Hi there,

Q: Does anyone know how well regarded is Imperial College (A masters program in Finance) for gaining entry to MBB?

Imperial as a brand name is fine. If you search on LinkedIn, you can check that there are 600+ Alumni working in MBB globally.

However for a proper decision you would have to take into account also:

• The office you are targeting
• The opportunity cost of your alternative 
• If the Master you want to enroll in makes sense for the entry-level position you are targeting

If you target an Analyst position, a BSc could be enough in some countries. If you target an Associate (McK) / Consultant (BCG, Bain) position, an MBA from a top school like INSEAD would be better.

If you want to check other schools/specific offices, you should be able to find the best one for MBB on LinkedIn. You can do so by:

1. Identifying the number of alumni of a university in MBB in your desired location and
2. Adjusting for the cohort size

This will give you a data-driven guideline on the best option.

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

When it comes to Imperial College we need to differentiate:

• IC is a strong brand name in the STEM community that I used to be part of. They offer excellent education in physics, earth sciences, chemistry, engineering, etc. that are highly regarded by industry and academia.
• Anything business related (e.g. MBA, Master of Finance) at IC is decent for sure but doesn't get close to the prestige of STEM.

Hence, it would be interesting to see whether the corresponding linkedin stats for MBB are from IC STEM or business degrees. 

My suspicion is that the majority are STEM (direct hires or with a few years of e.g. engineering under their belt).

Hope this helps to refine your search!

Best of luck!

(edited)

the best would be to reach out to the school and directly ask if they have are targeted school or has any agreement, experience with MBB hiring, they will be able to tell you. Seeing how many people studied there and now works in MBB can be misleading as you don't know at what stage they entered (the more experience you have, the less important is the education) or what role they have (e.g. business support vs. consulting). 

Lucie

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(edited)

Hi there,

They are generally well regarded! Of course, they're not at the same level as the Booth's and Insead's of the world, but you can certainly get into MBB from Imperial.

That said, a Masters in Finance is a bit of a roundabout way to do so!

It depends on the office.  For the London office, they will typically expect stronger links with the UK .  

Hi there, 

Imperial college is a great brand. I know candidates from non-target schools of lesser brand value who have been invited to MBB through networking and solid cover letter / resume that indicates clear fitment with the firm. Once you receive an invite for an interview, your problem solving skills demonstrated in case interview and leadership experiences shared during  FIT interview is all that will matter. 

Thanks