Your undergraduate degree, school, and possible MBA program acceptance/I-baknking job

Career Opportunities & Internships Investment Banking
1

<p>I am a engineering major at UC Irvine, and want to go on to get an MBA and pursue Investing Banking?</p>

<p>Although I got into Berkeley, and UCLA, I chose to go to UC Irvine for some reasons</p>

<p>My question is how important is the school you go as far as getting an MBA acceptance and getting an I-banking job? I've heard that my engineering major will help in both? I'm kind of concerned about the school. I have 2 years left. </p>

<p>Please comment (and if anyone has any links as far as schools gone to and which MBA schools accepted/I-banking firms recruit, please post)</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>What kinds of firms do you want to apply to? B, MM, BB? This will make a difference in where you should go for an MBA.</p>

<p>In fact, if you want an MBA for i-banking, I’d stick with HYPS and others close to it.</p>

<p>Most i-banks aren’t too concerned with your undergrad major. Hell, you could do Art or Contemp Dance (/rollseyes) and still make it to an i-bank.</p>

<p>EDIT: You are planning on working before you go after your MBA, right?</p>

3

<p>i’ve heard that big i-banking firms come to name brand schools a lot…i don’t know if they’ll come to uc irvine??</p>

<p>to be honest, i’ve not sure what sector of banking i’m interested in quite yet…can i have a definition or link(s) to what B, MM, BB, etc. are?</p>

<p>also, how many years experience is enough prior to applying for mba? should it be in engineering or in banking/consulting/etc. work?</p>

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<p>“i’ve heard that big i-banking firms come to name brand schools a lot…i don’t know if they’ll come to uc irvine??”</p>

<p>Ask the business department, they’ll know.</p>

<p>“can i have a definition or link(s) to what B, MM, BB, etc. are?”</p>

<p>Boutique, Mid-Market, and Buldge-Bracket banks. BB is Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citi, etc. Boutique firms are much smaller and have a more regional outlook on banking. Mid-Market are, well in the middle; up to $1bil in assest if I recall correctly. </p>

<p>“also, how many years experience is enough prior to applying for mba? should it be in engineering or in banking/consulting/etc. work?”</p>

<p>Usually it’s three years after your analyst stint at an investment bank.</p>

5

<p>If I am reading your post correctly, you are interested in going to B school for an MBA and then pursuing IB - coming into IB after B school would bump you up to an associate. Assuming this is your intention, you will need to work for a few years first - where you need to work isn’t defined since B school cares more about quality of work experience, personal growth, leadership activities and a well rounded candidacy, not your specific industry or specific firm. In other words, you can pursue engineering, consulting, IB, etc and break into a top B school assuming 1) your hard stats are on par and 2) you sell your experiences in your essays. Regarding which MBA programs to pursue, you will want to Target top 15 programs - think Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, NYU, Darden, Chicago, and so forth (I am not listing them in order and purposely listing schools not just in the top 10, but top 15 as well considering there are a wealth of opportunities for boutiques, MMs and BBs at each of these schools - for the most part, as well as strong alumni networks to help support your cause and candidacy. </p>

<p>Regarding the importance of your U Grad to B schools, while going to a very strong U Grad can help your candidacy ( a bit, not a ton), going to a non-target school isn’t going to seriously hurt your candidacy. Regarding the importance of your U Grad to I Banks recruiting for I Banking analyst programs, your U Grad definitely helps you a lot - it is the difference between the banks coming to you and recruiting, and you needing to find a way to get in front of said banks and show yourself as an individual and worthy of an opportunity/interview even though you come from a non-target (just adds a sizable layer of difficulty to the equation - definitely not impossible, but more difficult for sure). </p>

<p>Being engineering major doesn’t help you much with either, although B schools definitely relax the GPA levels necessary for engineering majors if you come from a known difficult engineering school, as engineering is considered a more difficult major. </p>

<p>If your goal is to go to B school and then break into banking, your goal should be to keep your GPA up, get involved in EC and volunteer activities and lock down a solid job, where you can build on some leadership experience and step up to make an impact in the firm - this will both bode well for your essays and help you to get some powerful letters of rec. In general, the amount of work experience is between 2 and 5 years for B school, so you’ve got some time on your hands - then again, it is never to early to begin to develop a well-rounded and impressive candidacy.</p>