Durham vs St Andrews for IB/MBB

For a bit of context, I’ll be applying through the 2024 UCAS cycle and I wanted to gain a bit of clarity in regards to the placement of both schools. I understand that Despite not quite touching the 6 traditional targets, Durham has solid placements (?) however, I haven’t heard much about St Andrews. Given that’s it is a small school, the raw number of people applying for finance roles will be smaller. However, there is a possibility that it could have better placement than perceived when observing in relative terms (?). I have also considered Warwick but I don’t really see myself there. However, if it could drastically improve my prospects in comparison to the other two, I’d be willing to give it a shot.

Please excuse any mistakes I might have made as I don’t personally know anyone in IB/MBB and my main source of information stems from online forums such as this one and I am aware that anonymity often gives people the luxury of spreading false information.

 

Can speak for St Andrews - definitely gaining more recognition in the US compared to Durham. Obvious leaders still Oxbridge / LSE in terms of rep, but am a current student at StA and landed an EB internship in the states. Alum network is pretty tight-knit, albeit small. More pure academics at the school than finance bros but the Financial Economics degree is a nice specialization. 

 

Thanks for the insight! Unfortunately, I’ll probably have to rule out the US as I heard it’s a hassle internationals. But do you have any friends that have attempted to recruit in the London market and if so, how have they fared?

 

Within the UK I'd say you're better off at a Warwick / LSE / Imperial etc university, although several friends have been successful landing IBD positions at CS (pre-implosion) / Barclays / Citi. I think it's really less about the school and more about what you make of it - pick a place where you'll be happy and enjoy learning, and good things will come from there. 

 

Durham had better representation at my MBB. We didn’t have any St Andrews

 
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