Taking large loan for UK MSc
Hi there, I got accepted to study MSc Finance at Imperial. However, I would need to take quite a large loan (£47k fees + £25/30k living costs for the year + interest) Am I crazy doing this? My goal is to use the MSc to recruit for 2026 IB summer internships. My profile:
6 month IB off cycle at a London boutique 6 month boutique PE off cycle Big 4 M&A summer High 2:1 from non target I don’t require sponsorship to work in the UK
Is this level of debt normal for MSc students in Londo?
I'm genuinely curious, why are you even considering a masters after having IB and PE experience?
Because I graduated in 2024 and have nothing lined up after my current off cycle
It's not an insane plan but it's pretty high risk given Imperial is not a target at post-grad.
I wouldn't bank the payoff of this on getting into IB. I'd do the analysis on something reasonable but less competitive like corp banking or something and see if you still feel it's worth it.
Even in IB, the payback period of taking out that much debt is probably like 3 years (putting all your would-be savings into the loan repayment)
Weaker post-grad target than LSE/LBS for sure, but I wouldn't go as far as to brand it "not a target". Going into that much debt for a lower target/strong semi is still risky, though, especially since even top target students struggle with placements.
Imperial is still a target. Agree the Business School is nowhere near as good as the College, but the parent brand name carries and is really only behind Oxbridge, LSE and LBS. Very few screenings are going to distinguish between the two.
I'd be careful because some firms won't let you apply to IBD if you're on a 1 year masters.
There was an event from Houlihan Lokey in October and a lot of the MSc Finance students were shocked that they couldn't apply to the 2025 SA roles because they were in their "final year" i.e. the year of graduation.
In fact, off the top of my head, no firm allows applications to M&A IBD unless you're looking for S&T roles, for which some roles exist to final years.
Good point, but having applied/interviewed for many 2025 summers as a final year, the vast majority of firms allowed me to apply as a final year. Only a select few don’t.
Yes, that is true. More the boutiques and a few BBs but you can stretch it depending on your graduation date etc.
GS and MS in particular love their final year masters students
Curious to know - if I am applying for M.Sc in Finance programs next year, with the idea to start in 2026 fall, would I be able to apply for 2026 SAs, even if I wasn't currently enrolled as a student? Could I just put "Incoming M.Sc Student" or something along those lines. Currently working in Big4 M&A/Strategy, trying to make the jump to banking without going back to school, but considering just to be able to apply and convert a SA.
While this may be true for some firms, it is most certainly not true for the majority else these programs would not exist. Each school will give different advice on what to put on the resume, and how to apply.
Why didn't you get the return offer from the IB boutique?
It's a non-convertible internship. I was told from day 1 that they're not looking for another analyst
I see, good luck. The loan is large and costly, see whether you can reduce that with scholarships. The loan should be a top-up, not a main source of financing
Quite a big risk but you've got a good profile. if you were to go ahead id make sure you have a back up like big4 M&A at least and possibly look to lateral, the debt is hefty.
Hey man,
You were in my exact position (except I had an offer for LSE/LBS/Ox.)
Do not do it. Completely struck out for SA recruiting - did not even make it to a single first round. Now I am likely going to have to settle for a boutique offer (if I am lucky) or something that is non IBD related. Most of my cohort is in the same situations - very tough to get any rounds at all. Most people have had a SINGLE assessment centre. Only people who really "placed" are super-profiles or strong diversity - and this is at a "target" MSc programme.
Unfortunately, I had no one to warn me - I naively thought that a brand name uni with relevant experience was enough for London recruiting (spolier: it is not). Now I am ca. £70k in debt, and will likely be underemployed. GG.
That is scary to hear… thanks for your insight. Hope it works out for you man
It probably will not - I just hope others will not make the same mistake I did
I appreciate you want to maintain anonymity, but it would be great if you could provide some more info on what course it was. It sounds like LSE Masters in Finance (w/ PE)? It would be insane if it was the Oxford Masters in Financial Economics
I won't comment, but I will say that I have not seen better placement from any of the MSc programmes - they seem to be in the same boat (correct me if I am wrong).
Does LSE have a particularly bad reputation?
Sorry to hear that man, same thing happened to many of my friends...
Can I ask how they are doing now?
Absolutely brutal good luck soldier
I thought LBS MFin Programme has a good rep? Or am I wrong?
Personally I would advise against it because of the sheer debt burden you'll face. There are ways into IB, for example after completing Big Four audit / M&A schemes. They also open doors for LMM PE opportunities in the U.K. too.
Overall, c.£80-90k debt on top of your student loan seems like a very high-risk bet which does not guarantee you an IB job.
As an aside, U.K. master's degrees are becoming ridiculously expensive.
How much does LMM PE pay on average at the associate level?
Do not have specific numbers but I would imagine it would be c.£80-100k p.a. with a bonus at the end of the year too.
It is a great career path within PE.
LBS MFA grad here (in one of the 2020-2024 cohorts)
I would advise against it. don't forget that if you convert, it may be a 2027 start. so what you do you with that 1 year gap? 2 more off-cycles for 40-45k (basically no savings, barely servicing your debt). that's 2025, 2026 and H1 2027 gone. for context, if you join Big 4 right now, you can probably be in LMM PE or boutique IBD as associate then.
i'd do one last crazy networking push and try your best to get into the industry. if it doesn't work out, then do the masters.
Or try to figure out a way to make 15-20k in the next 8-9 months before the masters so you're not screwed. a dream scenario is that you use Imperial admittance to get a convertible 2025 internship, which starts in 2026 so you can chill during the masters. Alternatively: leveraging the admittance or even confirming that you'll attend and paying the bare minimum at start while you try to leverage the brand name to get a convertible internship before you start. hope that makes sense. i've seen people do that with Harvard 2+2 programmes - they accept for the prestige but actually never do it (and they only paid some small amount)
Currently working in B4 TS/Strategy. Wondering if you can give some advice on my situation.
Looking to break into IBD, and want to maximize the number of opportunities I have. Ideally, I will be able to simply jump without having to do M.Sc.
However, I have a strong profile (720 GMAT, 3.7 GPA) and am thinking about applying in the new year, with the aim to defer for a year (so I can try to break in without attending) or applying in the fall of next year, to start in 2026. If I deferred / applied next year, would I be able to apply for SA '26s by simply saying incoming 2026 M.Sc student on my resume? This way, I can try to break in without M.Sc, try to break in through SA '26, as well as through SA '27 and even potentially FT roles.
Do you think I could apply for SA '26s? In an ideal world, I'd just convert the SA '26, bail on the M.Sc, do OC / travel before starting full time 27. Would I have to complete the M.Sc if I converted?
i'm the same person who posted above
if you have the money and don't care about 60-70k, masters is worth it for the network. to give a tangible example - you'd know people in nearly every bank and some across different countries. so as they progress, you can learn about interesting opportunities from them. it could be career stuff, it could be investment opportunities in random countries (idk, say Kazakhstan or Kenya)
if not, why don't you just pass your ACA/ACCA exams and then move to IBD as Associate? It's not uncommon for people to do 3 years in Big 4, and then move to M&A as Analyst 3 or Associates... that's better but you won't have that new network.
How do convertible internships work? I guess when I look on internet, I only see internship positions for this summer, should I apply to them and then say during the interview I actually want 2026?
Imho DONT DO IT, if anything find a cheaper European Masters
without going into details, I have a stellar profile and I’m a so called diversity. My CV has been reviewed by multiple people working in IB and all said my chances were very high. I am doing a Masters now. Guess what? I didn’t get a single FT offer, so no idea what to do next.
Isn't there a lack of FT positions out of Msc, especially in the uk? Way more likely to do SA and convert, which is shitty I agree.
There are plenty of FT positions so no need to convert an internship. I had a relevant prior experience which is totally sufficient to apply FT but the problem in the UK is the following: student roles are gatekept by HR so networking is useless and even if someone from the bank says my CV is great, the HR thought the opposite and got rejected. I have no clue how they choose the CVs to proceed with further
I paid my way through a target UK master and definitely would advise against it, things worked out in the end but this was such a risky and dumb financial decision I am still not sure why no one around me tried to dissuade me at the time.
UK salaries and CoL will really make the payback on this investment insanely long, I would just try to find something else to do.
I would give a different opinion here. Was in your shoes 1y ago exactly with 1 internship at a tiny M&A boutique, not in London. Did Imperial MFin, then got 2 Summer Offers (1 BB, 1 EB), completed my summer and did a UMM PE OC afterwards. I’m now joining back the BB in full time so 1.5y after the beginning of my Masters.
Agree that recruiting is quite random (especially for Summers), but all my classmates with at least 1 finance experience ended up with offers in London (at least MM IB). Beauty of London is you also have Private Credit, HF, Infrastructure etc.
Not saying to go for the Masters but it has been life changing for me, I’m in a completely different trajectory now.
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