Due to the fact that megafunds have hours that are as bad as banking, how do their associates study to get a competitive GMAT score? Is the prestige of their job enough to compensate for a lower GMAT?
On a side note, is it a good idea for someone aiming for PE to study for the GMAT in the end of their senior year?
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A lot of people do take it in senior year, FWIW. Not everyone does - the others find time while in PE.
Guess you're too young as a prospect, but this is the same as how banking analysts prepare for and go through buyside recruiting - you make time for it (even at the cost of sleep) because you want that next step enough to do it. It sucks but it's for a short period which (plus red bull) helps you pull through.
Thank you for the quick reply. If you don't mind me watching, how did you do it? Senior year or during PE?
Also, would it be possible to prepare for a PE interview during the downtime in banking? Would this be an issue if you got caught?
I didn't do in senior year - got lucky, I'm doing it now in WFH.
On the PE prep - likely less of an issue now given how early it is, but at my firm we prepped during the downtime, given it was very accepted. At GS / similar, you'd want to do it secretly given their general unfriendliness towards the idea of recruiting out.
This makes sense, thanks.
Depending on what MF you are at, many of them also have GMAT tutors come into the office for the Associate class. These places are generally well oiled machines in every area, including the getting Associates in HBS and GSB. They are somewhat understanding if you're really running into a jam, that said they also expect their Associates to be machines. So to the above posters point, you just push hard and do what you need to do.
I was also under the impression that most MF Associates are hired a year-plus out, which usually means that at the very least the last few months of your banking Analyst stint will be meaningfully checked out, in which case you could use that time for GMAT.
Keep in mind the scores have a 5 year shelf life. So if you're taking it in college, you probably want to take it as late as possible in your Sr. year, just so you have the flexibility in case you end up having something that stretches out your timeline.
question for anyone in the work force, should one take the GMAT if they're not sure about bschool? I'm an incoming college senior at a EB this summer and am not sure if I'm interested in bschool. Is having a GMAT on your resume useful for anything else, i.e. if I want to recruit elsewhere for FT or UMM/MF PE later on? I looked over some tests and most of them seem similar to ACT/SAT, so would appreciate if anyone has advice on if I should spend my time elsewhere (like reading more investing books to build investing intuition).
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