COMPARE [UK] MSc Finance: LSE vs Imperial vs Cass

[MrMadoff]

Hi everybody,

I am in a pretty serious dilemma with regards to my postgraduate offers and I need some advice or at least a few opinions!

Basically, I have offers for
MSc Finance at LSE (conditional on a 1^st)
MSc Finance at Imperial (conditional on a 2.1)
and MSc Trading and Financial Mathematics at Cass Business School (conditional on a 2.1)

I must mention however (and this is very important!) that my choice for pursuing a MSc in Finance is not what many would assume. Basically I have no wish or desire to ever work in IB or consulting or any major corporation for that matter. The ‘reputation’ of a course or school in terms of career prospects does not matter to me whatsoever because I do not plan on using my MSc to boost my employment chances. So before anyone thinks I am crazy for even considering Cass over LSE, please do keep in mind that I am really not that bothered by the name or the reputation of the programme in terms of future career choice. Also, I should probably mention that I’m in my final year at uni and expect a solid 2.1 – therefore the LSE offer probably (unless miracles occur) won’t come into effect.
What I do care about are the courses themselves. I have dabbled in entrepreneurship before, and would seriously consider going down that road again, but ideally something related to finance. Although it’s certainly nothing more than a pipe-dream at the moment, me and two friends here at uni who study Mathematics want to start building algorithms to trade financial derivates and maybe one day, if successful enough, start up a fund. Of course all of that is very unrealistic, but nonetheless, I come from a family of (independent) day-traders and certainly see myself doing that in the future as well.
So, back to my dilemma! Basically I want to know which course will give me the most practical skills needed to do stuff like backtesting strategies, and programming different pricing models. I have looked at Cass and they seem to offer the most in terms of programming (C++, Matlab, and VBA), followed by Imperial, whereas LSE tend to stray away from that stuff and keep it more theoretical. All of this is not to say that I don’t enjoy learning – I certainly wouldn’t rule out doing a Phd in Finance one day. So I want to know which course has the most to offer in terms of teaching material, teacher support, lectures, and academic rigour. Also, the people are very important to me. I like to get inspired by students who are highly motivated and interesting, and not too studious.
Also, before anyone argues; ‘if you want to be a trader, don’t waste that 20k on a 1 year MSc! Use that money to start trading and learn it through experience!’ Although that might be deemed a valid argument at times, I really don’t see it that way. I enjoy learning, and although I’m sure it’s possible to be a great trader without any sort of undergraduate/postgraduate education – I do think that if applied correctly, it could be a great asset to have.

Sorry for making this so long but please guys, ANY advice or comments are VERY welcome!

Some background: 3rd year undergrad Econ + Management at Oxford (expect 2.1); no work experience (summer tutoring); no GMAT; did IB diploma; enjoy writing;

 

[Joy Pathak]

When did you get out of jail?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

If you have contact info of the people (director, faculty, not admission staff) at those 3 schools, send me a PM. I'd like to get some color on their offerings compared to the US system.
Hopefully, someone with a more insightful opinion of the UK courses can chime in. Dominic definitely will stop by and give you some input.

 

[Connor]

Congratulations on your offers. Looking at Cass and Imperial, both are great programs and have some nice looking courses.

Based on your goal of starting your own algo fund, it's a hard decision. I like Imperial because of the course on hedge funds and the numerical finance in C++ which would be useful for you. But Imperial is only 9 courses (3 electives) and a 10,000-word project.

I am about to start my dissertation at uni of edinburgh and the general focus we are being pushed into is really more academic. So in my opinion the word project at Imperial is likely to be of little practical use to you (unless you get a great adviser that is also interested say in algo trading).

I really like Cass because the core is 8 courses and then you can take an additional 5 electives so you should really learn a lot there. My concern with Cass is I don't see any C++ only VBA and Matlab (both of which are still good to know of course).

Overall I think I would lean towards Cass and do self-study and implementation in C++

 

[bigbadwolf]

Also, I should probably mention that I’m in my final year at uni and expect a solid 2.1 – therefore the LSE offer probably (unless miracles occur) won’t come into effect.

I'm speaking from first-hand experience. If you get a 2:1, you can still go over to LSE in person and talk to the admissions director. They may relax the terms of the offer to a 2:1 (these things frequently happen).

 

[alain]

Pardon my ignorance but... WTF is a "2.1"?

 

[atreides]

Pardon my ignorance but... WTF is a "2.1"?

British degree hierarchy, similar to American hierarchy of Summa Cum Laude, Magma Cum Laude, Cum Laude. I'm a bit unclear with the mapping between the two systems, that is a 2.2 does not directly map to Cum Laude, etc

1 -> 1st class honors
2 -> 2nd class honors
- 2.1 -> (Second Class Upper division) -> (pronounced "Two One")
- 2.2 -> (Second Class Lower division) -> (pronounced "Two Two")

I think there is also a third class category

 

[bigbadwolf]

British degree hierarchy, similar to American hierarchy of Summa Cum Laude, Magma Cum Laude, Cum Laude. I'm a bit unclear with the mapping between the two systems, that is a 2.2 does not directly map to Cum Laude, etc

1 -> 1st class honors
2 -> 2nd class honors
- 2.1 -> (Second Class Upper division) -> (pronounced "Two One")
- 2.2 -> (Second Class Lower division) -> (pronounced "Two Two")

I think there is also a third class category

There is a Third, which is considered a disgrace. Below the Third is a simple pass degree, which is beyond the pale. Any decent graduate entry-level job in Britain usually specifies 2:1 or above. Not achieving a 2:1 usually means you're screwed for life (unless you can bring to bear heavy family contacts to get you your first job). Other than the class of degree, the uni plays a heavy role: Oxford and Cambridge in the lead, followed by the other members of the Russell Group (Imperial, LSE, Southampton, UCL, KCL etc.).

 

[Barny]

Dude, your reasons for pursuing an MSc are completely flawed. If you enjoy learning, go and get to a library, the stuff those MSc programmes will teach you will be absolutely trivial if you have half a brain. Do not waste £20k on an education you could have got for a $1.50 in late fine charges at the local library (Good Will Hunting quote for you there). The only reason for these MSc programmes is to get people brand recognition from an under represented undergrad institution and to give them some relevant education if they come from an unrelated background (e.g., english) so that they can get nicely paid jobs at banks, consultancies etc. From what you've said it sounds as if you're living in some sort of idealistic learning fairy land which just doesn't map to the real world.

 

[damperwer]

Hi everybody,

I am in a pretty serious dilemma with regards to my postgraduate offers and I need some advice or at least a few opinions!

Basically, I have offers for
MSc Finance at LSE (conditional on a 1^st)
MSc Finance at Imperial (conditional on a 2.1)
and MSc Trading and Financial Mathematics at Cass Business School (conditional on a 2.1)

I must mention however (and this is very important!) that my choice for pursuing a MSc in Finance is not what many would assume. Basically I have no wish or desire to ever work in IB or consulting or any major corporation for that matter. The ‘reputation’ of a course or school in terms of career prospects does not matter to me whatsoever because I do not plan on using my MSc to boost my employment chances. So before anyone thinks I am crazy for even considering Cass over LSE, please do keep in mind that I am really not that bothered by the name or the reputation of the programme in terms of future career choice. Also, I should probably mention that I’m in my final year at uni and expect a solid 2.1 – therefore the LSE offer probably (unless miracles occur) won’t come into effect.
What I do care about are the courses themselves. I have dabbled in entrepreneurship before, and would seriously consider going down that road again, but ideally something related to finance. Although it’s certainly nothing more than a pipe-dream at the moment, me and two friends here at uni who study Mathematics want to start building algorithms to trade financial derivates and maybe one day, if successful enough, start up a fund. Of course all of that is very unrealistic, but nonetheless, I come from a family of (independent) day-traders and certainly see myself doing that in the future as well.
So, back to my dilemma! Basically I want to know which course will give me the most practical skills needed to do stuff like backtesting strategies, and programming different pricing models. I have looked at Cass and they seem to offer the most in terms of programming (C++, Matlab, and VBA), followed by Imperial, whereas LSE tend to stray away from that stuff and keep it more theoretical. All of this is not to say that I don’t enjoy learning – I certainly wouldn’t rule out doing a Phd in Finance one day. So I want to know which course has the most to offer in terms of teaching material, teacher support, lectures, and academic rigour. Also, the people are very important to me. I like to get inspired by students who are highly motivated and interesting, and not too studious.
Also, before anyone argues; ‘if you want to be a trader, don’t waste that 20k on a 1 year MSc! Use that money to start trading and learn it through experience!’ Although that might be deemed a valid argument at times, I really don’t see it that way. I enjoy learning, and although I’m sure it’s possible to be a great trader without any sort of undergraduate/postgraduate education – I do think that if applied correctly, it could be a great asset to have.

Sorry for making this so long but please guys, ANY advice or comments are VERY welcome!

Some background: 3rd year undergrad Econ + Management at Oxford (expect 2.1); no work experience (summer tutoring); no GMAT; did IB diploma; enjoy writing;

I'd like to know where did you end up going?