What doors would a top MBA open up for me?

I'm unsure if I want to do an MBA, leaning towards no, but I could use some input from this thread. I am very debt-averse so I'd rather not go into mountain of debt unless there was a clear path to it being worth it financially.

My background/stats:

- T25 undergrad, 3.6 GPA, cum laude (top 25% of undergrad)

- MBB for ~1.5 years (was one of the unfortunate ones who got 'asked to leave')

- 3 months into corp Strat associate role at a relatively unknown company in a niche industry with high executive visibility and very high-impact work (let's assume I stay in this job for another ~2 years, so I will have ~4 total YOE when I matriculate)

- I took a practice GMAT cold turkey and did quite well (730), so I'm confident I can get an M7 bid or a solid scholarship from a T15 given my grades and resume.

- Not a URM

But my question is:

What doors would an MBA open, assuming I have no interest in consulting? My salary is around the average of a typical post MBA F500 role, so I wouldn't be getting a huge benefit for that route. Is PE/HF feasible for me? How about non-IB finance roles- are those common post MBA gigs?  

5 Comments
 
Most Helpful

OP whoever you are, getting 730 in GMAT, cold turkey wow! Insane, sky is the limit. 

Question is not so much a short term one of whether you will recoup your costs in a 3-5 years time. If you don't have a great undergrad uni name in your CV, want to be a leader in an industry or raise funds one day as an investor, an MBA would give you more credibility (a with a sense of PrEsTigE), and a strong network. 

Lets say your undergrad and your current network sucks, you turn out to be in Strategy Corp-dev, and want to jump shop, you can leverage your school name to reach out to those outside of your normal circle of friends/network. (point being current undergrad etc not great, or to enhance network options) 

Given you can do 730 cold Turkey, I would personally aim for 770+ score, work really hard at the new gig. when you do well in Strategy, sometime the visibility with the higher ups gives you more (strategic) operational tasks which are quite fun, and B Schools love. Can get even sponsored by corporates if you do quite well there.  (If your company is open to that, not everyone is these days)

I would shoot for HSW first, and then evaluate my options!

 

Good to know. My undergrad is solid (it’s a T25 with a strong business focus, but obviously not HSW). I also have the MBB alumni network which is legit (I will always have access to the job board, where they post great roles on). But yes I do get your point that if I want to do big things one day (raise money, etc…) an HSW MBA could certainly help.

And yes I’m getting a variety of projects in my new role. In my first months I got an HR strategy project and a product strategy assignment (which will turn into operations I.e. helping manage the process/stakeholders in development). IMO much more interesting than my MBB so far.

 
Funniest

Basically, top shelf chicks will immediately drop their panties and suck you off. That’s been the best part of this post mba experience. 

 

Non voluptas dolores sint debitis aliquam voluptatem. Et sed voluptatem nam quo et. Repellat quaerat voluptas quis asperiores occaecati sed incidunt ullam. Et molestiae quia qui. Error cumque quaerat dolorem facilis.

Eligendi ullam porro laudantium placeat consequatur enim. Aut eius architecto consectetur ipsa aliquid consequuntur. Velit eos repellat distinctio ipsa molestiae sint nulla. Inventore sed accusamus et est reiciendis eius molestiae.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
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...”