Ad Coms Hate Banking
In the process of applying to undergrad schools.. Many schools tend to ask something like "What are you passionate about" or "What do you want to pursue after graduation?" I'm not exactly set on anything at the moment, but I am definitely interested in investment banking, trading, and maybe management consulting.
However, these fields, I believe, are typically viewed in a negative light by college Ad Coms - maybe even more so for schools without business programs. Even ad coms at schools with business programs are probably sick of hearing about kids who want to go into banking...
Are there other careers in finance that are perhaps more humanitarian or favorable? Is there a way to make an aspiration for investment banking more unique? Thanks.
I don't think they particularly hate any industry, but banking is likely to create canned responses, which they probably abhor.
Very true.. so you don't think adcoms have a bias against the finance industry for being "greedy" or "money hungry"?
An excerpt from my Harvard Law School essay about bias-
"As an immigrant Hispanic female in Trump's America, I know firsthand how hard it is to succeed in a deeply racist and misogynistic society. I learned this at an early age, as I was raised by two immigrant paraplegic Muslim lesbian moms (native American and black respectively) on the south side of Chicago and saw their struggle against a deeply systemically racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist society firsthand. This ultimately sparked my innate intellectual curiosity and inspired me to discover my true passion- providing sustainable, non-GMO, organic, vegan, gluten-free food for starving kids in Africa.
While at Harvard Law, I hope to delve deeper into Women's and Gender Studies and examine the intersectionality of sexism, misogyny, and the experience of transgender Asian Americans like myself. Volunteer work has led me to discover who I really am, so I can make a difference on a global scale.
Only then, will I be able to look into the mirror and see who I truly am - a strong, independent black woman who has truly made an impact in the world. "
if you are really worried about this just lie, they don't come back later and revoke your degree later.
Lateral move into IB, effect on B-school candidacy (Originally Posted: 02/06/2014)
I'm 25, I've spent the first 3 years of my career working in "investments", more specifically, primary PE fund investing (1st a PE fund of funds, now a pension). I may have an opportunity to move in to an IB analyst program doing secondaries and other illiquid asset transactions at a well-respected MM firm. Given this will be something of a "reset"... most of my coworkers will be freshly graduated 22 year olds...
Will this negatively effect my candidacy at selective b-schools?
this
You sure this lie won't come up in the KKR background check?
Curious, why did you leave PE? because it was FoF?
Haven't left yet but essentially that's the reason. I've developed the "soft skills" required to perform due diligence on primary fund commitments, where in which you are essentially underwriting people... At the end of the day, there isn't enough to do, not enough analytic "feedstock". More or less, you commit to a fund (not knowing what will be bought) with a 7-12 year term... nobody can really make a macro call in that time horizon. When you buy a secondary PE interest, you're often looking at 3-5 years remaining on a portfolio of existing assets. This allows for much more analysis. With that said I could definitely see myself returning, but want to get better with the technical/quantitative side of the business.
Story, story, a thousand times story. If you have the GPA and gmat scores to get yourself into "consideration" then they look at your story. You'll have ample opportunity to explain your reasoning for your career progression and for why you want an MBA. You just gave an excellent REAL explanation in a single paragraph. BS it a little more on an application and during an interview and you'll be fine.
there ya go:) helped with your story
@DCDepository 100% agree. Decisions that make sense for your personal career progression and career goals tend to make sense for business school. There is no one formula for getting in, other than actually making sense and being genuine in what you have done and what you want to do. Do what's best for you and let it play out.
Good to hear, thanks for the insight and support guys.
Do you want to do IB long-term? If so, just go back to business school and get hired as an Associate. Why go the Analyst route now?
Not really sure yet what I want long-term, I've always had the sense from the type of person I was growing up that my career path would be non-linear. To that end, it always makes sense to keep my options open.
The bigger reason behind my current decision to attempt a lateral move into IB is stated above, a secondary reason is that it will increase the potential routes my career can take. I started the thread because I'd gotten feedback from a peer that it COULD be potentially limiting in regards to one particular route (b-school).
Woah. I'm literally in the process as well, and wondering what you all think. I don't feel like bullshitting talking about how I want to become a Doctor, and save lives. I'm sure they get enough of that.
It’s nothing to really do with their vitriol towards what the industry stands for and whether it’s on the side of right or wrong. In my experience, people don’t like Banking because kids are misled into believing it’s the only worthwhile career out there while also failing to understand the shortcomings of focusing on an industry that is notoriously competitive. A career in Banking can also be very short since Banking mostly prepares you for Banking jobs. I don’t think most colleges have the ability to consistently churn out successful bankers.
I definitely feel your pain here. I absolutely hate this process as it makes a liar of everyone by forcing you to write some sort of bleeding heart essay. Look at most people's careers 10 years out of college and 95% of them clearly lied their asses off on their entrance essays, both in the liberal arts programs and business schools.
And yes, you should be concerned about mentioning banking. Most colleges are very left wing and you shouldn't expect them to treat you fairly. I would go with one of two routes:
You can go for the full blown lie and write about your interest in micro-finance in Africa
You can be somewhat honest and talk about your passion for economics and the inner workings of financial markets. Don't say "banking" or "banker"....you're just interested in markets and economics
By the way, welcome to modern America where you are indoctrinated into lying about how much you care about society while doing nothing for anyone.
I applaud you for wanting to be honest as should be the case. No one asks a plumber or electrician why they do their jobs, yet if one gets a college degree, you have to come up with some sort of ridiculous altruistic story about bringing electricity to impoverished villages.
I don't mean to hijack this thread form OP but I wrote about my interests in capital markets, and how I opened a portfolio with my family, friends, my returns, etc. Talked about how their economics program would help me due to certain classes offered and all that. Do you believe this is sufficient for the prompt of writing about my career relative to my chosen major (economics)?
Yes. Adcom love seeing passion and initiative. This tells us that you will be active in college clubs, and possess the drive to pursue your interests.
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