Transferring out of Oxford/LSE to Harvard/Stanford/Yale (HELP PLEASE!!!)

Transfer Students
21

I think you are making some serious mis-assumptions.

  1. Saying that you want to study econ at a different place than the London School of **Economics** is going to require making a case with a fair degree of sophistication: knowing enough about the different schools of thought in economics, and why you don't like the one at LSE and you do like the one at (insert name of Ivy League school you think you really should have gotten into in the first place).
  2. [quote] The main problem is that U.S banks recruit on campus for U.S universities, and it would be somewhat difficult asking Morgan Stanley/Goldman Sachs to transfer me when so few people are accepted to work there in the first place.

    [/quote]

I don’t see why it would be ‘difficult’ to ask for a transfer. Goldman, MS, etc just love Oxford (and LSE, but less so) students. During any of the vacations you can apply to do ‘vac schemes’ at any of the IB firms. These are paid internships, and are where Goldman, etc. does most of their recruiting. You apply for the internships (and they are serious applications: you do several rounds of testing/interviews, but most good - not superstar- candidates get through to at least one or other of the banks). Most of the Oxbridge students that I know who go that path do short vac schemes (1-2 weeks in Dec/March) at different banks and then apply for summer vac schemes. If you do well on a summer vac scheme you typically get a job offer at the end of the summer for after you graduate (conditional on finishing with a 2.1). This system also applies to the law firms and consultancies, so rather a lot of students have job offers by the beginning of final year. Those who don’t tend to get them during winter vac schemes in final year. Of the 20 or so Oxford students that I know who were looking for that sort of job last year, all of them had jobs at name-brand firms by January before graduating in June. B/c you have a US passport a transfer to the US is actually easier for them- and you will be attractive to the US office b/c you will already have experience in the firm.

  1. I think you may find that not all of your Oxford/LSE credits will transfer and that you have either extra classes (GenEd, for example) or specific pre-req / major classes that you need to make up, That would mean either summer school (so no internships, which are key for getting jobs), or extra heavy course loads and/or an extra semester/year (depending on how much transfers).
  2. [quote] do I have a decent chance chance to get into Harvard/Stanford/Yale (I know that this hypothetical) if

I get a first class honors from these one of these great institutions

[/quote]

You have no idea what it takes to get a first class honours in PPE! Also, getting a prediction of a First is just part of it. The US colleges will certainly look at the module results, and will probably want your collection marks as well (collections are exams you sit at the start of each term, starting in your second term, on the work from the previous term- one of the quirks of Oxford is that ‘vacation’ does not mean ‘holiday’, it means you vacate your room- you are meant to study the material from the term just past).

Hard to see you becoming such an extraordinary athlete while putting the work in to get a first

IF you had one that would definitely help, but it will be hard to see what you will say that they have that you can’t get at Oxford or LSE. Re: changing from IR- if you decide that you want to change focus (to what?) you would have to not only say why you want the new subject, but do the original ‘why us’ essay on why HYS is where you need to do this new thing

none of these schools are lacking for students with international experience

To me, your post doesn’t read as somebody being ‘responsible by considering all the options’- it reads as if your actual goal is to see if you can turn your Oxford / LSE acceptances into a back door way to get into the Ivy League school that you couldn’t get into by the front door.

IMO, you are better off either going to one of your US acceptances and trying to transfer ‘up’ from there OR going to Oxford and getting an IB job after 3 years (instead of 4).

Just as a side note…I do know a fair few people who went into university thinking that they were Wall Street/IB people all the way, and found out through internships and changing interests in their courses that they wanted to do something else altogether.

22

Thank you for advice!

23

Academic success plays a LARGE role, but academic success at an Oxbridge school will likely eclipse academic underperformance in high school.

24

Thank you for your help!

25

You have a great plan, so stick to it. Graduate from Oxford or LSE with a First Class, then go to graduate school at Harvard, Yale or Stanford. LSE is going to be a bit more fun, but substantially pricier for living expenses. I’d probably go to Oxford and visit London when you have some free time.

26

Thank you for your help!

27

@JillyBilly , you asked if Oxford’s prestige is well known around the world. Um, just a bit. And maybe a lot lot lot lot more than a bit. Just wondering if you have been living under a rock;-) You have been accepted to possibly the most famous college in the world. Even people who live under rocks have heard of Oxford. And it is also very important to remember that the U.S. system does require general education to graduate. You can have your Oxford degree in three years. A Masters in four. Get your degree from Oxford, or LSE, which is also very prestigious, and attend grad school in the US if you really want those American connections. Have you considered how you will pay for your US education by the way? 65,000 a year is a lot of cash. Not sure if grad school costs the same.

28

Thanks for your help, the reason why I asked the question was because I go to an inclusive private school and all my classmates come from the same socio-economic class. So I was wondering how well it is known among the whole populace. Thank you for your help answering the question!

29

please stop saying ‘populace’ - it comes across really badly. You might as well just say ‘peasant’.

(also, given the rest of your statement, I am pretty sure that your private school is more exclusive than inclusive)

30

So, if I understand you correctly, you’re trying to decide whether to go to Oxford or LSE based on how easily you would be able to transfer out of either of them to HYS or possibly Dartmouth or Penn? Since transfers to many of those schools are extremely unlikely no matter what your grades or your strategy (I think that Harvard one year took 12 out of 1500 applicants), I think you should make your decision on the relative merits of Oxford and LSE, not some fantasy of how you will do at Oxford or LSE and how you would strategically market yourself. Personally, I would probably pick Oxford - world class name and education and I think you would definitely have a chance of paid internships at GS etc. assuming your grades were strong.

31

If you’re worried about the average person, the average person knows the colleges in their area and probably Harvard. That’s it. Half the people I’ve met think Penn is Penn State.

32

-__- There is no good way to ask about the university’s reputation in the America without sounding like a goofball. Sorry that I asked.

33

It was more of a side note, I believed at the end of that paragraph I concluded that Oxford is a safer bet because of its reputation and a student’s overall experience.

34

If your goal is a prestigious degree that’ll help with recruiting but you also want an American college experience and connections, here’s a thought:
Do Year1 in Oxford. Do well. Look into “study abroad”. Position yourself to be a competitive applicant for the opportunities that interest you. Look at programs in whatever field interests you. During Year 2, apply to the prestigious universities in the US that Oxford has an exchange with and do a “sandwich” year. During your sandwich year, establish connections, network, get good grades. After your “sandwich” year, come back for Year 3 and apply for a degree at one of the universities you’re aiming for (HYPSM etc).

“populace” is a derogative term to reflect hoi polloi - commoners and scum.
What you mean is “do random people in the street know about X College?”
The reality is that random people in the street know colleges based on whatever their D1 college is as well as colleges nearby, the college they/their spouse attended if they attended college (about most adults didn’t), plus Harvard, sometimes Yale and Stanford depending on where they live. And this is totally irrelevant because people whose job it is to hire know about it (seek out blossom on this website, whom you may encounter after your Oxford degree). Or politely ask to shadow someone at Raines and see how they work, if they function like random people.

Note: Collegemom is totally right. You have no idea what it takes to get a First. It’s not something you can plan for - you can do everything for it but it’s kind of mysterious whether you’ll get it. It takes a special level of obsession.
It doesn’t matter, because actually, with a 2:1 from Oxford you’re good to go anywhere.

35

If you go to any school, even Oxford, with plans to transfer out you will not become a part of the community and you will never be comfortable there. It is a self fulfilling prophecy.

36

30% of Oxford students get a First Class Honors… it isn’t a mysterious process. Thank you for your advice on how to transfer!

37

I expect that once you are at Oxford you will not want to transfer and sticking it out will help you make lots of connections with people from all over the world. At least the dollar is very strong which will help reduce your costs near term. If you go to graduate school, look for a fully funded position (usually includes a research stipend or teaching assistant position) to minimize your costs if necessary.

38

There is no ‘study abroad’ in PPE.

And, for PPE, it’s 21% who get Firsts.

39

Still a fairly large amount of students. :slight_smile:

40

*number of students

(sorry)