Hi all,
I am in a very privileged position but with a difficult decision to make, so would really appreciate everyones advice and input.
I have offers for the below programs:
- HBS MBA program
- Wharton/Lauder program (MBA + MA in international studies, Japan concentration)
- LBS MBA program
For background:
- I live in London and am a British/Japanese citizen.
- I have an undergrad in economics and 2 masters from Imperial and Oxford.
- At matriculation, I will have had 3 years of experience in management consultancy (1 unknown, 2 MBB), 1 year in IB (Nomura), 1 year in a hedge-fund (unknown)
- Post-MBA goals - PE/MBB, working mainly with Japanese companies
Estimated financial commitment:
- Harvard - $150K-$200K
- Wharton - $50K
- LBS - less than $10K
Current thoughts:
HBS
- Strongest international brand and network/alum, which would benefit me if I work in US, Europe, and Japan
- I am really drawn to the case-study approach and believe I would grow a lot from this (the bulk of my education has been very technical and less focused on sharing ideas, defending them, challenging others, etc.)
Wharton/Lauder
- Best fit in terms of the program
- Great brand/network in US but not so much in Europe/Japan, however the MA program can help with this
LBS
- Great brand/network in Europe/Middle East/Asia, not so much in US and Japan
- Also great program, which would allow me to do a semester in Japan
- Very international cohort, which is great, but I won't quite get the benefits of international exposure and employment since I live in London and already have 3 UK degrees
- Pretty much free and more comfortable (which is good because I'll be able to focus on networking/employment etc, but also negative since I won't grow as much)
To summarise:
- Wharton and LBS are my preferred programs, in regards to the content (i.e. Japan exposure)
- I will most likely spend the majority of my career in London, and quite a bit in Tokyo - therefore LBS and HBS would be most beneficial here
They all have their merits and I have been going back and forth in my head on where to go. I made this post so I could gain some outside opinion on this matter, hopefully it will help me see things differently. I have seen some great advice by people on this forum so would really appreciate anyone's thoughts on this. Thank you!
Logically speaking, the only one at the intersection of both of your requirements is LBS.
Personally, I'd pick HBS (because if I can have Harvard on my CV, I would), the caveat being that I would only do an MBA if I were sponsored. In your case, LBS seems like the only logical choice.
Thank you very much for your insight! My only concern with LBS is that it may be redundant adding another (4th) UK university to my CV and network....I'll need to speak with some recruiters and career teams to gain more perspective on this front. Thanks again!
how many years do u wanna spend on education in ur life lol
lol fair point...I know its not the most efficient decision to go to school so many times, but I just really enjoy being in business school/academic environments... I already have my eyes on other programs even after my MBA haha
hey gotta do what makes u happy
As someone who has always been enamored by the Lauder program, I recommend you choose HBS. The Wharton / Lauder option is very unique in the way in which it is tailored to your target country, however, I don’t think you need this. You already have Japanese citizenship and presumably speak the language. There is little you’re going to learn through the Lauder program that will make you more qualified to work with Japanese companies. So for me, the benefits of Lauder are largely diminished in your personal circumstances.
As for LBS vs. HBS, I think HBS emerges as the clear winner here. The HBS brand easily carries to London and Europe in a way that LBS does not. With degrees from Imperial and Oxford, adding LBS isn’t going to do anything for you in the local market and the network is not nearly as strong as the HBS one, particularly as you start to do work with folks outside London.
This is all obviously just a summary, but the conclusion is that HBS is the clear winner for you!
Thank you! You've made some really great points here, which I really appreciate. I feel like you really read through what I wrote and understand my position well. Your conclusion makes perfect sense and I can only say thank you and wish you the best!
congrats on offers. how did you manage to get LBS cost to so little? because no accommodation expenses or because of scholarship? if because no accom. expenses (e.g. you already own) then you should adjust for this to make it like for like (ie if youre paying rent in london, add that to the cost) imo. personally if i saw your profile and you had Oxford and Imperial i wouldnt care about LBS.
Thanks! For LBS - luckily I got full scholarship and am able to stay somewhere rent free, so my only costs would just be for general life and travel. This does make studying at LBS an attractive prospect...but I think employers would share your view that it wouldn't add much value to my resume since the Oxford/Imperial brand/network are already there.
If your goal immediately after the MBA is PE, HBS will open some doors that the 2 other schools won't. I could easily make the case that it would be worth the extra $$$. If you want to go back to MBB though, there's really no difference between any of the schools so your decision is down to the program and experience. I really want to highlight how important the experience is though. The academic aspect of MBA programs is a bit of a joke, the workload is light, grading beyond easy (you can't really fail and in any case, employers can't ask for your grades) so the value is very much in the experience IMO. The network you built, the camaraderie, the ability to relax and recharge after a couple of years of really hard work, etc. IMO, you are bound to miss out on the experience by staying in your city and I say this as an LBS grad ;)
While I am on that topic, I completely agree with you that the LBS name recognition isn't as strong, but the alum base is a lot more helpful than a lot of peer schools so it does balance things out a bit. I've had 90%+ hit rate when contacting alums, both during the programs and after and people really do look out for fellow grads. It's been a common complaint from friends who attended top US schools with larger class that they didn't get as much engagement from networking with alums as they would have liked. I still think HBS is your better option though !!!
Considering OP doesn't have prior PE experience, is there really any PE doors that HBS open that Wharton wouldn't open?
Curious to know more about this as well - from everything I've seen it seems HBS does open more doors (in the past) but I wonder if this is still the case or if pre-MBA PE experience is now a necessity...
I would say that especially for someone without prior experience, HBS is going to open doors that Wharton won’t. Very few PE firms hire more than a handful of MBAs in a given year so they can afford to be picky and a lot of them restrict their efforts to H/S. Candidates with prior experience at W and other top schools can managed to get into processes, but the H/S name carries a premium / cachet in the industry that W doesn’t anymore. Appreciate it probably falls within the range of anecdotal evidence, but over the years, I have known of quite a few PE associates at top firms whose attitude towards MBA was H/S or bust and a decent # ended up not getting MBAs because they didn’t get in and felt going to W or another top school wasn’t worth it.
It’s definitely not easy to break into PE post MBA without prior experience but the OP has a range of experience that paired with an HBS MBA would make him competitive for London and I would think a highly desirable candidate for Japan where getting multiple offers would be a realistic possibility
Thanks for the advice! I know how tough it is to get into PE post-MBA without pre-MBA experience but it seems HBS would give me the best chances to do so. I'm curious to know how many actually make this leap and the key factors that helped them?
Since it will be tough to get into PE, most likely I will return to MBB and I agree that the experience is the most important factor. I have heard that LBS has a really great and helpful network but also agree with you that I won't be getting the full experience by staying in my home city. Would be a more fulfilling experience to move to the US - the Lauder program is attractive because of the unique experience and close community.
I guess I need to decide between really pushing for PE and going HBS or to go for the experience at W/Lauder and return to MBB. Tough one...
imo Wharton Lauder would be the best option in this case. Frankly speaking, UMM/MF PE is off the table for you, considering how many people at H/W will already have that work experience pre-MBA, and that's where those funds will find their candidate pool. So then you are left with optimizing for fit/experience and recruiting for MM/LMM funds. In the first factor, seems like Wharton Lauder > HBS for you. In the second case, H/W is a wash in terms of doors opened. Adding on to that, W/L is 100k cheaper.
Incoming LBS MBA Student working in Tokyo here. So take my words with a grain of salt.
For PE in Japan, if you are a perfect bilingual in both English and Japanese (capable of using business Japanese) and from a top school (M7, LBS, etc.), it is actually not as difficult (not saying it is easy, but not as difficult vs. U.S./Europe), even without pre-MBA PE experiences or HSW MBA background. For example, I know someone with non-HSW M7 school/IBD background joined MF PE (think BX, Carlyle, KKR)'s Tokyo office.
So if you plan to join Tokyo offices of PE, it is actually doable with all 3 schools. HBS' prestige remains the best across Asia, but it is not a must to open a door in PE, at least in Japan if you are a perfect bilingual. It would also be easy for you to join MBB in Japan as Plan B (and then try to move to PE afterwards).
Yet, I would take HBS personally if I were you just because of the prestige / exploring the U.S.
BTW, I would like to learn more HF market in London, particularly those with Asia exposure. May I DM you? Many thanks.
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