How Useful is an MBA Network for PE Recruiting Pre-MBA?
Hi folks, I recently got into Booth's Scholar Program (deferred enrollment) and had several questions.
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Are there any penalties if I accept now and reapply elsewhere after 2-4 years other than the lost deposit (I remember seeing somewhere that Wharton is very strict about this but I haven't read anything in Booth's admission criteria that explicitly forbids this)
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I am entering IB and want to transition to PE. I am thinking of leverage the Booth network for PE recruiting pre-MBA. How useful is the Booth network pre-MBA?
The way I look at it is I am basically paying the few k in deposit in exchange for having this on my resume and for its potential PE recruiting advantages via the network (should I decide to reapply or not get an MBA), thoughts on my thought process?
Thanks in advance for all your inputs. Stay safe.
congrats on getting admitted, i recently got the good news as well. Similar question to add on to yours already — recognizing that Booth is a great school but is not HSW, does it still make sense to have Booth on your resume for PE recruiting? i.e. not just when talking to Booth alumni, but in general
Bump
On (1) you'll have to look at specific school websites - in general, I think it's fine - it's a free country, and personal circumstances change - there's no way they can force you to go to Booth or bust. You'll lose the deposit for sure though.
(2) People might glance at your GMAT score (put it if it's 730+) - otherwise, probably not much help. Apart from maybe the Chicago based firms (MDP, GTCR), Booth doesn't really get any traction on either cost in post-MBA PE world (look at websites and see if you can find any Boothies).
If you do get an MBA, you should shoot for HBS/GSB if you are targeting post-MBA PE.
Trivial question, but you think 730 is the cutoff for a GMAT on the resume? Have heard 750+ is now the norm for high finance? For reference, I got a 740..
Congrats on the acceptance
1) I’d refrain from reneging and reapplying, but probably could get away with it. Risky accepting booth early when you could be more competitive for H/S down the road
2) This is a little blunt, but honest. I think Booth may hurt more than it helps on the resume if you are shooting for UMM/MF PE. Top firms place almost all of their associates (who want b school) into H/S/W. They won’t ding you for it, but committing to booth early may not be as attractive as you think for the top firms.
That being said, if you stick with booth, you could still try and network with any alum you see currently in PE and try to get a leg up that way.
Booth very clearly states on their website/admit portal that the Booth Scholars Program isn't binding. You won't be penalized (if that's even possible normally) for applying to other programs later.
"Booth may hurt more than it helps"--> the early acceptance is non-binding, so at the very least it's just a credible sign to PE firms that you were on top of your stuff and a top MBA program wanted you early.
If non-binding, then definitely worth keeping to hedge.
I stand by my opinion about not including it on the resume, though. Again, others may disagree, but I’m just letting you know the thoughts that I would have as someone at a UMM/MF who has played a role in recruiting.
If I saw booth deferred on the resume, my first thought would be, “Why was this candidate rejected from HBS, GSB, and Wharton?”
Risky proposition given that even if it’s viewed as a positive thing by a certain interviewer, the benefit will not be very material relative to the risk
You should know that these deferred enrollment application cycles are way, way more selective than regular cycles. They explicitly express preference for STEM majors and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds. Many top candidates from H/Y/P type schools with 3.8+ GPAs who are going into banking/consulting can't even get into Booth/MIT/Columbia, let alone H/S/W early.
I hope your associate counterparts at other UMM/MF firms aren't as uninformed about these early programs as you are
^ Would echo the above. Know a few incoming BB (JP/BAML/CS) FT analysts w/ 760's and 3.7+'s who only got into lower tier M7s (Sloan/Kellog).
Writing about wanting to do PE long-term in your essays is shooting yourself in the foot for these applications
Well, I guess this is a perfect case study as to why, as stated, I’d recommend not including it on the resume.
You think the decision makers at these firms are tracking 2+2 criteria and acceptance rates for each schools? No. All they know is that we have a few juniors on our team who were HBS/GSB deferred admits.
So, once again... the risk isn’t worth it. Most seniors don’t know the details of these programs. They see Booth, and then wonder why you were rejected from HBS/GSB/Wharton when we have associates who were accepted to those 2+2 programs, and why (in their minds) you locked in that offer early.
Look, I’m not shitting on Booth. Great school. But I can tell you that at least my MF might have more questionable reactions than positive ones.
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Congrats on the acceptance OP.
Do you mind sharing basic stats/background? I'm considering applying to these programs next year and it'd be helpful to see what accepted profiles typically look like.
W and CBS deferred admit here - my stats are ORM 3.6 humanities, 750 GMAT and MBB
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