UCLA ($$$) vs LBS

Question

Hello all
 I have admits from UCLA with a sizeable scholarship and from LBS. I am interested in finance ( Banking/PE/VC).
Location is not a preference although I would like to be in US so UCLA helps there. But I am more interested in getting into the best possible firm and my career is the first priority.
LBS arguably has a better brand and a good finance school but coming back to US is not guaranteed.
Do you think UCLA also offers similar opportunities as LBS in terms of career ?

Please help me decide.

angelfire213 · Answer

pretty sure if you plan on working in the US right after, UCLA makes more sense...but hey.. i'm not a finance person. unless you were looking to start off in europe and then transition to the US later on

algoMonkey · Answer

Thanks for response! Yeah makes sense but as I said location is a preference but career takes the first priority.
If UCLA also offers the same opportunities and firms that LBS offers then its a no-brainer for me but when I see the employment reports I see many prestigious firms recruiting at LBS but not UCLA which is my concern

revul · Answer

This is one of the few 'which school' threads I've seen where the answer isn't glaringly obvious. Are you in IB analyst type stuff now (from the sounds of things I'm guessing no but am unsure)? Have you posted this on wallstreetoasis?

Do you have a UK visa? (is staying there an option). The visa situation there is difficult currently. Let's assume you come back stateside after: I'd advise reaching out to LBS to get names/contact info of people doing US IB recruiting. If you're an admit they should play ball, but another way about it is asking a current student if they know any Americans looking to place back across the pond and go from there.

LA shop wise I'm not sure who's big on UCLA but I'm guessing the usual suspects recruit (BB), along with Houlihan Lokey and similar 'West' firms.

All this aside, LBS is king of what you want to do after, but not where you want to do it. UCLA is in a better spot, but less prestige. There's a risk on both sides, and huge $ differential I'm guessing. Tough call my friend.

On a side note, don't take it the wrong way, if you're not in IB now at a gold/platinum tier firm, the likelihood of PE/VC is almost 0 without a stellar network in that area and a top 5 school on the respective continent. Face to face, telling someone "i want to work PE/VC/IB" translates to "i don't fully know what I want to do, but these 3 make money so any of them works" - could rub some people the wrong way.

gcb09173 · Answer

Whats your background? WE and Citizen/Visa status? Current location (west coast vs east vs NY)?

How long have you been in the US? (If less than three years - you could use the international exchange at LBS back to Hass/Wharton/Stern)

If you're career changing then LBS will be the best bet as you will find a role in a top bank but you'll need to work in London for a period of time to build experience before being able to transfer back to the US.

Finally just how sizeable is that scholarship (80% of fees etc?) - cause LBS is not cheap and London is extremely expensive (especially around the school which is very central) -

If you've been in finance previously and only ever want to stay in the US then can't see why UCLA wouldn't get you where you want to be and the scholarship is the icing on the cake. At UCLA you could always do the international exchange to LBS to get the 'finance school' name on the CV and get in the shop window during peak FT hiring season for jobs in London.

Ultimately the question needs a bit more backstory to it, however a general rule of thumb is Continent>Brand/Rank>Scholarship>'Type' of school. (obviously will be exceptions which as Revul suggests you may fit into but without that back story its hard to tell).

algoMonkey · Answer

Thanks a lot for the responses and valuable advice! I appreciate your inputs.

I have Bachelors and Masters degree in Computer science , although I currently work in a prop trading/market making firm in NYC. Been with the firm for about 5 years now. I am an Indian Citizen and currently on H1 visa in US. 
So my passport is a problem wherever I go and I will definitely have to deal with visas etc

The scholarship at UCLA covers 60% of the fees.
I don't mind working in UK for few years before transferring to US but the cost worries me
and on the other hand if UCLA can provide me similar opportunities and with scholarship seems like a great choice but brand wise LBS > UCLA so let me know your opinion

dontquixote · Answer

Congrats on acceptance at 2 great schools. I think the choice that you should be making is where would you like to work after graduation? 
If you want to work in the US you should go with UCLA. The scholarship + US opportunities makes UCLA by far a better choice than LBS although, LBS is a better brand and arguably a better school. 
If you want to work in Europe LBS is going to much better choice. Even counting in the scholarship from UCLA I would choose LBS if Europe was my goal.

I know that 60% tuition is going to hard to pass up, its going to be a hard choice, and I really don't believe in this quote "don't let money guide you" but I think for this choice you should follow this advice.

You should purely think about these two choices as 
USA vs Europe where do you want to live/stay/work? 
America experience vs International experience? 
Let your answers to those question decide the outcome.

There is a great TED talk about making hard choices. Its called "how to make hard choices" given by Ruth Chang. You can search for it on google I highly recommend it, it will give you a new perspective on how to decide between two hard choices. (I won't link.. maybe rules against it on this forum?

Kudos/

Mo2men · Answer

Hi, 
Congrats for your admission on UCLA and LBS.
You need to think deeply about the decision you will take. If you go outside, it would be harder to come back. So I advice you to take closer look about not only university employment reports but also look for deep analysis for the position inside USA vs UK. 
However, as you live in NY, why did not you apply for Stern or Columbia? both are known for finance.

algoMonkey · Answer

dontquixoute that video is inspirational indeed - thanks! 
mo2Men - Since I have been in NY for the last 5 years , I wanted to move out of NY to get an experience at a different city

If I go to LBS , get into a top firm and work in London for few years but then can definitely come back to US after that, that will be nice since I already have a US degree and work experience and it will be nice to get international exposure and experience EU but not sure if that's possible and whether the huge cost differential which I have to pay is worth it

If I go to UCLA but then can get the same exposure to top tier firms as in LBS then that's any day better for me but the question is will I ?

Thanks for all the posts! Its defn a hard decision for me

dontquixote · Answer

To answer thar question.

No. You won't be exposed to the same top tier firms. LBS is the BEST internarional MBA. Thus the best firms from everywhere will come to recruit students.

UCLA is no where near the best. It is stellar but not top tier. So you won't be exposed to the same pedigree of firms. Even if you get a couple top tier firms, they only take the top 5% if that of your class, which is kinda hard to do.. But you do get to live in the US.

That is why you should think about which continent you prefer. US or Europe.

UC with less debt vs LBS becomes equal. You can't go wrong either way. Just think about which continent you prefer.

Best

Posted from my mobile device

forevertfc · Answer

I'm not too sure about this. Finance wise, UCLA is a top 10 program in the US. Check out WallStreetOasis and you will see this. On the whole - depending on who you talk to - UCLA fits top 10-15. So again, not sure how it isn't first tier. It's not HBS/Stanford/Wharton, sure, but it falls firmly in the same level of the Dukes and Sterns.

Of course, it hurts to be in LA if Wall Street is the end goal, but FWIW, I met an Indian in Toronto who was hired by Citi in NY after graduation. He also did his internship at Morgan Stanley in SF. He had an IT background prior to UCLA. I was told his first interview was in LA, his preference was to work in NY, and they flew him to NY for his second interview and gave him an offer shortly after.

I can't help much more than that because I'm not in Finance myself, but I hope this clears some things up.

gcb09173 · Answer

I think in your shoes, I would find it hard to turn down that 60% and be based int the right country for ultimately where you want to be?

Its clearly a tough decision for you - let us know what you finally decide!

sandman25 · Answer

Did you make a choice?

algoMonkey · Answer

put down money on both for now - will go for the admit weekends and decide!

angelfire213 · Answer

come back and update us when you do - good luck!

UCLA ($$$) vs LBS

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