Hey everyone,
I'm currently finishing up my senior year in undergrad and will be starting a middle-office job at GS in July. I'll be graduating with a 3.9 overall and 4.0 major gpa w/ a double major with honors in finance and economics.
I was thinking of taking the GMAT now because it'll be harder once I'm working to find the time and also I'll be years removed from "studying mode." However, GMAT scores are good for 5 years and I definitely want to get an MBA, so I'm just trying to think whether 4 years of this position at GS would position me to be able to get into a top business school. By "top" business school I'm actually only referring to Columbia or NYU because I'm from/will be living in NYC.
So, what do you think? Would 4 years of this kind of work experience allow me that opportunity (and make the GMAT a good idea to take now) or would I need more experience (and would render taking the GMAT now useless)?
Thanks for all the advice!!
MSG
Another quick point/question...
I will be graduating with honors because of my GPA (and I also was awarded a scholarship last year), but I can graduate with high honors if I write a senior thesis paper.
Do you think that writing a senior thesis and graduating with "high honors" as opposed to just with "honors" would make any difference when applying to B-school?
Thanks again!!!
Clarify what is middle office? I was under the assumption there is front-office (client facing, revenue generating) and back-office (not client-facing, not revenue generating).
it's not operations which is considered to be back office but it is not client-facing or revenue-generating (aka front office)...
i will be an analyst on the hedge fund valuation team within GSAM controllers which means i'll be analyzing and tracking the valuations for all of GS's hedge funds... does that give you a slightly better idea of what i'll be doing?
thanks!!
MSG
You'll be marking positions, aka , marking to market various short and long positions just before the end of the quarter for your trading desks. Depending on the level of the security, leve1, level2, etc., you'll be estimating values by marking positions to market, or marking to model, depending on the level (http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/cda/doc/content/US_Assur_Headsup_92706%281%…). You won't be valuing entire businesses in the traditional sense, but you will get a good understanding of how to value exotic securities, especially the more illiquid debt obligations which don't trade so freely.
Most investment banks that trade their own book typically hold securities that are classified as "held for trading", or "held for sale", which are always marked to market/model. So if your positions appreciate (e.g. GS shorting ABX and longing credit default swaps on CDOs in the summer when everyone was long) before the quarter closes, this helps earnings on the I/S, and this feeds the R/E account, and vice versa. Assets "held for sale" typically affect the SH equity portion of the B/S, while assets held for trading feed directly into the I/S and then the R/E. Assets held till maturity are recorded at historical cost, thus no change, and this is more common in corporates.
For the most part, banks classify their positions as "held for trading", in either level 1, 2, or 3, depending on the type. If you love securities, it should be fun.
That's a great description thadonmega!
Will a few years of that kind of experience position me to be able to get into Columbia or NYU?
Assuming you break 700 on your GMAT you are almost a guaranteed lock at NYU and very competitive at Columbia with your strong academic background and GS employment. I would also recommend joining a local community service group (i.e. New York Cares, Big Brother) or get involved in the community to some extent to demonstrate that you are well-rounded and active. Contingent upon your ability to execute in your essay package you are a strong candidate for all of the M7 schools including HBS, Wharton, and Stanford.
Good luck.
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