University Advice

Career Opportunities & Internships Investment Banking
1

<p>Hey all,</p>

<p>I was wondering if I could get some advice on what I should do with regards to my undergrad university. </p>

<p>I am an international student from Australia, and I have been offered a double degree of Law/Engineering at the University of Western Australia. However, I have also been offered a place at UCLA - I have not yet heard back from the other schools that I applied to.</p>

<p>I wish to go into IBanking after I graduate, not just because of the money - although that would never hurt. I have until the 31st of March to decide if I wish to take up the Law/Engineering degree, but unfortunately, that is when I hear back from the rest of my schools. </p>

<p>I wanted to see what the general opinion of this board was as to my situation. Should I take up a Law/Engineering degree from a university in Australia, or should I take up the offer of UCLA (or perhaps something else if I get into something better)? Which would provide a better foundation for a career in IBanking?</p>

<p>I think I should also add that the Law/Engineering degree would take 6 years (Which would be less than Engineering -> Law Grad, I guess). But the law degree is an LLB, which will not be directly equivalent to a J.D. without postgrad studies anyway, I believe. </p>

<p>In any case, I would appreciate any help you can provide. </p>

<p>Thanks a lot!</p>

2

<p>How much is the deposit for the Aussie uni? I was in a similar situation once and the deposit required to officially accept an offer was only 500 bucks. So I just paid it and then waited for the rest of the schools to reply so I could make an informed decision without pressure. In the end I went someplace else so I lost the deposit, but as an insurance policy I think it was definitely worth the money.</p>

3

<p>Unfortunately, it's 5000 for my course... Ack.</p>

4

<p>UCLA is not an ibanking target school. This is not to say you couldn't get lucky and get an ibanking job upon graduating from there, it just means it's not a school well represented in the industry so networking and recruiting possibilities are more limited.</p>

<p>If you can get into a US target school such as the ivies, Stanford, MIT, Duke and a few others, they may be worth it.</p>

<p>Unless you have a Green Card, it will be unlikely that a US ibank can hire you to work in the States. So whatever schools will get you a job in Australia is probably your best bet. Or you can interview in the US with major banks and have them place you in your country or as an expat in others. This has become more and more difficult, so don't count on it.</p>