<p>Hi everyone, I have been admitted to the London School of Economics in the UK as well, I am planning to take Economics/Mathematics at the undergraduate level, which of the 2 would be a better choice for me, as an international student, in terms of:
a) Prestige
b) Career Prospects
c) Social Life</p>
<p>Any feedback would be very much appreciated.</p>
<p>I have many friends at LSE (just visited them 2 months ago) so here’s my two cents.</p>
<p>Choose YALE!</p>
<p>a) Prestige. Yale wins hands down. My (international) friends in UK all think the British higher education system is going down the gutters, mainly due to a lack of funding. In their own words, it’s “a sinking ship” and the situation will probably worsen in the future. They think the world of US universities like Yale and Harvard. Yale is also more prestigious in Asia, as far as I know. </p>
<p>b) Career prospects. Yale >> LSE for US, Yale > LSE for Asia, Yale >= LSE for UK, in my opinion. </p>
<p>c) Social life. LSE has London, which is amazing, with its musicals, museums, parks, etc. But besides that LSE is just a smattering of buildings in London and your school life will hardly revolve around campus (think of Columbia and NYC). Yale has its awesome residential college system, which all Yalies rave about, almost in a cult-like way. None of my LSE friends seem particularly enthusiastic about their school.</p>
<p>of course Yale!</p>
<p>YALE, hands down! I went to LSE for graduate school, and its fine for that, but in terms of undergraduate experience, Yale will embody more of what most people want in a college. Besides, you can always go to LSE for graduate work.</p>
<p>Okay - I <em>mostly</em> agree with the posters on here with one caveat.</p>
<p>Do you wish to have a career in <em>finance</em> (investment banking, hedge fund, private equity) after graduation?</p>
<p><em>IF</em> so, you are more likely to land a bulge-bracket IBD position from LSE. Yale, despite being a brilliant school, is <em>not</em> strongly represented in the financial industry. LSE is much better represented in the financial services industry - and has a stronger finance network than Yale. Just be aware though that LSE is the quintessential banker school… whereas Yale is a more holistic experience.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. </p>
<p>Yes, I am most likely planning for a career in Finance.</p>
<p>However, being an international student, despite the fact that LSE is known as an “investment banking nursery”, the UK provides little (if any?) opportunities for internationals to work there. I am not so sure about the US though, but most of my seniors who graduated from top American universities got jobs there.</p>
<p>@truazn8948532, What do you mean by ‘stronger financial network’? If the difference between the 2 in career prospects is not much, then I will definitely choose Yale. No doubts there.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure the reason Yale is not as represented in finance as other schools of similar caliber is because there are less Yale students interested in finance (though there are still plenty) and not because it is more difficult for a Yale student to be accepted into such a position. For investment banking, Yale still has a strong representation despite having less prospective financiers, only trailing Harvard, Wharton, and Princeton and on a similar level as Stanford, Columbia, etc.</p>
<p>And… if it helps, I am also planning to do Masters in Finance (MIT Sloan, Princeton Bendheim) or the MBA (HBS, Wharton etc.)</p>
<p>Which of the 2 (LSE or Yale) would put me in a better position for postgraduate admission?</p>