HBS / Stanford / Wharton (hedge funds)

Hi all,

Somehow I'm in a situation where I have to choose between HBS, Stanford & Wharton. Career goal: I want to end up at a long/short with an excellent track record and reputation. I'm currently in PE. Thoughts? Which one would you choose? And does it matter?

Timeline wise: I've put down the deposits. I'm in a situation where my partner (fiance) is all R2. Right now I have no idea where we will go. I have a preference and she has a preference.

TIM

 

Its over a month till the Round 2 decisions and for Round 1 you'd have to commit to one of the schools at least a week and a half ago. I also have admits to H and S and the tuition deposit for H was on the 8th and for S it was on the 4th (no idea about W but I suspect it's about the same).

 

I've put down the deposits. I'm in a situation where my partner (fiance) is all R2. Right now I have no idea where we will go. I have a preference and she has a preference. So let me get back to my original question: if all you are sure of is that HF is where you'd want to go, which school would you pick?

 

I would do HBS if your career goal was all that it came down to but yeah, like others have said you'll get good looks from all 3 with your background, so would pick based on your girlfriend's situation if needed. Would say HBS is clear #1 in my experience. One thing to consider is I've found that HBS and Stanford have excellent recruiting while also having the student body be interested in a wide variety of career options, whereas Wharton has slightly worse recruiting, but also has a shitload of people wanting to get into a HF.

 

H/W because of proximity to NYC where most shops are.

Harvard's brand name is slightly stronger than Wharton.

"I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature."
 
Best Response

I’ve been at a large, l/s equity fund for a while. I took the GMAT, did a lot of due diligence on H/S/W/Columbia, talked to my boss about it, and ultimately decided to stay put. Based on that and the people I’ve talked to that have gone to these programs, HBS is the way to go here. Stanford is respected just as much, and it even has a little bit of California, different coast allure (maybe they picked up some of the Silicon Valley tech genius fairy dust out there!). It does make recruiting a lot more inconvenient, there are a lot less L/S funds out there, and if you stay out there be prepared to wake up really freaking early every day. Even analysts at long-term fundamental shops are in around 6AM or earlier (definitely earlier during earnings season).

You’ve got the perfect pedigree for the big Tiger funds, Pershing Square, and Paulson. Viking and Lone Pine have a history of taking guys that are 2 years banking, 2 years PE, and then 2 years HBS/Stanford. Pershing Square is all about HBS with experience at Blackstone or Apollo. Paulson even had a slide deck in there IR materials at one point showing how all of their analysts only went to 2-3 business schools.

It has already been mentioned, but a far higher percentage of students at Wharton want to work in hedge funds. Your credentials may pop a little bit more there, but who wants to sit with 200 kids listening to a presentation from a few PMs and then wait 4 hours to shake a hand and drop a resume.

All of this depends on the fiancé and her goals as well. Balancing two high profile careers is very tricky, best of luck to you.

 

Sounds like you are leaning towards Wharton for good reasons that have little to do with the recruiting opportunities. It is a larger program and there are many pros and cons that come with that. BTW, I'm surprised you're not considering Columbia for the value investing program. Anyway, it sounds like you want reassurance that turning down HBS is okay. Yes, it is okay. Congrats on the acceptances.

 

You are spot on, I need to be sure I am not doing something stupid, since it seems very few people turn down HBS for Wharton (HBS yield ~90%, Wharton ~70%).

I am evaluating both programs in terms of how much I would enjoy them (in & outside class) and recruiting oportunities, with a much heavier emphasis on the latter. Since I consider I would enjoy Wharton more I need to be sure there is not a noticeable advantage on HF recruiting for HBS.

I did apply to CSB (was interested in the VI program) but got dinged right away (not even an interview)

Thanks all for your comments

 
luisja:
Hi everyone,

I have been admitted to these 2 MBA programs and I am having a hard time deciding which one to attend.

I am an international MBB consultant trying to make the move to investment management. I believe recruiting for MFs is equally accessible from both schools but I have heard that recruiting for HFs may differ between them (1)

Besides valuing HF job opportunities my 2nd criteria is how much I will enjoy the experience, and this is making me lean initially towards Wharton. (2)

But I do not want to compromise my job opportunities because of “fun” reasons, so I´d like to hear from you guys if you have specific information regarding differences in HF recruiting from both programs.

(1) Although I have looked employment reports and linkedin and have seen Wharton MBA grads at places such as Citadel, Maverick, Third Point....

(2) Some reasons - More freedom in academics (at Wharton you can waive core courses...) - More attractive teaching methods to me (after 2 yrs at MBB dealing with BS I would find it hard to stand another 2 yrs of BS with the case method) - Exchange with Insead in Singapore (which would allow to recruit in Asia more easily also)

Thanks in advance!

PD1: Hi Brady! PD2: Regarding BS in consulting, this is a must have tool for prospective consultants! -> search bullshit generator at dack . com (cannot pots links...)

Columbia has done well w/Third Point. I'd say Columbia or NYU are your best bet outside of Wharton for HF. Harvard and Wharton are better for PE.

 

Purely subjectively, recruiting from HBS seems better on the whole, while Wharton seems to have more variance. But any firm that is specifically looking for an MBA hire is going to look at qualified candidates from either school. And the better funds will care more about your pitch than your pedigree, after a certain point. Your enjoyment/what you get out of of the experience will impact your recruiting success quite a bit as well - go where you think you'll learn more and be happier and you'll end up coming off better in interviews.

 
tempaccount:
Purely subjectively, recruiting from HBS seems better on the whole, while Wharton seems to have more variance. But any firm that is specifically looking for an MBA hire is going to look at qualified candidates from either school. And the better funds will care more about your pitch than your pedigree, after a certain point. Your enjoyment/what you get out of of the experience will impact your recruiting success quite a bit as well - go where you think you'll learn more and be happier and you'll end up coming off better in interviews.

Lots of common sense in your answer; it´s in line with my thoughts. Thanks.

 

Scarolo, congrats on the awesome options. Having just gone through hedge fund recruiting, I don't think there's a material difference. When these funds have a spot open up, they interview a lot of people. One fund I met with told me they had interviewed over 100 people for one spot.

There are usually a lot of rounds, pitches, and/or cases before any decision is made. Where you went to school only helps you get to that first round of interviews--and either HBS or Wharton are good enough for that. Then it's all about what you can do.

I've seen some PE funds with a decent amount of post-MBAs that will only have people from one school, suggesting that they recruit exclusively from one place. I haven't seen that with HFs. Because of their relatively small investment team headcount, I think a lot of HFs put such a huge emphasis on cultural and skill fit that they go out of there way to get more candidates in front of them.

A lot of people in finance might laugh at the idea, but I definitely would consider your happiness. I have yet to meet a person who doesn't find recruiting stressful--especially in the IM space--so finding a good environment for the next two years is huge. Two great options in front of you, good luck.

 

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