Non-Target hustled like hell, got offer at BX/Apollo/KKR, but feeling urge to get prestigious degree?
Ok guys so this is something that's been on my mind for a while. Kind of drunk typing this but hey why not.
I go to a non-target / borderline semi-target. Think Rutgers or American. Maybe quite good in the mind of the common man, but in high finance we all know my school's currency is worth jack shit.
I'll save the details for a future Q&A but basically I came here for personal reasons (I had a 2300+ SAT, got into ivies). Hustled like hell starting from the summer before freshman year. I did BB summers in both my sophomore and junior year, and then I delayed graduation another year due to personal reasons. This summer I will be going to a megafund in their credit team, the only non-target in their roster. The MF does not give returns, but has superb track record of placing into FT at top EBs/BBs.
All the places I've worked since sophomore year have been filled with the Ivy League. I know it's really silly, but I can't seem to ever lose the huge chip on my shoulder from coming from a shitty school. Would it be stupid of me to apply for a masters program at a prestigious target? I can get decent attention from BBs with my current resume, but I just feel like having that target school degree opens doors and puts you into a complete different "club".
My goals are to be in a megafund doing opportunistic credit or LBOs after a 2 year stint at a BB, which would be fully achievable with my current degree. But....I just feel so out of place and I hate how some people act surprised when someone like me lands a megafund role in college. If I do a 2-year MFin, I will be 26 entering as an analyst - would that be weird?
Stop being an insecure prestige whore. Do what makes you HAPPY, not what you think will make people impressed.
Must've went to Rutgers because you sound like a kid from a township in Jersey. Kid, don't sweat it. You'll exit from whatever prestigious job you land, do an MBA in a top 5 program and your idea of prestigious will be complete.
No. Stop being dumb. A MFin is irrelevant for you career-wise, and won't help you prestige-wise nearly as much as you think it will.
When people ask you what school you went to, if you say "oh I went to Princeton", you'll then have to clarify that you only got your MFin there and actually went to [insert non-target] for undergrad. Then everyone will wonder why you're so dumb for even considering a 2 year MFin when you have two BB internships and a MF internship on your resume. You'll then have to make up some lame excuse of being "super into finance(!!!)", while your fragile dreams of your newfound prestige concurrently shatters as each one of your coworkers slowly smirks and realizes that you have the permanent underdog mentality and you're just a wanna-be clown.
Don't be a wanna-be clown. You already have the in. Stop acting like a little bitch.
Note: Learn how to ask the tough questions while you're sober. Using alcohol as a crutch is another bitch move, and is so un-Ivy, bro.
On a lighter note, try changing your mentality. Look I get it. Surrounded by people that went to "better schools" than you may be slightly uncomfortable at first, but it's all about your mindset. If you really want to belong in the club, then you have to be comfortable with yourself and your background and feel that you already belong.
Having that perma-anxiety of always feeling like the underdog is just doing yourself a disservice.
I think it's great that you got into top jobs from a non-target. I think that should be a source of pride, not insecurity. The skills you used to land those jobs are much more important than the school you decided to attend...plus, you GOT IN to the ivies. So why the massive chip?
If people give you a weird look or act surprised you could even say something like "yeah, crazy, right?"
I think maybe what is going on here is you feel like maybe they have a better education than you or that they are judging you? This will go away very fast once you're on the job and doing great work. Right now it feels very important but I promise you in a few years nobody will care.
If you do want a more "prestigious" ivy network, and/or you still feel like you are being judged and want to re-brand, then I'd recommend a top MBA program. You'd be a shoe-in and I bet you'd get financial aid/merit based scholarship if you talk about your financial struggles growing up and you have a good reason for the MBA.
Work a few years and it will all become much more clear.
Good luck! Patrick
Your bitterness stems from your insecure mentality. The fact that you believe that once you get a "prestigious" school name on your resume your life will be set is just proof that you believe your value as a person is dependent on what your coworkers and peers think of you and your credentials.
Even if you end up attending a prestigious business school, you're going to need to change your mentality. Why? Because you will still be surrounded by people that went to a better undergrad than you. What are you going to do then? "Yeah yeah...I know I went to a shit undergrad school...but now I'm here!"
I didn't go to a target school either. So I get where you're coming from. But there's no need to feel that deep-seated bitterness and jealousy.
First off, who here is shitting on MF credit? Contrary to what some may think in my experience there isn't a big difference between that and MF PE in terms of ability to be accepted at top MBA programs - rather it's more reflective of way fewer credit guys wanting to do B school (since they really don't need to, while it's essential for PE).
Second, others have said it already - I get why you are insecure about your undergrad but you are wrong and you just need to live with it. Get over it. If you pursue the MSF you will 100% regret it later.
Third, some have said prestige matters, others the opposite. Is there a negative to having a random degree vs Harvard or Wharton when you meet new people? Obviously. Does that mean you should do a random ivy masters? Absolutely fucking not. Also just FYI, I have an ex top Ivy kid working for me now (who frankly could have gone anywhere given pedigree alone), and he is really just not good. Do you think I give a shit that he went to this top Ivy? Do you think that's going to get him a good bonus / promoted when the time comes? No, it isn't.
Stay focused and keep your head down. Hard work and hustle hasn't let you down yet - keep it up.