Harvard 2+2, 2 year hiatus too short?

Hi, i'm currently a college junior majoring in Computer Science who is thinking about applying to 2+2. I probably want to end up in finance later in my life, but I know that they don't want to hear that so i will leave that out of my app. But the thing i'm concerned about is that the break from college and mba is only 2 years. Is that even enough time to build a resume to be competitive when entering the job market (i.e. private equity, hedge funds, ib, etc.) after HBS?

 
Best Response

Depends on the kinds of post-MBA jobs you're looking for.

The way the 2+2 program works is that should you get accepted via 2+2, HBS will provide resources to help you find jobs (but by no means can you just depend on them as your sole source of job leads). The job or jobs you decide to take on for those two years is entirely up to you.

The thing is the adcoms don't want to know that you'd be going into finance/consulting anyway in the application process (so don't mention it), but that should you get accepted, there's nothing to prevent you from going after those jobs as far as I know. In fact, I'm sure that firms like McKinsey will be knocking on your door and others who were accepted into 2+2.

Post-MBA, if you're looking to get into banking or consulting, it won't matter that you have two years only. For private equity funds and hedge funds, it'll come down to the kind of experience/exposure you had pre-MBA (i.e. even if you did IB pre-MBA, they traditionally prefer folks who worked in specific product groups or industry groups that fit the fund's needs).

In any case, just apply to the 2+2, and worry about the rest later.

Alex Chu www.mbaapply.com
 

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