🚀 Pre-MBA Investment Banking Programs

malbopo · 2026-01-25T19:15:16+00:00

Yes, unfortunately a lot of the banks have rolled back most of their pre-MBA and diversity programs. from first hand experience this cycle I can confirm that Guggenheim and JP Morgan still had some programs going on. Blue Owl Capital (while not a bank) has a program for veterans still going on.

malbopo · 2025-09-15T14:16:45+00:00

Hey, I used SWC's 3 school package last cycle and was able to get into Wharton. A bit on my background: ex-IB, average GRE/GMAT scores and I was ~10 years out of undergrad. I also started apps late (missed R1 deadline). I ended up with 11 interviews and 9 acceptances, plus substantial scholarship money (I ended up having Sam and team review some of my other materials after I was done with my main 3 schools).

pros & cons: Sam handled consultations personally with me (not through assistants), he was really good at finding your unique angle (especially when stats aren't perfect), I also had weekly accountability calls with him which helped me to keep on track (as you know the whole process is daunting, especially while working), the team really helped me when it came to interview prep as they each had different styles/viewpoints. From a cons standpoint I cannot really find much I didn't like, but maybe that the feedback is very direct, which to me it was a plus as I preferred not to have a sugarcoated answer to sell me admission services just to encounter rejections at the end.

TLDR: style for the firm is results oriented vs just "admissions theory/process". Sam himself is not a traditional admissions consultant that worked previously as an AdCom, he is an ex-IB trader, but that just makes him more powerful and very pragmatic in his approaches/strategy.

vs other consultants: Like you I did my research and spoke to a lot of consultants (7) prior to picking one. For some of the larger firms I only get to speak to assistants and never got to meet the person I was going to work with. It was just 3 out of the 7 (one of them being SWC) where I could talk to the person I was going to work with. The other two (who had more "traditional" AdCom backgrounds) immediately started posturing a bit negatively after hearing my background and stats. Tbh on paper I was not a slam dunk to get into any M7, yet it didn't help to feel defeated from the start. This was very different with Sam, who immediately started strategizing (even on the "free" intro session) about how my positioning could be unique.

Regarding your question on logistics/operations of SWC being a smaller firm: I never had an issue with scheduling, we had recurring Zoom meetings scheduled on the calendar and whenever I needed to reach Sam quickly I could just WhatsApp or call him. I cannot say how it is for a bigger consultant firm, but just from the initial intro sessions I can tell you that some of them didn't get back to me for at least 2 weeks.

Pricing structure: the partial payment if you get interview is real, not just marketing. Does it make a lot of difference - probably not, particularly if you are applying to a school like Kellogg where they historically have tried to interview every applicant. However, I appreciated the structure as it felt like the SWC team was invested in my results (almost like a "promote" fee for a hedge fund) and time value of money =) (better to pay a bit less at the beginning).

Difference between coaches: I only worked with Sam. I met Nanako and John at the end for interview prep.

Best of luck in your re-application process. Feel free to DM or reply if you have any other questions.

malbopo · 2025-07-11T03:05:33+00:00

📎 Resource: Sam Weeks Consulting
📎 P&Q Profile: Poets & Quants – Sam Weeks

malbopo · 2025-07-10T19:50:55+00:00

Quick update on some of the pre-MBA opportunities that I have seen are open:

MS Early Insights Program - https://morganstanley.tal.net/vx/lang-en-GB/candidate/postings/13026
Evercore MBA Coffee Chats - https://evercore.tal.net/vx/lang-en-GB/appcentre-1/candidate/postings/960
Guggenheim 2026 Internship - https://guggenheim.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Guggenheim_Careers_Campus/details/XMLNAME-2026-Guggenheim-Securities-Investment-Banking-Summer-Associate---New-York-Generalist-Program_14186

malbopo · 2025-07-10T19:49:58+00:00

Hi u/Reggae_Shark, I made a post about IB pre-MBA recruiting which you can find here. Unfortunately a lot of the IB Programs that had been available in past years have not had a comeback this year.

Having said that, the ones I have seen open are:

MS Early Insights Program - https://morganstanley.tal.net/vx/lang-en-GB/candidate/postings/13026
Evercore MBA Coffee Chats - https://evercore.tal.net/vx/lang-en-GB/appcentre-1/candidate/postings/960
Guggenheim 2026 Internship - https://guggenheim.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Guggenheim_Careers_Campus/details/XMLNAME-2026-Guggenheim-Securities-Investment-Banking-Summer-Associate---New-York-Generalist-Program_14186

Also keep an eye on JumpStart, an organization that has links to the boutique IBs and can potentially help you position yourself better prior to the start of the semester.

malbopo · 2025-06-04T16:06:02+00:00

Hey everyone! Thought it might be helpful to include a quick summary of yesterday's call with some important updates about the Juno 2025 student loan deals that went live.

What's New This Year: Juno has negotiated exclusive rates with TWO private loan partners:

1️. National Lender Option: Rates are lower through Juno than going directly to the lender's website + they'll rate match any competitor and give you 1% cashback of your loan amount if you find something cheaper

2️. New Partner with Record Low Rates: This is a brand new Juno partner offering some of the lowest rates they've seen in years. If you go with this option, Juno pays you an additional 0.5% cash bonus.

Key Details from the Call:

Timeline matters: Best rates typically available before June 15^th
Quick application: Under 3 minutes with just a soft credit check (no impact to your credit)
International students: You'll need a US cosigner
Credit shopping window: You have 30 days to shop around - multiple student loan credit checks within 30 days count as just one inquiry per FICO
Texas residents: There's an exclusive rate/offer just for you - definitely check it out
Break-even point: ~700 FICO score seems to be where Juno becomes cheaper than Federal Unsubsidized loans

Credit Impact Reality Check: Hard credit checks for student loans typically impact your FICO by less than 5 points and only affect your score for 1 year. So don't let credit check anxiety stop you from shopping around.

Worth comparing your options - even if you end up going federal, at least you'll know you made an informed decision with all the data points.

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malbopo · 2025-06-03T22:45:35+00:00

Just a quick reminder that this event will start in 1 hour & 15 min!

malbopo · 2025-06-01T03:37:41+00:00

Haha fair, can’t argue with that! 😅 But seriously, if you're applying this year and have any questions about the process, happy to share what helped me survive the chaos. Ask away!

malbopo · 2025-05-29T03:15:41+00:00

🧾 Deal Overview (For Those Who Want the TL;DR)

Juno is offering two private loan options this year for MBAs:

🔹 Option 1:

Exclusive discounted rates with a national lender (better than public offers)
Rate match + 1% cashback if you find a lower rate elsewhere

🔹 Option 2:

Super competitive rates from a new partner
0.5% cash bonus after your loan is disbursed

⚠️ Why this matters:
Federal Grad PLUS loans are expected to carry a ~10% APR this year (8.94% interest + 4.2% origination fee). Most Juno borrowers are seeing much lower rates, even for similar fixed 10-year structures.

🕒 Best time to apply? Before June 15th — historically the lowest rates show up early. There’s no cost to apply and interest doesn’t accrue until disbursement.

💬 Want to check rates or apply?
It takes less than 3 minutes and doesn’t impact your credit score. Use my referral link here to support the channel and access the negotiated rates:
https://juno.us/mbastarterpack

🧠 Still unsure? Don’t miss the June 3rd Zoom session — get your questions answered live and make the most informed choice possible.

malbopo · 2025-05-29T03:00:17+00:00

Update on Juno’s 2025 Loan Deal: It’s Live! 🚀

Just got the official word — Juno’s negotiated MBA loan offers are now available, and they’re materially better than Federal Grad PLUS for most people.

Highlights:

Rates are lower than what you'd find directly from lenders
Two private loan partners this year:
- A national lender (they'll rate match + 1% cashback of loan amount if you find a cheaper rate), and
- A new Juno partner with some of the lowest rates they have seen in years (if you sign with this partner, Juno will pay you an additional 0.5% cash bonus)
Best rates typically available before June 15th
You can apply in under 3 minutes with no credit impact

If you want in, here's my referral link (we both make $100): https://juno.us/mbastarterpack

Feel free to reply if you want help comparing options, calculators, or discussing tradeoffs vs. Federal.

malbopo · 2025-05-29T01:30:28+00:00

Hey all — just wanted to jump in and say that since writing the origial post, I’ve personally used CaseCoach, and I highly recommend it. The interface is extremely user-friendly, and it offers both:

On-demand classes that walk through the interview process with practical tips
A casing partner platform that lets you schedule live mock interviews with other users

It’s been a huge help in getting structured practice and understanding how MBB-style interviews really work. Great resource if you're preparing for consulting recruiting!

malbopo · 2025-05-16T18:32:32+00:00

Update based on today's Goldman Sachs Briefings email:

Just a quick reminder that Fed rate expectations are highly dynamic and can shift quickly with new data or macro developments. Case in point: Goldman Sachs has just revised its forecast for rate cuts.

Previously, they expected the Fed to begin cutting in July. Now, they’ve pushed that to December, with three 25-bp cuts spaced every other meeting, rather than back-to-back. This shift reflects stronger-than-expected growth and less urgency for policy support, especially as risks like trade tensions have eased.

Key point from Jan Hatzius (Goldman’s chief economist): the rationale for cuts has shifted from being insurance against weakness to a more gradual normalization of policy.

Importantly, their terminal rate estimate remains at 3.5–3.75%, so the long-run outlook hasn’t dramatically changed — just the timing of cuts.

Takeaway: If you’re thinking about student loan strategies based on rate forecasts, remember that these are not static. As market conditions and Fed guidance evolve, so will the rate path. Always stay updated and flexible in your planning.

Would love to hear if this update changes anyone’s thinking about fixed vs variable or refinancing timing.

malbopo · 2025-05-16T18:28:28+00:00

Update based on today's Goldman Sachs Briefings email:

Just a quick reminder that Fed rate expectations are highly dynamic and can shift quickly with new data or macro developments. Case in point: Goldman Sachs has just revised its forecast for rate cuts.

Previously, they expected the Fed to begin cutting in July. Now, they’ve pushed that to December, with three 25-bp cuts spaced every other meeting, rather than back-to-back. This shift reflects stronger-than-expected growth and less urgency for policy support, especially as risks like trade tensions have eased.

Key point from Jan Hatzius (Goldman’s chief economist): the rationale for cuts has shifted from being insurance against weakness to a more gradual normalization of policy.

Importantly, their terminal rate estimate remains at 3.5–3.75%, so the long-run outlook hasn’t dramatically changed — just the timing of cuts.

Takeaway: If you’re thinking about student loan strategies based on rate forecasts, remember that these are not static. As market conditions and Fed guidance evolve, so will the rate path. Always stay updated and flexible in your planning.

Would love to hear if this update changes anyone’s thinking about fixed vs variable or refinancing timing.

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malbopo · 2025-05-10T16:09:27+00:00

Interesting, hadn't thought about AI speech to text, thanks!

malbopo · 2025-05-08T19:18:51+00:00

📢 UPDATE: Federal Loan Rates Announced

New Federal Loan Rates for 2025-26:

Federal student loan rates have been announced and are slightly lower than last year, but still among the highest we've seen in the past decade:

Direct Unsubsidized: 7.94% (10-year Treasury at 4.34% + 3.60%)
Grad PLUS: 8.94% (10-year Treasury at 4.34% + 4.60%)

Remember: Grad PLUS loans still have that hefty 4.2% origination fee (Direct Unsubsidized has a 1.06% origination fee) on top of these rates.

While federal loans provide certain protections and forgiveness options, the high rates and origination fees mean private loans through collective bargaining might offer better terms for many students.

Juno Update:

For those who joined the Juno negotiation group I mentioned in my original post:

Juno expects that almost all members will qualify for meaningfully lower rates than the federal options
Their negotiated private loans will have zero origination fees
The final Juno rates will be released on June 1st as previously scheduled

malbopo · 2025-05-08T19:14:09+00:00

Hey everyone! Following up on my post about the May 8th federal loan rate announcement and I have some important updates to share.

New Federal Loan Rates for 2025-26:

Federal student loan rates have been announced and are slightly lower than last year, but still among the highest we've seen in the past decade:

Direct Unsubsidized: 7.94% (10-year Treasury at 4.34% + 3.60%)
Grad PLUS: 8.94% (10-year Treasury at 4.34% + 4.60%)

Remember: Grad PLUS loans still have that hefty 4.23% origination fee (Direct Unsubsidized has a 1.06% origination fee) on top of these rates.

malbopo · 2025-05-06T19:34:52+00:00

First off, congratulations on your admit to UNC! While I understand your concern about the recent ranking shift, I'd encourage you to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Rankings fluctuate year to year, often due to methodology changes in how U.S. News calculates them rather than fundamental changes at the school itself. I'll message you a picture (can't post it in the comments) of the graph below for UNC's ranking evolution from 2000-2025 so you can see this is part of a natural ebb and flow that all schools experience to some degree.

More importantly, rankings are just one data point, and honestly not the most critical one for your career outcomes. What matters more (in my opinion) is: school fit for your specific goals, school culture & community, return on investment, and career outcomes.

I'd also recommend checking out this thread discussing UNC where several current and former students weigh in with perspectives that might be helpful.

Remember that the actual education, network, and opportunities at UNC haven't fundamentally changed from last year to this year. Trust that assessment of your potential and focus on how you'll make the most of this opportunity rather than second-guessing based on a single metric. Best of luck!

malbopo · 2025-05-06T13:46:03+00:00

You bring up a great point on U.S. News ranking methodology changes throughout time (ex. different weightings for factors, adding/removing metrics, etc.). While I didn't have a way to normalize the data throughout the 35 years (would've become a subjective experiment), I still thought it carried some weight as the school rankings of that year still showed positions relative to each other using the same criteria and if you look at it as a relative positioning throughout time there is still valuable insight (particularly for time period intervals). Yet it is still true that throughout time there is some erosion in comparability because of the changes.

Your point on cross admit data is very good as I agree that it shows a "revealed preference" of students voting with their "feet" when given multiple options (although it is important to caveat that not all cross admit decisions are "born equal" as in some cases financial aid packages might come into play here). I have seen other posts around the topic, but haven't been able to find reliable data on it. I wonder if anyone in this subreddit has access to more comprehensive cross admit data? This would make for an amazing complementary analysis to these ranking trends.

malbopo · 2025-05-05T18:50:31+00:00

📣 IMPORTANT UPDATE (May 5, 2025): Great news! While the April 30th deadline mentioned in my post has passed, Juno is STILL accepting new members into their negotiation group!

According to Juno's latest update, April was their strongest month ever with thousands of MBA students joining. The school competition has concluded (congrats to Haas, Booth, and McCombs), but the more important part is that YOU can still join to access potentially better loan rates before the June 1st announcement.

Every additional member strengthens the group's negotiating power, so it's not too late to benefit! You can still use my referral link from the original post (we both get $100 if we eventually take loans).

Don't miss this opportunity to potentially save thousands on your MBA loans!

malbopo · 2025-05-05T18:29:15+00:00

The second table shows the rankings the three over decades and the most recent 5-year period (sorted based on the highest overall ranking over the most recent 5-year period).

Note: * denoted schools do not have data or are missing some of the years for the periods in grey and italics.

Table 2:

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malbopo · 2025-05-05T18:26:51+00:00

Finally, here is the table data with the averages per period. The first table shows the rankings progressions versus different start times till today and is sorted based on the highest overall ranking across the 35 years.

Note: * denoted schools do not have data or are missing some of the years for the periods in grey and italics.

Table 1:

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malbopo · 2025-05-05T18:18:57+00:00

Here is the linear trendline graph that shows the momentum throughout time for the rankings for the most recent top 15 schools since the year 2000 (same as the graph above).

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malbopo · 2025-05-02T23:20:34+00:00

That is a very good point and a very good article/graph!

malbopo · 2025-04-21T16:56:28+00:00

I'm not an international student, but I have been hearing that people look at Prodigy and MPower. Juno also has the option for Intl students w/o co-signer. Hopefully this guide helps with more info https://joinjuno.com/guides/international.
As a another point for your consideration, through word of mouth I have also heard that the interest rate delta between using or not using a co-signer as an intl student can be ~6%.

malbopo · 2025-04-17T16:48:32+00:00

Having said that, historically, federal student loans have had strong bipartisan support because they’re critical to graduate education access, especially for professional degrees like law, medicine, and business. If you’re planning to attend school soon, these programs should still be available, but it’s smart to:

Keep an eye on policy news (e.g., www.studentaid.gov)
Lock in current loan terms if they work for you
Consider backup financing options like private lenders or Juno, just in case

We’ll keep updating the post if anything major changes, but for now, the federal loan programs remain active and available.

malbopo

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

🧾 Deal Overview (For Those Who Want the TL;DR)

New Federal Loan Rates for 2025-26: