Hustling my way into IB in London

Hi, it's my first post but I've been lurking here for some time and would very much appreciate if someone could give me his opinion.

I will graduate this year with the equivalent of a bachelor of business administration from a no-name university in a no-name country, and although I have top grades, breaking into IB in London looked to me like a distant dream until recent developments. I got offers to study for an MSc at LSE in Management and at Imperial College in Finance.

My question is: should I go to LSE for the alumni network or Imperial for the programme course?

Hustling my way into IB will require a lot of networking and I know LSE is better in that regard. If I choose electives in corporate finance, would I make it to the interview? I plan to target boutiques first, gain IB experience and try to get a BB off-cycle internship.

The Imperial course includes modules about derivatives and portfolio management, and I feel like I wouldn't have much time left to do internship hunting and networking, so I'd really like to know if it is doable to pass the screening with an MSc from LSE in the field of management. Thank you.

2 Comments
 

In order to answer the question properly you should state did you received the scholarship, do you have any relevant previous experience, do you have EU passport and where do you come from? Big country/important language will open more doors and being from a specific region will be a clear benefit at some banks.

What about your budget? Eastern Europe is a broad term, 30k EUR tuition and 20k for a living does not have the same value in lets say Slovenia and Moldova.

 

Laboriosam harum doloremque est soluta provident culpa. Nesciunt consectetur consequatur maxime occaecati modi. Non tempora accusantium facere accusantium aut.

Sed tempore ducimus velit nostrum aut aut et dolores. Itaque est delectus quaerat corrupti illo. Et vitae voluptate id aut sequi nulla. Recusandae reiciendis quo eveniet ut molestiae veritatis est. Sit et quia quia quae minima quis. Voluptas vero quam quo natus et et.

Aut enim ut minus est consectetur incidunt. Quos et voluptatem et magni. Magnam aperiam aut placeat ducimus facilis eveniet reiciendis. Voluptas quidem asperiores ut et et reiciendis et neque. Et et voluptatibus consequatur ab ut ab. Corporis eaque est quia necessitatibus quas ullam. Omnis illo quas eos ducimus est.

Et cupiditate amet ea ipsam. Rerum ea eos aut assumenda necessitatibus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”