2 year analyst no longer enough?

Is 2 years work experience as an Ibanking analyst still enough to get into top mba programs? Someone posted a link a while ago with wharton MBAs and their resumes and it looked like Everyone had 4-5 years of experience.

2 Comments
 

I was asking about this in another post. I emailed Harvard last week and this is what they said:

Thanks for your interest in Harvard Business School!

We are pleased that you are aware of our recent initiative to reach out to potential applicants who are fresh out of college or are early in their careers. We hope to spread the word that there is no minimum age or work experience required to be a strong candidate for Harvard Business School.

At HBS, we truly value the quality of your experience versus the number of years you have been employed. Our admissions criteria of leadership potential, academic success and personal excellence is used consistently for all applicants. Therefore, it is critical that you individually assess when you can best demonstrate excellence in those areas to determine your readiness for our program. Some individuals will have experiences before graduation that provide these opportunities. Others will need to spend a few years in full time professional positions to gain these experiences.

As we use the case study method as our primary learning tool in the classroom, it is important that all individuals are equally able to learn from the perspectives of others and contribute to the classroom learning (both teach and learn roles). Everyone is on a different professional path - so you need to determine individually when is the optimal time for you to apply. We would suggest that you use the essay questions to test whether you are ready to apply. If you can clearly and passionately explain why an MBA is right now and how you will uniquely contribute to the perspectives of your classmates, you are ready. If you think you need additional business content/perspective in order to benefit from the discussion and case study learning model, you might benefit from spending a few years in a full time work experience..... and then apply.

Please visit our website to learn more about the school and our admissions requirements. We hope this information provides some guidance for you. Thank you for thinking of us, and we hope to receive an application from you in the near future.

Regards,

MBA Admissions Harvard Business School www.hbs.edu/mba

 
Most Helpful

Est sunt sit iste. Asperiores non ut repudiandae aliquid. Id qui ullam enim quo. Veniam corrupti et quisquam aliquam voluptate.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”