[UK[ MSc Finance; LSE vs Cass vs Imperial

Hi everybody,

I am in a pretty serious dilemma with regards to my postgraduate offers and I need some advice or at least a few opinions!

Basically, I have offers for
MSc Finance at LSE (conditional on a 1st)
MSc Finance at Imperial (conditional on a 2.1)
and MSc Trading and Financial Mathematics at Cass Business School (conditional on a 2.1)

I must mention however (and this is very important!) that my choice for pursuing a MSc in Finance is not what many would assume. Basically I have no wish or desire to ever work in IB or consulting or any major corporation for that matter. The ‘reputation’ of a course or school in terms of career prospects does not matter to me whatsoever because I do not plan on using my MSc to boost my employment chances. So before anyone thinks I am crazy for even considering Cass over LSE, please do keep in mind that I am really not that bothered by the name or the reputation of the programme in terms of future career choice. Also, I should probably mention that I’m in my final year at uni and expect a solid 2.1 – therefore the LSE offer probably (unless miracles occur) won’t come into effect.
What I do care about are the courses themselves. I have dabbled in entrepreneurship before, and would seriously consider going down that road again, but ideally something related to finance. Although it’s certainly nothing more than a pipe-dream at the moment, me and two friends here at uni who study Mathematics want to start building algorithms to trade financial derivates and maybe one day, if successful enough, start up a fund. Of course all of that is very unrealistic, but nonetheless, I come from a family of (independent) day-traders and certainly see myself doing that in the future as well.
So, back to my dilemma! Basically I want to know which course will give me the most practical skills needed to do stuff like backtesting strategies, and programming different pricing models. I have looked at Cass and they seem to offer the most in terms of programming (C++, Matlab, and VBA), followed by Imperial, whereas LSE tend to stray away from that stuff and keep it more theoretical. All of this is not to say that I don’t enjoy learning – I certainly wouldn’t rule out doing a Phd in Finance one day. So I want to know which course has the most to offer in terms of teaching material, teacher support, lectures, and academic rigour. Also, the people are very important to me. I like to get inspired by students who are highly motivated and interesting, and not too studious.
Also, before anyone argues; ‘if you want to be a trader, don’t waste that 20k on a 1 year MSc! Use that money to start trading and learn it through experience!’ Although that might be deemed a valid argument at times, I really don’t see it that way. I enjoy learning, and although I’m sure it’s possible to be a great trader without any sort of undergraduate/postgraduate education – I do think that if applied correctly, it could be a great asset to have.

Sorry for making this so long but please guys, ANY advice or comments are VERY welcome!

Some background: 3rd year undergrad Econ + Management at Oxford (expect 2.1); no work experience (summer tutoring); no GMAT; did IB diploma; enjoy writing;