LSE vs Cambridge for Post Grad in Finance in Economics
I was recently accepted to LSE's MSc in Finance and Economics and Cambridge's MPhil for F&E--and I'm having a bit of trouble deciding between the two. It seems that LSE has fantastic placement, but I find it hard to believe that having a MPhil from Cambridge would be much different (Cambridge clearly has a stronger overall brand name, but within the financial sector there seems to be less of a disparity in that regard). Moreover, both courses seem fairly theoretical in nature, so I'm not sure if there is too much of a difference academically.
tl;dr Any input would be greatly appreciated.
LSE's placement isn't as good as you might think This isn't LSE Econ- it's LSE F/A Cambridge's placement isn't great either, but it's got a little bit more versatility, in the sense that the brand name will help you open more doors to things you might not have thought of applying to before.
Go with the oxbridge
So there isn't any truth to LSE finance having a stronger international brand name? I'm from America, and would eventually like to come back to the states.
Oxbridge are the only schools that compete with Harvard in prestige internationally.
Take Cambridge and don't look back. Even though LSE is great, Oxbridge opens a lot more doors for you in the UK/Europe and same can be said about financial services. The only reason why you see more LSE students in the City is because many go to LSE with the goal of doing IB or similar. Oxbridge - not so much, so there is a selection bias. When it comes to how targeted these schools are, Cambridge wins over LSE.
Also think that especially since you want to go back to the US, Cambridge is the better choice. LSE is a great school, but it's a bit like Harvard and Wharton. Harvard carries the brand and even if Wharton is maybe a more well known name in finance, it pretty much stops there. Though I'd also add that Cambridge will likely be more theoretical than LSE. They went with the MPhil for a reason, I'd say but depending on which profession you aim for that could be no problem at all.
Cambridge no question, better network and great placement
Laughable that people think Cambridge has a better placement. Yes it probably does have a better network as its much older and larger, but can someone tell me how they arrived at the conclusion is has better placement?
Just to confirm, is there no notion of LSE's program being more established? I'm just a bit concerned that as a postgraduate in a relatively new program at Cambridge, I would not be given the same advantages as an undergraduate student (in terms of how employers perceive my candidacy).
Depends where you wanna work for and what you wanna do. Personally from LSE, and I can tell you at least at UG there is no difference in UK recruiting. For IB/PE/HF, they don't care as long as you are from oxbridge/LSE. Top HF/PE (BX, TPG, Carlyle etc.) only recruits at Oxbridge and LSE. Honestly i think if you can't land interviews from these 3 schools, it's probably your problem. (I'm an international student BTW, so you shouldn't be worried too much if you are not bad)
While LSE give you the London edge, Oxbridge gives you the experience. Personally I will go for LSE for master, especially the F&E program is the flagship program along with the Finance one. It's a very quantitative course with excellent placement in finance, plus you really do enjoy the EASY networking opportunities in London (and night life). But the Oxbridge brand holds weight in a long run. If you consider to go back to the US, or try to break into consulting, go to Cambridge.
If you really care about prestige, take Cambridge. A good analogy is really harvard vs wharton in NYC.
And YES, the F&E at Cambridge is very new. But your LSE program is one of the toughest to get in (F&E right?). Can't comment too much the Cam one but the LSE one is TOUGH.
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