Chances @ H/W/S
Undergrad: Top 30 National / Top 15 Undgrad Busienss
GPA: 3.6 Overall / 3.7 Finance
Majors: Finance, Philosophy
Minors: Comp Sci
EC: Mid Atlantic Venture Association, Young Entrepreneur Mentor Program
Work Experience: 1yr BB (IBD TMT - Top Bucket), 2yrs PE (Tech Growth Equity)
Current PE Firm per above: 1.5bn AUM, 700mm Current Fund, 120k Base + 100% target bonus + sourcing bonus (i.e., $20k per deal), Second Tier MSA (not NY, Menlo, Boston, DC)
GMAT: 700 Flat
Happy to provide more detail on comp for those of you interested.
Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Sounds good, but you might want to find the cure for cancer and start an NGO that fights human trafficking to really be sure...
J/k. Sounds very impressive. But I'm applying from a completely different background so its hard to judge. It seems to me that no one is ever a shoe-in for those schools, but a lot has to do with essays, your story, and how you stand out from your peers. Youth is on your side.
Thanks for feedback (others welcome).
I have been thinking about how i want to craft my "story". I attended K-12 at an international school - first time studying here was for undergrad (i am a US citizen - born here). Value my states-based education highly and always wanted to go back to school to develop deeper relationships, etc - as well as being able to interact with a diverse group of thinkers, scholars/academics, that have similar career aspirations. Growth equity PE has helped a great deal in that sense, but limited to finance folks and tech operators.
Also thinking about working in tech background into story. While my experience / career around tech was half by chance, i will certainly make it seem like it was more planned (i.e., intentionally studied finance/comp sci, joined BB TMT group, worked at tech PE shop, etc.)
Last, to your point, I am young. Not to toot my own horn, but i was the youngest associate recruit in my current firms history (1yr BB experience pre stint is rare for PE). While being young is great and feel mature for age, i am still a bit uncomfortable telling CEO's that have kids older than i am that their business is not worth our money and vice-versa.
To sum it up, my story would be: 1. International background - want deeper experience in states-based educational system 2. Form deep relationships with smart folks w/ diverse backgrounds but similar drive 3. I am young and still have much to learn, bschool would help craft a stronger leader.
Is this too much? Should i focus story on one or two of the above, instead of all three? Other thoughts welcome.
Thanks again.
I am not an admissions consultant. I would tell you "yeah sounds great" but I don't want to give you misinformation. I would definately recommend the Ask Alex @ MBAapply or Stacy Blackman threads.
tubs,
Well, there's certainly quite a number of folks like yourself applying... and there's certainly a lot of your fellow peers with similar resumes as yours at these schools. Enough of a chance that it's worth giving them a shot.
But as GordonGecko said, no one really is a shoe in at any of these schools simply because there's way more people who could easily get in than there are spots available. That's why it's so subjective - for example, at HBS they basically have 1,000 admits to give out. Of the 6,000-0,000 applicants they get per year, you can say that the top 2,000 are practically interchangeable in terms of overall caliber (you could literally take these 2,000 names and have a monkey choose 1,000 of them and still yield as strong and diverse a class as an adcom). Are you in that 2,000? Based on your profile, sure. But beyond that, it will come down to your written applications and interview. The "story" you gave is honestly neither here nor there - because the devil's in the details (how this translates to specifics in the essays, resume, rec letters, and interview).
tubs,
Just curious, why are you even going to B-School ? To me, it looks like you're already set. Forgive me, but I don't understand why someone already in PE/VC would go to B-school esp. when you went to UG B-school (like me). I'd love to hear your thoughts because I'm 2 years out of UG, and am contemplating next steps.
Alex - i appreciate your comments. Differentiation will be key for me, and I will certainly spend some time thinking about how to do so.
SAC, your question is something i have thought long and hard about. Happy to provide detail into my personal thought process.
it might help if i gave you some more background. Most folks post BB stint will do whatever they can to get into a mega fund (e.g., SilverLake, KRR, Carlyle, TPG, Blackstone, etc.) I had an offer at SLP and TPG Asia - both post second year analyst stint. I decided to move into a growth equity shop for two reasons, 1) pushed up associate track by a year, 2) wanted to do growth equity given state of leverage markets and uncertainty around experience at megas. Don't get me wrong, 95% of the folks out there would not have done what I did. The pay and prestige will ALWAYS be better at megas. I dont know yet whether or not i want to do growth equity, work at a larger buyout shop, or do something else. sure, i am set in-terms of securing my career, but i am far from set in terms of knowing what track i want to take in life as it relates to my career. going back to b-school offers me the opportunity to not only make a better informed decision, but some opportunities are just not open to me (e.g., hard to go back to SLP and ask for a senior associate offer, or principal offer right after my associate role).
that being said, i do enjoy my current role at my firm. going to bschool does not exclude me from returning. the door will remain open and firm is willing to pay for education as long as i come back. no bridges will be burnt if i decide to go somewhere else. i just need to pay them back for the tuition reimbursement.
i know that is a long winded answer, but in short, for me, its about optionality, trying new things, and eventually getting to a place that i am not just satisfied with, but happy with. i am relatively young, and bschool offers me a different kind of networking, optionality, a break from work, and education in terms of learning knew things i would otherwise not have the opportunity. often times, finance folks like us, always think of opportunity cost and mentally try to map out a personal time value of money analysis. and while i am certainly i am not sharing anything new to you, its not always about the money. making ~300k a year 2 years out of college is unreal. it affords us the luxury of being able to make a better choice - less restrictions. if you become a prisoner to trying to get from point A to point B with only a vague picture of what point B looks like, then you most likely will not have a full and happy life. (pls excuse ramble, grammar, spelling etc. typing this as i am on phone with CEO - who is also rambling about his business)
I'm sorry, but there is no school--HBS, Stanford, etc.--worth $600,000 in opportunity cost. I don't see any rational reason for you to go back to business school. Your answer was not sufficient enough to explain why you'd give up $600,000 to get a degree that will likely not boost your earning power above where you are now. You can "try new things" without spending $600,000.
I'm 2 years out of school making about $80,000 per year, which is not bad for a quiet suburb, but a good MBA could potentially have a positive NPV for me...
I'll say it for b2: that's why you went to Virginia Tech.
Well, I don't work/live in NYC (I live in a suburb with a lot lower cost of living) and I've worked in real estate between 2007 and 2009, which--as one can imagine--pays a lot less than investment banking/PE.
Since you're so damn smart, why don't you justify $600,000 opportunity cost for us. Perhaps your Ivy League credentials can quantify that for everyone here. Please, for the edification of us dumb state school graduates with zero student debt.
tubs,
Thanks for the reply and don't worry, it wasn't rambling or long-winded. I ask because I spoke to an alum recently and he's at a Top 10 B-School right now, he enrolled because he was laid off and wants to move away from finance but to me it sounded like he wouldn't have considered B-School if he hadn't been laid off. $300K/year is definitely a lot to walk away from in your case though.
Many firms will kick you out after 2 years as a pre-MBA associate so that you go to b-school. The opportunity cost in this case is much less. I don't know if this applies to tubs, though.
SAC, i agree with you. 300k is tough to walk away from. a couple of things to consider
1) The MBA window is narrow, doesnt make sense for folks like me to do the program a few years later 2) Option to return to current fund makes it less "risky" with upside (e.g., moving from growth equity to a mega will make the opportunity cost worth it) 3) Still dont know if PE or finance is 100% for me - i may want to be an operator. My family runs an international company and an MBA from Harvard almost demands respect it many international societies. to VTech's point, yes, you can explore other opps while working, but not as easy. 4) Again, its not always about the money. True, easy for me to say that now, given compensation - but think about the utility-based opportunity cost of making a mistake and not being in the right career. e.g., what if you would be 'x' times happier if you had decided to go into, say, non-profit or HCM. How much is happiness worth? Hard to factor that into some TVM analysis, ay?
There are a a ton factors that all have relevance. Opp cost regarding you life is not simple math. Often times in finance, people fuck up valuation because they cant think outside the box and do not bake in appropriate scenarios. Its one thing if that messes up a deal, its another thing if it messes up your life. HA - that sounds funny.
SAC, also curious, do you work at SAC Capital Advisors - the hedge fund? i am working on something with with Steve Cohen, which is why i ask.
tubs,
Thanks for the detailed explanation.
You're right, the MBA window is definitely narrow. I'm 24 right now, if I don't go for it within the next 2-3 years, I doubt I ever will.
Good point
That is the MAIN reason I'm considering it. I can't seem to break into the operationally-oriented positions because of my background
Again, good point, if I had satisfied my own comp. expectations at this point, I would consider it even more strongly. But now, I'm still in search of that fat bonus check.
Nope, I don't work at SAC unfortunately. I do work at a hedge fund, a much smaller one albeit.
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