Target vs semi target spring week placement London
So I've seen some statistics on IB/consulting spring weeks in London. I've looked through them all and most of them have like a 2.5% screening pass rate (3000 apps, 75 interviews, 30 offers) (This was actually BCG so BBs and smaller funds have even lower rates). Out of those 3,000 candidates, does anyone have the scoop on what percentage go to target and semi-targets/non targets?Do the non-targets even bother to apply in mass numbers? It would be quite absurd for, let's say only LSE kids to get like 80% of the spots and the rest to be distributed between other target kids(Although from what I've seen that's how it is). In that case, what's even the point of having such uni's as semi-targets, if they place like 10x worse than the targets? Why aren't Bristol, Durham, Exeter, Bath just called low-to-none targets if practically no one who applied gets an offer from there, compared to the rates at LSE Oxbridge? And finally, how much more(uni societies, side-projects, work experience, businesses etc.) does a semi-target have to do to even compete with those from target universities? Especially when it seems that students from target universities can secure spring or insight weeks with relatively little effort? Sorry for the rant, just trying to evaluate my chances
bump
Hi there,
Can only speak for one target: the way I see it, it's systematic bias of target school students getting 1st round interviews and a slight preference for targets vs semi targets. (this view may be not commonly shared across WSO so do take my opinion with a pinch of salt).
My target is underrepresented wrt. the other targets simply because fewer people are interested in a spring week / summer in finance / consulting. In other universities such as Oxbridge, more people (in raw figure terms) are interested, hence why Oxbridge make up ca. 60% of e.g. MBB places each year, with the others shared between LSE, Imperial and UCL. If more people in my target actually decided to apply for consulting, the percentage intake for my target school would definitely be a lot higher and more comparable to the others.
Another thing is also the noticeable preference provided to targets themselves - it's just more preferred in the UK in the same way ivy leagues are preferred in the US. Do note that it does not prevent you getting an offer but it means that you have to showcase a bit more in order to prove that you are eligible and deemed satisfactory for the offer itself. Things e.g. other internships, leadership roles in societies and general background will give you a run in these applications vs a target school student provided that you can show enough to build your case.
Good luck though nonetheless!
Thanks for the reply man. Also, as another question, I got a B from one of my A-levels. I got a D from one of the four components (Surprisingly, it was from paper 1), which has dragged my entire grade down. Do you think it's. worth re-sitting it privately next year, before applying to any spring weeks to boost up my chances? I know that the cutoff is ABB, but I'm sure that AAA would look better than AAB.+ I'm from a semi-target if you haven't guessed already haha.
No worries, glad to help!
As far as I'm aware, if they're asking for ABB and you have AAB, you're more than fine. You're only asked for the grade anyway, no real breakdown afaik.
You also have to remember that the proportion of students at LSE that apply to spring weeks is far higher than that of the vast majority of unis, even including (semi-) targets. Therefore looking at the number of kids from there that get into springs as an indicator of your chances of getting an offer as someone from another uni is misleading.
What percentage of LSE students in your opinion want to pursue a career in IB/Big 4/MBB? Is the push towards IB big?
i go to LSE and there were at least 3 whatsapp group chats of 500 people for spring week opps.
Whatever justifications you wanna make for it, targets simply take up the majority of IBD internship spots.
I don't get this whole argument about why should semi targets even bother. There's a clear separation between unis that take say 70% of places, unis that take 25% of places and unis that take 5% of places. It stands to obvious reason to talk about these separately. And obviously some people are successful (myself included).
For IBD, it's safe to assume 75-80% of spots will be targets. 20% will be semi's, with some non-targets breaking in.
Consulting is even worse (MBB), where 50-70% is Oxbridge, with pretty much only targets taking up the remaining spots unless that individual has a unique background.
Why wouldn’t it be even worse for consulting? Isn’t IB the more sought-after industry? I thought that the best of the best go to IB, and the ones that don’t get in go to MBB/BIG 4.
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