Currently in the middle of a pre-MBA PE role and thinking about what will happen at the end of my two years.
Would it be crazy to prep for business school apps and for buyside role interviews at the same time? The cost of business school is a huge negative for me, and ideally I would like to jump to another shop after my two years. But if I get into HSW, then I think the rebranding opportunity would be attractive enough for me to consider the MBA, given that nothing in my background is that compelling. My biggest concern is would it be realistic to study for the GMAT, prep, write essays, etc. while studying for buyside interviews at the same time? I don't want to half ass both and end up with nothing in the end.
It would help if someone with experience can look at my background and let me know if there is like a 10% chance of me getting into HSW. Then, I'll just drop that idea and go all in on recruiting.
Background: - Asian male (playing the game on hard mode) - 3.3 undergrad GPA (can be explained due to a traumatic event... but not sure if that matters) - Non-traditional path / unique story - Top state school undergrad (semi-target) - Top MM IB - LMM PE (~$500 fund size)
My 2 cents as someone who just finished the MBA process and is going to one of Booth, CBS, Kellogg with the goal of PE. If you came from MM PE, it'd be doable to go to a firm with $5-15B AUM. Still a grind but definitely possible.
This will all hinge on your GMAT and strength of story/essays. People with your GPA, race/gender, and work history have gotten into every M7 certainly but the differentiators are high GMAT (710 will look very different from 740 which in turn is very different from 770 for the adcom) and how convincing and unique your story is.
And of course, this is to say nothing of whether an MBA is worth it. If your goal is to move up a tier to UMM PE, any of M7 will do the trick. If the goal is megafunds, H/S is needed and even then will be very challenging (but easier route to the UMM funds).