UW-Madison v/s Warwick

Hi all,

I’m an international student choosing between Warwick and UW–Madison. My goal is to work in high finance

Warwick is a target for London, with pipelines into top IB and hedge funds. But the UK market is smaller, and I'd likely need to do a US MFin/MBA later to move into NYC.

UW–Madison is not a traditional target, but places into firms like Baird, Rothschild, and NYC boutiques. I’d get 3 years of STEM OPT, but sponsorship after that is risky as an international at a non-target.

Cost is the same for both. Is it better to go with Warwick + US grad school later, or Madison and try for NYC directly?

Would appreciate any insight, thanks.

39 Comments
 
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If you're an international student either way then I would lean towards UW Madison, as it's for sure going to be the more direct route. But a word of warning since you mentioned STEM OPT, UW Madison is a pretty decent engineering school but it's not the easiest grading wise. So if your choice is between UW Madison for a hard engineering course vs Warwick for business, you may have an easier time going to Warwick, working in the UK for a few years, and then doing an MBA to transition into finance in the US.

 

i’d be an incoming student w a cs major at both schools. i’m leaning towards warwick a little more cus at least it’s a target in the UK so if i work hard I’d be able to break into ib whereas with uw it’ll be harder cus it’s a non target and ill be needing sponsorship

 

Definitely go Warwick if you’re career focused,guy above has no idea what he’s talking abt

 

Nah bro, end goal of working in the US, Warwick is still the obvious option. It’s a borderline target in the UK, very good placement into high finance. UW Madison is a no name that looks far worse on a resume than Warwick. Place into London IB from Warwick, work a few years and transfer to the US as an Associate or VP. By that time you’ll likely just be breaking in as a UWM grad

 

only a prospect but i know a lot because of being in circles for both geographies, Warwick 100% imo

 

$80k average starting salary for finance majors out of UW Madison isn't bad at all...

Warwick business grads make about 50k USD per year. 

Just will throw those numbers out there- and before the comments come in, I'm by no means a Madison fan (have friends there, they love it, but I personally dislike the school)

 

Very funny that people in this thread are asserting things as a clear answer here. 

(1) this thread is wacky bc you applied for CS - computer science at both schools

Given how difficult the visa path is for a US bank - I honestly would not interview a random candidate - from Wisconsin or Warwick - who has no finance background and only CS degree

outside the box - I think your best bet is Warwick undergrad in business (if they have that) - then do a 1 yr masters at Vanderbilt or Texas-Austin to get an analyst finance job 

 

Again ur missing the core point, this guy wants to break into finance as a cs grad let’s start there. Which provides a better opportunity? A borderline target school with a solid pipeline to top firms and on campus recruiting. Or the non target with 0 pipeline, 0 on campus recruiting and likely can count the amount of ppl placing into IB on one finger. 2 years out of graduation, UWM grad is likely still fucking around at regional firms in entry level roles while Warwick grad may have started mid office but being at London at a top tier firm has provided them the opportunity to lateral into FO potentially at a BB but likely at an MM. 2 years later, guy has experience and reputation at his firm and is ready to transfer to the nyc office. While UWM grad is likely just now breaking in as an analyst at a mid tier bank either through grinding or an MBA 

 

Prospect in Consulting

Again ur missing the core point, this guy wants to break into finance as a cs grad let’s start there. Which provides a better opportunity? A borderline target school with a solid pipeline to top firms and on campus recruiting. Or the non target with 0 pipeline, 0 on campus recruiting and likely can count the amount of ppl placing into IB on one finger. 2 years out of graduation, UWM grad is likely still fucking around at regional firms in entry level roles while Warwick grad may have started mid office but being at London at a top tier firm has provided them the opportunity to lateral into FO potentially at a BB but likely at an MM. 2 years later, guy has experience and reputation at his firm and is ready to transfer to the nyc office. While UWM grad is likely just now breaking in as an analyst at a mid tier bank either through grinding or an MBA 

Simmer down prospect - you don’t know shit about anything 

Reality is it’s an uphill battle for a CS major in either market. London is a tougher and smaller market - a CS degree will result in a lower GPA than a business degree. 

Most people in the US don’t know what Warwick is - which means he has to get a masters in finance or MBA if he wants to be in the states - which is the goal 

 

Warwick grad here. Placements are fine for Econ students, but not fantastic and is worse for other non-related degrees. Don’t know how UW-Madison fares so can’t compare but would not be too optimistic about Warwick CS.

 

Internally it’s seen as the lesser of the 2 degree, but would not know if it’s better for recruiting because I don’t know anyone from CS in FO personally. Prestige rankings usually go Econ / PPE / MORSE > A&F > Management, so I doubt doing CS and Business drastically increases your chances.

 

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