Small IB shop to top 10 mba admissions
The question is basically in the title.
I will be graduating and starting my career with a small IB firm (nothing elite), and was wondering how much this will hinder me for MBA admissions assuming the GPA, GMAT, and ex. curriculars are competitive. Goals are a top 10 MBA program.
Is there anyone that got into a top program with similar work experience and would you be willing to share your profile with me.
Thank you.
you are focusing on things that don't matter. Business schools are focused on admitting people who make a difference and are movers and shakers. They want the next Warren Buffet, Lloyd Blankfein etc. It's good marketing on their part. If you were at Goldman Sachs but a wall flower, vs a small ib firm where you sourced and completed deals, the latter shows greater potential. Of course if you can be at Goldman and source and complete deals that's even better. There isn't much you can do now about being at a small ib firm, but there is alot you can do from now until applications. hop to it
If the OP were sourcing deals there would be no need for business school, so the above is misguided.
It will be a bit harder to gain acceptance to top programs (#boutiqueprobs) but you still have a shot to get into a top ten.
adcoms are huge brand whores and would much rather take the goldman kid than a kid from some shitty boutique because he supposedly sourced deals.
the answer to the OP's question is: yes. there are plenty of kids from smaller mid-market IB shops and big 4 corpfin/transaction advisory in top 10 schools. many of them probably did something else for a couple years after that (corpdev, no-name PE, etc.)
I know of several people from a small IB firm that I spent some time at that placed kids at top MBA programs. They had strong undergrad stats (GPA, prestige of school, etc.) and solid GMATs. They also had recommendations from alumni that went to top b-schools. I think that it is definitely possible and could involve more hustling than if you were at a BB or elite boutique. That said, chances are you have pretty solid credentials if you are in IB and have a strong work ethic as well. I would keep an open dialogue with the people that you are going to work with so that they know you are looking to apply to top schools to see if they can provide any help in the process. Also, reach out to alumni of your undergrad that got into the schools to see how to better position yourself. The top schools seem to be black boxes unless you have some crazy background story or were target>BB>megafund (and even this doesn't guarantee admittance to a top program). Also, think about what you plan to do after the analyst stint. A transition to another field could help your chances/story as well.
Will it turn adcoms off if my goal of an MBA is to stay in banking but to move to a BB as an associate? I would imagine that moving to a respectable PE firm from small IB after MBA is quite difficult.
I don't see why that would be a negative -- adcoms love concrete, achievable career goals, especially ones that drive class median compensation upwards.
(Yes, moving to a real-deal PE firm will be difficult without pre-MBA PE experience.)
Cool. This thread has helped me feel a little more optimistic about where I will be starting. If anyone else has a relatable story about MBA admissions I would be great if you could share it.
People are overly optimistic here. MBA admissions is all about being competitive in your 'bucket.' And if you're in the 'banker' bucket, you're competing against dudes at Goldman, JPM, blah blah blah who moved to PE. Being at a small no-name shop is a legitimate disadvantage. Why are you at this random place instead of a BB? Probably because you couldn't get the prestige position. (Admissions people are absolutely going to look at it like this.) So why should HBS admit you over the guy at the brand-name bank which the school has built a decades-long relationship and sends fantastic candidates every year? Maybe you've taken on a lot of responsibility. Or worked on a huge deal or something. All legit stuff, but definitely something you need to sell. It's kinda shitty that programs view it this way. But you're going to be directly compared to the BB guys and that is ABSOLUTELY a disadvantage.
True, but there's a very huge difference between HBS and "top 10 program" like OP talked about in his post.
I don't necessarily think this is completely true. Sure, having a brand name like McKinsey or MS on your resume is a plus and will convey to adcoms that you have already been vetted at a high level. But adcoms are still more focused on what you have done within your role. Someone at a smaller firm could have more experience within deal processes, more client interaction, and more responsibility overall than an average candidate at a big name firm. There have been articles about this on Poets & Quants and also posts here (I'm sure you can find them if you search) that talk about how adcoms do have "buckets" as you pointed out, but they don't try to make significant distinctions between brands amongst these buckets. Yes, working as a generalist at a no name fund will be less advantageous to your profile than being an analyst in Restructuring at Blackstone, but it isn't the huge disadvantage you are making it out to be, especially if there is obvious congruence between your past experience, your future career goals, and your reason for wanting to attend that program in the first place.
Adcoms aren't looking just for stats, they are trying to build a community and want candidates who are going to contribute to the community and leave it in a better place than they found it.
I think the above is especially true for the types of programs that the OP is likely looking at, like Fuqua, Tuck, Haas, Kellogg.
I'm speaking from what I've seen, and Sandy's posts on this (where he says exactly what I'm writing here). Example: Old associate of mine when I interned at a non-name boutique (~10 people) was applying to MBA. Top 25 school, D1 athlete, extracurrics, etc. All that stuff. Maybe 26-27 yrs old.
Ended up matriculating at an MBA ranked #25-30. And not because he wanted to 'stay local.' That same profile at a BB or MM bank is M7. Just one data point, but I think that's representative.
When it comes to consulting and banking, name really does matter. If you're applying from somewhere with no name, better kill the GMAT and be super involved.
I know several kids from no-name IB boutiques that got accepted to top MBA programs. You'll need to spend a bit more time on your application playing up your responsibility, deal exposure, etc....but assuming you can do that effectively, you shouldn't have much trouble. Nothing is guaranteed, but with the right GPA, GMAT, and essays most IB kids (regardless of firm) should be able to find a spot in a top 10 MBA program.
Hell, a solid GPA from a respectable schools is almost a requirement anyway for most IBD jobs. This fact alone sure as hell won't get you into HBS or Stanford, but, combined with a good GMAT and solid work experience, will get you into plenty of top 15 programs.
MBA chances from small IB shop (Originally Posted: 04/02/2013)
The question is basically in the title.
I will be graduating and starting my career with a small IB firm (nothing elite), and was wondering how much this will hinder me for MBA admissions assuming the GPA, GMAT, and ex. curriculars are competitive. Goals are a top 10 MBA program.
Is there anyone that got into a top program with similar work experience and would you be willing to share your profile with me.
Thank you.
Top 10, should be no problem. H/S/W may be tougher. Booth may be a bit tougher.
But I think you have a good shot at the rest.
Boutique bank to M7 (Originally Posted: 09/14/2012)
So anyone have experience at a boutique and end up at a top MBA program? I know on here most people call is M7 but really I'm looking at top 15 programs or so.
Summary: Non-Target (3.6) Masters Program (semi-target?) (3.8) Good EC in school Boutique unknown bank, good deal flow (4 years- Associate role )
Trying to go to B-School and look into IB at bigger firms, perhaps BB or top MM
Post MBA goal?
BB or Top MM/ Boutique Ibanking
720 gmat
How small of a boutique? What sort of deals? Why not try and lateral, you made associate already.
I'm not OP, but can you lateral from boutique IB (unknown) to MM somewhat known PE?
People do that if you're at a small firm you will often times be working with PE on deals
What about MM IB to BB IB?
Regional I-Banking to Top 10 MBA? (Originally Posted: 03/30/2012)
Hi, I'm new here. Really just investigating my career options after undergrad. Here's a general question.
Do people ever work a couple years at a regional or boutique investment bank and get accepted by top 10 MBA programs? How about top 5? Obviously they would be competitive with more pedigreed applicants in other aspects. Apologies if this question has been asked many times before! ;)
I want to work in finance after college, because I do enjoy it, but ultimately the idea is to get an MBA to facilitate career mobility, and to network, of course. I may not even need a new job after college, but you gotta plan, right?
Thanks.
Yes, if you are otherwise competitive.
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