What do you guys think are the best US schools in terms of placements in private equity and asset management? I am not from the US but work in the financial sector in my home country. I am thinking that I would like to apply to Columbia and Wharton for the best chances to be able to get a job after graduation. But are there better MBA programs for my goals? If so I would be interested in hearing about them.

Read http://www.find-mba.com/specializations/60/private-equity and How to use LinkedIn to find the best school www.find-mba.com/board/33571

I saw a survey once that said that the top private equity firms generally recruit MBAs from 5 business schools:

Harvard
Wharton
Stanford
Booth
Kellogg

That list makes sense to me, especially in a US setting, because there are also five huge MBA programmes. That said it's interesting to see five other schools doing very well (on a percentage basis, of course, it might reflect far fewer people) on http://www.find-mba.com/specializations/60/private-equity - Columbia, Cornell, LBS, Insead and Tsinghau.

Wow, thank you both for your suggestions. I'll look more closely at Harvard and Stanford, Booth and Kellogg. Not so sure about Columbia anymore, but I still have time to decide.

Is LBS a good choice, if I want to eventually work in private equity in the US? Ideally I would like to do my MBA at LBS, then work in London at the Carlyle Group's UK office, and then transition to New York in a few years.

I suppose that's a possibility, but why not be more direct about it? I looked quickly at LinkedIn, and from the data it appears that while some LBS grads work in private equity in the US, the majority stay in the UK.

Likewise, a school like Harvard has four or five times the alumni network working in private equity in the US. I'd start there, but also the other schools mentioned in this thread: Wharton, Booth, Kellogg, etc.

Even for a British national? I would think that the transition would be easier with some years of experience under my belt, along with an LBS MBA.

Either way, you'll be going into the field with no experience in it. I would say that you would have an equal chance for each option, regardless of nationality -- assuming you do an MBA from a top-tier school which places into the industry, like Harvard, Kellogg, LBS, etc. Doing your MBA in the US would make things simpler for your goals, I would think.

I suppose you are right. I think I might apply to Harvard, but also to LBS, just because it's always been a dream of mine to go there. If I get into both then it will be a difficult decision.

According to the global LinkedIn data, these are the most represented schools for people working in venture capital and private equity:

Harvard
Wharton
Insead
Columbia
Stanford

Pretty close to ezra's list!

What about Insead vs. LBS? I applied to both for round 1 (2017 intake) and in the best case I would have to decide between the two. I want to work in private equity.

I would think it's better to be in London for this kind of career path...