The case for pursuing prestige
So after all the dust settles, I was a bit disappointed at this cycle. I was able to land a few great offers at M7, but no dice at HSW. It kind of got me reflecting on my UG + career trajectory.
I was never one super hungry for prestige. I went to a good high school/T-10 UG, but was never interested in the traditional prestige careers. As a result, I didn’t work super hard in UG, came out with a 3.3 and kind of just followed my creative passions and trusted my gut in pursuing what I loved for work. Ended pretty well with me joining a startup that I loved, had significant impact and promotions and actually had a decent exit.
However, I also have friends who didn’t go to a T-10 UG but were super prestige obsessed. As a result, they went the route of IB -> MF PE, and were able to land HSW this cycle. I feel like I went balls to the wall like they did, I could have also landed BB/MBB -> MF PE (I don't think these things are rocket science, I just have absolute 0 interest in finance).
So now here we are, I can't help but feeling "behind" my friends, but also wonder how did I fall down this prestige trap. I didn't even give a shit about prestige before I started applying to MBA (I was only picking schools to prioritize based on how attractive their curriculum is to me vs their rankings.) Not really a question but more so a disillusionment with the advice of “pursuing your passion”.
So let me get this straight - you enjoyed school at a Top 10 UG without working too hard, you landed at a startup you loved where you got good experience with promotions and had a decent exit, and now you have offers to go to some mix of MIT Sloan, Kellogg, Booth, and Columbia? Dude you are miles ahead of your peers. Your friends that went IB -> MF -> HBS are probably burnt out, jaded, and desperate for a break while in school. You have presumably enjoyed your life and if you're not interested in Finance the difference between Wharton and Kellogg for business school is negligible. You sound like the winner here. No disillusionment needed
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