University Admissions - I'm willing to answer any questions!

[MrsBright]

I have worked in Uni Admissions at several different Unis, RG and non-RG, for over 20 years and am very happy to answer any general questions about UCAS/Offers/F&I Decisions/Clearing/Adjustment etc.

I feel your pain Mrs ultra and everyone who has to go through this, not looking forward to dd practising them as I understand it, "steps" is more testing on how you apply the maths with what you know into attempting to solving the answer and most people wont be able to solve it entirely, there's no one way to getting the answer so its not as formulaic as some of the AS stuff. I maybe wrong I'm no mathematician.
needmoresleep yes dd will apply to do economic & mathematics if she does very well at it in AS at LSE she so far enjoys this subject and reads around it, but her real love is for maths but thinks economics maths combined might open more career paths. We see with that one.
lanceloitte I had to laugh I think this is genius idea make it sound as though she wanted to do it in the first place as a challenge, doing something out of her comfort zone, its a form of bending the truth but hey ho it would at least stop her from worrying over these minor details. I'm going to tell her later she needs to be more creative in her thinking

The degree is very much maths with economics. Fine if she enjoys maths! DS is reading economics and because of the options he has chosen three out his four courses are maths, so I guess Maths with Economics is even more maths.

A few thoughts.

1. She should look at student room. The trick will be a PS which shows enough interest in economics to appeal to the LSE without putting Imperial and others off.
2. Look at the courses offered as part of the degree. My assumption is they will be statistics oriented - presumably no mechanics. Perhaps more applied than pure. Is that what she wants.
3. With the actuaries and economics students like my son taking a lot of maths there is quite a big 'maths community' and most of my son's friends seem to come from this group, which is nice. One thing to think about though is that a large proportion will probably come from East Asia, not a problem for DS who was used to international boarders at his school, but potentially overwhelming. What has bothered him more are the students (from anywhere, though often from continental Europe) who simply want to get a first, get a job with Goldman Sachs, and make lots of money. What has happened to youthful idealism?
4. The workload is heavy and though LSE is not seen, viz other posts, as a leading maths institution, it's not an easy option. DS has been surprised how many have failed second year maths courses and had to repeat the year.
5. There are lots of career options.

In short it will be important to do well at maths at AS and A2. Sports won't count for anything. FWIW DS thinks his application was helped by the fact he had signed up for and attended several public lectures at the LSE.

needmoresleep you raise some very good important points that dd needs to look at before she applies to LSE. She got lots to think about. Thanks for the heads up. Ive noticed Investment banking seems to be a very popular career choice for economic students I'm guessing the financial rewards seems very attractive but i guess the hours and stress would mean only the toughest survive. DD doesnt know what particular career in finance she would like but she has interest in economics. Would doing maths with economics combined be a better degree than say just economics? Would maths combined with economics be more vigourous? Sorry I'm asking more questions.:(

The most sought after/competitive economics degrees (Cambridge, LSE, Warwick, and UCL) are very mathematical and provide good employment prospects. However you are talking about maths with economics, which is different and has even more maths, though I acumen quite applied and relevant maths. Your daughter needs to look closely at the different courses. However you should note that LSE normally does not offer against Further Maths but expects it for the Economics course. So you normally need to be taking 4 A levels. This is not the case with Maths with Economics.

I suspect maths with economics is slightly less competitive to get in for. Economics has 13 applicants for each place. However you might need to be a better mathematician. Honestly I think the decision needs to be based on interest. Both degrees leave you pretty employable. And it's fine to want to be an Investment Banker. I'm glad though my son is not interested. I can see him in the public or charity sector.

My daughter's husband is in investment banking (very good career) and he is always home first each night just about (she's a City lawyer). I am not saying it is an easy option but the hours may be better than some areas (and the pay can be good if you're good at it).

GoingOffFishing, I'm glad you liked it. I'm channelling my son's dance examiner, who watched him drop his dance partner on the floor, smiled at the pair of them and said 'I'm putting that down as an example of "dynamic change of level"'.

The phrase has passed into family legend.

Good for him Needmoresleep. Investment banking attracts too many lemmings.

There are other options in economics apart from the City. DS1 is a development economist - with a particular interest in policy. Didn't even go to the LSE, Warwick or Cambridge, so perhaps his experience is too second rate for consideration on the MN Higher Ed threads!

Come august dd will get her results for A2 maths and AS FM nervous wait but should give her a clearer picture of whether she has a realistic shot at these uni. Needmoresleep you must be a proud mum sounds like your ds is very level headed and grounded.
Sorry for my ignorance but is the world of investment banking a mans world? are woman a minority? Im thinking it takes a certain personality, characteristics to be one. I doubt dd would survive that kind of a world, I mean she's already flapping over BTEC sport!! She would really need to grow a pair of balls!! to work in IB Sorry dd
lanceloitte ha ha you guys have a wicked sense of humour.

Fishing. You may inadvertently spark off a very different debate.

No you don't need to be a man to be an Investment Banker. However pay is high and entry level jobs are very competitive. So those wanting to be IBs can appear very focused. All night shifts in the library from the first term on, attending the network breakfasts laid on by bank recruiters, applying for internships during the long vacations. Essentially to land a job that will pay exceptionally well.

No problem with that. DS works hard but is not particularly money orientated. He would need to be convinced that I us a more interesting way to spend your life than, say, public policy. This hestitancy is probably enough to rule him out of a race which seems to demand 100% focus. He won't be looking for a job/internship in banking this summer but instead will take advantage of having lots of international friends by visiting Asia. (Actually he may end up working July and August to pay for it so ironic he lands a temp job in a bank.)

But horses for courses. People have different levels of interest in making money. IB is very international and fast moving which will also appeal to many, and some roles appear to demand very strong maths skills. And in countries like France and Italy, bankers seem to enjoy a much higher status than in the UK. Hence comparatively large numbers seeking to gain 3 year maths orientated economics degrees taught in English.

The outcome for DS seems to be that he feels he ought to want to go into banking because everyone else wants to and he is doing the right degree and taking the right options. However he is increasingly convinced that this is not for him.

He does not need to worry. There will be plenty of other career avenues.

Oh dear...... this is why women never get on and in 15 years time your daughters will be on mumsnet credit crunch threads with no money wondering how to save £1 if they shop in Lidl. Why on earth should a daughter not be tough enough to be an investment banker or surgeon or actuary or lawyer? Why do people assume their children are pathetic weak things who are not as good as men? Do they bring them up like that? Does it confirm their sexist prejudices if they point their daughters towards low paid work?

I agree that there is no reason why gender should matter.

However, I do think you need to be a certain personality type to thrive in these industries.

Too many do it because it's just what you do, if you're from a certain background/attend a certain university etc. Then they end up miserable and/or unsuccessful.

That said, even if you don't want to be in it for the long run, or you discover that it's not for you, it never looks bad on your CV.

Well yes. You can do something different after - much easier to earn a lot of money and move down in terms of jobs (even I work for myself now facilitated by those high paid years in the City) than move up later although my graduate postman son might surprise us all in due course by earning the most although that is unlikely whilst delivering post.

You're quite right Xenia - there is NO middle ground between being a tough women investment banker and trying to save a pound shopping at Lidl.

Oh hang on....

FFS

I never regret starting my legal career in the city.

1. They paid for me to go to law school.
2. I earned enough in those early years to buy a flat, a new wardrobe of clothes, start a pension etc.
3. I never look at DH's career longingly (he stayed put and is now a senior partner) and wonder...
4. I never had any trouble finding employment afterwards.
5. It taught me to be very focussed and disciplined.

tichy, depends how well they marry and where they are in the country and what their husbands earn. Many a high earner woman gives up all work to rely on a man, can never get a good job again once the youngest child is 5 and can only find jobs as rare as hen's teeth such as teaching assistants on not much more than the minimum wage.

However I am the one who writes about routes to happiness, sunshine, good food, being outside etc which more important than anything. On that basis the postman job is ideal - you carry heavy weights ( we all need to lift more it's key to good health), you walk all day, you're outside in all weathers, you finish your job and that's it and you are in bed early for your good night's sleep. I can understand his position liking it and it vindicates my view of how you bring up children to make their own choices rather than mould clones of yourself. However financially it's not a great choice and all his skills of cooking and childcare and the like tend not to be what most women seek in a partner.

Fishing...I warned you!

Ahh three choices then for our graduate daughters:

Become an investment banker
Marry a rich man
Shop at Lidl.

No other options? At all? Really? The MN demographic is stuffed full of women who have somehow found the hallowed middle ground which according to you doesn't exist.

And trust me, the most memorable thing about your posts Xenia is not 'be healthy and get some sun to be happy', it's 'be rich'.

Oh my lorde!
OK I've opened up a can worms!

As I've said before I posted with a " pardon my ignorance". But really do not know what the world of IB looks like! My visions are pretty limiting 'wall street movie' lots of suits and ties city bankers, motivated by money types and very male orientated. I'm asking is it a male dominated sector?? yeah exactly maybe not a great perception. Hence helpful comments point me to dispell my perception to say that there are women in these sectors.
But please...... lotuslight don't patronise me about how I raise my dd. They may not be your exacting standards You have your way I have mine. Believe me I know my daughter very well, why I say, she probably wouldn't like a job in IB, well shes is not motivated by making lots of money and taking risks. She is quiet in nature, wears her heart on her sleeve. If a IB job is male testosterone filled, shouty environments she won't feel happy she would have to step out of her comfort zone. I find it stupid the ideology that in order for women to feel successful is that they have to have a high powered career and not shop at lidl or find bargains! If that was the case I've done pretty crap in life! Thanks!
My DH teaches engineering & part time physics, it is very male dominated I'm sure there's lots of reasons why it is and lots to why it shouldn't be. Things find its way in whatever job sector so it becomes gender bias. I need a neurofen???

(So if I say I prioritise health, sunlight, exercise to make you happy people still say my underlying message is get rich? Why not read my words instead).

What's wrong with being rich?

Hell, I bloody love it.

going I think there's no dout that IB is a male dominated industry. But it is also a very large and varied industry with lots of roles within it.

I suspect that the sales side of the business can be quite testosterone fuelled, but that's not the whole deal.

My friend works at GS as an actuary and she is quiet, unassuming, quite mumsy. She basically crunches numbers in her office and gets paid squillions.

Probably because you've been posting for years under many different names, but your posting style and message remain the same - and many of us old farts recognise you!

Following on from Word's post, is actuarial science something your daughter might be interested in. Needs good level maths. LSE is a good place to go.

Off topic but I enjoy Lotus/Xenia's posts, despite shopping at Lidl. What happened to the private island?

Was Chandler in friends an actuary?

Just had the Lidl newsletter zap into my inbox. I'm doomed, doomed I say.