View of UPenn College Of Liberal Arts And Professional Studies Students in Private Equity

Hello Monkeys,

I am long time lurker on WSO. I have learned a lot from you all, and now I am in a personal dilemma. I have spent the last eight years in the military (enlisted) working various administrative type jobs. Now, I want to break into private equity and start a new career. I have been accepted to UPenn LPS. Do most firms see UPenn LPS as a negative? I have looked on Linkedin; however, UPenn College of Arts and Science diplomas are what all LPS students receive, so they are indistinguishable from regular CAS student (it appears the only thing that might be different is my transcript). I see a lot of people from UPenn end up in PE after undergrad, but the majority of them are Wharton students.
Side note: I'm waiting to hear back from Cornell AEM, Georgetown MSB, Boston College CSM, and Boston University. If accepted to any of these institutions, should I drop UPenn LPS?

Monkeys any advice is greatly appreciated!

Best Regards,
Capitalism King

 

axecapital4307 What makes you say it is a cash cow program? Are UPenn LPS students not allowed to compete in OCR? Which school do you think is best for jumping straight into private equity after undergraduate?

Big bodacious goals will get us to another galaxy.
 

Apologies, I thought you were referring to the Masters programs in liberal arts and such.

I think its unlikely that LPS has great Wall St. placement, especially to the buyside. Think about it you are competing with Wharton as well as Econ, PPE, Poli Sci, CS and other majors in the SAS.

If you have admission to SAS, I have heard it is doable to apply for wharton at the end of your freshman year as a double major. You might even be able to do that from LPS but its not a guaranteed path.

 
Best Response

axecapital4307 This is true, but my job in the military has allowed me to deal with numbers and projects on a large scale. LPS is a part of the SAS. The PPE degree will be the same that traditional undergraduates receive. Therefore, I assumed my competition would only be Wharton. I currently do not have a strategy to beat them at this time, but I am working on it!

In LPS I can take Wharton classes I think up to five or six; I cannot transfer or earn a degree from Wharton based on my understanding of the rules.

Let's say I get an investment banking internship, and one private equity internship. Do you think this will be enough to at least be in the competition for a buyside job after graduation?

http://www.thedp.com/article/2015/04/editorial-a-nontraditional-viewpoi… axecapital4307 "Yet LPS is unique in all of these programs as it is the only one which awards the very same degree to its students as the parent school. One of the reasons for this, and one of the main distinctions between LPS and some of its rivals, is that students in LPS can — and usually are — required to take classes with regular College students in their major."

Big bodacious goals will get us to another galaxy.
 

@champagnepaki" I will be older than 26 when I graduate. I am already past that age currently.

Everything you wrote I agree with. However, I do have experience with buying things, negotiating projects, and a few other things related to finance. Admin jobs in the military vary, and they encompass a lot of things especially in my branch of service.

My current goal is to do an IB internship and one PE internship while I finish my degree. I will either be an incoming sophomore or junior, and this which will drastically impact the amount of internships I can do.

@champagnepaki" You do know that there are a lot of PE firms right?

As a sophomore, what groups or clubs did you join to stand out amongst other individuals seeking finance internships?

https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/number-of-active-pe-firms-up-143-si…

https://www.privateequityinternational.com/database/#/pei-300

Thank you all for your replies!

Big bodacious goals will get us to another galaxy.
 

@champagnepaki" How difficult was it to become president of your school's finance club?

Side Note: I wrote my essay on living overseas and picking up different aspects about economies in different regions around the world. Example: I learned why "oil" is called black gold.

There are a lot of factors that go into an interview.

I have realized in the military 9/10 times it is better to focus on your strengths and not worry about your fucking weaknesses.

ballhard223 I am going to PM you.

Big bodacious goals will get us to another galaxy.
 

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