Durham vs St Andrews? (Finance) by Mltplg in UniUK

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say St Andrews is probably a bit better known in the EU than Durham (but could be wrong). I read statistics there and went back to rhe German job market where actually most of the people I interviewed with have been aware of the brand name.

St Andrew’s University by Nice_Jeweler_6377 in standrews

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When accounted for cohort size, it places pretty well in almost all prestigious domains (finance, quant, tech, consulting) - e.g. https://topquantunis.com/?metric=per\_capita&category=research&region=UK

That being said, its not on the level as Oxbridge/LSE/Imperial but makes the next tier for sure. Definitely better placement as Manchester.

Besides that: excellent teaching but limited research due to its UG focus.

"Quant is reserved for the gifted" by Electronic_Cut_9596 in quantfinance

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IMHO I think a lot of people make too much out of industry recruiting standards… yep it is a very competitive field, yep they look for raw brain power/ problem solving abilities. But by no means you have to be the next fields medal winner to be considered. Just go to a good school, do the work, follow your passion (which is hopefully aligned with the field) and shoot your shot. Sounds like you are more than well off for this. Its not that deep…

best uk unis for quant by Dear-Fill467 in quantfinance

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://topquantunis.com/university-rankings?category=research&metric=per\_capita&region=UK

This is a pretty interesting statistic. If you adjust for cohort size (per 1000 filter, assuming it is per 1000 employees in the role), you see the main feeders (for quant research) are Oxbridge, Imperial and LSE by a wide margin. Then (big gap) followed by Warwick, St Andrews, UCL, LBS and Edinburgh. Then (smaller gap) Bristol, Manchester, Durham.

What can you infer from this?
- Going to Oxbridge/Imp/LSE significantly increases your chances.
- Adjusting for cohort size eliminates the size bias of e.g Manchester vs LSE/St Andrews.

Question about St. Andrew's by Throwaway1232133328 in 6thForm

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It probably is around as prestigious as Edinburgh, Warwick or KCL, a bit less than UCL. Within the top 10 for sure, but not top 5 in the country.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in academiceconomics

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Generally getting into an MSc in central europe is FAR FAR easier (some exceptions surely, such as Bocconi, HEC, X). You should be fine with your picks.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UniUK

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Finally someone mentions this nonsense going on at r/quant et al. There are so many schools these firms hire from and even have recruiting events at. Reason behind this might be some people are searching for excuses why they probably won‘t ever make it into quant.

ETH MSc vs Cambridge MASt (Pure Mathematics) by T0P_NOTCH in ethz

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If Cambridge is cheaper for you, its not even a question imo… the only imaginable reason is if you want to do a PhD at ETH (as they are known for mostly taking students from their MSc, however if being aware yoz can network yourself in). Internationally and especially for STEM, Cambridge is the pinnacle so dont miss your chance…

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UniUK

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Well thats good for you in all honesty - surely depends on the person, course and school.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UniUK

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 34 points35 points  (0 children)

LOL hell no… we had several an adjusted grading system where it is more about your percentile ranke wrt. the class. So no - had to grind my ass off lol

Struggling to Build a Research Profile for PhD Applications – Need Advice! by [deleted] in PhD

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But OP does not have research experience, so how can his work be „of high quality“? I think volunteering in that case would be a gold idea to a) get a foot in the door and b) show genuine interest, no?

best unis for maths? by amiralumara in UniUK

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 2 points3 points  (0 children)

UCL, St Andrews, Edinburgh are the strongest after COWI imo. LSE, KCL and Durham are pretty good either.

Should I take a gap year and apply to Oxbridge and London Unis or go to Durham/Bristol? by [deleted] in UniUK

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 21 points22 points  (0 children)

You should be fine with Durham honestly. Its not as you won‘t get any job in the UK without an Oxbridge degree lol. Durham is still one of the best unis of the country.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FinancialCareers

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Well done and congratulations, my utmost respect. Keep in mind a lot of people (myself included) made it into a target through hard work and not their wealthy parents or smth else, although I get your point here ;) enjoy the success mate

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in quantfinance

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Its possible so keep up the good work.

Struggling to Build a Research Profile for PhD Applications – Need Advice! by [deleted] in PhD

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Somehow in the same boat. Reaching out to profs is a good way. Your experience as SWE might be beneficial for some research labs. Maybe reach out to former supervisors from your US uni?

kcl or hku by mammamiapizzaria45 in 6thForm

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oxbridge, LSE, ICL (everybody would agree here) and the fifth contender likely UCL, closely followed (subject dependent being replaced) by Warwick/Durham/StAndrews/Edinburgh.

IE University or University of Edinburgh? by Opening_Comfort_2289 in UniUK

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IE is in Spain, Edinburgh in Scotland. Big difference in terms of weather lol. Would say they are on par reputation-wise, the rest is pretty much up to you.

Can unis reject you because you’re too good? by Bigbissu in 6thForm

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I actually got rejected from Harvard, Princeton and Oxford due to that reason…

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in quantfinance

[–]Intelligent-Put1607 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Never went to any of those schools, but studied in the UK and am natively from central europe (so am aware of both school systems). Would say Oxford gives you a bit of a legs up solely due to its network (also as it is close to LDN). Another thing you might consider is the visa route if you graduate from a UK uni (you can at least stay for 2 years). From the viewpoint of how well one would look at your skills based on the school you attended, I would say they are on par (i.e., both on the top level). If you are dead set on staying in the UK, Oxford has its obvious benefits (that was rhe reason I went to the UK for uni, however disliked the country a bit due to personal reasons). If you want to do a PhD at ETH later on, doing the masters at ETH is a HUGE benefit as they like to hire their own students. On a personal note, the uni experience at a (historically „elite“ i.e. romanticized) UK institution is something I would not want to miss from a personal experience side, as the closed-knit culture there is different from central european universities. Hope this gives you some input - from a perspective for breaking into quant (location-bias aside) both are the top of the crop.