43 Comments
 

Cost of attendance and xenophobia on the rise coupled with fewer millennials wanting to work in banking even though culture and hours can be just as bad at FANG/Salesforce.

 
 
Controversial

Xenophobia? You mean Asians not getting visa sponsorship which was an issue before Trump and is worse now?

Imagine if US MBA programs had to cut costs and admit more Americans. The horror!

 

Most MBAs are money makers for universities that don't really add value. The MBAs people debate here (~Top 25 at most) are the rare exception. To drop 100K and 2 years, you better have a real good reason to go back to school. On a broader level, I wouldn't be surprised if college enrollment declines in the next 10-20 years for the same reason. No point being a college-educated barista with 200K in debt.

 

If there was a re cession, theoretically there would be more MBA applicants, right?

I am ignoring the debt because that is an issue now and focussing on what will be available when the market slips or gradually declines. My $0.02

 
"HandsOfMidas" If there was a re cession, theoretically there would be more MBA applicants, right?

I am ignoring the debt because that is an issue now and focusing on what will be available when the market slips or gradually declines. My $0.02

You're correct! Ideally, you're accepted into top choice and the following week, the economy starts to tank. That way, you get to avoid all the bearish sentiment around the office and hopefully by the time you're out, job prospects are starting to look up.

It could be the perfect storm for probability of top-tier MBA acceptance + timing a bearish economic cycle lololol

 

My cousin was matriculating at Emory through the 08 collapse and said he saw classmates have their offers rescinded. He came from tech and ended up going back into tech as finance was in chaos. It would suck after all the hard work to come out into a crap market. No matter where you attend you want the best offers.

"All men are alike in their dreams, and all men are alike in the promises they make. The difference is what they do."— Jean Baptiste Moliere
 

I am matriculating at a very similarly ranked school(15-20) in 2019. Since my post MBA goal is Banking, what would you advise? I am already scared since I am an international so the issues of visa+new country+new culture+ tough banking recruitment are already there. Added to that is that $1=75 Currency of my country. So I will be 200k USD in debt. Is it advisable to come to the US given we could be looking at a recession in 2021? Thanks.

 

At programs with strong IB placement, I've seen people basically admit the only people who don't get IB offers are those who totally flunk technicals and those with no social skills. Associate is a client-facing role; you need to represent yourself and the bank well. If you can do that, it's pretty much a layup is what current students tell me.

 
Most Helpful

This will sound very "Trump's America" but hang out with the "cool kids" at your program. I mean that facetiously, but seriously, don't just spend all your time with your pocket of internationals from your own country like many internationals do-ingratiate yourself to the finance bros and observe their mannerisms without trying too hard. This will make you more comfortable at stuff like small talk, jokes, banter, opening people etc.

There are basically two types of internationals in B-school: those who are fairly "Westernized" - maybe they have dual passports or they grew up in or attended British, Australian, Canadian schools and have personalities that don't suggest cultural barriers, and then there are the obvious ones. They tend to have language and/or cultural issues that tank them during "fit" portions of recruiting. I saw this with much of the South Asian community as it was quite insular-so you could really see the sharp contrast between the IIT guys and the Desis, especially in recruiting outcomes. Saw it with Eastern Europeans as well, to a certain extent.

Nail your technicals AND behavioral questions without coming off stiff, rigid, or rehearsed and you'll be in solid shape

 

The only way possible for me to pivot from the military to IB was to get an MBA from a top school.

I believe a top MBA is great for people who are career switchers, but I agree with other comments posted - it makes zero sense to drop 100k only to return to the same industry.

This topic varies person to person. The degree makes sense for some, not so much for others.

Array
 

Damen, I assume you were an officer. Sir, I was enlisted and am trying to break into IB. I am curious what your experience is on the transition. Do you think the same challenges you experienced are similar for an undergrad student? Any insight is appreciated.

 

The transition from military to b-school or b-school to IB? Shoot me a PM with any questions and I'll give you my thoughts.

Array
 

**Cyclical factors: ** * bull market * labor market solid * foreigners (well mostly my people and Indians) succumbing to reality that most just ain't getting a work visa even if they go to H/S/W, plus China and India are booming and where the action is at

**Secular factors: ** * less ppl want to do "factory jobs" - aka IB and Consulting * more ppl doing tech / data science where employers don't value MBA as much

 

Perhaps its too early to make this comment, but Clayton Christensen, among other thinkers, has described a future in which traditional higher education (both undergraduate and post-grad) will undergo drastic changes or stop existing altogether because of the emergence of online learning and the costs relative to inflation increasing too greatly. But elite professional schools should be insulated from these effects largely because of their network.

I don't think this short-term decline is symptomatic of such a shift, however.

 

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