as much about your Personal Statement given you will have easily met the grade requirements. You can tailor your PS to certain Unis, happy to PM if needed
Only take one if you have other reasons for doing so.
I applied last year with bad predicted grades for a subject I didn't like. Re-applied this year and have an unconditional LSE offer for a fairly competitive course. However, I've also managed to grow a lot as a person during my year. I've met lots of new people, done lots of cool things, and generally have had some time to reflect and learn.
If you do take one just to get into a target with hopes of getting into banking, I feel like you would be disappointed. How would you feel if you got rejected next year? If you have nothing else going for you, it would feel like a horrendous waste of time.
If you have nothing else NON-GRINDY you would like to do (travel etc), I would say stick with York (still an excellent uni - everyone I talk to about it says it's super fun and places surprisingly well) and do a masters at Oxbridge/LSE if you find it's a problem. That way you haven't 'wasted' a year AND have an additional qualification under your belt.
You make some really good points
First off, congrats on that offer you got! Super impressive considering you applied to the LSE. Why I'd do to be in your situation haha
But yeah, I can't guarantee anything. Unless my grades knock it out of the ballpark, the reason for a gap year seems limited.
Beyond that, York is a great uni, and I'm sure it's a lovely location, but a part of me is incessantly worried about my prospects. I know that the vast majority of getting in comes down to networking and a tonne of prep, but it still worries me. Perhaps moreso right now as two of my best mates go off to Oxbridge and I fear I could be stupid or something.
I might try for clearing. York is great, but looking back, Nottingham and Bath are great too, with far more alumni in IB to contact. Of course it won't be the dream of LSE, but I feel ill get over that once I attend university.
No matter what happens, I'm going to try my damndest.
If you have any additional advice, I'm more than happy to hear it
I'll add three more things:
1) I have heard that spring weeks tend to have a very large variety of unis for diversity purpose. I heard something like only 5 or so LSE students got into the Goldman SW this year. Once you complete your a-levels, you could grind spring week technicals, CV etc and APPLY early, and in that regard you should stand a pretty good chance. From there, it's on you to convert.
2) Not going to Oxbridge/LSE/Imperial etc is not a sign of being stupid for multiple reasons.
First, different courses have different requirements. I'd argue getting in to study Classics at Cambridge is pretty easy / on par when compared to something like CS at Manchester, Bath, Warwick etc.
Second, some people just don't want to attend these institutions. My best mate chose a lower-tier Russel group university when he for sure had the wits to get into Oxbridge. His 'biggest' choice was Manchester - he just prefers the lifestyle there.
Third, 'being stupid' in this context is referring to academics. I went to the LSE open day yesterday, and half the people in my maths taster session were socially inept beyond belief. These people stand no chance in a non-technical job interview, and in general, have it much harder in day to day life. Spoke to someone who had never bought something from the shops by himself (18 years of age). Like....what????
Fourth, there are different starting playing fields. I went to a crappy school, and even there, a solid 80% of students who actually cared about their education (maybe 90 people?) were privately tutored. I haven't started uni yet, but I feel I will find independent study much easier, as I'm already used to it. The same example applies to private schools - do you think the Eton or non-contextual state-school Cambridge maths student is more impressive? From an academic standpoint, the state schooler is at an advantage.
3) If your goal is IB, and you can't break it from a semi, you can just do big 4 for a couple years and lateral into an associate position. In the long term, there is very little difference, as you will be raking in the big bucks late in your career anyways. In this sense, you have taken two "gap years" after your degree, but skipped the entire analyst stint and earned some nice cheddar.
Would recommend doing the gap year, York will be difficult to break into IB. I've seen it be done but the odds aren't in your favour.
Masters at a top uni you will be looking at c.£40k. Or you can take a year out now and reapply and get into a target. Will save you a lot of time and money in the long run.
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