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09 Jul 2008, 19:41
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Hello everyone,
First off, I just wanted to say thanks for all of the valuable contributions that everyone here makes. They have been priceless in assisting me with my B-School journey. With the GMAT over and application season getting underway shortly, I am struggling with finalizing my final list of schools to apply. I understand that the list can change during the application season, but I would like to have some sort of blueprint ready. I understand that we are going to have a really competitive year for applications this time around and therefore I feel application strategy is pretty important.
My profile is as follows:
Program: MBA FT
Area of interest in MBA: Investment Banking
GMAT: 710 (92%) -- Q44 (70%)/V42 (95%), AWA 5.5
GPA: 3.5, Economics, Large State School
Work experience(WE): 3 total -- 1 year Big 4 Audit, 2 years Healthcare Corp Dev
Nationality: American
Age: 23/25 at Matriculation
Gender: Male
Extra-curriculars/community: Lots of involvement in college. Volunteer at 2 organizations (transitional homeless shelter and major medical center) post-college.
My short-term goal is to join a bulge bracket investment bank in the investment banking division. I would prefer to be on the West Coast (SF or LA), but if I have to spend my summer internship or the first 1-3 years of my banking career in NYC, that would be fine as long as I could see the West Coast light at the end of the tunnel eventually. Long-term, I would like to either be in a Corporate Development/CFO role at a fast growing entrepenurial company, or I would like to be in private equity. Again, preferably in California but I will budge for the right opportunities.
I have put together 2 potential "game plans" as far as my list of schools goes. I will first outline the pluses and minuses of each list, and then list the actual schools. If you guys could please provide feedback on which one you think is better, I would greatly appreciate it.
Game Plan A: Columbia ED
Pros:
1. If I get into Columbia ED, I would have a lot of access to people on Wall Street and I shouldn't have much difficulty securing an internship/position at a bulge bracket bank. Columbia tends to do well with finance placements, even during economic downturns.
2. I would definitely prefer a big city school. I have never lived in NYC, but I have always wanted to and this would be a great opportunity to do it for a short while.
3. Ivy League, M7, Excellent placements and reputation, Excellent brand that will stay with me for the rest of my career
4. My chance of admission during the ED round is looking very high.
Cons:
1. It may be more difficult to make it back to the West Coast.
2. I may be slightly wondering "what if" I got into HBS or Chicago. HBS more so than Chicago.
3. I may find it difficult to compete with the quality of Columbia's RD applicants for the top banking jobs - a lot of them want to get in and they have stellar backgrounds.
Game Plan B: HBS/Chicago/UCLA/Tuck
Pros:
1. If I got into HBS, I would have unparalleled opportunities in Finance for the rest of my career. I am also a big fan of the Case Method. I am young, which HBS likes, but I am not a superstar by any means.
2. I think my fit at Chicago is slightly better than it is at Columbia. I also think the quality of professors at Chicago is a bit higher.
Cons:
1. My realistic chances at HBS are slim to none. I am stumbling and bumbling when it comes to thinking about leadership stories and the HBS essays - not a good sign.
2. My chances at Chicago may not be very high this year either. I was looking at admissions411, and although Chicago did admit a few people with my range of scores/grades/profile, they dinged quite a few more than they admitted.
3. If I were to end up at UCLA or Tuck, I fear that investment banking recruiting may be significantly harmed at these schools due to the downturn. Although UCLA has better ties to the West Coast offices, I feel that West Coast recruiting may be scaled down in the case of a downturn. Additionally, I feel like the UCLA brand name may not add as much to my profile in the long-term as I already went to a big state school undergrad.
Without further adieu:
Game Plan A:
Columbia ED (submit application in mid August, hear by mid October, if dinged, apply to following schools:)
Chicago GSB R1
UCLA Anderson R1
HBS R1
UC Berkeley Haas R1
Tuck R2 (November)
Game Plan B:
HBS R1
Chicago GSB R1
UCLA Anderson R1
UC Berkeley Haas R1
Tuck R2 (November)
Columbia RD
First off, I just wanted to say thanks for all of the valuable contributions that everyone here makes. They have been priceless in assisting me with my B-School journey. With the GMAT over and application season getting underway shortly, I am struggling with finalizing my final list of schools to apply. I understand that the list can change during the application season, but I would like to have some sort of blueprint ready. I understand that we are going to have a really competitive year for applications this time around and therefore I feel application strategy is pretty important.
My profile is as follows:
Program: MBA FT
Area of interest in MBA: Investment Banking
GMAT: 710 (92%) -- Q44 (70%)/V42 (95%), AWA 5.5
GPA: 3.5, Economics, Large State School
Work experience(WE): 3 total -- 1 year Big 4 Audit, 2 years Healthcare Corp Dev
Nationality: American
Age: 23/25 at Matriculation
Gender: Male
Extra-curriculars/community: Lots of involvement in college. Volunteer at 2 organizations (transitional homeless shelter and major medical center) post-college.
My short-term goal is to join a bulge bracket investment bank in the investment banking division. I would prefer to be on the West Coast (SF or LA), but if I have to spend my summer internship or the first 1-3 years of my banking career in NYC, that would be fine as long as I could see the West Coast light at the end of the tunnel eventually. Long-term, I would like to either be in a Corporate Development/CFO role at a fast growing entrepenurial company, or I would like to be in private equity. Again, preferably in California but I will budge for the right opportunities.
I have put together 2 potential "game plans" as far as my list of schools goes. I will first outline the pluses and minuses of each list, and then list the actual schools. If you guys could please provide feedback on which one you think is better, I would greatly appreciate it.
Game Plan A: Columbia ED
Pros:
1. If I get into Columbia ED, I would have a lot of access to people on Wall Street and I shouldn't have much difficulty securing an internship/position at a bulge bracket bank. Columbia tends to do well with finance placements, even during economic downturns.
2. I would definitely prefer a big city school. I have never lived in NYC, but I have always wanted to and this would be a great opportunity to do it for a short while.
3. Ivy League, M7, Excellent placements and reputation, Excellent brand that will stay with me for the rest of my career
4. My chance of admission during the ED round is looking very high.
Cons:
1. It may be more difficult to make it back to the West Coast.
2. I may be slightly wondering "what if" I got into HBS or Chicago. HBS more so than Chicago.
3. I may find it difficult to compete with the quality of Columbia's RD applicants for the top banking jobs - a lot of them want to get in and they have stellar backgrounds.
Game Plan B: HBS/Chicago/UCLA/Tuck
Pros:
1. If I got into HBS, I would have unparalleled opportunities in Finance for the rest of my career. I am also a big fan of the Case Method. I am young, which HBS likes, but I am not a superstar by any means.
2. I think my fit at Chicago is slightly better than it is at Columbia. I also think the quality of professors at Chicago is a bit higher.
Cons:
1. My realistic chances at HBS are slim to none. I am stumbling and bumbling when it comes to thinking about leadership stories and the HBS essays - not a good sign.
2. My chances at Chicago may not be very high this year either. I was looking at admissions411, and although Chicago did admit a few people with my range of scores/grades/profile, they dinged quite a few more than they admitted.
3. If I were to end up at UCLA or Tuck, I fear that investment banking recruiting may be significantly harmed at these schools due to the downturn. Although UCLA has better ties to the West Coast offices, I feel that West Coast recruiting may be scaled down in the case of a downturn. Additionally, I feel like the UCLA brand name may not add as much to my profile in the long-term as I already went to a big state school undergrad.
Without further adieu:
Game Plan A:
Columbia ED (submit application in mid August, hear by mid October, if dinged, apply to following schools:)
Chicago GSB R1
UCLA Anderson R1
HBS R1
UC Berkeley Haas R1
Tuck R2 (November)
Game Plan B:
HBS R1
Chicago GSB R1
UCLA Anderson R1
UC Berkeley Haas R1
Tuck R2 (November)
Columbia RD
09 Jul 2008, 20:19
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hey terp - one question for you: are you willing to apply again next year if you don't get admission this year?
If you're looking to maximize your chances for admission, my first instinct is go with Plan A (where you apply to Columbia ED). It seems to be a better bet than Plan B in terms of likelihood of admission. If you're willing to apply again next year, I'd say go with Plan B - apply to your dream schools now, see what happens. If you don't get in anywhere (worst case), then apply again next year with Plan A. At the end of the day, I think the "what if" question is the hardest to deal with - if you don't give it a go now, you may always have that sentiment in the back of your mind....
Just my two cents
Cheers,
ac.
If you're looking to maximize your chances for admission, my first instinct is go with Plan A (where you apply to Columbia ED). It seems to be a better bet than Plan B in terms of likelihood of admission. If you're willing to apply again next year, I'd say go with Plan B - apply to your dream schools now, see what happens. If you don't get in anywhere (worst case), then apply again next year with Plan A. At the end of the day, I think the "what if" question is the hardest to deal with - if you don't give it a go now, you may always have that sentiment in the back of your mind....
Just my two cents
Cheers,
ac.
09 Jul 2008, 20:23
Kudos
Bookmarks
ac8706
If I went with Plan B, and got rejected from HBS and Chicago, but admitted to one of the other 3 schools (Tuck, Haas, Anderson), I would just attend the school that let me in and still attend this year. I think the odds are good that I will get into either Tuck or Anderson.
The real question is - is the slim shot at Chicago and HBS worth (most likely) giving up Columbia for?
