MSc from LSE?
I'm a recent graduate interested in a career in trading.
I graduated last year with a BBA in finance from a top 5 undergrad. b-school in the US (along the lines of UVA or Notre Dame), and have been travelling/working temporary jobs since. My GPA was around a 3.7 and I have always been very quantitative (800 SAT math, etc.) During college I was very involved in extra curriculars: NGO work in Africa, VP of service club, academic all-american athlete, cancer research. I only had one summer of finance work, however, which was in corporate finance at a huge multinational. Basically all I did was prepare sales reports and validate data, nothing exciting/relevant. I also have some experience with financial modelling. I'm currently in London (am a UK citizen and wish to work over here), looking for work. I took the Tibra numerical test (missed it by a couple of questions) and had an interview with JPMorgan, but that was for banking. I've since decided to focus on trading and am not sure exactly what to do.
I could get a job doing anything and wait for September to apply for all of the BBs and the prop firms. I'm also considering doing a year long MSc at London School of Economics (I would still apply to those firms in September, but LSE will open more doors than my undergrad) in applied mathetmics, finance, financial mathematics, or something similar.
My questions:
-
Would it be very hard to go from a prop shop such as tibra to a BB? I do not want to limit myself.
-
Would a MSc bolster my application? would the LSE name be an advantage when applying?
-
What are my chances of getting a position at a BB from my background and/or with a MSc from LSE?
-
What can I read/do now to improve my chances? I've considered starting to trade by myself but heard that a lot of places look down on this as they want to teach you their methods.
-
Is there a more UK focused forum out there that I could post on?
Thanks for your help.
As an experienced hire you need to bring something meaningful to your desk. The caveat is that Tibra does arbitrage, market making, etc., but does not serve clients with products.
Yes. Your top 5 UG is not prestigious in the UK.
Good.
If you find such a forum, please tell me.
Thanks for the help Max. What are my chances of getting into LSE? My GPA was a 3.81 at my first university, where I spent 1.5 yrs, and 3.63 at my second university, where i spent 2.5 years, so I have close to a 3.7 overall, good ECs, and at least a 700 GMAT (scored 700 on my first practice). What else do they look for? Do you know anything specifically about the different MSc programs at LSE and how they are viewed? Here are the ones I'm looking at:
Finance Accounting and Finance Finance and Economics Financial Mathematics Applied Mathematics Econometrics
Thanks
LSE MSc Finance is good program but a lot of people who get admitted have some experience or came from Oxford/Cambridge/LSE/Imperial
LSE MSc Accounting and Finance has a pretty good job placement rate into front office investment banking
LSE Msc Finance and Economics is a more quantitative program that can prepare you for S&T as well as further studies (PhDs)
LSE Financial Mathematics and Applied Mathematics are both very good and extremely quantitative programs that requires a mathematics background (actuarial, physics, mathematics, etc). Placement are usually into quant trading and structuring (if you're really good). Obviously, you'll also be competing with loads of other PhDs.
I would say apply to MSc Finance and Economics as your first choice if you don't have a super quant background and wants to get into S&T.
Thanks a lot for all of the help guys. Do you think it will hurt that I have such little experience, or would this hurt me more in IB than trading?
How could I get some experience? Do any firms offer unpaid internships or any sort of formal or informal "shadowing" programs?
Also, come September would it be wisest to apply for full time positions or internships? Obviously I will want something full time but it may be easiest to get a summer internship and then could try to transform that into a full time position.
Thanks
Isn't LSE Msc Accounting+Fin not too difficult to get into?
From their website, it says 159 were enrolled, out of 912 applicants. Assuming a 70% yield, this is about a 25% acceptance rate. So I'd say you have a good shot with a GMAT and a 3.7
.
I have said this before and I'll say it again. None of them is seen as more "prestigious" than the others. Some may be harder to get into, but recruiters are not very aware of this and nobody knows the difference between them. All anybody sees is "LSE - Finance related degree" There is no prestige ranking for their finance programs.
nothing could be more wrong. I don't even know how to respond to that other than to say that you clearly have done no research into lse's programs and have no idea what you're talking about and that anyone else reading this should look into it before believing such an absurd statement
You're gonna tell me about research into LSE? Do your fucking homework before you post, I'm not gonna sit here and debate a moron who's clearly never stepped foot into LSE before. This argument's been had before:
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/my-odds-for-acceptance-in-lses-ms…
I'm getting real sick of these know it all college kids who come on here and want to lecture people with real experience about how shit works in this world. And to do it with such an attitude too, I'll tell you, buddy, you're real hot shit.
.
Now you're just being a douche. I'm from LSE, I'm trying to tell people what it's like. If you really feel the need to spread misinformation, more power to you.
You probably know more about my high school than me as well.
It's nice to try and impress people, better luck next time.
Asperiores amet hic provident natus culpa ipsa. Molestias ut excepturi magni blanditiis eius voluptatem. Beatae voluptates voluptatibus cumque accusantium et ad.
Consequatur voluptatem quia sunt velit. Sed fugiat ut qui inventore est accusantium. Provident sunt a cumque omnis sit quaerat ex ipsa.
Ratione ex aut vel ex ab quae non soluta. Illum aperiam quos voluptas voluptates ex. Ea occaecati a rerum. Soluta voluptas iure odio at repudiandae non. Sint aut maiores et est qui temporibus et.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...