should I go to oxford?

I have the choice between oxford, UIUC CS, and Santa Clara university. I want to do banking in sf(preferably) or nyc. uiuc and Santa Clara are around 50k, oxford is around 35k

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Hey fellow monkey, listen, I know it sounds kinda logical to go recruit from a Chimp right to King Kong staying in your native jungle, but it makes more sense to go to another jungle, turn into a Gorilla, and then you will have much better chances to get a King Kong level back to your jungle.

“Destiny is a gift. Some go their entire lives, living existences of quiet desperation, never learning the truth that what feels as though a burden pushing down upon their shoulders is really a sense of purpose that lifts us to greater heights. Never forget that fear is but the precursor to valor, that to strive and triumph in the face of fear is what it means to be a hero. Don’t think. Become.”
 

I know people from my intern class from the US, and likewise know people who have done the recruitment in NYC from UK Universities (Speaking from perspective of Intern studying at UK university).

Based on what I've seen Oxford is where you want to be as it is a massive target. Every bank visits- not sure about the other two schools you've mentioned, which is very significant in the US as networking matters more there.

 

if you want to know more about SCU, i can PM you, growing banking culture and decent placements these past couple years (mostly SF)

that being said, oxford is light years above SCU and UIUC but maybe it would be difficult to do IB in america and you may be pigeonholed into doing europe IB? (not really educated on how international students are able to make the jump back to us, so take that with a grain of salt)

 

how much of this is due to them not being US citizens though? OP is, and I think that will make all the difference. The only times I've seen non-citizens hold IB internships in NY or other places is when they attend a large target school in the US, simply because the way the visa programs are structured allows them to legally intern without company sponsorship (could be wrong about this, but have had 10+ friends on student visas and that was how they explained it to me). On the other hand, if you were to require sponsorship for only a 10 week role, it could prove very difficult to get, and you will always be a step behind in terms of recruiting.

 

Yeah obvious choice is Oxford. I only spent a summer there after my sophomore year but it was the best few weeks of my life. Amazing city, great people and culture, best academics in the world. Recruiting won’t be an issue - even though I attend a target, the Oxford name still catches eyes more on my resume.

And always hit up Purple Turtle & Hassan’s on a night out

 

Which college (and course), if I might ask?

I'm at Oxford and it's great. Can't imagine having a better experience elsewhere. I'd highly recommend it.

FWIW, there are a few people graduating this year who I know are joining US offices (of various buyside firms). I don't think it's often done for banks, but it's definitely possible for these smaller/ more US-centric firms.

 

If you're set on US recruiting, a viable option might be to go to Oxford and transfer to a US target. The second-best option I think would be to leave US off the table for now and focus on London.

 

I also think that Oxford is the obvious choice! Having it on your resume is likely to open so many doors to you, whether that's recruiting for SA roles in the US or transferring to a top-tier US college after your first year. I've heard a decent amount of Oxbridge grads go into banking sometime after graduation, so you can always reach out to them on LinkedIn for advice/networking or even ask the London recruiters of the banks you're interested in for the contact details of some of their colleagues in SF/NYC (it's really no problem, they love to help you and Oxford has lots of on-campus networking events and dinners). In my opinion, Oxford is an amazing school (ranked #1 worldwide if I'm not wrong) and going to a university with so many incredible traditions/opportunities/academics would be a great experience. Just one question - what are you thinking of studying? It might be a bit harder to get into banking if you got into Oxford for English or Chemistry than if you got in for Economics.

 

Pick Oxford. It shouldn't be too hard to move from Oxford to US universities or recruit in the US. Also, more opportunities in finance and other industries in case you realise you no longer want to do banking or you don't want to work in SF or NY.

 

If you were deciding between Oxford and Cambridge that would be a more interesting discussion. Oxford all the way!

 

while it may seem like the only important factor with colleges is getting a job in banking, it is not. these schools arent even close to being peers to oxford and the long term benefit you will get from going there will far outweigh any minor logistical difficulties in coming back to the US. also as mentioned above its the definition of a target for London. congrats!

 

Oxford vs. Santa Clara? That's like choosing between a Ferrari and a Yugo--with the Ferrari actually costing less.

Oxford is the most famous university in the world. current American "it" schools like Stanford have spent the last generation or two producing tech guys and aspirants to VC. Oxford has spent the last thousand years producing Anglo-American civilization (individual rights, free markets, liberal democracy, and all that other fusty stuff).

From a professional perspective, you'll never, ever regret having "Oxford University" figuring prominently on your resume.

 

Lmao imagine thinking Oxford produced any sort of freedom instead of being a waning tool of British imperialism, like most everything in England.

 

Oxford was founded in 11th centure. Imperialism huh?

“Destiny is a gift. Some go their entire lives, living existences of quiet desperation, never learning the truth that what feels as though a burden pushing down upon their shoulders is really a sense of purpose that lifts us to greater heights. Never forget that fear is but the precursor to valor, that to strive and triumph in the face of fear is what it means to be a hero. Don’t think. Become.”
 

Also E&M is a very nice course. You can make it really quantitative and fuck yourself with all the math or take marketing and management modules (2nd year onwards).

 

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