how difficult?

i mean i know about 3 ibanks visit my campus a day but when i went to an ibank info session, the people from goldman, jp morgan, morgan stanley tells me that about 50 internship positions are open for usually 600 applicants from across europe!! i mean granted that they tell me that the london school of economics is usually at the top of the list for the number of people getting these internships but still.......600 freaking fucking people. this causes me to doubt my abilities and i was wondering really how difficult is it to get a front office ibanking job from supposedly a top school? they tell us that we would get 2 interviews and take 2 tests just for this internship and i am like.......they make it seem almost impossible and i am freaking out a bit. furthermore, i was thinking about attending law school after college and i was wondering if ibanks pay just as well as law starting off. i mean i know once you become a vp your salary grows at an amazing pace but like for a newly grad. with a Bsc, would the salary plus bonus usually equal 120,000 in nyc?

 

Since when has the LSE been the top university in the UK???

Bitch - you gotta graduate from Oxford of Cambridge to be top of the list....

From the ghetto....

From the ghetto....
 

Oxford and Cambridge are better unis than LSE, but shit loads at LSE go for IB. Oxbridge students do all sorts of things - they seem to be less about the money.

Jim, 50/600 are much better odds than what I've heard... but if that's the case, bare in mind that those 600 will probably be applying to quite a few top companies.

Don't focus on how difficult things are, focus on getting there. After all, every year these firms take on a bunch of non-target interns, so with LSE you've got a head start.

If this is what you want, work at it and you'll get in.

 
jimmylse09:
yes i know oxford and cambridge are better than lse, so i am applying for a transfer to yale, stanford, harvard next year

Uh... good luck getting in.

 

If you're transferring just for a higher probability of getting into IB, I'd recommend against it. LSE will certainly do the job.

If on the other hand, you have strong personal or education-related reasons to transfer, I'd say by all means go for it.

 

LSE is one of the most recruited at universities in the UK by banks, up there with Oxford and Cambridge, especially since LSE only has 4000 undergrads.

I'm American, did undergrad at a US top 5 and am currently doing a masters at LSE. I also have a job at a bank in London as an analyst for 2007 entry. LSE had as many, if not more, financial firms recruiting this fall as my university in the US did.

Don't respond to posts like this if you have no idea what you're talking about.

 
fp175:
LSE is one of the most recruited at universities in the UK by banks, up there with Oxford and Cambridge, especially since LSE only has 4000 undergrads.

I'm American, did undergrad at a US top 5 and am currently doing a masters at LSE. I also have a job at a bank in London as an analyst for 2007 entry. LSE had as many, if not more, financial firms recruiting this fall as my university in the US did.

Don't respond to posts like this if you have no idea what you're talking about.

I'm just curious, Why did you decide to get a masters degree from lse to get a job you could have gotten straight out of undergrad? Is this a wise step to take if one doesn't get into any analyst program upon completing undergrad?

 
naija:
fp175:
LSE is one of the most recruited at universities in the UK by banks, up there with Oxford and Cambridge, especially since LSE only has 4000 undergrads.

I'm American, did undergrad at a US top 5 and am currently doing a masters at LSE. I also have a job at a bank in London as an analyst for 2007 entry. LSE had as many, if not more, financial firms recruiting this fall as my university in the US did.

Don't respond to posts like this if you have no idea what you're talking about.

I'm just curious, Why did you decide to get a masters degree from lse to get a job you could have gotten straight out of undergrad? Is this a wise step to take if one doesn't get into any analyst program upon completing undergrad?

In Europe (inlcuding UK), the Bachelor's degree hardly exists. Almost everyone gets a master's degree right off the bat. This is however an master's with no experience and people understand that this is not an MBA.

You can then go later for you MBA after sufficient work experience.

Also, for analysts in London, LSE is a top school, along with a shitload of French Business schools consistently ranked the best for undergrads in Europe (HEC, ESCP, ESSEC). Oxford and Cambridge Place as well. Then there are other schools throughout Europe like Rotterdam, Stockholm, etc.

 

Well if you don't give a f*ck then don't reply!

By the way, London was the biggest financial center in the world last year, over Wall Street. There are a lot of Americans moving to London for i-banking--there's major growth and with the $ down the tubes, you make more money (even after taxes).

 
fp175:
Well if you don't give a f*ck then don't reply!

By the way, London was the biggest financial center in the world last year, over Wall Street. There are a lot of Americans moving to London for i-banking--there's major growth and with the $ down the tubes, you make more money (even after taxes).

I'm sure it was, but that doesn't make up for how ridiculously expensive it is, and I've heard the nightlife there sucks, although that probably doesn't bother you since you don't get out much.

Next time you're back in the U.S., maybe you should holla at me and I'll show you a good time babe.

 
fp175:
I'm home for Christmas in New York. But I don't think you could handle me ;)

I would love to take you out babe, but I'm not from New York, I live in Michigan. Gonna start work in NYC when I graduate this summer.

 

I want to work for an international financial institution in the future. You need a masters minimum and about 3-5 years of work experience to even apply for entry-level positions at the IMF or World Bank. So I'm getting my masters, gonna work in banking for a few years, then start moving on in a different career direction. Unless I realize I love banking...but anyway that's why I'm doing a masters.

If you didn't get an analyst position by the end of undergrad and decide you want to do further study, going to Oxford, Cambridge, or LSE is a good idea because you can do a 1 year masters and start applying for jobs as soon as you arrive. However I wouldn't recommend unless you really want to be a grad student, it costs money and it's tough work so doing it solely for an analyst position might not be a good idea.

 
Best Response

....read my original comments again and also look at the entry criteria for the LSE compared to Oxon and Cantab.

Don't try and tell me that the LSE is on a par with two of the oldest and best universities in the world.

I could have sleep-walked my way into the LSE - Oxford and Cambridge only take on the best of the best students. I knw what I am talking about - I studied from Day 1 in the UK and went through the whole udnergrad application process - the LSE were offering me a place without an interview. I went to Oxford because whilst the LSE is good the analogy is as follows:

LSE - top spec Ford

Oxford/Cambridge - Bentley

From the ghetto....

From the ghetto....
 

LSE doesn't interview, you idiot. Obviously they offered you a place without one.

I'm not saying LSE = Oxbridge. But you claimed you can't get into ibanking without Oxbride. That's absolutely false. LSE has an insane amount of people in the City and Canary Wharf, and is heavily recruited at by all of the top banks. If I got a job in banking from LSE with a masters in a subject irrelevant to finance (and I have friends who also got job offers doing random subjects like social policy), then I'd say the LSE name actually does count for something.

 

The bachelor's degree absolutely exists in the UK. Not on the continent though. There is actually a shortage of UK citizens educated past bachelor level, and the government has put in a new immigration policy to attract people from abroad with masters degrees.

 

I said you have to be Oxbridge to be top of the list...

I have not said anywhere you can't get into banking if you are not from Oxbridge.

Having sifted CV's myself I know the 'points' scoring system. LSE does not get the same score as Oxbridge.

However, even the LSE might have been a lucky break for someone of your ability - learn to read.

From the ghetto....

From the ghetto....
 

Well then would you like to explain why I have seen so many of my fellow LSE students getting jobs at investment banks? How come at my final round interviews there were a small number from Oxbridge and a larger number from LSE, Warwick, and UCL? Are you saying they get "points" but then fail miserably in interviews? The only Cambridge person in my final round group was told she wasn't good enough for sales and relegated to prime brokerage.

BTW I think a 1st class degree in Economics from LSE would put anyone at the top of the list.

Tier2Sta:
I said you have to be Oxbridge to be top of the list...

I have not said anywhere you can't get into banking if you are not from Oxbridge.

Having sifted CV's myself I know the 'points' scoring system. LSE does not get the same score as Oxbridge.

However, even the LSE might have been a lucky break for someone of your ability - learn to read.

From the ghetto....

 

Since we're alerady way off topic, I'll take things a little further...

I (and I'm sure many prospective monkeys) would be interetested to find out more about the "points" system, be it at analyst or associate level... Could anyone in the know exlpain what the weightings are eg. for unis, level of study, company wokred for, type of work etc.

 

When you were a child and went to school did anyone tell you anything about proportions and the concept of relative numbers?

Oxford and Cambridge do have students studying things like Medicine, Veterinary Sciences (Cantab), Classics, Archaeology etc etc

So where the LSE may have a higher absolute number of final round candidates this does not imply that there are 'more' successful candidates from the LSE.

Again, I did not, and am not saying that the LSE is a poor university - for banking it is the best after Oxbridge - simple fact of the the matter is that if I had a candidate with a 2.1 from Oxford in Economics and Management or PPE vs. a 2.1 from the LSE it is likely that the A-Level grades of the Oxford candidate will be higher but, ceterus paribus, Oxford student would get a higher score for university. This is a fact of life.

You may bitch, moan, argue, writhe in agony, shout, spit, and type your view on every forum in the world. But the truth will be the truth. In this context an absolute supersedes.

I have work to do so am not debating this anymore.

Happy holidays.

From the ghetto....

From the ghetto....
 

I'm not bitching and moaning. I have a job at a bank for next year. I'm just trying to explain to someone who is considering LSE that it is an excellent school for bank recruiting. Period. And given that my undergraduate university ranks in the world top 5, I'm not worried about LSE's rep, I already have a name on my CV.

And I don't believe that a 2:1 in Econ from LSE with AAA would get fewer points than a 2:1 in PPE from Oxford, given that PPE isn't even a full economics degree. I've never met a trader who has done PPE, although I have met traders who did Econ and Accounting and Finance at LSE.

 

to borrow a phrase from leveragedsellout.com...

LSE is nothing more than a "glorified vocational center feigning academic pedigree."

Its hard to believe anyone can honestly think LSE Econ is on par with Oxford PPE. Its true, PPE isn't a full vocational, sorry economics degree but LSE undergrad doesn't come close to Oxbridge. Out of the UK universities if you're doing a numerically related degree (which includes PPE), Oxbridge simply gets you a higher score than non-Oxbridge.

Nonetheless I still agree that LSE Econ is a good course to take if you want to go into banking.

 
cambridge is ranked in the 50s in the world

I'd like to see the link for this league table where Cambridge is ranked "in the 50s in the world" for econs - I'd be surprised if its methodology was even remotely sound.

 

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