Q&A: Accepted to Stanford GSB / HBS / Wharton
Hi all,
Was lucky enough to get accepted to the MBA programs at Stanford GSB / HBS / Wharton and figured I would let people ask me anything relating to the application or thought process of deciding to pursue an MBA. Briefly about me:
- Background: 28M / international background but lived in the US for most of my adult life
- Education: Undergrad at a US semi target (4.0 GPA) & exchange program in Europe
- GMAT: 740
- Work experience: extended banking stint (3-4 years) in South America + New York at one of the big IBs (GS / MS / JPM). Joined a UMM private equity fund (~$5Bn) as an associate and got promoted to VP last year
- Why MBA: would like to have a go at entrepreneurship and see the MBA as a two year window to explore this further. I have the option to go back to the fund & keep my carry (~$3mn) which I see as a good back-up option. I also see it as an opportunity to make more friends & have a 2 year break from working quite intensely. Due to this I am leaning quite heavily to GSB but still making up my mind
First off, congrats! That's definitely quite an accomplishment. And thank you for doing this. I have a handful of questions:
1) If you were to go back to your fund, would the MBA count as two years of work experience? In other words, if you are a VP1 now, would you come in at that level or come in as a VP3?
2) Which round did you apply in for each school? Did you apply anywhere else / had you applied to business school before?
3) Did you have a strong hook (e.g., URM, LGBTQ, D1 athlete, legacy at any of the schools, etc.)? What do you think helped make your application otherwise stand out vs. other IB / PE candidates?
4) How did other applicants from your PE fund fare? Does your firm historically have a track record of sending applicants to certain schools?
5) What was your undergrad major (e.g., humanities, STEM, business, etc.)?
1) They will most likely only give me 1 year of credit which I am fine with
2) I applied in round 1 for all schools. Had never applied before. Would recommend applying in round 1 if you have time!
3) I played one sport competitively at university at a national and have recently done two full iron mans at a pretty good time for my age group. Otherwise nothing too extreme to stand out. I think I might go on their international quota because of my family background which might have helped.
4) My fund does not send that many people to do an MBA because they promote internally without it. One other person applied and got accepted to HBS but otherwise no one from my class did
5) Finance / accounting / business
Very helpful, thank you!
I think working in South America IB may have also helped differentiate you compared to the typical IB types who've only lived and worked in NYC/SF area their entire lives.
Congrats. What kind of bike are you riding and what is your 140.6 PR?
Thank you for doing this.
I wanted to know more about your banking stint in South America, Top players, Comp etc.
Congratulations! How did you manage to find time to prepare for the GMAT and work on your applications while working?
I studied between my banking gig and starting in PE. Had 4 weeks off in between
phenomenal
How important do you think your undergrad GPA is during the MBA process vs. work experience and test scores?
I think work experience and impact made matters more than GPA. But with a crap GPA you will likely need a very high GMAT/GRE to weigh it up
How would you define a crap GPA and do you think GMAT matters more than GPA? Thanks.
Congrats.
1) you're not forgoing your current carry if you don't return to the fund are you?
2) if you want entrepreneurship, why not do HBS where the class size is so much larger than GSB and therefore you would have more people to connect with/partner with?
1. I only keep my carry if I come back to my current fund for 2-3 years
2. I was sold on the smaller community feel of GSB and like there was a much larger portion of people wanting to pursue entrepreneurship vs HBS. Don’t think you can go wrong with either however!
Wow that's nuts. If it was me I'd get that carry and then do entrepreneurial stuff later once was more liquid.
Yea for sure its literally picking the best of the best, no wrong choices at all.
Can you talk about keys to success to making VP in PE? Seems like you made VP in 2-3 years - congratulations on that.
There are a lot of good threads on this forum talking about what makes a good analyst/associate that I found helpful. The top tips in my mind are:
Great post! Anything you’d recommend to those just graduating college who want to attend HSW one day? What would you do if you knew you’d be applying in 4-5 years to best position yourself to be accepted?
Would not suggest a certain career path just to get into an MBA, but rather just try to excel in each role you are in.
You should also enjoy the early days of your career! They are a lot of fun and you are meant to make friends along the way.
Tangibly I would say you can prepare by getting the GMAT out of the way whenever you have downtime/between roles. Would also pick up an EC such as a leadership role for a charity you are passionate about.
Did you mention entrepreneurship as a post mba goal in your application? And if so did you have to describe what your idea is
I did not write about entrepreneurship explicitely in my essays but rather that I wanted to pursue a business within x vertical at some point in my career
Thank you so much and congrats!! Should I retake my gmat at 740 (got the same score twice lol)? I feel like everyone has a 750+.. I’m international/female headed to a big PE shop & have a 3.9 GPA at a top 15 school. Or should I focus more on other factors of the app?
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