Candidate:

Mr. PE/VC Hopeful

About Me:

Having been a programmer for a large portion of my life, I have begun to fall out of love with the idea of doing it for a career. My passion lies more within financial services. Coming from a non-target school I have struggled to find opportunities. Pursuing an MBA will not only help me develop the necessary skills but will hopefully open new doors. Following graduation, I will be working in the engineering department at a bulge bracket bank. Currently, I am looking at deferred MBA programs.

Details:

Undergrad School: Top 100 State School

Undergrad Major: Computer Science

GPA: 3.85

GMAT: 740

Age: 21, Ethnicity: White

Extracurriculars: Equity Research Analyst (school investment club), Published Undergraduate Researcher, President of Fraternity

Work History:

Title: Summer Analyst (Engineering)

Industry: Banking & Finance

Company: Top Firm

Length of Employment: 3 mos

Title: Software Engineering Intern

Industry: Technology

Company: Start-Up

Length of Employment: 6 mos

Post MBA Goal:

After earning an MBA I hope to either join a private equity or venture capital firm. My goal would be to find a firm that takes more of a hands-on approach with their investments. I want to be able to combine my technical knowledge and the skills I learn on the job and through my MBA in order to help cultivate younger companies.

Schools:

Target School: Stanford GSB

Status:

Considering: Harvard, Wharton

John A. Byrne, P&Q Founder & Editor-In-Chief | Odds Assessment: 5%

Unfortunately, the difficulty you have found going from a non-target school into a finance job is likely to be similar to the difficulty you will have in getting a deferred admit to Stanford, Harvard or Wharton. The admit rates for deferred admit programs at these schools are really low and the selectivity of your undergraduate institution would loom large in these decisions. You stats are solid, of course. a 740 GMAT, a 3.85 GPA in computer science, your STEM background raise no questions. You are checking every box there. It’s just that the odds are really tough. Good luck. You never know. A solidly executed application and a strong narrative story could swing this another way. But just remember that if Stanford, Harvard and …
Unfortunately, the difficulty you have found going from a non-target school into a finance job is likely to be similar to the difficulty you will have in getting a deferred admit to Stanford, Harvard or Wharton. The admit rates for deferred admit programs at these schools are really low and the selectivity of your undergraduate institution would loom large in these decisions. You stats are solid, of course. a 740 GMAT, a 3.85 GPA in computer science, your STEM background raise no questions. You are checking every box there. It’s just that the odds are really tough. Good luck. You never know. A solidly executed application and a strong narrative story could swing this another way. But just remember that if Stanford, Harvard and Wharton say no now it doesn’t mean no forever.
4 months ago Read the full review
Stratus Admissions Counseling | Odds Assessment: 5%

Mr. PE/VC Hopeful – Thanks for posting your profile. Susan here from Stratus. I echo John’s assessment with respect to H/S/W. As you craft your narrative, think about how your engagement in the investment club and your fraternity have allowed you to develop skills that you can build on in the years to come. Most PE/VC firms hire MBAs who already have finance background. You may need to consider spending some time in investment banking after you complete an MBA before you can make that transition.
I encourage you to look beyond H/S/W. You could find a seat in a program like Booth, MIT or Darden. Perhaps even CBS. Having an admit in hand could give you a fall back in the event that you want …
Mr. PE/VC Hopeful – Thanks for posting your profile. Susan here from Stratus. I echo John’s assessment with respect to H/S/W. As you craft your narrative, think about how your engagement in the investment club and your fraternity have allowed you to develop skills that you can build on in the years to come. Most PE/VC firms hire MBAs who already have finance background. You may need to consider spending some time in investment banking after you complete an MBA before you can make that transition.
I encourage you to look beyond H/S/W. You could find a seat in a program like Booth, MIT or Darden. Perhaps even CBS. Having an admit in hand could give you a fall back in the event that you want to reapply to the most elusive programs in a few years.
Wishing you all the best!
4 months ago Read the full review
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