You have to look at this question from two contexts:

1) The industry trends
2) Reality of placements into PE firms with an MBA program

In 2025, PE entered the "$1 trillion club". This marked the end of a multi-year period of relative hibernation.

US dealmaking shifted into high gear during the second half of 2025, fueled by renewed market confidence and a clearer macroeconomic outlook.

Full-year PE deal value reached an estimated $1.2 trillion, marking only the second time in the industry's history that it has surpassed the trillion-dollar threshold.

The other being the record-shattering outlier of 2021.

Like 2021, when there was a boom in investments around vaccination, and buying distressed assets affected by the pandemic, the latest fund deployments are all around AI, healthcare, and sustainable infrastructure.

Unlike 2021, now PE firms can reasonably predict the interest rate changes. This has given them the confidence to deploy a record $1.1 trillion in dry powder, with the combined private equity and venture capital deal value rising 42.57% year-on-year in 2025 to reach $468.51 billion.

For a professional targeting a top MBA, this trend is a "green light" for the sector's talent needs.

The transition from "defensive asset management" to "aggressive capital deployment" means that firms are no longer just focused on keeping current portfolio companies afloat. They are now in a heavy investment phase that demands sophisticated operational and integration talent. You are likely to join an industry that is actively building and requires Associates who can navigate complex "platform" acquisitions and the integration of massive, billion-dollar assets into existing fund strategies.

See also: PE Q4 2025 Trends

But just because the industry is doing well doesn't mean all top MBA programs can place you into PE firms. While I was editing F1GMAT's salary and employment analysis, I could see a few trends.

One insight I want to share is to rely on schools with a reputation for placing candidates into PE firms. The reputation takes time.

That is why we have a 5-year placement trend in F1GMAT Premium.

You may subscribe and access the in-depth analysis at premium.f1gmat.com/subscribe.

The heartbreaking insight from the analysis is that even though some schools have high Finance placements, the school is likely to facilitate more candidates in Investment Banking over Private Equity.

Getting admitted to Harvard or Stanford is worth your effort.

Any school outside these two doesn't have a strong and consistent reputation for attracting PE firms.

It could change this year with the Career Service team taking on a more proactive role.

But analyze the placement trends at F1GMAT Premium.