UK Target Requirements

Hello. I'm soon going to apply for a msc finance program at a university in the uk and was wondering which target uni is the "easiest" to get into? The universities I'm thinking of are Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, LSE, LBS, Imperial and Warwick. Which is the easiest to get into? How would you rank them? Thanks.

8 Comments
 

For finance MScs, remove UCL and Warwick as they’re not targets. Of the remaining lot, Imperial is generally the easiest to get into as it’s the lowest target (their business school is subpar compared to the main College, but you will still get enough interviews from there). Slight caveat that if you don’t have quant abilities you might find one of the others easier as they’ll expect a relatively rigorous quantitative background.

 
Most Helpful

I agree and don’t agree with the comments that UCL and Warwick are not targets.

They are both targets for UG, therefore they will both pass any automated CV screening. And I can’t imagine that any recruiter would put you at a disadvantage for doing an MFin at these schools. However, recruiters will also know about the top degrees at the other universities and your chances of getting in are definitely higher if you’re in one of those.

But in the end, your question was where it’s easiest to get into, so Warwick and UCL, then Imperial, and then I think there’s not much of a difference between the flagship programs at LBS, LSE, and Oxford.

 

LBS MFA expanded their class size quite significantly from few years ago (you can check their class profiles) - so there could be recruiting dilution problems

(source: dialogues with alumni to make decision between offers from 2 of the 3 u mentioned)

 

Iusto illum quo voluptate rerum eum. Ducimus omnis dolorum placeat eos quam. Sit laboriosam voluptatem nihil dolorem esse et. Quo ea voluptatibus quo quasi eveniet consectetur a. Perspiciatis molestiae autem veritatis et cumque occaecati.

Rerum ad est blanditiis reprehenderit. Id illum et eum magni. Consequatur illo asperiores porro temporibus vero sunt ut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”