Is it worth it to take a loan to study at LSE?
Hi (: I'm from Singapore and I have received an offer to study BSc Economics atLSE。作为我一个国际学生,课程费用in total for 3 years is about 70k pounds, which is approximately 130-140k Singapore$. If the situation in London allows for physical classes, then that means another 30-40k pound spent on accommodation, which is again 60-70k S$. So in total it's about 100k pounds.
There are loans available in my country at about 4-5% interest rate, max 200k S$. I'm not sure if it's a worthy investment to take up a loan and then repay after graduation? I understand that the salary for economics graduate differ in various industries (the most $$ in investment banking), but I'm not sure of the figures and would love to hear anyone who is an Econs grad about their starting & current salary too!!
I have an offer from National Uni of Singapore (NUS) and Im eligible for the Financial Aid, so course fees wise it's really settled if I choose to stay local. There's also no accommodation fees since I can live at home.
I just feel that an economics degree atLSEis so amazing and one would have so many opportunities and repaying the loans (and still living on decent $) is not an issue, but I'm not sure if that's just in my head and the reality is not so... If anyone has any advice about this, please Comment or PM me, the deadline for UCAS is 10th June, so I'm rather worried. Thanks in advance! :-)
Comments (38)
Plenty of local graduates from nus, smu, ntu get into investment banking / s&t jobs in sg/hk。If you don't and want another bite at the cherry, save your money for a masters degree atLSE。If your parents can't afford it, stay in Singapore and you'll be fine.
Source : I was in your exact scenario almost 20 years ago
Hi!! I see! Are you currently working in Singapore ? :) Ah, I might actually enroll in a different course locally, as compared to Econs inLSE, so I would not go intoIBif I go to NUS.
May I know what's the approximate salary for econs graduate jobs in singapore, if I do BSc in LSE? So I can estimate how tough it is to repay the loan.
My parents could not afford to send me to the UK. I stayed in Singapore ,funded my education myself, worked in s&t (in hong kong) before moving over to the buyside.
Whatever you do, never ever blame your parents if they cannot afford your education atLSE。They probably tried their best to give you what they could. You are good enough to get admitted at the undergrad level and will get admitted again at the Msc level as long as you do well at NUS. During my days (early-mid 2000s) of course many of my (top) JC peers came from rich families who could send them to top schools in the US and UK , and I cant say that there wasnt any resentment, but you really have to play with the cards you're dealt.
TLDR : don't take the debt
Thanks for sharing, really helpful!
I agree with the comment above: work (very) hard during your BSc, get a top grade (1st if possible), and then go toLSEto do an MSc. Doing just the MSc provides by far the best value for your money, and given that you will need to borrow money, I think that it is an easy decission. However, keep in mind how competitive admission for the MSc is and work hard during your BSc so you make sure that you can get in.
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MSc is a lot less competitive than BSc
Not really.
MSc Finance intake / applicants: 93 / 1526: 6.1%
BSc Finance intake / applicants: 69 / 678: 10.2%
BSc Economics intake / applicants: 256 / 3315: 8.0%
Source www.lse。ac.uk/
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Ah I see, I might not be going into economics / finance if I stay locally though, so I won't get the chance to do a masters inLSEhaha :) But I agree, I'm open to doing masters (healthcare related policy etc) in other London unis if I stay in Singapore.
Thank you for your advice!!! :D
Hey, I'm a current MSc student at theLSEand I would say its worth the risk to take a loan for undergrad. Its expensive but ultimately worth it.LSEis by far the top school in my opinion in terms of placingstudents intoIBD/PEroles
Hi!! If you don't mind could you share approximately the salary of one after completing 3 years of BSc without MSc? So I can estimate the number of months it will take to return the loan :") I understand there are a variety of occupations for econs grad, what's the average salary if you have any idea?
I would ball park and say about £45k, this is skewed by those who go intoIBD/PEroles which most people do. But there are alsoLSEundergrads who go into academia, NGOs etc.
nah no need, just go to nus - i'm from nus and gotBBSAand converted toFT, no issue at all.
Hi! May I know whatsBBSAand FT? :)
Summer Analyst position at a Bulge Bracket (look it up), converted into Full Time employment
Econ undergrad atlseis one of the absolute best 3 courses for entering London finance you could possibly take (alongside PPE at Oxford and econ at Cambridge). I studied a different undergrad atlseso I know first hand both how powerful thelsebrand is but specifically the outcomes from that course which are the best you can get atlse(far better thanlsemasters which is diluted in terms of admission prestige, with a less competitive pool of applicants since many students atlsedon't go back for masters since no reason to).
Assuming you want finance in London or Europe I assure you the roi on the financial investment and the overall quality of education and opportunity is not going to be matched by a Singaporean University and will more than pay for itself.
I think the real question is about what you want post university and where you want to be. Having said that,lseundergrad will likely offer you greater flexibility to even go to Singapore whilst I doubt one could say the same the other way around.
For careers in finance and breadth of opportunity there is absolutely no contest betweenLSEvs Nus/ntu/smu in Singapore. If one can afford it then it'sLSEby a country mile.
The question here is whether it's worth getting into immense debt when one can achieve a similar career outcome , at least in Ibd /s&t in Singapore/hk, by staying in Singapore.
To op, My point still stands , if your parents cannot afford it, don't take the loan. It is a significant millstone around your parent's neck. Save the money, spend it on a Masters degree instead atLSE。Don't burden your parents and yourself with this.
Ah I see! I do not intend on taking a masters, unless the companies / industries require me to :-) Thank you for sharing your insights!
May I know if you can share more about working inIB/ Actuary / Consulting? The working hours , lifestyle , pay and generic competitiveness for such jobs in london? :)
Agree with theLSEbrand BUT the idea that the course will help is a bit eh imo. Econ grads tend to go intoIBbecause of self-selection rather than the course itself being prioritised, if anything other courses can help people stand out in the interviews and on the CVs since you can bet everyLSEand Cambridge economist will apply for the spring weeks and internships and yet the number of students at both Oxbridge andLSEnotgetting theFOoffers is still higher than those that do. Thus,FOIBor consulting still isn't guaranteed withLSEeconomics and there's a lot OP will have to do in order to break in ( i think internationals can only apply to certain places too which will sponsor them or something but this might be wrong, if its true then its even harder for OP)/
LSEwill give OP much better chances but by no means is it guaranteed at all. The cards will still be stacked against them and they will have to do alot of other things to land a role, btw OP these positions areverycompetitive in the UK lol. The main argument that needs to be made is will the chancesLSEgive him worth all that money? Probably not since at that point its a gamble, ifLSEgave them a >40% chance then yeah maybe but it doesn't, its still largely up to the individual.
yeah... the competition is the biggest hurdle imo as well, but i'm looking to returning to SG for employment (altho of course for spring wks/ internships definitely i'll have to compete). the lifestyle ofIB/ consulting is also quite tough, and many end up quitting the industry despite the high $? If I choose not to go into these lucrative careers, what would you say is the average salary to look at?
If u r native in mandarin and targetBBinHK, stay in NUS is fine. Plenty of opportunities inHKIBDnow, heard my friends from NTU so far got interviews withMSTMT/Citi, believe you can get shots too.
Ah I see! Indeed many NUS graduates end up inHK, thank you I will keep this in mind! :) Do you think a Masters is necessary, by the way ?
If not get anySAinBB, can consider to break in via master as 2nd try. Other than that, no interest in it myself.
I don't understand the comments telling OP to do an MSc atLSEinstead of a bachelors. MSc programs atLSEare extremely expensive (30k-40k GBP) and he'll still have to pay the one-time costs associated with moving to London.
@OP also keep in mind that Singapore salaries are significantly higher than LDN. Good luck with your decision.
Oh! I was under the impression that salaries are higher in London than in Singapore? Do you know what's the starting salary forLSEGrads who return to SG?
SG pay is in-line withNYCwith much lower taxes, while LDN is still tied to legacy exchange rates.BBIBin LDN is something like 50k base + 25-35k bonus (GBP).
I went to a local uni inHKso fairly similar situation but trade your NUS for HKUST. Similarly to you, I chose local over Penn and LSE due to fear of debt. I'm 5 years out of school now, but when I recruited, I was lucky enough to getBBSAatGS/MS/JP——我的两年,然后飙升至欧元opean megafund. Back then, I could count with 2 hands the number of local uni kids who ended up inFTBBIBDevery year, and this wasHKwhere there were a lot more opportunities than SG (or so I've heard). Perhaps things have gotten better since, but I really feel like trying to landBBIBDfrom a local uni was 10x harder than getting into a top school, and certainly harder for me than even my relatively mediocre but privileged friends who went to places like NYU. And my academic life also sucked because as you know, it's a great deal harder to get a non-eyesore of a grade at a place like HKUST (guessing Singapore schools are similar) than it is atLSE, or getting cum laude at an Ivy.
I am posting anonymously so I'll just be honest to help you out: There are so many times I regret not going to Wharton/LSE, mainly because of the long-term network and the opportunity to live abroad. If I could go back in time, I think I would have. In my days I've met a ton of people like me who graduated from those places with significant debt, but they're honestly fine. If you land a top paying job, as long as your loan terms aren't crazy you'll be able to live your life fine and pay it off over 5-7 years. I even know Singaporeans who broke their bond while overseas and have to pay crazy penalties (think 250-300k USD total), but they're fine because they landed a great job. Instead of saving 30k a year, they save 5-10k- not a big deal for most people.
If the opportunity to live and study in a place like London doesn't spark joy in you at all, and you also really have confidence in yourself that you don't need the "side benefits" of going to a name-brand school, then just stay in SG. But as someone who is 9 years post-decision, now with 7 figures in the bank, yeah - I kind of regret not betting on myself and just taking the 200k loan.
Oh wow! Thank you so much for your candid response :) It's amazing that you've managed to reach where you are now, either way! And I hope you're doing fine :D If you can still see this comment, perhaps could you elaborate a bit more on the work / lifestyle of working in the bank, 7 figures is insane!
Really helpful! Thanks
Yes.
The Financial Times rankedLSEas first in the UK for graduate salaries making its credentials undeniable. If you are aiming to catch up fast, you should consider attending one of the toughest schools because this tough grind will offer more academic intensity and a higher level of difficulty which will make it easier for you to pass your exams with relative ease. You may also be able to secure better employment opportunities since many employers are looking for tough students who are well-led by their school's instructors.
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