H/W/S MBA path with diverse background

Hi everyone,

I'm URM, female, military veteran from Ivy leauge. I have IB summer analyst experience at BB in NYC after my freshman year through diversity programs. My next summer internship will be at Boston MBB office.

I wonder if I can get an advice on what my junior internship and first employment after graduation should be in order to maximize my chances of getting into top full time MBA. My post MBA plans are to work in technology or startup. I understand MBA admissions are unpredictable. I have 700 on GMAT and probably can do slightly better, but my biggest concern is that I will be overlooked if I go BB IB or MBB route along other consultants.

I'm originally from Midwest and wonder if my MBA chances will suffer/improve if I start at F500 FLDP at Eli Lilly, Anthem, Wallgreens, Caterpillar, Unitedhealth, Target, General Mills, etc in comparison with BB/MBB and possible Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, GE, GM, etc.

thanks

6 Comments
 

If you can do an F500 FLDP and ensure a rotation in M&A/ Corp. Strategy and ideally exit the program into one of those roles full time (for a year ), I think you would be a lock for HBS/ Stanford. However, not many F500 FLDPs have strategy rotations or exits. You should double check your list and apply selectively if thats the road you want to go down. At the same time, you've got essentially everything else working in your favor, and could just as easily end up at HBS/Stanford if you do MBB for 2 years and exit into an interesting role for a year. You would be able to get MBB prestige and differentiate yourself from the dozens/hundreds of other MBB applicants. The main point is that in whatever 'bucket' you end up applying from (IB/MBB/F500) you will be at the top of your category and your background will differentiate you in a meaningful enough way that you won't be directly compared with the hundreds of other MBB/Consultants that are applying. I would caution against turning down MBB for a F500 role, unless you have extenuating reasons for wanting to remain in the midwest.

 
Most Helpful

"I'm URM, female, military veteran from Ivy leauge. I have IB summer analyst experience at BB in NYC after my freshman year through diversity programs. My next summer internship will be at Boston MBB office."

There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY you will be "overlooked" when you apply whether you choose BB IB, MBB MC, or F500 FLDP.

And the preceding sentence was written by someone who frequently respond "It depends...."

Choose the option that you believe you will enjoy most and give you the most opportunity to shine.. Don't take your first job just because you think or someone tells you it may give you some slight advantage when you apply to bschool. They may not be right and you may be miserable.

Remember that part of the function of a first job is to help you decide what you would actually like to do going forward.

What may make a difference when you apply is a higher GMAT. You didn't mention GPA, but i'll assume it's competitive.

You may be interested in https://reports.accepted.com/mba-4-year-guide</a">Prep for B-School: A 4-Year Guide for College Students and Recent Grads., a free download we offer to people at least 4 years away from applying to MBA programs.

You may also want to consider applying to deferred admissions programs.

Best, Linda

Linda Abraham President, Accepted | Contact Me | Admissions Consulting
 

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