Undecided - 01-24-2022 | Clear Admit DecisionWire

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January 24, 2022 6:49am ET

Enrolled: Undecided

Admitted: Berkeley / Haas $

$90000

, Duke / Fuqua $

$80000

, UVA / Darden $

$150000

Applied: Berkeley / Haas, Duke / Fuqua, Harvard Business School, UVA / Darden

Entering Year: 2022

Post MBA Career: Asset Management, inc. Hedge Funds Companies: Blackrock, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Asset Management, Vanguard

GRE: 323

GPA: 3.99

Location: NYC

Notes:

Am deciding between $90k at Haas and full ride at Darden. Open to both east and west coast post-MBA, and interested in pursuing a career in the sustainable finance / impact investing space. Was originally leaning towards Haas because of its robust curriculum in this space, but a full scholarship is hard to beat. Any input would be appreciated!

Like (4)

Show Comments (6) Last: February 8, 2022

eliot Verified User. Likes Earned: 1889 Congrats on your acceptances and scholarships to Haas ($90k), Fuqua ($80k) and Darden ($150k). Well done. All three are great programs. You mentioned an interest in asset management, ideally around sustainable finance/impact investing. 1) Career placement: According to Class of 2020 career reports, the % going into finance is as follows: Haas (14.5%), Fuqua (18%) and Darden (19%). In addition, neither Haas or Darden break out which of these finance roles are both asset mgmt or hedge fund (or even PE/VC for that matter). In your due diligence, you should talk to students at both Haas and Darden (particularly in the finance club) to learn more about placement into asset mgmt. 2) Personal fit. Do you have a personal preference between Haas and Darden? I encourage you to attend admit events and chat with students to better gauge your fit with the program. 3) Scholarship difference. Darden is offering you at least $60k more in scholarship than Haas. In addition, the cost of living is likely higher in the Bay Area as well. In summary, Darden with the $150k scholarship sounds like an attractive option assuming that you have a good personal fit and you are satisfied with their career placement in impacting investing. Best of luck. (1)

anon10646 Likes Earned: 783 What is your pre-MBA career like? I'd agree Haas probably provides better option direct to impact investing from MBA, but if you potentially need to do a few years in a traditional investments role, like IB/IM, then lateral then that could shift calculations. (1)

eliot Verified User. Likes Earned: 1889 Good point anon10646. Yes, typically it is easier to get into a buy side investment mgmt role after a few years of sell side (IB) experience. (1)

miaminyc95 Likes Earned: 7 Hi All, thanks for the helpful advice! I'll definitely speak to students at each program. I have a background in valuation at a Big 4, and credit research at a rating agency. A pivot to the impact investing space doesn't seem totally unrealistic, but I agree that it may be rational to pursue investment banking roles in the near-term to better prepare myself for a role in investment management. (2)

anon10646 Likes Earned: 783 As Eliot mentioned I'd suggest to connect with the Haas clubs to determine what placements have been like with direct placements to impact investing. I agree that wouldn't say it's impossible with your background, but it may not be with the brand-name funds which often take ex-IB analysts pre-MBA. I'd put a slight lean on Darden just as IB could be a potential in order to segue down the line and Darden has a bigger pipeline for that. I'd vibe check Darden and get a feel for if you'd enjoy (or at least be okay with) the case method and the culture in order to compare against Haas. I'd also appeal to Haas about what you like about the program and your goals, but the funding gap. As-is with the gap I'd take Darden unless you have a strong preference for Haas. (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1675 More details on this decision in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2022/02/episode-213-wire-taps/ (0)