Too late to break into big consulting

I am an incoming transfer junior finance major at SMU cox and was wondering if it’s too late to get good internships and put my name out there?

I know I’m late on the scene but going to a community college with little to no resources made it hard for me to pick up decent internships

 
Most Helpful

You'll be behind your peers but it isn't too late if you plan smart and work hard

You don't need to optimize around getting a good internship for next summer -- you should be optimizing around getting a good FT offer

This means getting to a strong well-rounded resume by the beginning of senior year. What I would do, in no particular order since they're all pretty important:

  1. Grades: Get a good GPA. Since SMU isn't a target school for many of the good firms, the higher the better. Keep in mind that the GPA that matters for full time recruitment next fall will be the GPA after 2 semesters, so you won't have an opportunity to play catchup
  2. Work experience: Get good corp experience / internship. You probably won't be competitive for good consulting internships this summer assuming resume is fairly barren, but you can probably pursue some sort of other decent F500 finance or other good big brand name internship that recruits on campus. Also look for mid-semester internships if you can balance them in spring -- fill that gap on your resume
  3. Leadership: Find a way to show initiative / leadership outside the classroom. Leadership roles in clubs are a common way to do this, but since you'll be fresh to campus that might be hard. I'd come up with a charitable type initiative you run yourself that demonstrates (a) impact and (b) problem-solving ability
  4. Networking & prep: Join campus consulting club to learn about and prep for recruitment opportunities, figure out which firms recruit from campus and attend their events to get to know them, learn about the consulting industry to figure out which firms you want to target, etc.

Plenty of folks have gotten good jobs after transferring from community college to a 4-year. If you can pull it off you'll make out like a bandit from saving 2 years of more expensive college costs. As additional optionality, TBH if you botch getting a good internship this year then I'd also consider delaying graduation a semester so that you can have an additional summer to build good internship experience (bonus points if you do something like work a full time junior spring internship instead of taking classes, that way you're not spending a ton of extra money)

 

I appreciate your feedback! I know it will be an uphill battle but I am prepared to work my tail off and utilize all resources available. I plan on, keeping a high gpa, joining 3-4 finance/consulting clubs, and finding internships that’ll prepare me for a future in consulting. community college definitely has its upside in allowing me to finish 2yrs debt free, while also allowing me to play baseball and become a 2x Academic All-American. I’ll definitely note your advice and keep working hard. Thanks!

 

Porro officiis ut omnis ut. Nam rerum voluptas nostrum eligendi nostrum voluptates rerum doloribus. Amet sed eos debitis beatae inventore aliquid. Repellendus ipsam iste quia fuga aperiam repellendus. Commodi consequuntur reiciendis a necessitatibus non in. Eum expedita dolorem deleniti animi dolore voluptatum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.7%
  • LEK Consulting 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • Cornerstone Research 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • McKinsey and Co 97.7%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.7%
  • LEK Consulting 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2024 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $368
  • Principal (25) $277
  • Director/MD (55) $270
  • Vice President (47) $246
  • Engagement Manager (100) $226
  • Manager (152) $170
  • 2nd Year Associate (158) $140
  • Senior Consultant (331) $130
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (108) $130
  • Consultant (588) $119
  • 1st Year Associate (538) $119
  • NA (15) $119
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (146) $115
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (345) $103
  • Associate Consultant (166) $98
  • 1st Year Analyst (1048) $87
  • Intern/Summer Associate (190) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (552) $67
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
numi's picture
numi
98.8
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”