Oxford & Imperial MCF 2022 Applications

[MCF_OxIC]

Also did your upload button disappear?

Did your's?

 

[McfOxfInt]

Did your's?

Haha nope- I wish. What about yours?

 

[MCF_OxIC]

Haha nope- I wish. What about yours?

Nope But why did you ask? What does it mean if it disappears?

 

[McfOxfInt]

Oh haha
There is this theory that the upload button disappears prior to the decision. So I wanted to check if it’s true here.

 

[txj]

So what does it mean for us not receiving offers at the moment. Does it mean rejection?

 

[McfOxfInt]

For all of the programs I have seen so far- offers are being released throughout some time. It gives the university the option to offer a place to the next person if the candidate doesn’t accept the offer.
So we still have a chance even though it isn’t high.

 

[NrdmOl]

no we don't have chance i think it is over

 

[txj]

Just to discuss, do you think the university has sent all the offers out, or it is just the first batch of? Since I know a guy being offered in late March last year

 

[McfOxfInt]

Just to discuss, do you think the university has sent all the offers out, or it is just the first batch of? Since I know a guy being offered in late March last year

Tbh I don’t think anyone knows but as I previously said - I saw in other programs that it is a first big batch of offers and then slowly dripping offers to the next people on the list (as people say no).
Anyway, I am moving on to plan B - continue working and studying part time at a local uni.

 

[normalppl]

Received offer on 02/03 as well - I believe the rest will be either waitlists or rejections. The late march offers last year were conversions from waitlists as far as I know.

 

[IIlllIlI]

I applied to Imperial RMFE, Oxford MCF, UCL Computational Finance, and LSE Financial Mathematics.
Out of these universities, the LSE program and Oxford program are probably the most well known, then probably MathFin and RMFE at Imperial, and last UCL.
I think LSE and Oxford are the only ones on par (recognition-wise) with the top American programs.
Unfortunately, I don't know if there are any other programs in the UK that are as well known, although I've heard MSMF at Warwick has an excellent reputation in addition to the programs stated above, but probably not on the level of top American programs.

Disagree quite strongly. MCF=MathFin (<= in recent years arguably) then UCL/Warwick, but I think only very few jobs make it down this far (at least from bigger firms anyways). LSE’s reputation is built around IB, this is certainly not replicated in quantfin. I’m excluding Camb on purpose bc pt3 is seen as a different breed to these courses, though it obviously produces hires for big firms.

 

[IIlllIlI]

They usually make the decisions in 8-10 weeks so I would assume by the end of March.
Do you mind sharing your background?

Also does any of you know why last year there was a spike in the number of applicants to the program?

Spike in numbers was pretty much entirely due to the fact that it was their first year to get rid of the entrance test requirement. None to do with Covid.

 

[Udbhav A]

Hello,

I am a successful applicant to the RMFE program at Imperial College. Extremely excited to start the program and develop my abilities.
Anyone else on here attending Imperial?

 

[NrdmOl]

Successful for mathfin of Imperial. But no answer from Oxford for MCF. Hope to be on the WL but i'm afraid the chances are very small.

 

[JackRooker]

Disagree quite strongly. MCF=MathFin (<= in recent years arguably) then UCL/Warwick, but I think only very few jobs make it down this far (at least from bigger firms anyways). LSE’s reputation is built around IB, this is certainly not replicated in quantfin. I’m excluding Camb on purpose bc pt3 is seen as a different breed to these courses, though it obviously produces hires for big firms.

Hmmm, interesting, I had quite a different idea of how the programs compare, but then, I'm not from the UK, so my opinion is based on how the schools/programs are considered outside the UK. Where would you place Imperial RMFE and LSE Financial Statistics?

Also, another question, don't you think the reputation/brand of LSE is strong enough to outcompete Warwick (which I've heard is an excellent university) even in this field?

 

[JackRooker]

Hello,

I am a successful applicant to the RMFE program at Imperial College. Extremely excited to start the program and develop my abilities.
Anyone else on here attending Imperial?

Hi! Congratulations on your offer!
I also received an offer to attend RMFE a couple of weeks ago.
Send me a pm if you would like to connect further.

 

[IIlllIlI]

Hmmm, interesting, I had quite a different idea of how the programs compare, but then, I'm not from the UK, so my opinion is based on how the schools/programs are considered outside the UK. Where would you place Imperial RMFE and LSE Financial Statistics?

Also, another question, don't you think the reputation/brand of LSE is strong enough to outcompete Warwick (which I've heard is an excellent university) even in this field?

Hmm it’s a tough one to answer, but I’ll give my opinion of the tiers - and the justification of tiers is that: any degree in the same tier will essentially be able to get you the same job, assuming that your workrate is fixed. Whereas degrees in lower tiers will likely lead you to smaller/less quant-y jobs even if you work harder.
Here is where I place them all (based on the students I have encountered at multiple ACs):
Tier0 - Oxf MCF, Imp MnF, Basically any French ones like polytech
Tier1 - UCL
Tier 1.5 - RMFE
Tier2 - WW, LSE
I understand WW offers scholarships fairly generously though, and I’m not sure how this changes the dynamics. I personally have not met any WW and LSE students at any ACs. I have also never met a RMFE taker, but I also understand this degree targets sorta differnt jobs (more in insurance etc, so I felt the need to distinguish them slightly higher than ww,lse). I have met one UCL student at one AC. The dominant majority is actually from Polytechnique.

And in saying this - my tiers are strictly based on sell-side jobs (I did not pursue any buysides, but my understanding is that they care much less about your degree, basically you just gotta pass the interviews)

 

[JackRooker]

Hmm it’s a tough one to answer, but I’ll give my opinion of the tiers - and the justification of tiers is that: any degree in the same tier will essentially be able to get you the same job, assuming that your workrate is fixed. Whereas degrees in lower tiers will likely lead you to smaller/less quant-y jobs even if you work harder.
Here is where I place them all (based on the students I have encountered at multiple ACs):
Tier0 - Oxf MCF, Imp MnF, Basically any French ones like polytech
Tier1 - UCL
Tier 1.5 - RMFE
Tier2 - WW, LSE
I understand WW offers scholarships fairly generously though, and I’m not sure how this changes the dynamics. I personally have not met any WW and LSE students at any ACs. I have also never met a RMFE taker, but I also understand this degree targets sorta differnt jobs (more in insurance etc, so I felt the need to distinguish them slightly higher than ww,lse). I have met one UCL student at one AC. The dominant majority is actually from Polytechnique.

And in saying this - my tiers are strictly based on sell-side jobs (I did not pursue any buysides, but my understanding is that they care much less about your degree, basically you just gotta pass the interviews)

That's a really helpful answer, thank you! It's interesting that a lot of people come from French schools, I didn't know those schools were held that high in the London finance sector.
When you write UCL, do you mean their program in Computational Finance or Financial Mathematics? I applied to computational finance, but I haven't found any employment statistics whatsoever on their site which worries me a bit. I also have an offer from RMFE which I am currently considering.

 

[IIlllIlI]

That's a really helpful answer, thank you! It's interesting that a lot of people come from French schools, I didn't know those schools were held that high in the London finance sector.
When you write UCL, do you mean their program in Computational Finance or Financial Mathematics? I applied to computational finance, but I haven't found any employment statistics whatsoever on their site which worries me a bit. I also have an offer from RMFE which I am currently considering.

Yeah - basically at least 20% of each AC’s (Euro and US banks) were made of Poly students, and most others confirmed this happening in their ACs too. About UCL - I’m not sure, I only gathered UCL and the fact that the candidate was on exchange there?? but my guess would be CompFin as I think this is the one that has HSBC’s partnership for the dissertation? I would guess employment opps are not terrible - not from UCL nor RMFE. Though, you would definitely be working harder to get through to interviews than Tier1 students do - not necessarily due to some intellect gap, but those courses have solid support systems (i.e. basically guaranteed at least 10-15 interviews with big banks and buysides, because these are arranged internally for industry dissertations - which often roll off into a FT role)

 

[IIlllIlI]

That's a really helpful answer, thank you! It's interesting that a lot of people come from French schools, I didn't know those schools were held that high in the London finance sector.
When you write UCL, do you mean their program in Computational Finance or Financial Mathematics? I applied to computational finance, but I haven't found any employment statistics whatsoever on their site which worries me a bit. I also have an offer from RMFE which I am currently considering.

Sorry I should also specify that Poly students are the majority out of candidates with MSc. There are also PhD candiates all the time at ACs, and they’re basically from any uni (I’ve seen swansea and camb phds at the same AC)