UK target Schools
Hi, so I will be applying to undergrad uni this year and I will be applying to some of the unis listed below. What would you rank them for getting into investment banking.
How does Nottingham and Edinburgh place as I really like their campus.
Warwick (I know this one is the best) Nottingham Bristol Manchester Edinburgh Durham Cass Kings
I think Cambridge, Oxford or LSE would be a better choice
Personally I don't think I can make Oxford/Cambridge and so. Are there any schools that stand out.
Cambridge, Oxford, LSE, UCL, Imperial, Warwick, KCL
aside from warwick (target) and manchester (not as much of a semi-target anymore), they are all semi-targets. no point in ranking things in the same tier.
Thanks for the info. Are there any semi targets that particularly stand out?
Nottingham, Durham and Bristol will probably have more of a finance culture than the others (just anecdotally based on knowing folks from there) but doesn't really change anything about placement.
If you can't go to Oxbridge / LSE / Imperial then Warwick is your best bet.
That said, Durham and Bristol have reasonable placement depending on what you're studying. I think you'd have to study Econ to have a decent chance.
Nottingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cass and Kings have some presence but are not active target schools.
They're all good universities and at the end of the day, it's more important that you get onto a Spring Week and convert it into a Summer Internship than picking between them as they're all regarded similarly.
Thanks for your reply, however is it true that in the UK the subject you do is not very important anymore.
Subjects matter depending on the quality of the university.
One of my friends who's an associate at JPM / GS / MS said that for candidates from Oxbridge they care about the subject less, but from semi-targets the subject becomes slightly more important.
For example, they would take someone who studied Classics / Languages etc.. at Oxford. For some semi-targets they would look for candidates who studied Econ / Finance, while they wouldn't even consider students who studied Management or subjects like Languages.
Warwick would easily be top. Lines get blurred after that tho saw Durham do really well across the Spring Weeks I attended this year, with Edinburgh and Nottingham just below that (to caveat, don't let one year's sample size from my limited experience be the ultimate deciding factor, since going to any of those listed+having a strong CV will put you in good stead).
Thanks for the info. How can one work to get a string CV. Also are there any sources where I can find statistics regarding university performance for certain banks and years?
Saw you have experience at a VC firm. That is already really good. Try finding more through connections etc. (since you're not in UK where formal schemes run for Y12/Y13 students). It does not necessarily have to be finance per se, anything even tangentially related would do.
efinancialcareers do publish university rankings overall as well as by bank but i would take them with a grain of salt because i don't quite get their methodologies. You can even get a rough estimate by linkedin searching.
Tho most of all, you're still in school so remember to enjoy your summers and study well so you can make the grades which would be required for whatever uni you choose.
Thanks for the info. How can one work to get a string CV. Also are there any sources where I can find statistics regarding university performance for certain banks and years?
it is defo achievable to get jobs in IB from any of uni's you have listed (I managed it), but I think you need to make sure you a few stand out things on your CV to make up for not being at a top target uni.
Would maybe advise against Manchester, great city and great fun ... but probs not the easy way into banking.
Most important thing is to be applying for spring weeks etc as soon as you get to uni. Experience counts for far more imo
Thanks for your reply! What things would make your CV stand out? I have done a summer internship at a venture capital firm during my grade 12 summer ( I live in Singapore)
How does Nottingham & Edinburgh standup, would I be shooting myself in the foot by attending?
Work experience in the industry you want to go into is the main thong, sounds like you're on the right path. Both of those are okay, Edniburgh over Notts imo. But like I said, you can make it from anywhere
Check out a recent thread of mine to get a sense of what the perceived university rankings are at the undergrad level.
Out of the ones you have listed, I would take Warwick/Edi/Durham (though the life in Durham is not for everyone). What are you going to study? If you are considering management, then I would add St Andrews and Bath.
I would like to do Accounting & Finance but I dont mind doing Management or Economics depending on what my final grades come out as.
Besides the main targets of Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, Imperial, Warwick Econ. From your list, I have seen the most people in IBD from Durham, Bristol, Nottingham, Edinburgh in that order. Unless you are female, KCL is no better than Manchester despite its location but you will randomnly see a student or two at each summer internship (80% its a female).
Thanks to everyone that has contributed, it seems the average verdict is: 1. Warwick 2. Bristol 3. Durham 4. Edinburh/Nottingham 5. Cass? 6. Kings 7. Manchester
I would have Durham over Bristol (better campus culture) and Kings over Cass but for the rest I largely agree!
London uni's have the added benefit of being better for networking and geographically helpful when it comes to recruiting.
If you can get into warwick why not LSE / UCL?
Entry requirements at LSE are higher than in Warwick
do a worse course
I do the International Bac, and the requirements for LSE are 7 in HL math but I can only get a 5, which only allows me to apply to Warwick, and UCL if my finals are really good.
If you have the academic results for Warwick, you could go for UCL. That uni has far more junior representation than Warwick.
yes but your approach isn't really good, UCL 1)is much bigger, 2) has more students going for finance roles, 3)depends on the firm (ie at JPM Warwick was the top uni in number of interns - a friend is going to Warwick and one of the alums - an MD told that during a recruiting speech), 4) on a % basis of interested candidates they both place on par, 5)the two schools will get you looks by any firm regardless 6) lifestyle and costs are completely different.
Source going to an other target with good friends at both UCL/Warwick.
Was just saying he should apply to both Warwick & UCL if he felt qualified for the first. Better than applying to two safeties that won't place as well (Manchester/Kings/etc).
just curious what do you think about Bath as compared to the unies mentioned above?
I’d rather go to Warwick tbf... better quality of life, cheaper cost of living and decent sport facilities.
going to visit my friend there in june just for the new sport center.
I was interested in UCL however the grades are much higher than Warwick for the relevant courses. Unless course doesn't matter like Oxbridge.
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