Would you ask for deferral? Would you go for HBS/GSB?

[alex_london]

Hi everyone,

I would really appreciate the admissision experts' advice on what you would do if you were in my shoes.

I have been accepted at both MIT and Haas, but after being interviewed and put in the waitlist at Stanford, I got rejected. The dilemma is whether it is better to 1) wait one more year and re-apply at Stanford and also apply to HBS, or 2) just go to Haas or MIT this year. On 1), what would my chances of admission be for HBS/GSB? and on 2) would you go to Haas or MIT if you aimed to focus on entrepreneurship and venture capital?

A bit of background about myself:
Demography: European, male, turning 28 this year
GMAT: 710
Education: business administration and masters in finance at a top European business school. Summa cum laude in my thesis, won several student competitions.
Work experience: a total of 5 years at a bulge bracket American bank in London. 2 years in M&A and 3 years in Equity Research (covering equity stocks).
Post-MBA goals: joining a venture capital firm, or entrepreneurship.
Leadership: class spokesperson at both school and university, good leadership examples at work.
Non-profit: not much done unfortunately, I taught entrepreneurship to underprivileged youngster in East Africa for 3 weeks
Given my underprivileged background, was quite entrepreneur as a kid and had to self-fund education.
.
My main concern is that HBS and Stanford grads get most of the VC jobs available, while Haas and MIT barely get them....

Any advice and opinions you could give on this will be very much appreciated!!! Thanks!

[CriticalSquareMBA]

Hi Alex,

Firstly, congratulations on the admits to MIT and Haas! I think many folks on this forum are quite envious of your position!

I'm not going to bore you with an incredibly long post. In my opinion, you're splitting hairs. For one, Haas places a lot of kids every year into the bay area VC and PE firms. MIT does the same in the NE. Both have global name recognition that is incredibly difficult to beat. Also, you can really hone in on the quantitative aspect at both programs that firms like that value.

Placement is what you make of it. Your network is determined by you - and when you get to the top 10 programs, that means the name isn't the end all be all. You will do incredibly well with your goals at either MIT or Haas. You may merely have to work a tiny bit harder to get them.

But - given you got into both programs, I really don't think that's going to be an issue for you.

Let us know what you decide and once again, congratulations!

Bhavik

[MBAApply]

Hi everyone,

I would really appreciate the admissision experts' advice on what you would do if you were in my shoes.

I have been accepted at both MIT and Haas, but after being interviewed and put in the waitlist at Stanford, I got rejected. The dilemma is whether it is better to 1) wait one more year and re-apply at Stanford and also apply to HBS, or 2) just go to Haas or MIT this year. On 1), what would my chances of admission be for HBS/GSB? and on 2) would you go to Haas or MIT if you aimed to focus on entrepreneurship and venture capital?

A bit of background about myself:
Demography: European, male, turning 28 this year
GMAT: 710
Education: business administration and masters in finance at a top European business school. Summa cum laude in my thesis, won several student competitions.
Work experience: a total of 5 years at a bulge bracket American bank in London. 2 years in M&A and 3 years in Equity Research (covering equity stocks).
Post-MBA goals: joining a venture capital firm, or entrepreneurship.
Leadership: class spokesperson at both school and university, good leadership examples at work.
Non-profit: not much done unfortunately, I taught entrepreneurship to underprivileged youngster in East Africa for 3 weeks
Given my underprivileged background, was quite entrepreneur as a kid and had to self-fund education.
.
My main concern is that HBS and Stanford grads get most of the VC jobs available, while Haas and MIT barely get them....

Any advice and opinions you could give on this will be very much appreciated!!! Thanks!

Congrats on your admits.

First, where are you planning on working post-MBA? If you are not a US citizen or green card holder, you're going to have a very tough time getting a VC job or at a startup in the US regardless of which school you go to (including H/S). Most VC firms and startups in the US are typically very unwilling to sponsor internationals for work visas for various reasons, the two big ones being that they can easily find candidates that are American and/or green card holders, and that the process can be cumbersome enough for small companies without an HR department to work on these things (remember that even the biggest VC funds out there have maybe two dozen folks in the firm, with most of them being firm partners). Further, those in startups tend to want to allocate as much of their efforts to sponsor international visas to their technical roles, since those are harder to fill than business positions like yourself (plus there's a legal limit for firms on what percentage of their workforce are sponsored on work visas). I hate to burst your bubble here, but just be aware that the US immigration process is quite byzantine and difficult that only certain industries -- consulting, big banks, and large technology firms -- are most willing to sponsor internationals.

If you do come to the US and intend on staying here, just know that your job options will likely be limited to those big companies in those industries (consulting, finance, tech). Again doesn't mean it's impossible to get a VC job or work at a hot startup, but know that it's very hard to unlikely due to immigration issues.

Further, even if you were a citizen or green card holder (or you were to work in VC in Europe), to be blunt, you don't have the kind of background that VC funds typically want. The biotech funds really look for those with strong life sciences backgrounds (MDs or PhDs). The tech funds look for those with a prior track record in VC-funded entrepreneurship, or super blue chip guys (who likely come from rich families and who are connected to wealth). Startups in Europe is certainly a possibility for you though.

Now, having said that, don't bother reapplying. Go to either Haas or MIT. Your career isn't going to be materially different by going to H/S over Haas and MIT. The only difference is your ego, and nothing else. Also, those who tend to get VC jobs out of H/S get them not because they went to H/S, but because they have the requisite backgrounds/experience that VCs want (or to put it another way, H/S attracts those with the kinds of backgrounds that VCs want - they either have serious entrepreneurial track records, are from wealthy/connected families, or have prior VC experience).

Finally, your chances at H/S are slim to none given that you're on the older side for someone with a finance background (at 5 years this year, you're basically right at the "best before" date).

Go to MIT or Haas rather than wasting your life and time in a holding pattern for a year. You'll have a great time at either school. Good luck!

[MBAPrepAdvantage]

Congratulations as well on your admits.

I would recommend going to Haas or MIT Sloan as a bird (or two) in the hand beats two in the bush. I am not as gloomy on your chance of acceptance at Stanford as the others as I have had many clients get accepted to Stanford after being waitlisted the year before. That said, Haas and MIT Sloan feed the Silicon Valley and New England venture capital and entrepreneurship communities. Why waste a year waiting for an uncertain outcome (of gaining admittance to Stanford and HBS).

Best of luck,

[Jon@Admissionado]

Oh yes, I agree. Go with the bird in the hand. (and you have two birds from which to choose).

[PrepMBA.AlexLeventhal]

I don't think this requires an extended answer. MIT and Haas are top programs, and HBS and Stanford are not high probability for you.

And go be an an entrepreneur. After selling a few companies, you can be recruited by some HBS/Stanford folks running a vc/pe firm:)

Alex