Zicklin MBA ->>> Tier 2 Consulting?

I am currently a year 2 FP&A analyst at a F200 defense company. Management has been pressing me to get an MBA, part time, locally. I am hesitant to do this as an MBA is your one reset button, and I am not sure if I want to make a long term commitment to this company and role. I have been doing some light research into tier 2 consulting, and was wondering what kind of ocr opportunities exist for schools in the 30-60 rank range? Namely Baruch Zicklin? Or Fordham? As a resident of nys, the tuition at Baruch seems to be a steel. Attending a higher ranked school will be a stretch as I lacked focus in undergrad and finished with a lowish gpa from a non target school in finance.

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Mid-tier MBA's, especially part-time, often don't produce the kind of career change opportunities that full-time MBA's provide. In your case, I'm not sure that a part-time MBA in itself would open any doors in T2 consulting. Even T2's such as Deloitte and Accenture focus on hiring MBA's from the top ~25.

I would suggest reaching out to people you know in T2 or T3 consulting shops and networking the old fashioned way. Not sure what your GPA was, but FP&A for a F200 defense (hot industry) company is a respectable first job out of college. The way consulting works, your chances of getting an entry-level job decrease significantly as you get further from graduation and, honestly, I think a part-time MBA would just complicate things. Full-time MBA is a different story.

 

Almost impossible.

  1. Full time is by far the better route for strategy consulting, since more than half of hiring is from summer interns, and then you get a second shot in full time OCR
  2. The tier 2, in particular, tend to hire fewer folks than MBB but from the same targeted set of schools (e.g. top 15) - it's really hard to break in from a non-target unless you are an URM, they have an unusually large hiring need, and you know a partner in the practice fairly well - even then it is really difficult
  3. Outside of the t15, schools don't have good resources to help you prep for interviews and recruiting - not to be understated
  4. Applying from a low ranked MBA is a signal in and of itself, and not a positive one - it implies you couldn't get in to a top ranked program

A top ranked program isn't out of the question if you didn't do well in undergrad, but you will need to exhibit promotions on your resume with increasing responsibilities, a strong GMAT (probably 740+), good references, and likely at least 4 years of work experience

 

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your time. I have decided to work hard at my current job (promoted to senior associate last week after only 1 year of work) for the next year or two. I will study like hell for the GMAT and see where I land, and if I cant get into a top 20 program I will get an MBA locally, for free, and continue the climb up the FP&A ladder.

 

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