The "Perfect Pre-Law " who Jumped Ship. Is it too late?
I just graduated from an ivy (with a top ugrad business program..) in History (with distinction/honors). My GPA is a 3.94.
The only courses I took that are in any way business related are Calc II, microeconomics and macroeconomics which I received As in.
I did a significant amount of research and received grants/awards for them but the only work experience I have is at a human rights organization and non-profit in a third world country and an internship at a leading museum during high school (excluding some crappy luxury real estate non-paid internship). I've held leadership roles in student government and founded a fashion club.
I actually entered college always with the idea of going into business in the back burner, but somehow got into the law route. I studied for my LSATs knowing it would not be hard for me to gain acceptance into a top school only to discover that the law industry is a sordid mess at the moment and a huge gamble that I'd rather not take. Sadly, all this time wasted on preparing for law school, I missed the stream of recruitment and am still in the process of job hunting.
I'm interested in management consulting and most likely an MBA somewhere down the line.
Some people suggested I take my GMATs now, keep doing nonprofit/public policy stuff and apply as a nontraditional a few years later. Others are saying to network for like a mofo and try to get an internship (except they're filled by the seniors-to-be already I'm guessing).
Can anyone please shed some light on my situation?
Too late for an internship. I would network/apply to non-NY/NJ/CT/MA/CA locations and you may get some nibbles. Other options are F500 and working for a funded startup as a segue to business school (look at VC portfolio companies).
Since you graduated from a top target with such a high GPA, and with what sounds like a respectable amount of volunteer work, you actually have an attractive resume. What you lack is work experience and the necessary knowledge of finance that you'd need on a consulting job - things that won't necessarily kill you.
Since every career objective is a multi-faceted endeavor, I've got a few things to recommend for you to do:
Do network. Begin talking to alumni from your school who work in consulting or who have done so. I'm not a pro at establishing relationships, but try to form a good rapport with them and keep in touch. Tell them your story but more importantly, make sure to ask for theirs, how they got where they are, and glean any knowledge applicable to your situation from the conversations. You want to have a lot of people on your radar and have a lot of people in your network who likewise keep you on the radar. This could yield an internship for you or even a job later on.
Learn the basics of finance on your own time. Don't wrack your brain building a LBO model (especially since you'll likely never use this in consulting), but do learn the basics of accounting, how the 3 financial statements connect, and perhaps delve into learning the basics of valuation (DCF, market comps). In consulting, you'll use PowerPoint most of the time, but it's just as important to have a strong understanding of finance and accounting.
Consider educational options, given your time constraints. A friend of mine studied in Germany for a while, then returned to Shanghai, looking for work in consulting or banking. He was indifferent to the two but needed a way to display his knowledge of finance, so he signed up for the CFA program. This guy had outstanding educational qualifications (similar to you), and once he passed level 1 of the CFA, he proved that his liberal arts degree didn't mean that he didn't know finance. Keep in mind, though, that the CFA requires a significant time investment which may not even pay off for you; that said, be wise in deciding whether to give it a go. On the flip side, level 1 of the CFA will teach you nearly everything that a 4-year undergraduate degree in the subject would, so also consider the usefulness of the program as a purely educational tool.
I don't recommend that you spend more money on a MS Finance program since you already have a top degree, but some people may suggest a top MSF for you (MIT).
4.Continue to do work through whatever outlets you have available to you. You didn't mention any specifics about what you do, but I'm under the impression that your work is material to the success of whatever organization(s) you volunteer with - that is to say that you do have an impact. If that's the case, then continue to do it, start networking, learn finance, and consider that CFA. This way, you keep doing something relevant while continuing to open up options and strengthen your profile for the job you want.
The worst case scenario is that you grind out non-profit work, network, and learn finance for 3-4 years, then get an MBA. At that point, you'll have a much stronger chance of breaking in to consulting, but I doubt it'll get that far given your current profile.
More experienced monkeys should chime in and correct me where I'm wrong. Good luck gg2.
It is certainly too late for summers and OCR-type internships. However, given some networking through a strong alumni base, the OP definitely has a shot at landing an off-cycle internship.
I must disagree with the non-NY, NJ-etc part; I think that the OP has the highest shot of landing an internship in a major city, given the larger number of alumni and sheer quantity of companies that are here. There are kids from tiny inner-city CUNY schools getting IBD internships at bulge bracket banks - I'm fairly certain that someone with a 4.0 from an Ivy has a good shot at networking their way into an off-cycle gig.
The F500 and funded startup idea is absolutely right, though, especially the latter. I think that that's exactly the type of place where his profile would best fit, and would provide an excellent springboard for getting in to business school later on.
If you want to jump into consulting asap, you can try to get some decent internship for this summer (Even non-consulting internships are fine, I know it's rather late to start applying now), network with consultants, and try for full time recruiting in the fall.
Otherwise, F500, startups, etc. -> MBA -> consulting is another pretty standard route.
And as for GMAT, if you know you're going to apply for B-school within 5 years, take it now while you have the time.
If you're not planning to go into IB/finance, getting a CFA, learning about LBO, valuation, 3-statement models, etc. are almost worthless in the Consulting recruiting process. No one expects you to know that. The vast majority of consultants don't know that either.
Impressive stats no doubt. Maybe pursue a masters program in Europe; 1-year (most likely) and you could get into top schools, assuming you can ace the GMAT. With a 3.94 from an Ivy you should have no worries about getting into your dream career.
Don't do a masters in europe if you want to work in US.
OP, check out the Duke and UVA masters in management programs.
From what I hear they place highly into consulting.
Some MSF programs also place into consulting.
Your high GPA and pedigree as an Ivy graduate will be very attractive to Consulting firms
don't believe the hype. top shelf law degree is actually undervalued right now with all the negative publicity. with less ppl applying, you have a chance at attending HYS law school whose brand is still solid and afterwards MBB job is certainly easy to attain. Don't be swayed by naysayers, go to law school.
It's really funny. Now the law school bubble has collapsed, people are being so risk averse against law school it's actually not such a bad proposition.
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