H/S/W Realistic?

Hey All -

Long-time poster writing from a throwaway account. Looking to gauge by B-school odds based on my stats below. B school is honestly not my first choice but given where I am I do not want to close any doors on myself. That being said, I probably wouldn't go unless it was to H/S/W, so I want to hear thoughts on my chances for those schools primarily, as well as the rest of the M7. I would be applying for fall 2021.

Personal Info: White Male UG: Big 10 state school (think: Ohio State, PSU, IU) Degrees: Double major in finance & econ with honors through my UG's honors college. Graduated PBK GPA: 3.9/4.0 GMAT: Have not taken. I'm honestly not the greatest standardized test taker, but I'm pretty sure with prep I wouldn't have an issue scoring 700+. Work Experience: 2 years as an analyst at a mid-tier BB (BAML/Citi/Barc) in IB in a major product group (M&A/LevFin) with a healthy amount of deals announced. Now an associate in corporate development at a large firm Letters of Rec: Would be very strong from college professors, previous employer, and current employer ECs: Typical volunteer work and a few strong undergrad ECs Other: Will likely have CFA Level 2 completed by the time of matriculation

Am I a realistic candidate for H/S/W? What would I need to score on the GMAT to be truly competitive there given the rest of my profile? What about the rest of the M7? Thanks in advance!

6 Comments
 
Controversial

sorry to be blunt but you pretty much have no chance at H/S. Wharton and other M7 are possible if GMAT is high enough (740+). The finance bucket for H/S goes to kids who went to HYPS then top BB then top PE/VC with 3.9s and 760+

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”