2016 McKinsey insight and BCG bridge2BCG status updates for APD

Hi everyone,

I would like to start a thread for 2016 McKinsey insight and BCG bridge2BCG status updates for advanced degree candidates.

Please feel free to post updates and indicate which programs in which region you applied to!

 

I got the same notification - I'm wondering if it's more than just a behavioral/cognitive test as they specifically point to the numerical and verbal reasoning sections in CEB as practice..?

Does this mean that there was some filtering applied as to how many people received the CEB link?

 

@sumohawk, "Does this mean that there was some filtering applied as to how many people received the CEB link?"

I guess so since some people may have not got an invitation for the CEB test.

 

I was just flat out rejected from McKinsey Insight and getting worried. I'm still waiting to hear back from Bridge to BCG.

I'm a bit worried about whether my undergrad GPA and GRE scores will compromise my chances of even getting an interview. I went to a top 10 LAC (non-target), Ivy PhD (target and #1 department in field) on a NSF-GRFP and published a high-impact paper, and I am now doing a postdoc at a good U.S. southern school (non-target and #2 department in field) where I won an entrepreneurship competition and am on the leadership board of the consulting club.

My undergrad GPA was a 3.2, had a 630Q on the GRE, and my grad school does not give out numerical grades (I did score in the 97th percentile on the math portion of the ACT). I know those scores are abysmal. Would it be reasonable for me to study and retake the GRE to have a chance at any MBB this upcoming recruiting cycle? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

I don't think it's worth your time retaking GRE just for the sake of MBB. Even if your GRE score was good, it's all the "It" factor game. If you got it, rejoice it. If you don't, just move on, and try to look out for other opportunities.

My undergrad was 1st class from UK, PhD from Ivy, and GRE quant was 800. Work experience was 3 years before I began my PhD. So I was old in my PhD batch. Publications were decent. Been to a few conferences. Still I wasn't invited.

I've been fiercely looking out for careers outside the lab. What am I gonna do? retake GRE to prove McKinsey that I can excel in math any given time?

Enjoy your life, solvictus. MBB is not life or death. :)

 

From what I learn, they don't necessarily prefer those who excel in every aspect but you need to excel in at least one or two. So no need to take the GRE again.

To take an academic example, I have two friends who have no relevant business/consulting experience(club/case competition) at all back then and get a FT offer years ago. I think it’s their stunning publications (Cell/Nature/Science or PNAS) get them through the first round screening because you prove yourself among the best while doing research.

 
Best Response

Just a word on taking the long view to all of those disappointed about not getting invited to these introductory programs. I think that they are quite competitive and a little desultory. I couldn't apply to McK Insight because of a time conflict, but I applied to Bridge2BCG and got rejected without an interview (despite perfect scores on the SAT & GRE, major fellowships, several publications, 3.99 GPA from an Ivy, etc.) only to sail through the interview process the next fall securing offers at all three firms (MBB). I'm not sure what the evaluative criterion is for these programs, but I think it's more stringent than the full-time recruiting process (though, without involving much emphasis on case interview performance, probably not very predictive). I do think it gives you an advantage in the fall, but it's hardly a sine qua non.

 

Hi, so after getting rejected by the Bridge ton BCG program, did you use the same resume and cover letter for the full-time role? Secondly, do you think networking with BCG consultants would help?

 

I almost half wonder if they choose people with less industry/business experience for these. I was given the test invite for Insights, and the most "business" anything I've had is a couple campus leadership positions. I feel way less qualified than the people who I know of who have not been invited to this program. Since it's a workshop for introducing people to consulting, maybe they chose applicants that look like they might be good but who clearly need to be brought up to speed? Thoughts?

 

From what I heard from last year's McK offerees, usually an invitation for 1st round interview for full time job application is followed by the rejection for insight program (right?). However, I got nothing after the injection of insight: no invitation for full time, no CEB links ( I assume people who used CEB meant Cognitive/Behavioral Test, right?). Would anyone comment on my situation? Thank you very much!

And is it possible that anyone who would explain a little bit more about CEB (like, CEB for insight, CEB for full time etc)? I understand it is a new idea this year, information may not be too much, but I hope to understand better what no access to CEB means...

 

Also no invite to McK Insight Healthcare. Just curious how others were notified. My email stated something to the effect that my graduation date ,degree, or program prevented me from consideration for Insight programs. Did others receive a similar email?

 

"Thank you for expressing interest in our Insight program. Unfortunately, we are not able to invite you to participate in the program this year.

For information regarding eligibility and our general selection criteria, please review the application information listed on our website. We will not be able to give individual feedback on this decision.

Thank you, again, for your interest in McKinsey & Company.

Sincerely, "

 

I looked into 2015 Mck insight/ BCG bridge status update thread. There is a person who said he applied in 2014, no insight, no extension of invitation to full time (FT), he reapplied in 2015, no insight , but invitation for FT. So I am wondering whether anyone here gets "no insight but invitation of FT" in 2016. Thanks a lot for sharing!

 

The Phone interview e-mail states:

"We received many applications for the Bridge to BCG program and, after reviewing your application, we were very impressed with your background. Bridge to BCG is a highly competitive yet rewarding experience and we are excited to invite you to the finalist phone round! During this next step in the Bridge to BCG selection process, you will have a 20-30 minute phone conversation with a BCG consultant. This will allow us to get to know you better and better understand your interest in consulting. The phone conversation will also focus on the essay response that you submitted with your Bridge application. You do not need to prepare any other materials for this conversation."

I heard that they ask a small case interview question. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

I am not selected for an interview to Insights of McK I haven't heard from Bridge2BCG. I got an acknowledgment emails from BCG NY and BCG Boston stating my application received. Does anybody have an idea from which office I would get response on my application

 

Just received an interview invite from BCG (for the Chicago Bridge). I guess they were going out over a couple of days rather than all at once. Anyway, good luck to every one :)

 

Got a phone interview invitation for Insight Asia as well although I did not even list it in my application. Then a rejection letter from my recruiter (I assume this is for E&S, what I applied for). Not sure I will be able to make it for Insight Asia since I have a time conflict.

I guess they passed rejected applications around. I have to admit I took my CEB test very casually. I know I did pretty bad.

 

This doesn't affect a FT application at all, except that you won't automatically be guaranteed one (If you're accepted to Insight you're given a FT interview in the fall).

 

Got rejected for Bridge Chicago today too :(

For those who got invited to the BCG Bridge phone interview, heard from a recruiter today that the interview is just a process to know you are not an awkward scientist.. Guess it would probably be a straightforward fit interview.

Good luck everyone! Hope we all have luck for landing a FT position soon!

 

me also rejected and at the end it was like follows. Did you get the same in your response?

The team would like to encourage you to apply this fall for full-time positions. Each year, we hire a large number of full-time advanced degree candidates, and we remain very interested in your profile. Fall applications are due July 24. Please visit our career website for more details. If you have any questions in the meanwhile, please feel free to contact us.

 

Got BCG Bridge Atlanta interview invitation yesterday. And surprisingly received McK Insight Asia interview invitation this afternoon. I think I did very bad on SHL tests. I did not anticipate an invitation.

 

I heard that McKinsey's FT application process is changing this year, and there may be an online test instead of the on-site PST.. does anyone know if we still have to take the PST/online assessment for FT applications? my Insight rejection email mentioned something like You have already made a profile and have taken our online assessment, so just submit a FT application in July to be considered for 2017.. anyone gotten something similar and has any thoughts?

 

Thank you, but surely if I still haven't heard by this point it's a ding? I'm kind of frustrated that Mck would say one could expect to hear back by a day, and then make someone wait all day, and then past that (it's now early next day), and still not just let them know they were rejected. Probably sounds petty, but this has just been really frustrating.

 

B2BCG Chicago: (Not sure if people are still curious about this but) I think it differs whether they call you or have you call in (perhaps by office or program); I received a call and didn't have to call in. It covered exactly what they said it'd cover and was very friendly, yay.

Insight S&E: Got an invite for the interview today. Looks like it will include a "short discussion about a business scenario that will engage your problem solving skills (no advance preparation is needed)." Anyone have any idea what to expect? Will it be like a mini-case?

Good luck to those interviewing! And best of luck in FT apps for everyone!

 

I went through recruiting last year and just saw this thread.

You can think of the business scenario as a mini-case. Expect a bit of structuring, a math module, and a short brainstorming section.

Good luck everyone.

 

for people who have received insight asia pacific phone interview invite, have you received follow up email to setup the actual interview time? they say the interview will be between may 2 to may 12. But i have not received the second email setting up the interviee since they notified me 4 days ago

 

I had my phone interview with Bridge to BCG yesterday. It was friendly. I unfortunately stumbled on some of the easier questions, but nailed the harder ones. Does anyone know when we will hear back from them and how many people they generally accept after the phone interview?

 

I am wondering how many who have not received reject nor invite from Mck Insight? And how many of you who have gotten invite for Mck Insight second round interview have completed the "optional" mobile assessment pilot? Thank you!

 

I am wondering if anyone has not received invitation nor rejection from B2B? I have not got any emails yet. I also emailed recruiters but have not heard back from them.

 

No authority here, but I think no news is good news here. The interview dates that were given to me by BCG bridge NYC is this Monday to Thur. So if they couldn't get enough candidates through this round, they may reach out to more candidates to interview. I am just guessing the logic here.

 

Someone else already mentioned it - the question was specific to my essay response. The interviewer took a different angle to my story so my response wasn't as structured as it should have been as it took me by surprise. Lesson learned : prepare well.

 

Well it really depends on what you wrote. Mine was "Have you thought of this story from X point of view? What would you change?" etc. It was simple question but I had never thought of my experience in that way so it took me by surprise.

 

I had my BCG interview (Chicago) this morning and will have the interview for Insights Healthcare later today. I am not sure what kinds of questions they will ask for Insights phone interview, however the BCG interview questions focused mostly on the essay. It is critical that a proper conversation should be properly carried throughout the phone interview and to minimize time of "awkward silences". Should hear back within a week.

 

Can cosign on the BCG interview having a question that took me by surprise. For me the question was simple, but surprisingly introspective if that makes sense, so my answer was a little rough lol. Not sure if you can prepare for that type of question per se, and it probably functions to see how pivotal/meaningful the experiences we wrote our essays about actually were.

I agree with the previous post that at a minimum being able to talk about yourself and hold a fluid conversation (including asking meaningful questions of the interviewer) were important.

 

Just got official rejection of insight. And also encouraged to apply for the full time. "You have already created a profile in our system and you have completed the online assessment, so we would just ask that you submit an application online to be considered for FT job." I think if FT application accepted, the PST will be waived due to the online assessment, however, not sure if they will reject the FT application at first place. LoL

 

I think that was just an error, honestly - I got the same thing. They're probably mass copy-pasting and just mixed up the title. I'm really worried about the online assessment - how well I can do pretty much entirely on the fly (that week was horrible for me and with only a week's notice, I did not have any time to prepare) versus how well I can do given some prep time (as I was prepared to do for a test in the summer) are two very different things.... I really don't want to be put in a pool with people who have had more time to prepare than I did. Like, especially we must know that test did not go well, as it was the basis of our rejection at this point...

 

Insight S&E phone interview report– Just like my Bridge interview, it was friendly and covered exactly what they said it'd cover.

Good luck, everyone and HAVE FUN!

 

Thanks for the update, Arisa. I hope you did well in both of your interviews -- although, from you message, it sounds like this was the case :). Did you get a mini-case for the Insight interview? If so, how complex was it?

Thanks in advance!

 

Thanks for the well-wishes! I actually don't think I did that great in either one (I can still stumble even when I know what's coming), but it's possible to have fun anyway :D We are lucky to chat with these really cool people!

Yes, I got a mini-case for Insight, and it was similar in complexity to most other cases I've practiced~ "Client is such and such; how would you help figure out yadda yadda?"

You're welcome. Best of luck!

 

Just had an interview for B2BCG NY this morning. Met interviewer before during campus coffee chat. Questions about the essay, my particular role, what could be improved, etc. Friendly conversation. Will get feedback by the end of next week.

 

I did both my Bridge and Insights phone interviews on Tuesday. Bridge interview is exactly as everyone else has mentioned above. So was the insights. Except one thing that others have not mentioned:

The interviewer at Insights told me that approximately 1500-1600 applicants to Insights (not sure if this is cumulative across all insight programs and offices). Interviewer didn't mention how many got the CEB test. 200 received the phone interview and ~60 will be accepted. Of these 200 that get the phone interview, the McKinsey staff mentioned that the final 60 selected individuals are not necessarily worse or better than those that got accepted, but rather they choose the individuals based on who they think will benefit the most. In other words, if you have demonstrated that you have lots of resources and on good track to be hired already etc. etc., they may not choose you since they want to give a chance to other less fortunate individuals. That being said, they mentioned that the final 200 people will be guaranteed an interview in September even if they were not selected for Insights, while anyone that was filtered out prior to the phone interview will not necessarily be guaranteed an interview.

Hope this helps.

 

I did both my Bridge and Insights phone interviews on Tuesday. Bridge interview is exactly as everyone else has mentioned above. So was the insights. Except one thing that others have not mentioned:

The interviewer at Insights told me that approximately 1500-1600 applicants to Insights (not sure if this is cumulative across all insight programs and offices). Interviewer didn't mention how many got the CEB test. 200 received the phone interview and ~60 will be accepted. Of these 200 that get the phone interview, the McKinsey staff mentioned that the final 60 selected individuals are not necessarily worse or better than those that got accepted, but rather they choose the individuals based on who they think will benefit the most. In other words, if you have demonstrated that you have lots of resources and on good track to be hired already etc. etc., they may not choose you since they want to give a chance to other less fortunate individuals. That being said, they mentioned that the final 200 people will be guaranteed an interview in September even if they were not selected for Insights, while anyone that was filtered out prior to the phone interview will not necessarily be guaranteed an interview.

Hope this helps.

 

Neither of my interviewers for Bridge and Insight gave a timeline for acceptance notifications. Did anyone else find out when we might hear back?

 

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