Columbia - 05-16-2022 | Clear Admit ApplyWire

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May 16, 2022 12:41pm ET

Applying: Columbia, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, UPenn / Wharton

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Sustainability Consulting at Big 4

Post-MBA Target Industry: Private Equity, Non Profit/SI Companies: Bain Capital , TPG , KKR , Other

GMAT: 710

GPA: 3.62

Location: France

Notes:

Hi everyone,

I'm Moroccan (born and raised there for 18 years) & first-generation college student in my family, who studied in France. I am graduating this fall with a combined Bachelor in General Engineering and Master degree in Financial Engineering from a Top 20 engineering school in France as well as a Master in Economics from a top 10 French university. I have work experience as a co-op intern for 2 years at a top retail bank in France in Treasury Management. Currently, i'm interning in a PE fund focused on Africa as a Sustainability Analyst. I got a FT offer from a Big 4 (Deloitte/PwC..) as a Sustainability Consultant. My plan would be to work there for 3 years before matriculating. After MBA i want to either go back to PE as a Sustainability officer in an Impact fund or join an organisation such as IFC or UN in their Sustainable Finance programs.

My dilemma here is that I got accepted to a top business school in France (ESSEC/ESCP) to do a Master in Management program (2/3 years starting next year) where alumni from this program tend to be recruted in top tier firms in Europe. I fear that i'm gonna miss out on this opportunity, especially since I don't have any idea about my chances at US MBA programs with my background.

PS : planning to retake the GMAT

Thank you very much for your feedback.

Like (0)

Show Comments (6) Last: May 23, 2022

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1676 So you are weighing you4 options, whether to pursue master in management in the short term? Congrats on that acceptance. Will this program provide you the pathway you’re seeking, re PE is as sustainability officer? If so, what is the added value, to you, gain8ng an MBA from a leading US-based program? Just questions I’m sure you’re considering. Key re admissions to a top MBA are showing impact at work, and outside of work, if you’re involved in your community, or have other interests. Boosting the GMAT May help, too. Your general profile would help, I would think, too. You won’t be over represented. (1)

supastrikas Likes Earned: 1 Thank you for the reply Alex. Indeed, I'm weighing my options between doing a Master in Management (MiM) now or getting an MBA after 3-5 years of FT experience. I did some due diligence on Linkedin and found out that few MiM grads do end up getting in PE sustainability, but most of them not right after school, and the recruiting is mainly in France/Europe. The other area of concern is that MiM are pre-experience programs which means that I'll be applying for entry-level/junior positions, in my case that would be after 7/8 years of studies after graduating high-school. For the MBA programs I looked into (M7), there are grads that go into PE sustainability in bigger US/UK funds but also there is the opportunity to join the graduate finance programs at IFC/UN, which may interest me too. For work, I'm planning to perform well in my consulting job and my co-ops/internships so far show that I can make an impact. For the ECs, I have been practicing karate for over 10 years (Moroccan national competitions participation) and have a black belt. I was also president of the finance club at my school and I led a crowd-lending challenge in my school that gathered 350 k$ for entrepreneurs that don't have access to loans in developping countries. I plan on continuing to be involved in community work in the future. Lastly, there is a financial aspect to this decision too. If I pursue a MiM this fall, I will have a hard time funding my degree. However, after 3+ yrs of stable full time work, It will be more doable with more savings and more loan options. This is my reasoning so far, which I know is totally relying on getting into a top MBA. I would love to have your input on this. Cheers, Supastrikas (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1676 I think you highlight a lot of the potential concerns with doing the masters, versus the MBA. I’m a little biased, but I’d lean to targeting MBA programs, after several years of impactful experience and growth. We’ll discuss it on the upcoming episode of the Wire Taps podcast. (1)

supastrikas Likes Earned: 1 Yes that's why I was leaning towards an MBA too. But my French friends keep telling me that it is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get into ESCP/ESSEC and that nothing guarantees that I would get into an MBA. Thank you very much for your replies Alex. I'm looking forward to the next podcast episode! (2)

grichmond Verified User. Likes Earned: 1235 I agree 100% with Alex. Unless you want to stay in France for the rest of your career and don't mind a long, slow trajectory towards your goals (with no guarantees), I would not pursue the masters you have been offered. I'd work hard for 2 years, get your GMAT up to 720+ and then head off to HBS, Wharton, Stanford - or really any top program in the USA - and use the MBA as a transformational tool to push into PE/Impact investing. Your profile, as a European candidate with Moroccan roots, applying to top US schools will really stand out. (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1676 More details on this candidacy in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2022/05/wire-taps-234/ (0)