COMPARE University of Oxford MSMCF vs Imperial College London MSMF

[ekta]

Hi all

I have got offers from Oxford[Maths & Computational Finance], Imperial[Maths & Fin] and King's[Fin maths]. In my opinion, Oxford>Imperial> King's [Mathematics Department], although there are a few advantages of being at Imperial over Oxford.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Thanks

 

[Paul Mithouard]

I would go to imperial --> very well established program & math department + possibility to network easily in London.

 

[michel]

I agree with Paul (As those MSc are postgraduate degrees). It would have been different if you were hesitating between undergraduate degrees.

 

[ekta]

Thanks for your point of view, Paul and Michel.

 

[Connor]

I agree with Paul's logic but I don't know if I could turn down Oxford.... Going to defer to our more experienced UK members here.

 

[Barny]

Go to Oxford. You're doing this to maximise your chances of getting a job in finance. Financial firms are brand names whores. Almost everyone you work with will have been to Oxbridge, and now you can join "the club" and be treated equally to them.

 

[ekta]

@ Paul and Michel:
Are both of you EU citizens?

@ Connor and Barny:
Thanks for your point of view

 

[michel]

Yes I am an EU citizens . By the way congrats for Oxford

 

[Paul Mithouard]

French and Congrats for getting in Imperial & Oxford

 

[ekta]

Thanks Michel and Paul
I would be happy if other members of quantnet could post their point of views too.

 

[Miha T]

Hi,

I'm interested in MSc in Mathematical and Computational Finance in Oxford and MSc in Mathematics and Finance at Imperial College London. Hope to know what's people's opinion on the two courses?

Specifically which one would be a better one to break into the industry in City?

Also does anyone know how the MSc Thesis with a firm works at Imperial? Does everyone get an internship/project with some bank or is that just a marketing trick? More interested into how many of these projects actually change into offers afterwards..

Thank a lot for the help!

 

[Francis Chan]

Hi,

I'm currently holding an offer from Oxford for MSc in Mathematical and Computational Finance and from Imperial College London for MSc in Mathematics and Finance. Hope to know what's people's opinion on the two courses?

Specifically which one would be a better one to break into the industry in City? (Currently undergrad at Warwick University, but with no internship at any BB)

Also does anyone know how the MSc Thesis with a firm works at Imperial? Does everyone get an internship/project with some bank or is that just a marketing trick? More interested into how many of these projects actually change into offers afterwards..

Thank a lot for the help!

Congrats!

The both programs are top in UK, maybe top 1&2. However, in my opinion, never hesitate to choose Oxford, because it will be an honor for your whole lifetime.

There is an introduction for ICL math fin by a ex-student. But it's in Chinese, I am not sure if you are Chinese. But I can tell you a little.

As he said, the program will send you to those big names to have direct interview, such as Morgan, Barclay, UBS, BNP, etc. The administrator said if you find any work opportunity in London, just tell him, he will send you directly to the interview. If you cannot get an offer of internship, you need to do some projects. This is nearly guaranteed. More than a half students can get internship offer (all French, 7-8 Chinese). The courses of this program are challenging and very useful, but the market is too competitive. So it depends on the individual. But at last, the ex-student said if you got AD from Oxford, just go.

Here is the link:
http://bbs.taisha.org/thread-17072934-1-1.html

 

[Miha T]

Thanks for the additional info, as I am not Chinese I appreciate the translation as well ! Think I've decided to go with Oxford at the end, it's just a better fit for me.

Good luck with your applications and thank you for your help again!

 

[Khorge]

Make sure you find an internship or have experience before looking for jobs because otherwise it will be nearly impossible to land a FT offer after the MSc - even coming from Oxford

 

[Den Haag Finance]

IMO the best thing is to secure an intership by applying yourself. It is extremely difficult to get a FT offer. At Imperial, most people get a project at a large institution. Last year, only one person did not get it and that was his/hers own fault.

 

[Miha T]

Yeah that's my plan to apply for internships after, because I know that they essentially hire almost everyone for full time from interns.

 

[Joshua Courtney]

IMO the best thing is to secure an intership by applying yourself. It is extremely difficult to get a FT offer. At Imperial, most people get a project at a large institution. Last year, only one person did not get it and that was his/hers own fault.

Do all of the MSc Mathematics and Finance students at Imperial get given (sorted out by the department) an interview for an internship to be taken in the last 3 months of the course? Could you confirm what Francis Chan said (above) that 50% of students pass the interview and are given an internship? I'm assuming the remaining 50% still work on a project, but have less contact time with the company - do people still call this an internship on their CVs? On its website, Imperial calls it a 'collaborative arrangement.' Lastly, do people get given job offers (for immediate start) from their internships / collaborative arrangements? If so, what is the percentage for each?

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

[Oldrininicolo]

Hi everyone,

I just signed up and I apologize in advance if I open the thread in the wrong section. I know there was a similar previous one but it is quite old.

I have a three-year degree in economics and a two-year master's degree in finance. The master is highly quantitative, I have dealt with most of the topics covered in both masters in which I am interested (in the title). I would like to undertake them to have an even more solid quantitative basis that allows me to work as a quant.

I have two questions:

is it possible being admitted to Imperial with my background? it would be my first choice but I know that it is aimed almost exclusively at those with a mathematical-physical background.​

regarding Oxford, on what level are the interview questions? I have an excellent basis in statistics, probability and calculus while I have a basic preparation (which I intend to improve between now and the end of February) in differential equations, linear algebra and real analysis. Also, I found on the internet some "admission test-exercises". Are they required in addition to the interview?​

In case, as unfortunately I believe, my background does not allow me to access these courses, which master would you recommend? Preferably in London, my dream would be a PhD at Oxford and then a career as Quant.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Kerr]

There were cases where econ students got admitted by Ox mcf, but only very very few.
The admission test is no longer required from this year on.
I would recommend you to apply for the ETH UZH quantitative finance programme. In this programme Econ is acknowledged as an acceptable background. Moreover, it is a perfect preparation for a phd programme, which is what you are looking for. And this programme has better reputation than almost all british quant programmes other than those two you mentioned above. (ox mcf is better, and ic mf arguably too)

 

[Oldrininicolo]

Thanks for the answer!

I was looking for other U.K programmes as I am already intentioned in apply to the UTH-UZH one since it’s probably the third best choice in Europe.

What do you think about UCL (computational finance or financial math)? I’m interested in these 4 at the moment.