Crazy HBS and Stanford rejections
(Orangutan, 292
Points)
on 4/6/10 at 11:39am
Admissions to top MBA programs the past few years has been downright insane. Just some anecdotes of people i know who have gotten rejected at HBS and stanford
1. VP at TPG who got rejected at HBS, now at wharton
2. summa at wharton undergrad, BCG consulting, international experience, 750+ GMAT, rejected at HBS and stanford
3. engineering undergrad at a top program (MIT, Stanford, berkeley), McKinsey consulting, 770 GMAT, rejected at HBS, stanford, wharton, kellogg, columbia
#1 isn't surprising, age is a
#1 isn't surprising, age is a huge discounting factor, especially for HBS. In general it has been brutal for PE guys in the past couple years.
Why the hell would a VP at
Why the hell would a VP at TPG want to go to business school? Rejection is not suprising at all. That's like saying he was rejected from med school.
2 is not completely surprising, shit happens.
3 is the only real shock in the bunch.
Just because these guys have
Just because these guys have gone to top schools and worked at prestigious firms doesn't in any way indicate they are capable of doing anything other than behaving like trained monkeys. Think about it... you read, study, memorize, regurgitate and do well in school... get into a good college. Do what you did in high school and try not to get sidetracked by your new found independence and get interviews at top firms. While the whole interviewing process is supposed to keep these book smart trained monkeys out of the system, interviewing itself can be mastered using the same read, study, memorize, regurgitate process. This time you're just learning to tell them what they want to hear.
The above stats, while impressive on paper, don't say much to suggest that any one of those people are standouts who will leave a lasting impression in all their endeavors.
Its not that surprising at all really. The above guys have gotten rejected and people with "less impressive" stats have gotten in... what does that tell you?
These programs aren't seeking out students who can graduate with a 3.8 GPA and go back to McK with a pay bump... they're looking for the next Dimons, Kravis, Paul Tudor Jones, etc... Working at McK and having a top Ivey 3.8 ungrad GPA means absolutely jack shit in the real world.
Many a monkeys have come to the same conclusion once leaving college. They graduate from a top school with a 3.9 and think their shit doesn't stink, then they get into the real world and a state school fucktard with a 3.5 is running circles around them and the essence of their being is shaken to the core.
The stats you mentioned get the person's application looked at. Then the question is asked "what does this guy/girl have to offer?" Your undergrad school/GPA and firm you worked for do nothing to answer that question.
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This is a stupid post.
This is a stupid post. Qualified people get rejected all the time from Ivey's HBS has like a 10% admission rate.
The guy is a VP yet he wants
The guy is a VP yet he wants to sit in class and re learn financial accounting and marketing?? What purpose would an MBA suit this guy, his network has got to be insane and he is already well above they typical role a post MBA would start at. If anything this guy should be looking at an executive MBA or something if he really feels the need.
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Or maybe OP just wanted to
Or maybe OP just wanted to whip up some make believe examples of "impressive" candidates who should be shoo ins to Stanford/HBS and thought a VP at TPG would be one of them.
Graduate at 22...
2-3 years in banking...
2-3 years as a pre-MBA associate
2-3 years as a senior associate
Now you're a VP.
28-31 years old, VP at TPG... probably making... I dunno, say 500-800K... you leave to go to b-school for 2 years? Forgo about 1M to 1.6M in compensation, spend about 150-200K on school... so total cost is 1.2M-1.8M for a degree you don't really need for where you are in your career... also if you're a VP at TPG, your network is already pretty solid... meeting a bunch of kids 3 to 5 years out of college isn't going to do enhance it much.
This guys already a VP and at a megafund. He likely went to a top ivy. He's already on the buy-side and he's already at a top mega-fund. On top of that... his network of people working UNDER him are the top MBA graduates he's now going to join the ranks of? Doesn't make a lot of sense.
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I have to think that those
I have to think that those situations exist. It's a status move. Let's face it. Once your over the "making a lot of money" hurdle (lets just say >400k) you're not going to B-school to up the money. You just want to be able to say "I went to Harvard," at the cocktail reception.
Marcus_Halberstram
Just because these guys have gone to top schools and worked at prestigious firms doesn't in any way indicate they are capable of doing anything other than behaving like trained monkeys. Think about it... you read, study, memorize, regurgitate and do well in school... get into a good college. Do what you did in high school and try not to get sidetracked by your new found independence and get interviews at top firms. While the whole interviewing process is supposed to keep these book smart trained monkeys out of the system, interviewing itself can be mastered using the same read, study, memorize, regurgitate process. This time you're just learning to tell them what they want to hear.
The above stats, while impressive on paper, don't say much to suggest that any one of those people are standouts who will leave a lasting impression in all their endeavors.
Its not that surprising at all really. The above guys have gotten rejected and people with "less impressive" stats have gotten in... what does that tell you?
These programs aren't seeking out students who can graduate with a 3.8 GPA and go back to McK with a pay bump... they're looking for the next Dimons, Kravis, Paul Tudor Jones, etc... Working at McK and having a top Ivey 3.8 ungrad GPA means absolutely jack shit in the real world.
Many a monkeys have come to the same conclusion once leaving college. They graduate from a top school with a 3.9 and think their shit doesn't stink, then they get into the real world and a state school fucktard with a 3.5 is running circles around them and the essence of their being is shaken to the core.
The stats you mentioned get the person's application looked at. Then the question is asked "what does this guy/girl have to offer?" Your undergrad school/GPA and firm you worked for do nothing to answer that question.
Although I sympathize with the general theme of this post, there is actually a pretty good correlation between college GPA and test scores and one's future earning ability. Someone who graduates from harvard with a 3.9 GPA may not be the next buffett or gates, but it does show employers that he is intelligent and hard working. The latter is especially critical in finance, where long grueling hours are to be expected.
And for every state school kid with a 3.5 GPA who runs circles around ivy grads, there are at least a dozen who are in crappy jobs and whose social life is limited to drinking domestic beer on the weekends at a sports bar.
quantum wrote: Admissions to
Admissions to top MBA programs the past few years has been downright insane. Just some anecdotes of people i know who have gotten rejected at HBS and stanford
1. VP at TPG who got rejected at HBS, now at wharton
2. summa at wharton undergrad, BCG consulting, international experience, 750+ GMAT, rejected at HBS and stanford
3. engineering undergrad at a top program (MIT, Stanford, berkeley), mckinsey consulting, 770 GMAT, rejected at HBS, stanford, wharton, kellogg, columbia
H/S/W have unlimited access to these blue-chip candidates. Top programs value diversity and they do not want an entire class of Bankers/Consultants. There is a disproportionate amount of ex-bankers/consultants applying to b-school right now, so if you belong to this category you are facing an uphill battle.
BCbanker wrote: I have to
I have to think that those situations exist. It's a status move. Let's face it. Once your over the "making a lot of money" hurdle (lets just say >400k) you're not going to B-school to up the money. You just want to be able to say "I went to Harvard," at the cocktail reception.
It would be stupid to go to HBS when you're a VP at an elite PE firm, just to say that you went to harvard. if you're hanging out amongst upscale people, especailly at a place like manhattan, your job and status will be more than sufficient to impress them.
jjc1122
Just because these guys have gone to top schools and worked at prestigious firms doesn't in any way indicate they are capable of doing anything other than behaving like trained monkeys. Think about it... you read, study, memorize, regurgitate and do well in school... get into a good college. Do what you did in high school and try not to get sidetracked by your new found independence and get interviews at top firms. While the whole interviewing process is supposed to keep these book smart trained monkeys out of the system, interviewing itself can be mastered using the same read, study, memorize, regurgitate process. This time you're just learning to tell them what they want to hear.
The above stats, while impressive on paper, don't say much to suggest that any one of those people are standouts who will leave a lasting impression in all their endeavors.
Its not that surprising at all really. The above guys have gotten rejected and people with "less impressive" stats have gotten in... what does that tell you?
These programs aren't seeking out students who can graduate with a 3.8 GPA and go back to McK with a pay bump... they're looking for the next Dimons, Kravis, Paul Tudor Jones, etc... Working at McK and having a top Ivey 3.8 ungrad GPA means absolutely jack shit in the real world.
Many a monkeys have come to the same conclusion once leaving college. They graduate from a top school with a 3.9 and think their shit doesn't stink, then they get into the real world and a state school fucktard with a 3.5 is running circles around them and the essence of their being is shaken to the core.
The stats you mentioned get the person's application looked at. Then the question is asked "what does this guy/girl have to offer?" Your undergrad school/GPA and firm you worked for do nothing to answer that question.
Although I sympathize with the general theme of this post, there is actually a pretty good correlation between college GPA and test scores and one's future earning ability. Someone who graduates from harvard with a 3.9 GPA may not be the next buffett or gates, but it does show employers that he is intelligent and hard working. The latter is especially critical in finance, where long grueling hours are to be expected.
And for every state school kid with a 3.5 GPA who runs circles around ivy grads, there are at least a dozen who are in crappy jobs and whose social life is limited to drinking domestic beer on the weekends at a sports bar.
Actually, if you look at the correlations, the strongest predictor is where you apply, not where you go to school or how you do. If someone thinks they're good enough for Harvard, that means as much as if they actually go there.
As for the VP at TPG, always possible he got let go, hence the decision to go to bschool. If he just wanted to get the brand name, pretty sure that's exactly the purpose of the EMBA
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jjc1122 wrote: Although I
Although I sympathize with the general theme of this post, there is actually a pretty good correlation between college GPA and test scores and one's future earning ability.
My point is that any graduate from HBS will by default have among the highest earnings potential. They are not seeking people who will be making 500K 3 years out of b-school... they're seeking the Mike Bloomberg, Len Blavatnik, Ray Dalio, Dan D'Aniello, Jamie Dimon, John Paulson, Steve Schwarzman type of alums. The game changers in the world. The guys who when being profiled being a Harvard MBA is just a droplet. Not the Richard Montgomery and Neil Phillips who graduated HBS MBA in '98 and are MD and parnters at IB and PE firms.
The people contributing to the prestige and name of HBS are one of the above named alums.... not the guys who are making 7 digits as heads of M&A at a BB bank or as high up at a PE firm.
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drexelalum11 wrote: Actually,
Actually, if you look at the correlations, the strongest predictor is where you apply, not where you go to school or how you do. If someone thinks they're good enough for Harvard, that means as much as if they actually go there.
I'm pretty sure you're mis-citing this study (http://partners.nytimes.com/library/financial/colu...), where the authors found that high schoolers who got into ivy league schools, but attended state schools, did just as well as their ivy-league counterparts.
BCbanker wrote: I have to
I have to think that those situations exist. It's a status move. Let's face it. Once your over the "making a lot of money" hurdle (lets just say >400k) you're not going to B-school to up the money. You just want to be able to say "I went to Harvard," at the cocktail reception.
Exactly. Plus, b-school is apparently very fun and a nice break from sitting in an office all day.
Hi, Eric Stratton, rush chairman, damn glad to meet you.
And another thing - don't
And another thing - don't know how true people have found this to be, but I've spoken to people who do admissions for HBS and they say that the competition to get in there from PE is ridiculous, more so than comparable job functions, because of the sheer number of PE guys that apply.
Hi, Eric Stratton, rush chairman, damn glad to meet you.
Why would it be stupid to go
ringtailedlemur
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MoneyKingdom wrote: Why would
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Marcus_Halberstram
Moneykingdom, What
Few successful people go to
perhaps admissions doesn't
=========================================
We are excited to formally extend to you an offer to join Bank of Ameria
Don't underestimate the
This guy has Harvard MBA's
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jamie dimon is a badass.
Marcus, Anthony - At some
Money, I agree people need a
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AnthonyD1982 wrote: Money, I
Maybe he got let go from TPG
I agree with jhoratio -- only
Marcus_Halberstram
Yeah, not even getting a top
It's possible his/her gpa was
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