advice needed about b-school choice
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28 May 2010, 10:20
Alex – Thank you for the free alternative. A little about me:
31, 3.5 GPA, 730 GMAT, US LPR (Legal Permanent Resident) and I have applied to Tuck, NYU, Yale, Gtown and INSEAD (Jan 11 intake). Rejected at NYU (w/o interview) and Yale (with Interview), W/L at Tuck and accepted at Georgetown (with some monies) and INSEAD. I have about 9 years of experience in construction (project management) and then real estate development. My post-MBA goal is to get into PE, focusing on real estate. Now, I realize that getting into (directly after b-school) PE will be difficult, so my backup is to get into banking, get 3 years of banking experience under my belt, and then network to get into PE. In terms of where I would like to work, I am open to career in Asia but my first preference would be a career in the US.
Questions:
1) Given my goals, which school (Gtown or INSEAD) will better suit me? INSEAD is widely regarded as a top program and may seem to be the natural choice here, but I worry that it may not get me into banking/PE in the US. In talking to alums, INSEAD’s US placement seemed to be weak but that could be due to the fact that, for foreigners, it’s hard to get a US work permit (H1B). What is INSEAD’s reputation among US recruiters for banking/finance? (I looked at their placement report but doesn’t help me because my situation is unique - I am a career changer and older – so the fact that they place 18% into finance doesn’t tell me much…besides their placements will mostly be in Asia/the EU) Will it be a mistake to go to INSEAD if I want to do finance/banking in the US? And what is INSEAD’s reputation in Asia, specifically Southeast Asia and the Far East (i.e. China, HK etc.)? I am inclined to matriculate at INSEAD mostly because of its overall reputation, its ability to get me back to Asia and partly because of personal reasons (my fiancé is in Asia), the latter forming only a small part of the equation. At the same time, I am concerned about INSEAD’s finance reputation and its US reputation.
On the other hand, Georgetown is definitely a 2nd tier school (outside of your sweet sixteen) but their US ibanking placement seems to be strong, and therefore I feel pretty okay that the school will open some doors for me to get an banking internship, and eventually, a full-time position. The only setback is that Gtown isn’t INSEAD/LBS or one of the US top 16. Rankings, or should I say reputations are not everything but they do correlate to the types of employers who come to campus. For consulting, INSEAD gets McKinsey and BCG while Georgetown gets second tier consulting firms. For finance, it’s not so clear cut but INSEAD definitely gets more blue chip bank recruiters, at least in Asia and Europe.
Please advise. I am thinking that it’s pointless waiting on Tuck.
2) Ibanking – Given my age, will it be difficult for me to get into banking? I think I am okay with the lifestyle and I don’t mind slogging for 2-3 years if that will get me into PE. I will be 33 at graduation, and that is at least 3-4 years older than a typical ibanking associate hence my concern about banks not wanting to look at someone who is over 30. Please advise.
3) Lastly, besides banking, what other avenues are available for me to get into PE? Please advise.
I really need your honest counsel. If you need to be paid, we could get something set up.
Thanks!