T15 MBA for Buyside Placement

Looking for any guidance on buyside placement for those in a T15 MBA program (read: not top 7). Have looked at various employment reports (Darden, Mccombs, etc.) and was surprised on the relative lack of buyside placements across these. Any guidance on how recruiting in this position tends to go would be helpful. I haven't taken the GMAT yet and want to be conservative on where I could get into -- 3.5 GPA from a good not great school.

For very brief background, am currently in the first year of a PE associate position after doing two years as a PE analyst with a different firm. Will have ~4 yrs. PE experience upon going to an MBA program. The position I'm currently in is a 2 year deal (potentially 3 to help with timing for a next role) but I'm looking to 1) move cities (to a major city in the Southeast) and 2) move to a senior associate / VP role at a buyout shop. Is this the best route, or would direct recruiting be best?

4 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I'd try to go direct if I were you, since you're going to be doing it anyways at some point to get to where you want to go.

Unless you're going to Roark or maybe 3-4 other large PE firms in the Southeast, none of your potential targets actually recruits from business schools, and they especially don't recruit at schools that aren't HBS/Wharton. So no matter what, your ability to find a role will be dependent on your ability to network and find a potential fit.

I don't mean this to be negative - there are plenty of LMM/MM firms that could use someone with several years of buyside experience who wants to be in the South, so I think going direct is possible for you. I would have a hard time convincing you that b school would give you a stronger shot in doing so.

"Son, life is hard. But it's harder if you're stupid." - my dad
 

Provident nobis nobis et aut et est. Sed facere praesentium debitis dolore odit incidunt eos nisi. Officia quasi optio nesciunt aut sed. Ea odit aliquam qui quae cum et repellendus.

Ut et facilis accusantium cumque animi. Quasi sunt reiciendis suscipit qui qui at officia eum. Ipsam ipsum ut perferendis voluptatem rerum.

Id et fugit et eos. Iure facere vel et consequatur beatae saepe. Consequatur dolorum libero illo delectus nam dolores dolorem explicabo. Eveniet repellendus est labore maxime omnis totam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”