B School Chances - Currently in a sales position

I'm currently in a sales position at a BB and have been trying to break into ER for the past few months and have been having a rough time getting anywhere. I'm doing a lot of networking which is getting me some connections, but still not making any real progress. I'm starting to think about going to B School but dont know if it's attainable / worth the effort. I finished UG about 3 years ago and had kind of a crappy GPA but since then have worked my way up here and know I could get some pretty stellar recommendations. So i'm wondering, how important is UG GPA for admissions and will b school really give me the boost i'm looking for (as opposed to possibly the CFA and or continued networking).

Also, i've heard if you're not in a top 3-5 B School that it's not really worth it. Is there any truth to this?

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Best Response

I think it would depend on the type of shop you wanted to be at. Huge sell-side shops or big name buy-side players obviously view top tier MBAs a bit differently -- but if you're just trying to break in and figure our lateral moves later, I would say do both MBA/CFA if you get the chance. Also, if you can go to an MBA school that partners with CFA Institute, a lot of the curriculum will overlap and your 2 years can be spent working on both.

I was in a similar boat as you -- trying to break in without much success...I went to a non-target undergrad, and then just graduated from a non-target MBA, but it was a CFA Partner school, and really helpful for the Level I exam, and for Level II from what I've seen. Broke in to a small boutique ER shop that will give good training and help me in the long run. Then again, it wasn't really my goal to be at a huge shop right away. So it probably more depends on your goal then anything.

 

Actually most of the top schools don't send a lot of people into ER. Yes people from top programs go into ER but that's not considered a "high profile" position. Don't shoot the messenger but in talking to admissions folks and students at top schools this is what I was told.

 
mikebradyActually most of the top schools don't send a lot of people into ER. Yes people from top programs go into ER but that's not considered a "high profile" position. Don't shoot the messenger but in talking to admissions folks and students at top schools this is what I was told.
Great color. Please expand on "high profile position" in the context of "top schools"
 

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