Hello!
I would appreciate a few thoughts and advice on how I should move forward with regards to getting an MBA from H/W/S/C:
Profile:
- GMAT 750 (able to retake, confident I can score 760+)
- Currently at Tier2 Strategy Consultancy in a European office at junior level - joined 1.5 years ago and will most likely get my first promotion in January next year
- Previously 1 year at another Tier2 Consultancy in a European office
- Engineering undergrad in Europe and Masters degree at top 3 university in USA (think of Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Columbia)
- Extracurriculars (incl. leadership positions) existing, international experience abound
- White male, however second generation immigrant in the country I grew up
Concerns:
- Whether I really need an MBA - I only consider to leverage it either for a transition to MBB (ideally in USA) or investment banking, however for the former I think I can re-apply in European offices after promotion and for the latter I am not sure if an MBA (even if I take finance classes) will be sufficient for interviews given my lack of background and internships in finance (though I have mostly done CDD projects for PE's). I would also need a working visa if I want to work in the States.
- I applied in the past to all top programs and got rejected by all except Yale SOM where I was interviewed and waitlisted - most likely due to little work experience, it would have been 22 months by the time of starting the MBA back then. Concern is that past rejections might be held against me.
- Whether I should apply now or next year - I lean towards next year since I will likely have the promotion in my CV, however I will be 30 (with 5 years work experience) by the time I start and that might be too old.
- How to navigate references without the partners finding out - last year I thought of going to law school and prepared for LSAT in parallel with my job, when I told the office lead about it they were pretty upset and told me that if I decided to apply for Law School I would be let go (they did not want to negotiate about an educational leave, since they pretty much took it as a clear sign that I do not want to do consulting anymore). Now I am scared they will react similarly if I ask about an MBA leave even if I say that I will continue with the firm after the MBA, thus I need to be certain about confidentiality on my potential referees' end.
- My office has never sponsored an MBA before and will likely not do it in my case, thus financing will be an issue (especially since I am not a US citizen).
Questions:
- Should I do an MBA?
- If so, when should I apply?
- Should I openly discuss this opportunity with my employer?
- Is it common that non US citizens do a top US MBA without employer sponsorship? If so, how do they finance it?
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