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Obviously there's oxbridge (oxford cambridge), besides that Imperial is your best school for hard sciences, LSE for social sciences. UCL is below them, but above the likes of King's. I don't know where they rate in terms of other non-london schools, but probably one of the best. I know of some kids who did the joint program with LSE, I know at least one went into finance. A few things to think about: Do you want to UK university experience? It's definitely different. I did it for a year, but I'm glad I went to school in the US, I definitely think I had a better, more well-rounded education in the US, though London was a great experience. You're from HK/Singapore anyways, so you won't have any preconceptions about uni life. You'll also be competing for jobs/internships with kids who are EU citizens, making it even harder for you, I don't know what they do in terms on non-citizen employees. I don't know anyone who did a gap year internship at a bank. I know some who volunteered, went to Australia to play cricket, and even worked in the US, but non had a finance job. It might happen, but it's rare I think. Just my $.02
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Imperial if you want to do pure engineering, though pretty sure more banks recruit at UCL (and definitely LSE). If you want to do finance, think about that. Also, if you're sure you want to do finance, and your parents will let you, go for one of the "soft" engineering degrees, like operations/industrial engineering. Much more business-oriented. I don't know if they have these in London, but all the Unis in the US do.
Alright, thank you.
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I don't think it's too late to worry about this once you've been accepted to schools.
Do try to apply to as many different groups of schools as you can. Looking back, I kind of regret not having applied to schools in the UK. I've heard that UK schools care more about your exam scores and those were my strengths.
That being said, I'd say US definitely trumps UK in terms of having fun and enjoying the total package (from sports, taking BS classes, and extracurriculars). I don't have first hand knowledge but my girlfriend actually transferred from Edinburgh to Michigan and had a lot more fun.
In terms of job prospects, I don't know too well but I wouldn't blindly say that UK is better than the US for foreigners. Last I heard, the visa cap for the UK is decreasing and US has had trouble filling its cap for last couple years due to the slow economy. There are a lot of Indians in both places and I'm not sure why that would make a difference anyway. Things can obviously change quickly in the next 4 years though.
I dont have hard stats, but I'd put my money that UCL places the most kids after oxbridge and LSE (maybe imperial, but they are less interested in finance to begin with). As such, I'd think you'd be viewed better during London recruiting than a Michigan alumn for New York, although both are obviously target schools. Also, as far as I'm aware you are nearly guaranteed an employment visa in UK if you go to a school there, and compensation in finance would give you extra points.
Hey man dont worry I also did a post like this people here are understanding, if it makes you feel any better I am a high school student and I am networking to get an internship/ shadow/ training program with a PE firm or I Bank in New York so......... don't feel bad lol
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