Nontraditional Student, Community College Education, 30yr old lesbian latina woman
Hi! I need some crucial school and career advice. Quick background on me, I am a nontraditional student (30 yr. old woman, lesbian, Latina), and I’ve been working full-time for 8 years at a bank for auto finance. (Just call center and paper pushing type of work, went from $27K to $52K in my 8 years) I dropped out of community college years back, ruined my GPA, then returned back to school and got my GPA up to a 3.60.
I’m currently finishing up this semester for my associates in business and will be transferring as a junior to University of Texas @Dallas (a non-target) in Spring 2020 to get my BS in Finance. Money saved (working full/time, working a side job and attending school part/time), no debt, no kids, no partner, and I’ve decided to quit my job and attend school full-time to seriously pursue a career in IB.
OKAY! Now the advice I need: What can I do during my next 2 years of undergrad. to position myself to get into MBA program from a top school that is an IB target school. The closest to me is University of Texas @Austin. (Target school for Houston IB) But I want to shoot even higher and apply to UPenn Wharton and Cornell Johnson. Since I am a nontraditional student who came out of the workforce to attend school full-time would it be appropriate to pursue graduate school immediately out of my undergrad. to increase my chances of breaking into IB? Also, are there any diversity organizations that you could recommend that could help me also get into a top MBA school? I need all the advice, alternatives, & suggestions I can get. Thank you!
You should try to get into IB from undergrad. A top-tier MBA is out of your reach right now. You would need impressive work experience and grades, and it's also a huge investment. You do have a chance directly out of undergrad though.
I don't know anything about UT Dallas but the best way to break in from a non-target is networking. Look up every alum on LinkedIn and email all of them, and then start with non-alums. You also qualify for diversity programs at just about every firm, so look for those.
If I were you I'd consider pushing graduation back a semester, as the timeline for recruiting into IB is generally the summer before/fall of your junior year - Summer 2020 is starting now and you don't even have a GPA from your transfer yet. You should get your GPA as high as you can, start networking, and hit the ground running for Summer 2021 recruiting once you're a year into school. In the meantime, get relevant internships if you have free time.
Good luck. This is not an easy path, but the opportunities are there.
I think your expectations are a little high. Excuse me, but you seem to be banking on the fact that you are a significantly URM. To be blunt, your WE is not very impressive, you didn't list any special extras and a 3.6 from a non-target is not too competitive for the MBA programs you listed, let alone IBD.
That being said, if you are deadset on IB, I believe the best course of action is to network your ass off, do anything you can to gain relevant experience during undergrad, absolutely destroy the GMAT (750+), apply to more realistic schools in the NE (top ~25-50?), continue to network your ass off during B-school and see what happens. It will be a brutal 5 years, but it has to be done.
If you are willing to forget IB for the time being, still network your actual ass off and land a corporate finance/corporate banking/commercial banking role. If after a few years you still feel unfulfilled because you are not in IB, then get your MBA.
Good luck to you, your ambition is admirable.
I've actually always had a love for business and finance without actually knowing it. I originally started school for psychology. When I had to drop out and find a full-time job, I just ended up at a bank. I became complacent there until I was recruited to be a part of a project for a new finance product. It was a pilot team! I thrived in that environment. It was fast paced, things changed every moment, the president of financial services was always there. I loved it! I got recognized for my contributions and was given a promotion. I had always read finance, investing, and business strategy books just as a hobby. I never knew I would be in a position to apply what I know. Due to my complacency, it just never crossed my mind to make a career out of what I loved. I went back to school for accounting because I wanted to learn how to speak "the language of business." Since I'm finishing up my associates now and transferring into UTD, I've been awarded some scholarships. I realize I needed to figure out if I would take a CPA route or what. I did research, came across IB. Since I am so behind and I have so many odds against me, IB is the only route that will give me the skills and the experience I need in a shortest amount of time. I need to be somewhere where I can be able to hit the ground running and learn a ton. I want to learn all about M&A, "sell-side" & "buy-side," and work on deals. & I'm willing to quit my job and go all in and do whatever it takes. I'm already use to 100 hour weeks, between 2 jobs, gym, class, and school work. Side note: I'm also a fitness enthusiast, so I workout and eat super health (I benchpress 130lbs). Just to paint a picture of my energy levels at my age. On this site, I read how many women, latinos, and LGBTQ are in IB and the numbers are so low statically. Not to mention my age is not common to enter IB without a career-changer background or whatever. So that was the purpose of this post. To address one of the largest finance communities online to gather information on how I can increase my chances of breaking into IB. I am not sure if I'll land exactly where I am aiming but I figure I'll be significantly better off than where I am now.
I know this will be hard to comprehend...but being LGBTQXYZ does not directly help you in IB. Therefore, I don't think it's going to be a great selling point.
I think this is really interesting and think there is something I am missing. What makes it appear that I stated anything in the first paragraph as a "selling point?" I feel like there is a reason people are reading it from that perspective. Everything in the first paragraph is to illustrate the odds against me. But it appears to be a reoccurring trend that people actually believe that those are my "selling points!" 1st) paragraph=the odds I am facing, 2nd) paragraph=where I am at and where I want to go, 3rd) paragrah=A plea for help. What am I missing here?
Then why bring it up at all. You do understand that you can keep your sexuality to yourself (and not broadcast it). It would and should have absolutely no bearing on you aforementioned post.
Yes, there are many LGBTQ diversity programs. So if you are a 19 year old math major at Harvard with a 3.8 GPA who happens to be gay, that can help lead to a targeted program. That isn't you.
I get it, everyone has a different path and experience. But it is nauseating to hear that because someone is an "unconventional" candidate that it somehow makes them more deserving.
You may have not had complete control of your life, but take some ownership and realize that you could have made better choices earlier in life that would've set you up better. Stop using your sexuality and race as a crutch to get ahead.
Find a way that you can add value, work hard and sell your story on why you want IB without all the excuses. I really wish you the best of luck but at some point, there has to be some sort of ownership for where you are at.
You sound from your subsequent posts like you have a good plan.
I'll be honest with you: your URM candidacy will absolutely help in MBA and IB recruiting. A lot of posters are arguing from the standpoint, "Should it?" and that's another conversation. But I'll tell you straight, it absolutely does help and we are beaten over the head by HR with diversity candidates almost a full year before the actual recruiting timeline kicks off and are constantly pressured to improve diversity stats, including emails from the head of our investment bank and the CEO himself.
Now, stepping aside from that, you should "act as if." That is, prepare as hard as if you were not a diversity candidate, keep working hard to make your profile as good as possible. The truth is even at my top 15 MBA the LGBT+ people all had excellent backgrounds, were very smart, articulate, well dressed, and therefore recruited at an outstanding level. They would have made it regardless of URM help. So that's your real competitive landscape, standing out from an outstanding crowd.
Do your best, no regrets, and even if you fall a bit short of your lofty goals you will be in a tremendously better place than where you are at now. Life is a marathon.