<p>if I have working experience in a top 20 investment bank for about 2~3 years, will that be good enough for getting into a top5 MBA school?</p>
<p>well, let's just do the math for a second:</p>
<p>1) How many combined spots are there for incoming MBA's at the Top 5 schools?
2) Multiply that number by the average %-age that come from i-banking (i.e. if it's 100 spots and 50% come from i-banking - you've got a "base" number of 50).
3) How many analysts are there in the Top 20 i-banks?
4) How many of these analysts are applying to the Top 5 MBA schools?</p>
<p>That should be a good starting point...</p>
<p>(basically, I think you'll find that just b/c you worked at an i-bank doesn't guarantee you anything - hopefully, you've gotten a high GMAT score, you have an application that will differentiate you from the herd, you have good recommendations, have a solid undergrad record, come from a good undergrad, have solid leadership / extracurrics, etc.)</p>
<p>but people say your job is the most important part, is there any common job that is better than Ibank, in terms of MBA?
and the prestige, what you said is right but the point is I dont know the answers of those questions</p>
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what you said is right but the point is I dont know the answers of those questions
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</p>
<p>you're an "analyst" at an investment bank, and you don't know how to go about answering those basic questions above? perhaps an MBA is a bit out of your league my friend...</p>
<p>sorry, I am a student, I am just wondering what will be the case if I go to a top I bank</p>
<p>i see, i was wondering what you meant by "Top 20" i-bank - after all of the industry consolidation, there aren't 20 i-banks left!</p>
<p>at any rate, i'd concentrate on maintaining a good undergraduate record first - that way you will have plenty of options to consider upon graduation. as for i-banking, its lost some of its "prestige" over recent years (due to a number of factors, including recent downturn / scandals / competition from other higher growing industries - biotech / technology and specialized finance firms - VCs, hedge funds, etc.) but in general, yes, it's a solid industry and is very well represented at the top b-schools.</p>
<p>o, thank you</p>
<p>do you need to get an MBA if you say,after working at a top ibank for 2-3 years, you want to work at a hedge fund.</p>
<p>Please remember that not everyone who works in investment banking gets into the top MBA program of their choice. Keep in mind as well that most investment banking analyst programs are for 2 years right out of college, 3 years if the investment bank offers you an additional year of analyst work (a limited number of these spots are offered to people at the top of their analyst class). Only infrequently does someone get promoted to associate without the benefit of having received an MBA (and even some of those extremely well regarded analysts eventually get their MBAs anyway, for reasons of future career advancement and career opportunities). As you would expect, typically there are more promotion opportunities for investment banking analysts when the economy is hot, though that also means that you will be working even more hours on average during your stay in investment banking. </p>
<p>Today, MBA candidates have an increasing number of years of work experience -- for example, the class of 2007 in the Wharton MBA program has the following work experience:</p>
<p>18% 2-4 years of experience
39% 5-6 years of experience
25% 7-8 years of experience
17% 9+ years of experience.</p>
<p>Since I have a hard time believing that all of the students in the Wharton MBA Class of 2007 who have only 2-4 years of full time work experience are coming out of analyst programs at investment banks (remember, the vast majority of you who want to go into investment banking out of college will get only two years there as an analyst), you need to find a career path that may well begin with investment banking, but will allow you to work for a few years beyond the normal 2-year investment banking analyst program. You cannot be shortsighted about these things if you want to get into a top MBA program. </p>
<p>Just my two cents ...</p>
<p>thanks for the info sally. what do you think someone who just finished 2 years at an ibank as an analyst could do to gain more work experience?</p>
<p>
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Please remember that not everyone who works in investment banking gets into the top MBA program of their choice
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</p>
<p>I think that goes without saying for everybody. Even the highly-ranked (but not top) B-schools have plenty of bankers, and many of them would rather be going elsewhere. For example, I know Ibankers who went to Berkeley Haas or UCLA Anderson but who would rather have gone to Stanford. I know Ibankers who ended up at MITSloan who, you could tell, would rather be going to HBS. One rather interesting case is where a guy got rejected from HBS but got into Sloan, but his wife got into HBS. It was quite obvious to everybody that he would rather be at HBS, not Sloan. And then there are places like Cornell, Yale, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, etc. which are fine schools, where plenty of bankers end up, but the truth is, many of them would rather be going someplace else like HBS or Wharton.</p>
<p>It's a simple fact of life that 99.99999% of all people in the world do not get what they really want. If I got what I really wanted, I'd be an ace pitcher for the Red Sox. Or maybe quarterback for the Patriots. But I have to admit that Curt Schilling and Tom Brady are pretty darn good at their jobs.</p>
<p>What can someone do who has finished their 2-year analyst program at an investment bank? Just about anything that you can dream up.</p>
<p>Considering that you must have done something pretty impressive in school and during your interviews to have gotten that investment banking job, I would say that you can do just about anything in the world that you want to do. Contrary to the general wisdom that abounds on this board, there are jobs outside of Wall Street. Perhaps a client with whom you work at your investment bank will offer you a job. You could try to get a job at a private equity fund or a hedge fund (or do some other finance-related job). You could become a real estate broker. You could do real estate development or investment work. You could write the next great novel. You could join the management training program at GE. You could become a teacher. You could join the Peace Corps. You could find a way to build a bigger, faster, cheaper widget and patent and license that idea. You could have a fantastic entrepreneurial idea that leads you to start a business. You could do pretty much anything that you want to do. Take a look at monster.com or hotjobs.com to get some ideas about the vast variety of jobs that are out there ... but don't be limited by what you find there. </p>
<p>Choose to see your opportunities as broad and varied.</p>
<p>what do the top b-schools want from their students? I thought its your working experience? or anyone can give me a example of some one that got into HBS?</p>
<p>I can tell you that, back in the early 90s, a number of highly-capable IB analysts of my direct aquaintance, who were all working at a highly prestigious investment bank, were rejected at their top couple choice MBA programs. The scuttlebut was that too many I-Bank types , just lke them, were applying to these same five or so B-Schools; however, these programs wanted diversity in their student body. They wanted more general management types and fewer finance specialists.</p>
<p>so is it a good idea to work in IB area right after college and then switch to management types and then apply top MBA?</p>
<p>It's a good idea to take a job where you will learn and excel. Those employer recommendations will be all important in your business school applications.</p>
<p>This is ridiculous.</p>
<p>Top MBA programs like HBS, Sloan, Stanford and Wharton are looking for future leaders of America and the world. They want people who will help enrich business ideals within the various major disciplines including law, medicine, and technology. They're looking to for people who will help expand and bridge different businesses across the world. In short, they're looking for people who will help develop the world economy. </p>
<p>Not people who have 2 years of experience at a bulge bracket firm or a classy IB shop who want an MBA so they can quickly get back at being an associate (which they couldn't do in the first place since i-banks only selectively allow a few to move on and they weren't in the pick).</p>
<p>I-banking drones insult the very integrity of a top MBA program.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I'm confident that most baby i-bankers will not make into the top 5 MBA programs. They're not pioneers. They're tools. And adcoms know this only too well.</p>
<p>Pehaps ironically, back in the mid-80s thru early 90s at least, many of these "pioneers" you refer to, at these top MBA programs, in fact themselves aspired to associate "IBank drone" jobs when they completed their MBA program. </p>
<p>Maybe that's what motivated the MBA programs to branch out in their admissions practices, as I described.</p>
<p>I couldn't day where this stands now, but from reading this board it appears like finance jobs are hotter than ever.</p>
<p>epoch_dreams wrote:</p>
<p>
[quote]
This is ridiculous.</p>
<p>Top MBA programs like HBS, Sloan, Stanford and Wharton are looking for future leaders of America and the world. They want people who will help enrich business ideals within the various major disciplines including law, medicine, and technology. They're looking to for people who will help expand and bridge different businesses across the world. In short, they're looking for people who will help develop the world economy.</p>
<p>Not people who have 2 years of experience at a bulge bracket firm or a classy IB shop who want an MBA so they can quickly get back at being an associate (which they couldn't do in the first place since i-banks only selectively allow a few to move on and they weren't in the pick).</p>
<p>I-banking drones insult the very integrity of a top MBA program.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I'm confident that most baby i-bankers will not make into the top 5 MBA programs. They're not pioneers. They're tools. And adcoms know this only too well.
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</p>
<p>Wow, what a speech. Very "dreamy"...</p>
<p>But back to reality. </p>
<p>
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They want people who will help enrich business ideals within the various major disciplines including law, medicine, and technology. They're looking to for people who will help expand and bridge different businesses across the world.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>And how exactly do the adcoms KNOW that a person will GROW into this wonderful person? From their application essay? I think not.</p>
<p>No, adcoms at b-schools (much like adcoms at any other competitive institutions) will focus first and foremost on a person's track record - in other words, undergrad GPA, GMAT, career / work experience, recommendations, etc.</p>
<p>And where do you find a bunch of high achievers with this kind of quality? Top investment banks and consulting firms - that's where. It makes absolute sense. The weeding out process is halfway done. Now you can't select every i-banking analyst who wants to go to a top MBA, so its simple, you just take the cream of the crop (i.e. who are the ones who actually achieved as an analyst - hence, don't make the mistake that just because you work at an i-bank that you are shoo-in for a top MBA program - quite the contrary, you will find that you will have stiff competition to be sure)</p>
<p>But back to the main point. It's absolutely ridiculous to suggest that i-banking analyst "aren't" what top MBA programs want. They want "the best" period. And it just so happens that many of "the best" come from the world of investment banking, and further, many of "the best" choose to go back to the world of investment banking. Period. To suggest otherwise would belie the fact that at the very top programs (HBS, Wharton, Stanford, Sloan, etc.) all have healthy representation from investment banking (before and certainly AFTER they graduate).</p>
<p>and it seems that not too long ago you were asking the CC community about I-banking positions:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=76816%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=76816</a></p>
<p>you sir, if i might add, are the epitome of hypocrisy.</p>
<p>HAHA.</p>
<p>Yes search through my history and look for contradictions. That's the best way to prove a point isn't it?</p>
<p>BTW That was when I first entered CC and before I knew about the various other positions available outside of banking. That was also before I made up mind. So yes did I consider the profession of i-banking? Yes. Did I know all the options at the time? No. Do I know now? Yes. Do I still consider the profession of banking? No I don't.</p>
<p>And yet this makes the "epitome of hypocrisy". Please... Perhaps you should have pasted the others threads in which I bashed i-banking.</p>
<p>As far MBA programs recruiting the best of the best and so therefore i-bankers should naturally be a special choice is it? Why is that MBA programs do their best to make mixed programs like MIT LFM and Wharton's MBA/master's engr. curriculum.....</p>
<p>If MBA programs were really only looking students with best stats and were holding bankers to be so special and gave them such reverence even when they know that most of them will go back to being associates after graduation, why would they go out of their way to make these mixed programs??? Forget engr./MBA mixed programs. Let's take a look at programs like Wharton's exec. MBA program. Only 19% of these run off into finance. Most enter fields into medicine, technology (many into biotech), and other non-finance related areas. </p>
<p>Monydad,</p>
<p>This isn't the 80's or the 90's. MBA programs today are different in the sense that they are making a move to try and diversify business ideals. The wharton MBA program included a significant amount of surgeons, actuaries, engineers, even artists. In turn they will their best to diversify their entering class of students. In order to accomplish this, they may will go as far as making multiple specialized MBA programs for those who want a broader experience. The best MBA programs of today are looking for different kinds of people. There are armies of i-bankers and consultants - what is so original about these people?</p>