So I have 4 choice already made: LSE, UCL, Warwick and St Andrews.
I need one more choice and it is between Exeter or Nottingham but I cannot decide between the two. I already have my A-level results so grades are not an issue.
I just want to know which of the two (Nottingham or Exeter) would be better suited to entering an Investment bank.
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Nottingham definitely. No question about that.
I looked through my internship handbook and there are quite few from Notts, only one from Exeter. Plus you come across more Notts grads in FO role than Exeter on Linkedin.
Tip for anyone unsure which university/college to choose from: Just type in something like "Nottingham University Economics" in Linkedin search bar and look at their bio then do the same for Exeter. That way you'll have a good idea.
Also may I ask why did you chose St Andrews?
Not putting St Andrews down, it is a very good University but it is not that targeted by banks. You could easily choose Bristol over St Andrews for example.
Hi there, thank you for responding, I chose St Andrews mainly because I did not do Maths at A-level and had to be careful where I chose my economics/economics variation course e.g. history, politics and economics at UCL, Economic History LSE. Do not get me wrong I would have definitely applied to Bristol if requirements allowed.
I am currently on a gap year and am brushing up on the relevant maths i.e. Statistics and econometrics
Some good degree choices there. But don't differentiate your degree choices too much otherwise your personal statement will look odd.
Anyway, the answer is still the same - Notts over Exeter any time.
What do you guys think to Leeds uni, loughborough and Manchester uni for IB?
Loughborough > Manchester > Leeds but again it will be very difficult and unusual. I have never seen an IB analyst from any of those universities.
Thanks. From Linkedin there does seem to be one or two but yeah not many. I've noticed a lot of 10-20 ranked Uni's go to the big4, given you're from the UK aswell is this true?
Yes very very doable. Of course the most competitive spots (London office, corporate finance divisions etc.) will still tend to go to the most competitive candidates but even they are not out of reach at all for a top student from the likes of Loughborough/Manchester/Leeds.
Actually, your chances are best from Manc because loads of banks visit Manc just because of how big their student body is. Leeds & L'Boro are not really targetted by banks at all, and no diff btwn them for IB.
Whilst IB's have a Top 5/6 bias, Big 4 have a Russel Group / Top 20 bias, so as long as you're in those groups you should be fine.
Exeter and Nottingham are about the same and neither are well represented.
For a front office role in London, any of the following will get you plenty of interviews: Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Durham, Bristol, Warwick, Imperial. Places like Cass and LBS have success with their masters students.
Of course you see people from other British universities but the above and the European business schools fill 99% of spots.
In London about 70% of candidates come from 6 unis: Oxbridge, LSE, Warwick, UCL & Imperial.
Then second tier would be likes of Durham, Bristol and Notts.
Exeter would be in third tier that doesnt get significant numbers in.
I agree with above. Everything he said is correct.
1) Notts is better than Exeter. Trust me I know - I've seen two/three intakes and I've seen plenty from Notts & only one or two from Exeter.
2) What above said about Manchester is absolutely correct. They are targeted by banks and will look much better on your C.V. over Leeds/Loughborough. Again, this is through experience, I've seen a steady drip of Manchester students getting places at various banks. I would say it is morel like this Manchester > Loughborough > Leeds.
You clearly do not work in investment banking. Stop spreading misinformation.
You think students at Manchester have the best chances? BBs visit Manchester to hire for back office roles, not to hire investment bankers.
Here is a simple test: do the likes of Evercore/Moelis/Lazard hire from Manchester and Nottingham? No. Do they hire from the likes of Durham and Bristol? I know for a fact that they do.
There is no 'second tier'. The difference in desirability of students from within the top universities is negligible and since no other university consistently sends people to FO roles, there is no 'second tier'.
There is definitely undisclosed bias in the comments of other posters in this thread. Anybody reading this who wants an impartial and accurate opinion should ignore doppelanger and Zweihander.
Calm down. No need to get aggressive. We are having a constructive discussion here and that is the point of having a forum like this, so lets be civil.
Back on the point - Evercore/Moelis/Lazard may not hire from Manc and Notts, but that is because they do not have the resources to do so. On the other hand, BB banks do have the resources and I have seen hires from Manchester/Notts into FO roles. That is not from one summer either - I've seen two or three cohorts. This is a fact.
And you are claiming that there is no such thing as a second tier. This is incorrect. There is a second tier. What Zweihander said is accurate. For example, you'd get interviews easily as a LSE student whereas it would be harder for Bristol/Notts students to get the same amount of interviews.
Well there you have it, folks.
How would you say networking before applying affects the chances of gaining interviews? Because although here we have a more structured process (open online application to anyone) compared to the US, that doesn't mean that everyone has the same chance of getting in.
It is not necessary like it is in the US, but when banks do their campus presentations you can definitely get interviews off the back of making a good impression. Outside of that, setting up coffees and phone calls can only help and at the least give you something to talk about if you get to interview.
You are correct. Not everyone has the same chance of getting in - most of it depends on what type of uni you go to really.
What LDN Banker said above is accurate. Networking definitely helps. All the interviews I got was through networking and meeting with people from HR. I remember few years ago where I met a senior at an event and he liked me, so I got an offer through that. I would never had an offer if I did not go to the event.
I'm more than happy for people to ignore me.
Who needs knowledge, when ignorance rewards itself.
Ok thanks guys. I think I will be putting Nottingham as my last choice. My choices (assuming I get all offers) are LSE>UCL>Warwick>St Andrews> Nottingham
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Im at LSE now
I would expect consensus to be LSE. But definitely give people more historical data on their output/feed into banks. What is your guidance? Might want to lower/raise your expectation if you expect something to happen in Q4'17
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