MBA class of 2015 applicants thread
I haven't seen this thread yet, so i figure it's time to get the ball rolling since round 1 deadlines are coming up.
If you can, post which rounds you're applying to, and rank the schools in order of preference. If you want to add more details, such as career goals, numbers, etc., feel free to do that as well. I will start first.
Round 2
Wharton Sloan Booth Columbia Tuck Stern
Career goals: still debating on whether i should go into a specialized area of finance or try for MBB consulting, with a nonprofit focus. I realize they are very different fields, so i need to make up mind relatively soon on what story i want to tell b-schools.
Round 1 HBS Stanford
Round 2 (in relative order of preference):
HBS Tuck Columbia Kellogg or Booth YSOM Stern Texas
Tuck ahead of columbia/booth/kellogg? That's pretty unusual. And yale over stern? Hmm.
Yeah, I've always had a real hard-on for Tuck. Tuck provides just as much opportunity as any other non-HSW school, the alumni's love for their school is seemingly unrivaled, and I'd love to live up in the woods for two years.
And why not Yale over Stern? I'd argue that Yale and Stern are definitely in the same tier, and it's be nice to get out of NYC for a couple years. I would also seriously consider Yale over Kellogg.
-
Round 2 applicant here.
Darden Fuqua Kenan-Flagler
I'm trying to decide on some others with Vanderbilt and Emory being possibilities. Depending on where my GMAT comes out, I might put in an application to HBS.
Career aspirations? I would like to get into a general MM PE shop, but realize that might be tough given my background, etc. I will definitely recruit for MM and boutique IBs like Harris Williams, BlackArch Partners, etc. and hope to make a transition to a reputable PEG after a couple of years as an IB associate, assuming I decide I don't want to stay where I'm at.
Anyone else looking at similar schools, similar paths, etc.?
Regards
From the profiles I've seen, I would think you would be able to go straight into Southern growth PE post-MBA given your pre-MBA experience (Though you'd know better than me. I'm just saying my opinion). But maybe it's a lot tougher to break in if you're aiming for a larger MM firm, even if it's still in the South? Regardless, I don't get why you'd go into IB or how it would help, other than providing a fallback post-MBA position.
Honestly, I'm not sure at all. I do think it's a possibility, I'm just uncertain as to how likely...so I just want to set my expectations to the appropriate level. Trust when I say that I am not placing IB in first place but it will be a close second.
I do hope I'll get the PE recruiting attention I'm looking for coming out of school but it's hard to say whether that will materialize. I do have pre-MBA buyside experience, but it's very specialized, or is typically viewed that way, and that's what makes me uncertain about my chances.
Ideally I will be able to use my network and get some traction with interviews and from there I will be able to show off what I know and get an offer, but if need be, I will do IB for a few years and then make the transition.
But I agree, PE in the South is much different from the NE. You see all sorts of abnormal backgrounds, etc. and it seems that it would be a bit easier to break in. I think the one caveat there is that the number of opportunities will be far fewer in the South and much more infrequent, so timing and luck becomes very important.
Regards
Are you at all open to schools in the northeast? You're ex-military, so a lot of the top east coast schools would love you. Or are you 110% set on staying in the South? If so, fuqua/darden would be your best bets, with UNC a bit behind. Do NOT go to emory however.
Yeah, I would consider any school really. I'm just not confident on my eligibility given that I haven't taken the GMAT yet, I went to an unknown UG and I was 'only' enlisted (not an officer) while I was in the Army.
Not to toot my own horn, but I tend to be a guy that people like once we meet face-to-face but obviously the initial step is coming across great on paper...which can be an uphill battle for me given my 'better than most but not quite as good as the best' stats.
If you have suggestions on schools I am open to checking them out. If I do well enough on the GMAT, I decided I would put in an application at HBS. A large part of my reluctance just has to do with how well I think my personality matches with the schools in the NE...though my assumptions could be off and I could be applying far too much weight to that particular factor.
Also, what's the beef with Emory. Honestly, it's near the bottom of my list so hopefully a 'backup' but is there a specific reason why you feel the way you do?
Regards
the retardedness of some of you on this board confounds me, even as a state school kid
double agreed
Round 1:
Harvard Stanford Wharton
Will submit for Columbia depending on R1 outcomes.
Brady. I know you are reading this. Get off the computer and go have fun. It's a sunday.
Stern is an excellent MBA program with a huge geographical advantage- even over Columbia. Firms don't fly or drive to NYU; they walk. And they have a very strong focus on Finance.
Sure, some of them are. I'm sure some folks at HBS are a bit bitter too. The truly brilliant do not need grad school. (I say that as someone in grad school; I'd like to think I'm humble about it rather than bitter.)"Hundreds of full rides" is a huge overstatement. Please refrain from misinformed hyperbole.
NYU has a huge geographic advantage over columbia? Are you freaking kidding me? Yes, Stern is closer to a lot of these firms, but the columbia b-students eat the sternies for lunch when it comes to finance recruiting.
No one I know at HBS is bitter about being at HBS. Maybe they're bitter about not landing that gig at KKR or blackstone or paulson.
I also disagree that the truly brilliant do not need grad school. It really depends on what you want to do. A CS genius with his own successful start-up does not need it. But the brilliant finance guy who works at a megafund PE will most likely go to HBS/Stanford.
The truly brilliant person is a guy in his 20s who has a business that allows him to have those kinds of options.
If I'm not mistaken you're doing a masters finance program at princeton, which is quite rigorous, and you're surrounded by super smart quant geeks who are probably still virgins. Of course that's not fun. Who would rather do stochastic calculus than go hang gliding or surfing? I think you would be singing a different tune though if you were at a top b-school and going out 4-5 times a week and not having to worry since there's grade non-disclosure.
Did Brady create a new WSO account?
All of this guys posts are on B school topics so far. This pushes the odds dramatically in favour of your hypothesis.
Haha I was reading this on my phone and accidentally gave you a SB and monkey poo for this post - sorry about that! Hopefully they net out...
Anyway, as for me I am applying to HBS, GSB, and Kellogg in R1.
A lot of accomplished young professionals find the idea of quitting their good jobs and going to business school full time for two years to read Porters and Drucker and circle jerk to Jack Welsh biographies a bit... well... onerous. Especially when they can party, travel internationally and have an active social/outdoors life while working.
BUT, it's pretty clear than having a graduate degree from a top school is important in terms of white collar career options/hedging and progression in the medium term. I can see how that can be a source of bitterness in terms of having to conform to the standardised requirements of the big corporations that recruit from top schools.
Personally, I would love to study urban economics and behavioral finance, but I know that career-wise an MBA from a top real estate school would be better for my REPE career in the medium term. Even though I already have a business degree.
I'll probably apply 2nd round to Wharton, Columbia, MIT for MBAs and maybe Oxbridge/LSE for specialised masters in finance and/or real estate. Maybe I'll be able to squeeze in some history/IR modules if I end up at B-School as an educational compromise.
Hey, I think real estate is very local, are you sure you want to cast a net that wide?
A real estate finance/economics degree would be much shorter (1 year) and I might be able to combine it with a one year MBA at INSEAD/Oxford in the time that would take me to do a US MBA (2 years) if I go down that route.
UT Dallas here I come!
exit brady, enter thelastcall
new wso whipping boy hath been founded
I'm sorry, but who the heck is brady? I've seen his name mentioned multiple times on threads about b-school. Which school is he at?
His bio is common knowledge, either on wikipedia already or you can google it. this name chills me inside out.
I'm talking to the Man in the Mirror I'm asking him to change his ways And no message could have been any clearer
I'm suprised by how few people here seem to apply to HBS and GSB.
Round 1:
HBS Stanford Wharton Chicago (part time) Tuck MIT - LGO program
Round 2: Vanderbilt (rolling) Columbia (rolling) Kellogg (part time) Yale
Who is this brady guy and what are his stats? Is he an HBS guy? People mention him non stop
But he has a Booth MBA, isn't that good enough? What happened to him? Hope he is ok.
Some say that Brady has morphed into newer posters on this board who just so happen to sound eerily similar in tone, stories, and opinions. But who's to say either way?
This has been a conspiracy theory perpetuated by several posters for years. At one point, I was accused of being Brady, first because we were posting at the same times, then because we were posting at different times. Sometimes you just can't win.
Some people think he is a little too prestige obsessed but provides good insight. Others think he is the world's most successful troll. I fall into the first camp.
Why didn't he just apply for an MBA or something then if he's obsessesed with them?
R1 Columbia NYU
R2 MIT Wharton (still thinking...both are reach schools I guess)
Columbia is rolling, so try to submit by thanksgiving in order to maximize your chances. MIT round 2 is absolutely brutal; only about 12% of applicants even get an interview.
Submitted CBS app yesterday. I was trying for the ED. lol Stern's R1 deadline is 11/15 so I think I should be able to get everything ready by then. As for MIT..I am still debating whether I should apply / will go. Love NYC too much.haha
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