MBA: How Will X School Help You Achieve Your Professional Goals?

The X MBA is the perfect conduit to realize my aspirations of becoming an ethical leader in private equity because of several reasons; located in the heart of the exciting metropolis of Philadelphia and a mere train ride away from New York City, X is globally renowned for its historically strong ties to these two financial epicenters. As an incoming Deals Strategy Associate at Strategy& PwC, I will be conducting private equity commercial due diligence in the New York headquarters office. Pivoting from a specialization in private equity consulting and entering the actual private equity space would, therefore, be a natural next step. The close proximity will allow me to leverage my existing network while building strong, new connections. Additionally, I strive to follow in the footsteps of my role model, X alum--private equity titan Robert Lewin--to start my own private equity firm or head one long-term.

Coming from a liberal arts curriculum, I'd like to go to a business school that will provide me with a strong technical foundation early on--and X is the perfect fit. During my undergrad, business courses were not readily available; I tried to overcome this problem by joining finance clubs and enrolling in MBA courses at the nearby graduate institution, Drucker's School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. At school, I'm a Finance Analyst for the Claremont Women in Business (CWIB) where I research a variety of different companies and industries verticals for promising potential investment opportunities. I learned to use fundamental analysis to make company valuations and manage a fund of $1.2 million in club endowments. These portfolio management skills will be immensely useful for my upcoming private equity consulting role, and have helped me to build my business acumen. Additionally, I took master's level business and MBA courses at CGU such as FinTech, Economics of Strategy, Financial Accounting, and Organizational Behavior while I was a sophomore. My graduate professor, the head of financial engineering, even invited me to conduct FinTech research with him--where my case study will be published in his upcoming textbook sponsored by the MIT-press. After getting my first glimpse at the MBA experience, I was hungry for more and wanted to continue to deepen my fervor for business.

X’s robust curriculum--highly acclaimed for its strength in finance and powerful alumni network--would enable me to become the ethical leader in private equity I strive to be. The fixed versus flexible element of its core curriculum strikes the perfect balance of fortifying my business fundamentals. Furthermore, I aim to grow my expertise in the private-equity niche through taking courses such as Advanced Topics in Private Equity and the highly popular Investment Management--per the suggestion of my managers at PwC--Maggie Hua and Jason Elmer--who are both X alumni. Additionally, I also plan to join the Private Equity & Venture Capital Club, Out for Business (LGBTQ+) Club, and X Women in Business (WWIB) to uplift myself and others around me, and transform into ethical business leaders who will shape the future.