Harvard JD/MBA Forum

[jdmba28]

I have a set of jobs that are not HBS favorites (no big name I-bank, consulting firms, fortune 500). I have a high LSAT, GMAT and GPA. Given my weak set of jobs, will I have a better chance to get in Harvard as a JD/MBA, versus MBA candidate?

My goal is to go into finance or consulting after JD/MBA.

I'm considering JD/MBA for 4 reasons:
1. JD is a more solid training in analytical and critical thinking skills.
2. JD in combination with MBA may allow me to rise faster to senior management positions.
3. I like cross-border M&A. I think JD could be helpful in introducing me to the "anatomy of a deal."
4. I doubt I can get in with my weak set of jobs applying to HBS. I have an assumption (which may or may not be right) that JD/MBA can get in with weaker work experience compared to MBA candidates.

My work experience is okay (analyst at a boutique finance firm and an operational role at a startup). My scores are good enough for Harvard. My main concern is the competitiveness of my work experience for HBS. I'm competing with I-bankers, consultants, and private equity candidates from top firms.

[malleus discentium]

Do you want a JD or do you want an MBA?

[withoutapaddle]

Honestly getting into HBS for your MBA is extremely difficult. I believe you have to apply separately to both programs.

If you don't get HBS look at these other schools for a JD/MBA program:

Northwestern (It's really expensive)
Columbia
Yale (If you can get YLS)
Stanford (SBS is harder to get into than HBS)
Virginia (Both their law school and business school have good reputations)
Duke
Chicago
UPENN (Wharton is big on finance)
NYU (This would be my last pick for a JD/MBA from this list)

What's your work experience like? Why do you want the MBA as well?


** Do not pay sticker for both degrees. It would be financial suicide unless you have the credentials to get into a top consulting firm. You do not need both degrees to get into big law

[bdubs]

I have a set of jobs that are not HBS favorites (no big name I-bank, consulting firms, fortune 500). I have a high LSAT, GMAT and GPA. Given my weak set of jobs, will I have a better chance to get in Harvard as a JD/MBA, versus MBA candidate? Thanks.

Don't try to back door into a Harvard MBA through the JD program, it's not worth it. The program at H is 4 years, that's twice as long as just getting an MBA elsewhere. If you were otherwise going to consider a JD-MBA program for legit reasons then Harvard makes sense since it's such a strong program, but tacking on the extra year is certainly a drawback. Consider Columbia, Penn, Yale, and Northwestern for great programs that can be done in 3 years.

You can probably get into a good MBA program with a high GMAT and GPA as long as you have reasonably professional work experience, it doesn't need to be top flight. Honestly even H lets in people who have "non traditional" backgrounds (they have to with a class that big), they just look for a really strong leadership profile.

[Mack.Hambleton]

not getting the JD = 200k+ and 2 additional years of your life

probably not worth it

[igo2northwestern]

Honestly getting into HBS for your MBA is extremely difficult. I believe you have to apply separately to both programs.

If you don't get HBS look at these other schools for a JD/MBA program:

Northwestern (It's really expensive)
Columbia
Yale (If you can get YLS)
Stanford (SBS is harder to get into than HBS)
Virginia (Both their law school and business school have good reputations)
Duke
Chicago
UPENN (Wharton is big on finance)
NYU (This would be my last pick for a JD/MBA from this list)

What's your work experience like? Why do you want the MBA as well?


** Do not pay sticker for both degrees. It would be financial suicide unless you have the credentials to get into a top consulting firm. You do not need both degrees to get into big law

When I spoke with admissions at HLS, it was the case that you needed to apply to both separately. My memory is a bit fuzzy on this, but I remember that getting into one of them was looked on favorably by the other; but for the most part, it was an independent decision. Could be making this up, but I really think that's what I heard from her.

The relative ranking, according to people concerned more about prestige than practicality, is:
S GSB>HBS(but only in terms of selectivity)>Penn>Chicago/Northwestern>Columbia>rest. The reason why I'm unclear about the legitimacy of this hierarchy is because Stanford GSB is a clear choice for entrepreneurship, HBS is reputed for management, Penn finance, Northwestern brand/marketing, and so on. But if you wanted this ranking in order to figure out what kinds of JD/MBA programs you should apply to, I'd first figure out which program is more important to you (sounds like it's business) and then weight accordingly with the corresponding law rankings (for law it's more straightforward: YSH>CCN>MVPB>DNC>G).

If I were in your shoes, and not knowing much about your background + career interests besides the fact that you're into business, I'd rank the following JD/MBA programs:
Stanford/Harvard (Stanford GSB is much more selective)>Yale(Yale law is just too good to pass IMO)>Penn/Chicago>Columbia>Northwestern>rest, with NYU or Cornell probably being near the end. It's more difficult to rank Mich, Virginia, Berk, Duke for you without more information.

eta: Also consider the prospect of applying for the additional MBA after your first year at HBS. I don't remember the details on this at all, but it might be something to look into.

[withoutapaddle]

OP idk what you want to do after you graduate, but if you want to do something finance related do UPENNs JD/MBA program. It's three years instead of four and probably easier to get into.

[unc0mm0n1]

If I were in your shoes, and not knowing much about your background + career interests besides the fact that you're into business, I'd rank the following JD/MBA programs:
Stanford/Harvard (Stanford GSB is much more selective)>Yale(Yale law is just too good to pass IMO)>Penn/Chicago>Columbia>Northwestern>rest, with NYU or Cornell probably being near the end. It's more difficult to rank Mich, Virginia, Berk, Duke for you without more information.

eta: Also consider the prospect of applying for the additional MBA after your first year at HBS. I don't remember the details on this at all, but it might be something to look into.

The Op seems to care much more about the MBA part of the JD/MBA. It doesn't seem like he wants to do traditional legal work. Yale would be much further down my list (probably behind Columbia).

[jdmba28]

Thank you so much for the school ranking information and all your valuable inputs!

[bdubs]

I'm considering JD/MBA for 4 reasons:
1. JD is a more solid training in analytical and critical thinking skills.
2. JD in combination with MBA may allow me to rise faster to senior management positions.
3. I like cross-border M&A. I think JD could be helpful in introducing me to the "anatomy of a deal."
4. I doubt I can get in with my weak set of jobs applying to HBS. I have an assumption (which may or may not be right) that JD/MBA can get in with weaker work experience compared to MBA candidates.

These are not good reasons to go into a JD/MBA program that adds 2 years and probably ~$200k in costs.

My work experience is okay (analyst at a boutique finance firm and an operational role at a startup). My scores are good enough for Harvard. My main concern is the competitiveness of my work experience for HBS. I'm competing with I-bankers, consultants, and private equity candidates from top firms.

Your assumption about your work experience is overly simplistic. The MBA admissions process encompasses more than just work experience and definitely more than the names on your resume. Look at HBS's class profile and you will see that no more than 30% of the class can be coming from the types of jobs you're referring to and in reality it's probably more like 20% or less.

Getting in to HBS is hard but whether you get in will depend a lot on how you sell yourself in your application. If you have the right GPA and GMAT you've already passed the threshold test and now you're competing with a lot of other people to make yourself look like a good bet for success.

My goal is to go into finance or consulting after JD/MBA.

You're being really silly about insisting on going to HBS if these are your goals. Any M7 business school will give you a good shot at either of these career tracks. HBS is not necessary in any way to land a good gig in consulting or finance.

[juzam_djinn]

Biz school admissions are more about WE and name brands on your resume than they are about scores/gpa. So your concern re your work experience is warranted. For HBS you want 2-3 years of experience and be in the target age range (25-30). Since you don't have brand name work experience, that's a good and a bad. You won't be competing in the ultra-competitive pool of bankers/consultants/PE guys and gals, but you will need to demonstrate a very interesting leadership profile in a non-traditional field.

[jbagelboy]

If I were in your shoes, and not knowing much about your background + career interests besides the fact that you're into business, I'd rank the following JD/MBA programs:
Stanford/Harvard (Stanford GSB is much more selective)>Yale(Yale law is just too good to pass IMO)>Penn/Chicago>Columbia>Northwestern>rest, with NYU or Cornell probably being near the end. It's more difficult to rank Mich, Virginia, Berk, Duke for you without more information.

eta: Also consider the prospect of applying for the additional MBA after your first year at HBS. I don't remember the details on this at all, but it might be something to look into.

The Op seems to care much more about the MBA part of the JD/MBA. It doesn't seem like he wants to do traditional legal work. Yale would be much further down my list (probably behind Columbia).

why would someone care more about perception of prestige than practicality, assuming practicality means employment at the top investment banks and consulting firms?

for MBA's, and thus for JD/MBA's, the one's worth doing are M7 programs. It's basically Stanford, then Harvard/Penn, then CBS/Booth/Kellogg. You could also do a joint program with Sloan (MIT) and a northeast law school, like HLS/Sloan or CLS/Sloan. Although honestly, when you look at where business school graduates go to work, it's really SBS > all. Wharton, cbs, booth and hbs all have substantially similar placement into the different categories and prestige levels of business, as in, consulting, investment banking, private equity, ect. (See and compare --LinkRemoved-- http://www.hbs.edu/recruiting/mba/data- ... stics.html; --LinkRemoved-- http://www.chicagobooth.edu/employmentr ... Report.pdf)

Also, a 3 year program nudges out a 4 year program in almost all instances, unless your parents are bankrolling everything and you just love school. This points more towards penn, columbia and northwestern IMO.

Yale law propels it's graduates into 1) elite new york law firms, 2) clerkship -> federal government, 3) academia, or 4) elite public interest/international orbs. It's not the "business" JD you're looking for (obviously YLS students can access any position their counterparts at other top law schools can, but this isn't where the school's advantages truly lie).

I also think you might not be giving yourself enough credit. Not everyone at HBS worked at bain consulting or morgan stanley. They actually try to recruit a diversity of profiles (it would be an INCREDIBLY dull class if everyone was from the same set of 10-15 employers) so if you have strong numbers and you can sell your experience in a compelling way, you aren't immediately disqualified by not having a feeder name

[twenty]

I have a set of jobs that are not HBS favorites (no big name I-bank, consulting firms, fortune 500). I have a high LSAT, GMAT and GPA. Given my weak set of jobs, will I have a better chance to get in Harvard as a JD/MBA, versus MBA candidate?

If you have a high GPA and GMAT, go work in the industry for two years instead. That way, instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, you'll actually make money instead.

1. JD is a more solid training in analytical and critical thinking skills.

This is absolutely not true. Relieve yourself of this hypothesis right now.

2. JD in combination with MBA may allow me to rise faster to senior management positions.

Maybe, but the cost of which is two years not gunning for senior management stuck in school.

3. I like cross-border M&A. I think JD could be helpful in introducing me to the "anatomy of a deal."

Maybe, but again, not worth six figures to introduce you to the anatomy of a deal.

4. I doubt I can get in with my weak set of jobs applying to HBS. I have an assumption (which may or may not be right) that JD/MBA can get in with weaker work experience compared to MBA candidates.

That's true, but that should give you more incentive to improve your resume, not spend more money.

Finally, why the "hard on" for Harvard? Wharton and Stanford will get you the same/better outcomes for what you're looking for, and frankly any of the M7 are probably sufficient to meet your goals. I'm asking rhetorically, but I'm also asking because I'm legitimately curious.

[Gucci Mane]

HBS is more reputable and competitive than HLS so I doubt an acceptance to the law school would help much. Maybe somewhere like Yale where the law school is more competitive than the business school.

[withoutapaddle]

I'd do the JD/MBA program at UPENN or Columbia. Also if you have a good LSAT and GPA you may even get a large scholarship from Penn or Columbia.

[UMich11]

Get your JD. Go to a firm, work for 3 years, go in-house and go get your MBA when the company pays for it. Then you can go to HBS or SBS.