Previously thought MF was almost a guarantee to H/S but have heard many stories of people with the "golden" profile dinged by both. Are there any firms known for having consistently strong placement to H/S? For example heard TPG capital tends to send vast majority to either
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Heard Berkshire is basically a guarantee into HBS.
Have heard this too - does anyone know why?
connections lol
Also heard that Berkshire is a guarantee. Seems like a good place to look into for anyone because their PE arm takes bankers and consultants (much like Bain). Know someone that went HBS from there after doing consulting.
Bain Cap
Bain Cap, Berkshire, H&F, Advent
I think this has been lower recently. I've had a couple folks above me that I know of you didn't get into H/S but they're still at Wharton. So still very good
Lower defined as not ~100% haha
Which one are you talking about?
Might be a bit under the radar, but Madison Dearborn seems to have ~100% placement into H/S
MDP is lower than you’d think. Maybe 50%+ H/S but there’s a handful that end up at Wharton and Kellogg every year.
Somewhat true, the Wharton guys are those that didn’t make it to H/S and the Kellogg/Booth guys are Chicago-or-bust types, or so I have heard.
Sorenson capital in the LMM has really bgood placement for whatever reason.
Mormons
Don't know why that got shit its true. Pre-MBA associate placements is like 75%+ HBS/GSB weighted about equally with a smattering at Wharton which is really high for a 500m or so fund.
Looking at CD&R’s associates, pretty much everyone goes to H with a few at S / W
Providence Equity generally places exclusively into HBS / GSB
Same apply to their Strategic Growth arm? Would appreciate any additional info you have on Providence in general too
I'm not as familiar with their growth arm but their core private equity arm has a pretty impeccable b-school placement history. In terms of additional info, I heard their last couple of funds have had top quartile returns. Decently lean firm that promotes heavily from within. Very few lateral hires.
New Mountain has historically placed pretty well into HBS. Bain, Berkshire and CD&R also have very strong placement, as mentioned above.
Charlesbank and THL (Boston-based like Bain and Berkshire) both have a pretty good record at HBS (~50%, maybe higher depending on the year). Crestview generally had fared well but not as sure about that now. Golden Gate has traditionally done well with H/S.
Good call on NMC they do very well with HBS. GTCR also has consistently good b school placement.
This may not be true any more but there was a time where NGP in Dallas was >75% shot at Stanford.
Would places like Carlyle / KKR / TPG put you over the edge or are you still just in the PE bucket? Obviously both schools are a crapshoot but just curious how much weight they would hold
despite what people say, it definitely helps vs the main PE bucket
Yes it helps. Every associate at those funds has one-on-ones with actual H/S admissions officers at the office, receives free MBA consulting sessions to help them craft their story also at the office, and further access to hire the best consultants who do not advertise anywhere. At every stage of the process you'll have VP/Principals explaining how it works, Partners pulling for you, etc.
If you took the typical route of 3.7+ at a top target -> top group at a top bank -> MF & work with prestigious non-profits / organizations, it's pretty hard not to get into HBS with all of the other backing you have. For those that put in the minimum work, admit rates were 100% to one of H/S in the class preceding mine, my class and the class succeeding mine.
This is...quite a lot relative to reality and sounds like someone who did not work at one of these companies. I haven't heard of any adcom going "one-on-one" with an Associate, but rather adcoms addressing Associate *classes* just as like college adcoms might go to diversity fairs. It's good exposure but honestly not enough to leave a personalized impression; more an avenue to understand what the right "beats" to hit are in your app materials for each school tonally.
I don't even know what "best consultants who do not advertise anywhere" means or who that would entail. More importantly, Associates *want* consultants who are top-ranked on P&Q or the like, not just hypothetical consultants who idk some KKR principal recommends or provides access to (which, again, I highly doubt is a thing).
As for paying for consulting fees, I again doubt that it's actually an expense like fucking dinner or whatever lol. The fees these people charge are borderline usurious, especialy for 2-3 school packages; I can't imagine a PE shop straight up covering that cost, especially if it includes multiple rounds of apps, ding reviews, special interview prep packages, or (for those reapplying) multiple cycles. I've heard of GMAT / GRE *prep* courses and books being covered, but the consulting stuff is only "covered" through the impact of the exceedingly high discretionary income our great profession is so notorious for providing.
Partners pulling is more of a thing. The degree to which these "reference" checks are candid differentiations among a class rather than "best Associate ever omg he's just like the rest of my GSB class" for every applicant varies by firm and by partner / VP / MD.
Also...lol at having VP / Principals "explain[] how it works." It's an app bro. You take a test, you get some recs, you come up with some career goals that are a lie (social entrepreneurship even though we all know you're taking the return offer), and you try to exhibit passions that will make you seem more soft-hearted / less of a finance tool than most will assume you are. It's just moderate social skills at the end of the day.
Finally, as others have mentioned, "pretty hard not to get into HBS" is a hilarious descriptor statistically. I would just look at all the MF (everyone has a 3.7 pretty much, schools don't care about top group / top bank really) / UMM (/ MMs with "ties") class sizes, add up the associate numbers, and do some mental math with the publicly available "% from finance" stats on the HBS class (remember that includes a banking / VC / other finance contingent) to realize that's obviously not the case. Auto-interview is closer to the truth but if you're a white or ORM male, even then...
MFs or firms that are more 2 and out programs tend to help you by bringing in admissions directors and paying for consultants. But blanket statements like "X firm sends 100% to H/S/W" don't exist anymore because these schools are trying to limit "traditional" candidates, for example PE non-diverse males. A female from any of these places is a lock to get in (I don't think I can point to a single female from MF/UMM who didn't get in), but very strong males from H&F, WP, BX, Bain Cap have all not gotten in recently (direct knowledge of this, not just a list). It's hard out there for admissions right now given the climate in higher education, so don't bet the house on b-school placement.
My two cents: prioritize the experience you'll receive, as well as fit and where you'll be happy since b-school is so difficult. If you go grind unhappily for 2-3 years and STILL don't get in, that's really a crusher. But if you enjoy your experience and b-school doesn't work out or you go to a school you didn't really want as much...not nearly as bad. The exception are firms with incredibly strong connects like Berkshire and TPG that truly do have 100% placement. But these days I'm not aware of any other firms like that.
Agreed. I have a close friend from school a couple years older than me who's from a top target (HYPWS), graduated Magna, 760+ GMAT, MBB -> MF, and didn't get to H / S. Also had some very interesting side hobbies (hard to list without identifying him), but was a non-diversity male. 10 years ago this sort of candidate, or even 5 years ago, would be a lock. Not necessarily a bad thing overall / not here to discuss the merits of diversity but it can suck to do everything right and still not get in
What did these guys do when they didn't get in? Wharton (probably with $$ to be honest), lateral to UMM, or go to a HF -- I see those as most typical 3
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