Mr. PE Analyst

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission! You have the strengths to your profile that admissions committees seek in deferred candidates: outstanding academics, extracurricular leadership, and strong professional promise as demonstrated by your internship and entrepreneurial experience.

I think the key to your candidacy will be application execution. In addition to fully communicating your professional/extracurricular impact on your resume and application, you’ll want to make it clear what your professional and personal motivations are. What drives you to start your own PE firm vs. becoming a leader in an existing firm? What interests you in particular about real estate and healthcare? Additionally, also reflect on what type of role you would take on post-MBA if starting a firm immediately upon graduation doesn’t pan out. I encourage the vast majority of applicants – even those with several years of work experience – to frame entrepreneurship as a longer-term goal. Schools know the difficulty of starting a business post-MBA, and they want to see a career path that is ambitious yet realistic. Perhaps you’d first want to gain experience at a larger bank/PE house, or maybe even in one of the two industries you’re targeting?

Finally, one thing I mention to all deferred MBA applicants: we’re seen that the process is not only competitive, but also unpredictable. Over the years, my colleagues and I have seen that it can be tough to predict which deferred candidates make the cut. However, you have absolutely nothing to lose by applying to these programs with a thoughtfully put-together application – even if it doesn’t work out this time around, it won’t harm your chances for admission down the road. Indeed, we’ve seen that some candidates who’ve gained admission to top schools the “regular” way were deferred applicants back in college. Hope that helps – best of luck!

Hi Mr. PE Analyst, Melisa here from Stratus Admissions. First, I love that you are asking these questions as a junior – your early start will be an asset to your application. You are strong in many of the pieces that deferred programs are looking for: strong stats, strong work experience (especially if you are working full time in PE now) and strong extracurricular leadership roles – so keep these up. Originally, deferred programs were designed so that students could take a risk their first couple years out of undergrad and have a plan to either accelerate or adjust their career with business school. I would say that starting a PE fund qualifies as a risk – any entrepreneurial venture would. Since you are currently working in a PE firm and you have a year to plan – I would hope that your plan to start your PE fund is well developed by the time you apply. How will you raise the capital? Can you identify some potential investments to be watching on the side? To apply with the goal of entrepreneurship, I think you need to be able to show that entrepreneurship is in your blood. It sounds like you have had experience in your current role – and maybe that is the platform off which you can launch. I’d agree that biotech and commercial real estate are very different, so you will need to explain how you do know these industries so well. You’ve got a solid list of schools – and as mentioned before – there is no downside to applying as deferred. I find that many who goes through the application process learn a lot about themselves and that might help in your entrepreneurial pursuits – and if you are not successful, will provide a platform to work off of for your next round of applications in a couple years. Reach out if you have any questions. Best of luck!