Anderson Vs. Tuck. Vs. Fuqua vs. MBA Not Worth It

Question

Please help!

I have been fortunate to get into some solid programs but seem to lack a preferential choice, here is my situation:

I intend to use an MBA to transition into asset management

My ideal post-mba job would be a long only asset manager on the west coast, therefore, of the schools I applied to, Anderson seems like a logical choice. However, given the current hiring environment and difficulty of getting a job in this specific part of finance, I am worried about my prospects, particularly given how much recruiters/gatekeepers at asset managers value "prestige" of MBA programs. Through speaking with recruiters, I have learned that even some prominent, large AMs on the west coast only recruit top 5 schools or H/W/Columbia/Booth/Kellogg.

I have a decent background (7 years of IB/equity research at NYC bulge bracket firms and will hopefully have my CFA this fall), and feel confident interviewing, but I can't succeed if I don't even have the oppty to get me foot in the door.

That said, Tuck / Fuqua seem to eliminate at least some (but definitely NOT all) prestige worries, however, they pose much harder geographic networking problems.

So to sum up, my optimal MBA outcome in order of preference...

1) Asset management on west coast
2) Asset management anywhere
3) Decent job on West Coast (maybe a good bus dev job or something in entrepreneurship)
***Worst case scenario is being trapped in East Coast in non asset management job

So as I see it now I have 7 options, which do you think is best!?

1) Attend Anderson and risk not even getting AM iviews
2) Attend Tuck / Fuqua and risk not being able to get to West Coast
3) Stay in job, skip MBA (also consider that at 7 years in finance, I have greater than $500k all-in oppty cost and have not gotten any scholarship $), and hope CFA and my background opens some doors later this year
4) My GMAT (just the quant score really) kept me from applying / getting into top schools, I have taken it 5 times already but I seem to improve each time I take it, I think a 720-740 is reasonable if I give myself another 1-2 tries, although that would mean waiting a year and entering MBA at 30 is not optimal, especially considering I made A2A promotion in 2009

(seems like a potential huge step backward in progression)
5) Quit job and move to West Coast and start networking full-time (easier to network once on location, v hard to get iviews from east coast)

6) Marry rich
7) Quit the rat race and become a crab fisherman on deadliest catch

(seems like a potential huge step backward in progression) 5) Quit job and move to West Coast and start networking full-time (easier to network once on location, v hard to get iviews from east coast) 6) Marry rich 7) Quit the rat race and become a crab fisherman on deadliest catch

mgg234 · Answer

I think Tuck is the easy choice, if you can handle the location. More or less, its M7 + Tuck, then the rest. Tuck is on nearly the same level as Columbia/Kellogg in most rankings, and similar recruiting. Duke tends to get much less MBB and top-tier IB's on campus. I'm not an expert in IM, but I'd assume it would be the same. UCLA is definitely a tier below, and I wouldn't recommend going there unless they gave you $$$.

Brian461 · Answer

This is really a choice between Tuck and Anderson because you want to work on the west coast.

Tuck because it's a tier above Anderson and Fuqua. Anderson because you will end up getting a west coast job which is where you want to be. Given that Bill Gross and Larry Fink both graduated from UCLA Anderson, Anderson does fairly well in IM recruiting. Unless Anderson offers you money, go to Tuck. Fuqua doesn't offer any advantages over the others so I wouldn't consider it.

EngineeringMBA · Answer

Congrats on the admits! I'd say if you're set on working in the West Coast, go Anderson, and if you're set on working in asset management anywhere, go with Tuck. Tuck is the more highly regarded school when it comes to rankings, but when it comes to these top schools it comes down to what matters most to you, whether it's location, prestige, career options, "fit", etc.

lowrys11 · Answer

Good points all...Although I find in quite conspicuous that Blackrock is not featured as a prominent recruiter on Anderson's career services website...

https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/degrees/mb ... statistics

or even their internship page

https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/degrees/mb ... nternships

Does he really not recruit from his own school??

domotron · Answer

I get the impression that with asset management most of the recruiting will be a case of you networking hard and trying to find opportunities with some guidance from the careers service. I'm not totally familiar with IB in US but I would imagine it's a pretty natural progression to jump from IB from a bulge bracket to an asset management firm. Also I would guess that there are more asset managers in the Northeast than the West coast. So your choices are really:

1) Stay in your job and trying and network into asset management without an MBA. It may be that you can transition to asset management in the East coast and then move to the West coast further down the line
2) Get your MBA from Andersen, recruit your tail off and hope you can network your way into an asset management shop
3) Go to Tuck, get into asset management on the East Coast and again move to West coast later on

Of the 3 I would pick 1) unless the transition from IB to asset management is absolutely no possible. Between 2) and 3) it depends how desperate you are to be on the West coast vs how you feel about getting into the right industry but in the wrong location initially.

DefyingGravity · Answer

Have you reached out to current students with similar goals at any of those schools? They may be able to provide more insight into how easy/challenging it is to break into the industry.

lowrys11 · Answer

I am in the beginning stages of this process, but generally speaking, its hard to get a good, comparable sample population, and thus hard to deduce anything meaningful

The best I can break it down is - Former buyside and gold plate IB who go to H/S/W will get their shot, but non-perfect stories such as mine (solid experience but only top 15 school), as well as candidates with top 5 MBA but silver plate prior exp (back office, S&T, middle market jobs), are naturally much less straightforward

bdepp · Answer

Option 6 is clearly the best choice.

Outside of that, $500K+ oppportunity cost is a lot. Unless you really need a change in your life (to prevent going insane), I'd probably lean toward skipping the MBA and trying to get into asset management on your own. If it doesn't work, maybe you get an EMBA at Anderson (or elsewhere, I'm not sure where you're located) and give it another shot in a few years. It just feels like you will be disappointed if you don't end up in AM on the west coast. If you go to Tuck and don't end up in that situation, will you look at it as a wasted 2 years and wasted $? No need to answer that question in this thread, just something for you to consider.

Good luck with the choice!

mgg234 · Answer

I think you're over-estimating the opportunity cost a bit. Unless he has an insane salary (which equity research generally isn't providing anymore), it's between $200k-300k.

bdepp · Answer

$500k is his estimate, not mine.

lowrys11 · Answer

That range is accurate, even in equity research, at least with 7 years experience and direct A2A promote

mgg234 · Answer

Nice, I do mid-office and got direct A2A and I barely clear $100k (4.5 years experience). If you're cracking $200k a year, an MBA probably isn't worth it.

lowrys11 · Answer

Appreciate that, but my career situation is not as rosy at it may seem. Essentially, while I feel privileged to make that amount, my earnings have been flat for 4 years and probably will unless I assume stock coverage, which these days is a very difficult thing to pull off successfully without getting fired/pushed out (I could go on about this prospect for pages and pages but will spare you my views at this point). Also, bear in mind the cost of NYC (I def do not live like a kind, 300 sq ft studio apt for instance, v expensive girlfriend

, etc etc) and the fact that I really don't want to do ER forever, and then the MBA becomes more valuable, particularly if I can leverage it into a buy-side gig, which may be double my current salary and in a cheaper area.

Pioneer1010 · Answer

lowrys11 - It seems to me you are still on the fence with going back to school or not. My advice would be to go to the admit weekends and talk to current students and career management offices about your goals. Also, have you tried looking at the websites of firms you would like to work for to see where employees did their MBAs? For example, Ares has a number of UCLA grads. My understanding of asset management is your are going to have to network your ass off anyway as they do not come to campus - unless you are at Wharton where I've heard 800 kids will show up to the Carlyle info session. Maybe some of the best advice I have received thus far about choosing a school is 2 years goes by really quickly when your happy, but is miserable if you choose the wrong school.

Anderson Vs. Tuck. Vs. Fuqua vs. MBA Not Worth It

Which option is best

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards