Best path to private equity at Blackstone

Hi everyone. I am new on WSO and happy to be involved. Currently I am 15 years old living in Canada. I am extremely interested in working in the private equity business, particularly at BX. Hopefully I would even make partner at some point.

Although this goal is lucrative, I do understand it is overwhelmingly difficult to achieve but I would still like to give it a go. What should I be doing from now up until applying at BX in order to maximize my chances of working at my dream fund?

Thanks to all.

P.S. Not a troll; making that clear. Very serious.

14 Comments
 

Put PE in the back of your mind for now.. baby steps.

Get a HIGH SAT score and get a HIGH GPA and do not get HIGH.

STUDY books STUDY tests STUDY with friends but do not STUDY friend.

What concert costs 45 cents? 50 Cent feat. Nickelback.
 
Most Helpful

It’d be interesting to see how recruiting at Ivey, Queens, UBC and etc. is impacted by events re: Trump and visas.

But historically speaking, target Canadian schools like Ivey do place kids at the BBs/EBs in NY/other, which then would subsequently provide opportunities to get into MFs like Blackstone. @m_1"’s “go to U.S.” comment needs an addendum, which is if you can get yourself into a top target school (like Wharton, Harvard, etc.), then of course those would open more doors vs. Ivey. However, Ivey is arguably quite competitive vs. some strong US schools. Example - Ivey is one of the few schools Silverlake looks at for their SA/FT analyst hires, for instance, and historically Leonard Green Partners also recruits out of Ivey... which I don’t think many schools can claim. Also, Ivey while expensive in Canada, is cheaper than being an international at an Ivy League in US.

OP, focus on getting top grades and demonstrate leadership/meaningful involvement in extracurriculars that you’ll need for both US school applications and Ivey’s AEO program or Queens commerce. And in the upcoming years, have conversations with older peers that have gone through the Ivey or Queens recruiting cycles, to see if recruiting into US has been negatively impacted vs. the past. And assuming you have the luxury of choice, you can make your decision then.

 

Not disagreeing with you that you can consider US, but more like qualifying which US schools are worth going to (depending on your options - it’s not like everyone can get into HYPW). For instance if it was hypothetically UCLA vs Ivey, I’m saying from a cost (ridiculous for internationals), competition (between your immediate peers), and opportunities perspective (BB, EB and notable PEs directly recruiting from Ivey), the latter makes sense. If it’s vs. Sauder, that’s a different conversation.

Distinction and which schools matters , not just simply “US schools”. There have been some posters on WSO that said they’ve gone to non-target or less targeted schools in US (as. Canadian) vs. having Ivey/Queens as an option and regretted it.

Grades is also only one component of the equation, leadership/extracurricular exp is another. Not having applied to US schools in undergrad, I don’t know how Ivey or Queen’s weighting of the two compares with your HYPs and ivy leagues or other target schools. And even between the Canadian schools, grades and weighting for extracurrics will be different (historically Ivey AEO applications were more about ECs, and also having 90+ avg, whereas Queens places more emphasis on grades). Then there’s also factoring for whether competition to get into your top US schools would be different for internationals vs. locals. Or other things like whether he is from a private school with network ties and connections (which matters less for your Canadian schools where there’s more emphasis on grades).

OP - you will need to do some research to see what you can be competitive for, and to know how you can build up a credible application profile for the schools you target. And also get a sense of which schools - both US and Canada - will set you up for your goals. For Canada I will bluntly say that the likely two are Ivey and Queens. Something like UBC has examples of ppl going to say GS and then MF PE, but I believe It’s likely through that special program (PMF), which has fewer spots, and only but a few get BB/EB (I think others place well at Canadian banks). As I mentioned in my other post - get a sense of whether US bank recruiting is impacted at Ivey/Queens over next few years given the environment.

 

Step 1: go back in time and be born as the child of a wealthy NYC family whose patriarch is a partner / MD at XYZ megafund or something similar enough Step 2: intertia

 

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