PE Bro Accepted to GSB/HBS/Wharton - Q&A
This website has been helpful for my development so figured I’d give back.
Little bit of background. Target undergrad -> BB IBD -> UMM PE. White male. Zero connections going into finance / did not come from a wealthy background.
Why I am getting to MBA: 1) Prestige, 2) Network (social + professional), 3) Travel and create lasting memories, 4) Recruiting (PE / HF).
Why I didn’t lateral: PE lateral market has been mostly dead the past few years. Couple good HF spots opened up, but not sold on that path. I was totally willing and eager to eat the opportunity cost for HBS / GSB. In the long run, the marginal savings compounded at x% won’t matter financially to me, but if it does, I’ve got bigger issues at hand
Wharton would have been a tougher pill to swallow (less prestige) but likely still positive ROI given bleak lateral market.
Happy to answer anything on recruiting, IBD, PE, MBA, etc
Did your PE firm support your application / provide any additional help? If not, what was your unique angle as a traditional PE applicant with a non-diverse background?
My firm was supportive. While they don't foot the bill for MBA consultants (many firms do), they allow associates to carve out time off to study for the GMAT / write essays / etc. I think I got in because I told a unique story (on top of having all the check-the-box qualifications) about my background / goals for the MBA.
That is a very solid point about the application angle. Coming from a traditional background definitely helps with the technical baseline, but framing your narrative around deal execution and operational value adds a lot more weight to the application.
What was your approach to managing essays with work? Use any consultants?
Yes, used a consultant. Absolutely essential IMO. Menlo Coaching, Sparrey Consulting, Stacey Blackman, MBAmission are all good.
I get the prestige / network / travel factors, but would you say the key reason you’re going is for PE / HF recruiting opps?
As in if that wasn’t a benefit but the others still are, you would not go. Digging on this, seems like a big driver is the current tough lateral market and you’re hoping the market in 2 years improves as well.
No, I would have just lateraled. My firm gives associates probably 1+ year of runway to find another job if they don't want an MBA (usually doesn't take that long). I'm hopeful the MBA will help with near-term recruiting, but would not say that was a primary motivation for attending.
Navigating a tough lateral market makes career moves tricky, especially when people are banking on conditions improving a couple of years down the line.
Wharton would have been a tougher pill to swallow? Ok tool.
Yeah it would have. Much less powerful brand name. Sorry if that offends you.
Ahh yes, in the real world wharton is materially less prestige than Stanford or Harvard lol.
God what a loser to have such a belief lol.
Someone’s insecure…
It’s a real step down.
Congrats on Wharton
dont worry smoke frog these HBS / Stanford admissions and PE discussions are very very very irrelevant to your DCM role at Soc gen / bnp / TD / etc
RBS, ABN**
You think post-PE MBA recruiting is stronger than lateraling directly? Not saying this is not the case but struggle to find a reason as to why
Separately any views on H/S vs the rest of M7 purely for recruiting?
I only saw 1-2 UMM/MF VP 1 lateral openings over the past 2+ years Definitely more lateral associate options, but for VP+, I think MBA provides more opportunities based on what I've seen from friends who have gone. But obviously depends on the market. That said, by all means, just lateral if you can find something great (I still would have chosen HBS/GSB over a UMM/MF VP role though, that's just me though for the reasons I outlined above. If you don't care about those factors, then sure try to lateral).
Are you dead set on only UMM/MF post-MBA? Sure you realize the promotion odds there are typically very low.
Why not LMM or a newer fund? Or even ETA, search fund or independent sponsor after your MBA? More risk / more betting on yourself.
Congrats! Wondering your stats to get into all 3?
Summa cum laude, 780 GMAT.
holy cracked
Congrats, what cons were you considering since you seem to be very set on this being the right path for you?
Cost of tuition + opportunity cost of foregone earnings.
ASL PLS
26-28, Male, NYC/LA
Not to hijack, but to settle some of the debate above, I had Claude pull the profiles of Principal+ investors at the top 25 firms by AUM:
HBS - 45%
GSB - 28%
Wharton - 18%
Columbia - 3%
Booth - 3%
Kellogg - 2%
Other - 2%
Memo: Obviously ignores impact of class size where GSB is smallest, so representation is most outsized
Makes sense. In 20 years I bet the % that won’t have an MBA will be quite high.
Why would you write GSB/HBS/Wharton ? I'm European and not all too familiar with the US MBA landscape, but I worked at McK and it felt like Stanford and Harvard were the only tier which was like unreachable for ~90% and of the classes gunning for an MBA whereas it felt like the likes of Columbia, Wharton, etc. were basically just auto-admit.
Not being disrespectful to me it just seems odd. I did not went for the MBA leave, but would I have gotten into HBS I would absolutely have done my MBA. I would never have went for an MBA though for Wharton or Columbia given the price tag and opportunity cost.
Depends on who you ask. Wharton easily falls in that top 3 mix for programs that recruit traditional BB IB / MBB recruiting. That said, doesn’t carry the same “unique” opportunities that places like GSB/HBS carry (HF, VC, startups).
OP probably wouldn’t get much out of Wharton, but if you’re a Big4/Corporate Finance person looking to pivot then I’d say Wharton is the big ticket to make that lateral. There’s levels to this shit kinda thing.
I got into all 3, hence why I wrote Wharton. HBS/GBS were far and away my top choice. To someone with my background, Wharton provides almost identical recruiting opportunities, and many people at Wharton place better than HBS/GSB (what matters far more is your prior fund + deal experience). That said, as I alluded to in my post, the name brand at HBS / GSB is leaps and bounds above Wharton, both in professional and non-professional circles .
As someone who went to GSB/HBS, I hope you don't choose my alma matter based on your tone here. You come across with a super inflated ego and very low EQ.
I hope business school helps fix at least your EQ, though it seems you are much further off the reservation than most. People like you give a bad rep to business school.
Exhibit A for why you probably don't want either.
Yeah, people should avoid B School. Better to just lateral.
Even before I got into HBS/GSB, I mogged just about everyone no matter the room (based on looks, height, income, job prestige etc.) Especially people like you who are inherently insecure. Now, it's like I'm turbocharged. Now, when they ask where I went/go to school, and I get to drop the BOMB. Instant mog.
I will watch your career with great interest...
Agree with OP coming off as fairly sad pathetic person with no EQ lol
My EQ is off the charts (hence why I've done so well in my career). I'm also very happy with my life, particularly because I've done so well.
Which did you choose and why? Was it a hard decision?
The more prestigious one. The one where, no matter where on earth you find yourself, you say the name, and boom, eyes shoot open, mouths go wide, and people immediately go into disbelief.
you're embarrassing yourself lol even with these troll posts. genuinely feel bad for you.
If i were in your shoes I would also pick HBS for the same reason. However, it puzzles me that GSB edges HBS in cross admits. Do you have a view on why that happens? Last time i saw the stats it wasnt a massive edge, but still i would’ve thought more cross admits would pick HBS hands down. Maybe the aspiring entrepreneurs tilt the scale while the career lifers go HBS?
How's your dating life? Assume girls who get into/go to HBS/GSB might not be the most physically attractive (on average, don't come at me) but may be looking to find a husband there if single. Will you be looking for a relationship while at b-school or view it more as "fun time" before re-focusing on that after graduation?
Was tough to maintain a relationship as a PE associate, so was generally single. Usually just rip tables on weekends if I'm not working. That and the occasional hinge date.
Not looking to date anyone in the MBA class. Too much drama / I'm not particularly interested in that crowd.
Fair enough. You can drop the the "I go to business school in Cambridge / Palo Alto" line at the bars. Good luck
What does "rip tables" mean? I'm roughly the same age as you and feel unc right now for asking
Like you, I’m senior asso at one of the UMMs ppl nut over on this site. Also debating the MBA rn. Curious about the rest of your asso class. Most ppl doing the MBA? How was performance? I have great stats and should have good recs yadda yadda, but fear that bc there are so many others from my class applying from my firm I won’t get in…what do you think actually matters on an MBA app?
In a similar spot - how are you weighing up lateralling vs mba vs switch to another area of finance (i.e. publics)
If I didn’t get H/S, I would have aggressively pursued lateral to PE/HF. If I didn’t land a good gig, would have gone to Wharton. That’s what most of my peers do.
Focus on what you can control. Don't worry about others in your class. Work with a consultant to craft a unique story, and get stellar recs from senior folks at your firm.
Here’s the approach I recommend:
First. apply regardless of your goals. It creates a call option and only provides optionality. Plenty of people who get in don’t go, so you’re not locked in even if you get in. If you’re at a decent size fund, you pretty much have a 100% chance of getting into Wharton. H/S are more of a crapshoot. Yes, you need to take GRE/write essays, which is an opportunity cost, but again it’s worth it to give yourself options.
If you want to stay in PE:
If you’re firm offers direct promote, go for that. If you get it, great, you now have a choice - MBA or direct.
If you don’t get the promote, you’re firm doesn’t do direct promotes, or you don’t want to stay at your firm, then try to lateral. You basically need to run all these in parallel. If you find something before you matriculate at MBA - great, you now have an option, lateral or MBA. Same applies to HF recruiting
Yes, agree it’s difficult to a) do a great job at your firm, b) prepare MBA apps and c) pursue lateral opps in tandem, but it’s doable. Generally, you knock out MBA stuff in the fall, which gives you a year to focus on lateral / etc
Hey guys,
I'm a high school senior planning out my undergrad applications for this fall cycle. I'm newer to the forum and the whole process, so looking for some unfiltered advice on the best target schools for my specific goals.
Long-term, my end goal is to land at a fundamental buy-side hedge fund or long-only shop focused on smaller-cap value ideas. I'm really drawn to deep fundamental research on the long side (not as sure/interested in shorting right now).
Obviously, Wharton is all over my radar and I'm doing their high school investing competition right now to learn the ropes. Harvard is on the list but it's a bit of a stretch in my opinion. I've ruled out Columbia because I really don't want to deal with their core curriculum.
Outside of Wharton/H, what other target undergrad programs should I be looking at that place well into fundamental equity research or value-focused shops? Also, since I'm just starting out, any tips on how to boost my profile for these schools this year to show I'm serious about value investing?
Appreciate any insights or reality checks. Thanks.
Any top 20 school on US News and World. Just look up target schools on this website, you’ll find the list
Disagree with your logic on Columbia entirely - what are you talking about? Who gives a sh** about the “core curriculum” or whatever - it’s Columbia. Need to start thinking straight man
Don’t think you’ll get any unique advice from this forum on getting in. Think you know what it takes
Prestige is generally overrated. The etymology of the word traces to "trick, illusion, imposter".
Network would be more relevant and you likely have better access to powerful networking opportunities at a prestigious institution. But prestige itself carries less weight than you believe in the real world day to day.
What is ball park the opportunity cost for you (money)
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