Which top B-schools are strongest in PE and provide $$?

Question

Cheers! I am a little bit lost.

I got my new GMAT score yesterday - 740 (Q49, V41), which is way above 650 I got in the first attempt, and now have a vast new opportunities of schools to apply to. I am an international student (come from Latvia - a small country within the EU) and would like to pursue a career in Private Equity. As financial support is essential for me, I would really appreciate an insight on which top 15 business schools are known for their most generous scholarship/ fellowship support to international students and have good PE opportunities? My overall profile is strong (3.96 GPA, 7yrs exp, etc.) Thanks in advance!

sniperssk · Answer

The lower a school in the rankings, the bigger the chance of getting a scholarship. That being said, schools use different criteria to decide who gets a scholarship - it largely depends on what candidates they feel they need in order to round out their class, which is something you don't know. HBS is strong in PE, but you can't rely on a schlarship there. Others: Chicago, Columbia, Wharton, Tuck. I don't know what your experience is, but if you haven't done investment banking or PE prior to your MBA, the chances of getting into PE are nearly zero and it is irrelevant whether the school sends a lot of people there as they are hired based on IB/PE experience, not school.

Rado · Answer

Thanks for your feedback! I have been in IB and M&A for 7 years in Latvia, and now would like to switch to PE. And an MBA from a top program seems to be the right first step for doing that. 
I will apply to HBS, Wharton and Columbia and maybe also Tuck, and let us see how it all develops further.

sniperssk · Answer

That's a good start. Bear in mind, though, that your ability to get a PE job may also depend on what bank you worked for. For instance, some PE shops take people only from bulge brackets, and the biggest firms like KKR take people mostly from GS or MS. Be very careful of what you write in your essays as a career goal as on seeing that you want to do PE, adcoms will scrutinize your work experience as they know that the industry is tough to crack and they will ding you if your goal seems unfeasible. That's why I would suggest to get in touch wih people from the finance clubs at these schools and ask them how realistic your career goal is given your background and what PE shops you can shoot for.

riverripper · Answer

if you want PE getting a scholarship should be very far down your list of decision points. Simply put going full ride to a top 10 school would be foolish if you could have gone to HBS instead. PE tends to be extremely brand focused. Unless you have prior experience in the field, you really want to go to the best brand possible.

Rado · Answer

Thanks for advice. I have already applied to Wharton and Columbia, and will apply to HBS next week. I have applied to several safety schools as well, so, if I get a privilege to choose from several options, I will keep your suggestion in mind.

Which top B-schools are strongest in PE and provide $$?

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