Should I even be thinking about a Harvard MBA? High school senior.
The answer is probably no, but I'm extremely concerned about my future in banking. Should I be looking this far ahead right now? At what point in one's life does one apply for an MBA at Harvard? Should I start studying for the GMAT now?
I will be obtaining my undergraduate degree at one of these schools:
- Ohio State
- Swarthmore
- NYU
- Syracuse
- Villanova
- Northeastern
- UConn
- Fordham
- Lehigh
Is there any opportunity for me for me to transfer after a few semesters to a target school?
Your GMAT score expires after 5 years, so don't even consider taking it prior to senior year of college.
Thanks, SlikRick; that takes care of one of my concerns. :p
Go smoke some pot
...
It's possible to break into the industry from any of the schools on that list, although some would be harder than others and it would require a ton of effort. If you really want to do IB, you can definitely transfer to a target after 2-4 semesters and it will dramatically increase your chances. GMAT scores are only valid for 5 years and it only takes a few months to study for so you shouldn't be thinking about that. Whether you end up getting a Harvard MBA is totally up to you and the amount of effort you're willing to put in during the next few years of your life. If you're a senior now, try to enjoy your last year of high school.
Thanks for your reply, Newspeak.
The questions that remain unanswered are:
At what point in one's career/life does he/she apply to graduate school? Do I need work experience? What factors other than GPA / GMAT affect my acceptance into Harvard's program? Aren't transfer rates INCREDIBLY low?
Go to NYU, network and get good gpa, get a banking gig sa and ft offer, then we'll talk about bschool.
See my post today for the answer:
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/blog/the-diminishing-value-of-b-school
If I were in high school right now, I probably wouldn't even consider college. $12,000 for a 9-week Dev Bootcamp and your starting salary is $80,000 working 9-5 a week later.
You should be thinking about crushing pussy not the GMAT.
SB for you. And for Spring Break.
God Bless spring break. And you.
I think Harvard has a -4+2 program.
I lol'd
with a mindset like that you're gonna have no friends in college
and no girls...
I'm very confident in my ability to to make friends and crush pussy in college. I've done a great job with those in high school. What's wrong with keeping a close check on myself by looking deeply into the future, guys? I really want to know.
Part of being a bro (read: 80% of IB analysts) is learning to not look too far ahead and nonetheless crushing it. It's like looking at boobs. You think I don't notice those sweet DDs walking down the bike path. Or those C cups setting up the tent. Or those hills over there shaped like: boobies. Once your caught looking at them, games over.
Dont worry. You'll get it.
Thanks? Lol.
Love Role Models.
To continue with the movie analogy,
"I want you to use your peripherals. See? I'm not looking at you. No. See, I'm looking at the redhead at with the big titties. You see her, racked up right there, see her?"
But no seriously OP: hell no should you be thinking about Harvard MBA. Look, I was like you (I found this site my summer before college [back in the ibankingoasis days] although I wasn't looking at Harvard MBA, just learning about finance careers) and as soon as I started understanding how hard it is to break into IB from what would eventually be my alma mater (a non-target that's nowhere near NYC), I started freaking out and became a huge gunner for getting into IB.
In the end, I not only didn't get IB, I didnt even get the 1 good corp fin job that goes to my school. You know why? Because I was socially inept from being so consumed with nerdy finance shit and didn't develop a personality or mature much in my 4 years despite having the grades and understanding how the industry works. Fast forward another year after getting some work experience and I'm starting to realize that M&A work might not even be an ideal fit for my interests and I'm looking into other areas of finance that I may enjoy more and all that speculating I wasted time worrying about may not have been useless.
Long story short: you will probably change and mature during the next few years of your life (hopefully). The one thing I learned from being that kid who excessively tries to plan things out is that things can change dramatically in a blink of an eye and creating a contigency plan for every scenario of life is an exercise in futility. It's not possible and you'll miss out on the best years of your life in the process. The people here telling you to crush pussy, get drunk, etc. aren't completely off the mark believe it or not but I thought I'd share my perspective after learning this the hard way than see someone else waste their UG years worrying about this shit.
You're probably an intelligent/motivated kid if you've found this site so early on in life, but now it's time to focus on other aspects of your development so that the people you network/interview with get an opportunity to see these traits you possess.
Best of luck to you!
just concentrate on getting the highest gpa you can, then transfer to a top b school. then work, then worry about an mba.
Wow. Thanks, Accrual Dictator. I really appreciate your insight and advice. I'll focus on making the best of my upcoming college years. :D
@anacott: I assume you're talking to me. I had good grades (admittedly not the best in class or anything, perhaps not enough for top BBs or elite boutiques but good enough for at least MMs or regional boutiques), but there were a couple of fatal mistakes I made. First, I underestimated the importance of networking. and thought resume alone would get me anywhere Part of it is because I'm in a city far away from NYC and my school had few contacts in general, but I didn't reach out to enough people and, when I did network, I did it incorrectly (asked for jobs, didn't demonstrate added value, didn't build a relationship with the person, etc.). The other thing is that I was just an above average interviewer (had good questions, good answers, but not somebody memorable or someone that stands out, which is important in this economy). Similar to networking, I thought that nailing the "technicals" (by this I mean the analytical/problem-solving or knowledge-based questions, not just traditional IB questions) and having good experiences would be enough to carry me and underestimated how important "fit" was. I made plenty of final rounds, but being a memorable person in the interview room rather than a good one is very important given how few offers are going around and how competent most people are from a knowledge standpoint.
Additionally, I just wasn't a "fun" person to be around and lacked (still kind of do) charisma. Let's put it this way, until I struck out at jobs and realized that I need to be better socially, I never drank alcohol or went out really before the last half of my senior year (actually, I went a bit overboard with this and my GPA dipped one of my terms as a result, but it was worth it to break out of my shell, honestly). That's why I'm trying to tell the OP that a lot of things that people are saying about fit, developing personality, etc. are legitimately important and he shouldn't try to worry about such things already, especially since his goals could change once he's in school and exposed to more subjects.
I hope Dylan Richards isn't your real name, otherwise you don't know how to use the internet...
Wont hurt to take the gmat early perhaps summer after soph year when youre not as busy. It will help your resume if some of your other stats are subpar. Some interviewers actually ask about or comment on a good gmat score. It lasts for 5 years anyway.
No, read more WSO.
Enjoy your childhood kid.
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