bostown
I got in at R1 this year... and now I'm thinking about planning and preparing in advance because I want to switch from strategy consulting to investment banking.
Could you give me some advice on what I could do during the next 8 months or so? Thanks a lot.
Well congrats!
If you have a strategy consulting background (and if you have some savings), it may be beneficial to do some pre-MBA internship (VC, PE, boutique IB, etc) to build up your resume and contacts before bschool. (there will be a demand for someone with your background) This isn't necessary, nor is it required. However, I've met more than few individuals with pre-MBA internship experience and that just opened up a lot of things for us (good conversation topic during interview, summer internship offers 1 yr in advance, etc)
Question is, how do you find these opportunities? Majority of these opportunities are found through networking, etc (if you are in consulting, you should have contacts necessary to pull this off) but the opportunities are there, if your background (pre-MBA0 is impressive enough for these companies to bring you in (paid/unpaid).
Otherwise, you don't have to do anything to prepare for bschool (in terms of academics, etc). Relax and enjoy the next few months. First year can be brutal for a lot of students.