Economics undergraduate seeking advice on masters and internships

Dear Recruiters, Masters students (past or present) & fellow forum users. I need your advice!

I have just graduated with an 80%+ BSc in Economics at an above-average (but nothing special) University in the UK. I was accepted onto the MSc Investment & Wealth Management masters programme at Imperial College London, which at first I was delighted about but now I need opinions on a couple of things which are keeping me up at night.


  1. I decided to defer the masters until next year. This was due to wanting to gain a year of industry experience (with the intention of landing internships at boutique IB's, PE, VC smaller firms - to find out what part of finance I'm truly passionate about & then tailoring the optional modules to fit) & also the masters costing £37,500 which quite frankly I cannot afford now unless I took out a loan.
  2. Do recruiters favour the MSc Finance degree over similar masters programmes? Such as the Inv. & Wealth Management/ MSc Finance & Accounting (even though they have similar modules etc) or am I thinking too much into the name of the masters?
  3. The deadline to pay the 10% deposit of £3,750 is 3rd September. I applied late last year (around February) so if I reapplied to MSc Finance at LSE, Imperial & Cambridge would I stand a chance of receiving a scholarship/partial scholarship with an 80%+ average degree & only 2 'relevant' internships so far?

I honestly didn't realise how difficult it was to secure even interviews at smaller finance companies unless you attended a Russell Group university at a minimum...

What else would you recommend I do??

I know that if I decide to go to Imperial next year that leaves me 12 months to build up the funds and gain as much experience as possible.

My plan is to:

  • Learn VBA/Python to a high level

  • Online virtual internships with JP, Citi, Bloomberg (I assume it shows that I'm not all talk and genuinely want to learn)

  • Continuously applying to grad schemes/internships

Thanks for the help.

 

Nulla saepe provident voluptate aut. Et culpa aut recusandae. Illo sit qui ipsam dolor nemo ratione.

Nostrum maxime neque et repellat et voluptatum. Sunt perferendis necessitatibus et aut. Et facilis voluptas nam sed soluta cupiditate.

Cumque totam assumenda quos quae incidunt. Similique at aut sed et. Impedit esse quidem facere modi iusto. Facere natus error perferendis sint quasi sit laboriosam ducimus.

Soluta assumenda quas voluptatibus sed. Aliquid ut praesentium aperiam quibusdam at quia. Ea consectetur ex id esse. Esse consequatur tempore quo rem quia omnis. Quia omnis dignissimos maxime qui dignissimos quae.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”