Hey, everyone. After the deaths of Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes this weekend, I was seriously thrown for a loop. Now that it’s all settled in, I thought I should get back to addressing entries because my Inbox is getting extra, extra backed up.
The email below is from a prospective applicant to the joint degree program that I completed at Stanford. He’s interested in becoming a non-profit endowment mnager after school and is wondering whether he might be a fit for the program. He’s asked some questions that might be better suited for folks in the admissions office, but I’ve done my best to give him something to work off of. I really do hope he’ll follow up with the admissions office at the GSB and SUSE though.
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AE wrote:
“Marquis,
Hello, I found your blog while researching the joint program at Stanford and am hoping that you may be able to answer some questions for me. Based on the excellent Q&A you have written on your blog, you seem willing to help people with questions, so hopefully I am not being too presumptious by writing you this email.
By way of introduction, I have experience as a teacher, an equity analyst and a non-profit endowment manager. Coming out of undergrad, I thought I wanted to be a teacher and education advocate, but I quickly realized that I want to reach a larger group of people than I could in the classroom. To do so, I would like to work at a non-profit endowment as a portfolio manager (invest capital and use the returns to invest socially in education related causes). As such, I gained employment as an investment analyst and have also served as a volunteer co-portfolio manager for a local one million dollar endowment that pays out proceeds to educationally-oriented children’s programs in Seattle. This latter role is my ideal job, although I would like to do this kind of work on a much larger level.
My questions to you are as follows:
- Do you have any information about working at an endowment after earning an MA / MBA? I checked the Stanford website and did not see any info. about this subject, although one section did specifically indicate that there is no “traditional background or career” for joint degree students.
- Given my goals, do you think I would be a good fit for the program? It seems to me that there are obvious synergies between what the program offers and what I want to pursue, but I wouldn’t mind hearing your thoughts.
- Do you have a sense of whether applying for the joint program is an advantage or disadvantage for an applicant from a competitiveness stand point (or perhaps makes no difference)? I applied this year and was waitlisted, and am planning a reapplication strategy for round 1 or round 2 of the coming application cycle.
I appreciate your help,
AE”
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My response:
AE,
Thanks for your email and for checking out my blog. I always like to see candidates considering the MBA/MA joint degree program between the GSB and the Ed School because I found it to be a great program. One of the great things about it is that it is well suited for anyone with an interest in education, regardless of their background or their desired career path. If you are able to participate in it, I’m sure you’ll have a great time and learn a lot between both schools’ courses. Also, just to let you know, I’m a huge fan of your background story and what you’d like to do in the future…I really hope you have a chance to reach your goals and raise money to help socially responsible causes.
OK, so let’s get to your questions:
- “Do you have any information about working at an endowment after earning an MA / MBA? I checked the Stanford website and did not see any info. about this subject, although one section did specifically indicate that there is no “traditional background or career” for joint degree students” –> Unfortunately, I don’t have any information about working at an endowment after earing the joint degree. The information that you found about there being no traditional background or career for these students is 100% correct though. My fellow joint degree classmates came from a wide range of backgrounds, including technology, education, consulting, automotive, and investment banking, and went on to a variety of industries after graduation, including consulting, marketing, government, and education. You can go into just about anything that you set your mind to after the joint degree program, which would usually be driven by the wide applicability of the MBA degree. A few of my GSB classmates who weren’t joint degree students are now working at endowments, so I completely believe that you could do the same.
- “Given my goals, do you think I would be a good fit for the program? It seems to me that there are obvious synergies between what the program offers and what I want to pursue, but I wouldn’t mind hearing your thoughts” –> I’m not sure if your question about whether you’re a good fit for the program is the right question to be asking. Don’t take that the wrong way, but I’m just referring to the fact that you’d essentially be dealing with two separate schools, each of which has its own cultures. The better question to ask if whether the program is a good fit for you and your goals. I like this version of the question better, so this is the one I’ll answer. Based on what you’ve told me, I believe that the program is a great fit for you. You will get the standard MBA curriculum that you’ll need to be an effective endowment manager and will be able to take courses toward the MA.Ed degree that would inform your perceptions of the education-related causes you’d invest in. I’m a big fan of the joint degree program for what you aspire to do, so I’d recommend that you proceed full-speed-ahead.
- “Do you have a sense of whether applying for the joint program is an advantage or disadvantage for an applicant from a competitiveness stand point (or perhaps makes no difference)? I applied this year and was waitlisted, and am planning a reapplication strategy for round 1 or round 2 of the coming application cycle” –> This is a question that you should really ask the admissions people at both the GSB and SUSE because I’ve never been involved in the admissions process at either school. My guess is that there’s no difference in competitiveness between an MBA applicant and an MBA/MA.Ed applicant. I’ve heard that the GSB takes a first crack at each applicant for the program and, if the applicant gains acceptance to the MBA program, his/her application is then sent over to the Ed School for review. As you can imagine, the acceptance rate at the GSB is VERY LOW, so I’d say that the MBA application is the bigger hurdle in the whole process. As such, you should be most concerned about submitting a bulletproof GSB application above all else.
My response might not have the level of specificity that you wanted, but I did try to give you my real read on your questions. Good luck on your application to the GSB. I’ve got my fingers crossed for you and I hope you reach your goal of working for a non-profit endowment. Take care.
-Marquis
The email below is from a prospective applicant to the joint degree program that I completed at Stanford. He’s interested in becoming a non-profit endowment mnager after school and is wondering whether he might be a fit for the program. He’s asked some questions that might be better suited for folks in the admissions office, but I’ve done my best to give him something to work off of. I really do hope he’ll follow up with the admissions office at the GSB and SUSE though.
——–
AE wrote:
“Marquis,
Hello, I found your blog while researching the joint program at Stanford and am hoping that you may be able to answer some questions for me. Based on the excellent Q&A you have written on your blog, you seem willing to help people with questions, so hopefully I am not being too presumptious by writing you this email.
By way of introduction, I have experience as a teacher, an equity analyst and a non-profit endowment manager. Coming out of undergrad, I thought I wanted to be a teacher and education advocate, but I quickly realized that I want to reach a larger group of people than I could in the classroom. To do so, I would like to work at a non-profit endowment as a portfolio manager (invest capital and use the returns to invest socially in education related causes). As such, I gained employment as an investment analyst and have also served as a volunteer co-portfolio manager for a local one million dollar endowment that pays out proceeds to educationally-oriented children’s programs in Seattle. This latter role is my ideal job, although I would like to do this kind of work on a much larger level.
My questions to you are as follows:
- Do you have any information about working at an endowment after earning an MA / MBA? I checked the Stanford website and did not see any info. about this subject, although one section did specifically indicate that there is no “traditional background or career” for joint degree students.
- Given my goals, do you think I would be a good fit for the program? It seems to me that there are obvious synergies between what the program offers and what I want to pursue, but I wouldn’t mind hearing your thoughts.
- Do you have a sense of whether applying for the joint program is an advantage or disadvantage for an applicant from a competitiveness stand point (or perhaps makes no difference)? I applied this year and was waitlisted, and am planning a reapplication strategy for round 1 or round 2 of the coming application cycle.
I appreciate your help,
AE”
——–
My response:
AE,
Thanks for your email and for checking out my blog. I always like to see candidates considering the MBA/MA joint degree program between the GSB and the Ed School because I found it to be a great program. One of the great things about it is that it is well suited for anyone with an interest in education, regardless of their background or their desired career path. If you are able to participate in it, I’m sure you’ll have a great time and learn a lot between both schools’ courses. Also, just to let you know, I’m a huge fan of your background story and what you’d like to do in the future…I really hope you have a chance to reach your goals and raise money to help socially responsible causes.
OK, so let’s get to your questions:
- “Do you have any information about working at an endowment after earning an MA / MBA? I checked the Stanford website and did not see any info. about this subject, although one section did specifically indicate that there is no “traditional background or career” for joint degree students” –> Unfortunately, I don’t have any information about working at an endowment after earing the joint degree. The information that you found about there being no traditional background or career for these students is 100% correct though. My fellow joint degree classmates came from a wide range of backgrounds, including technology, education, consulting, automotive, and investment banking, and went on to a variety of industries after graduation, including consulting, marketing, government, and education. You can go into just about anything that you set your mind to after the joint degree program, which would usually be driven by the wide applicability of the MBA degree. A few of my GSB classmates who weren’t joint degree students are now working at endowments, so I completely believe that you could do the same.
- “Given my goals, do you think I would be a good fit for the program? It seems to me that there are obvious synergies between what the program offers and what I want to pursue, but I wouldn’t mind hearing your thoughts” –> I’m not sure if your question about whether you’re a good fit for the program is the right question to be asking. Don’t take that the wrong way, but I’m just referring to the fact that you’d essentially be dealing with two separate schools, each of which has its own cultures. The better question to ask if whether the program is a good fit for you and your goals. I like this version of the question better, so this is the one I’ll answer. Based on what you’ve told me, I believe that the program is a great fit for you. You will get the standard MBA curriculum that you’ll need to be an effective endowment manager and will be able to take courses toward the MA.Ed degree that would inform your perceptions of the education-related causes you’d invest in. I’m a big fan of the joint degree program for what you aspire to do, so I’d recommend that you proceed full-speed-ahead.
- “Do you have a sense of whether applying for the joint program is an advantage or disadvantage for an applicant from a competitiveness stand point (or perhaps makes no difference)? I applied this year and was waitlisted, and am planning a reapplication strategy for round 1 or round 2 of the coming application cycle” –> This is a question that you should really ask the admissions people at both the GSB and SUSE because I’ve never been involved in the admissions process at either school. My guess is that there’s no difference in competitiveness between an MBA applicant and an MBA/MA.Ed applicant. I’ve heard that the GSB takes a first crack at each applicant for the program and, if the applicant gains acceptance to the MBA program, his/her application is then sent over to the Ed School for review. As you can imagine, the acceptance rate at the GSB is VERY LOW, so I’d say that the MBA application is the bigger hurdle in the whole process. As such, you should be most concerned about submitting a bulletproof GSB application above all else.
My response might not have the level of specificity that you wanted, but I did try to give you my real read on your questions. Good luck on your application to the GSB. I’ve got my fingers crossed for you and I hope you reach your goal of working for a non-profit endowment. Take care.
-Marquis
Nice post. Really liked it..
Don’t forget to update it regularly.
I am looking for new updates dieing to read more stuff from you ..
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