Hey all, I only started frequenting this website a short while ago so forgive me if this has been asked to death already.
Is the rep that MBB/other "top" consulting firms have for mostly/only hiring undergrad applicants with relatively high GPAs (3.75+) accurate?
I am a rising junior at a semi-target with a 3.5 GPA; would this be good enough to be worthy of serious consideration (assuming equivalent work exp/leadership/EC's with other candidates), or should I consider other options?
for MBB it is going to be hard
not that there arn't any people with 3.5 at MBB
but you should try pulling up your gpa
its the whole picture, if your gpa is lower you need to be stronger in other areas
.
If you have decent extracurriculars and good other stuff on your resume, a 3.5 should be good enough to get an interview. I had a 3.6 and I managed to get an offer from MBB. Just nail your cases and you should be fine.
GPA in consulting (Originally Posted: 12/20/2011)
I don't know too much about consulting summer internships, but I am a junior looking to apply to the major firms as well as the smaller firms.
How big of a factor is GPA (lets say compared to investment banking summer analyst) in summer positions for consulting? And is it possible for someone with under 3.5 to get an interview
I would say GPA is weighted about the same in consulting as in investment banking simply because most of the time applicants are lacking meaningful work experience and the GPA serves as their proxy for how intelligent/hard working/skilled an applicant is. While it is certainly possible to get an interview with a sub 3.5 GPA, the rest of your resume must be stellar because 3.5 is a common cutoff and for competitive industries like consulting they will have a ton of other candidates that make that cutoff.
interested if you focused a lot more on networking and how you tried to maximize your chances of getting a first round if you're GPA might be lower than the cutoff?
yes, high gpa is crucial. i think your shit out of luck if you have anything below a 3.3 for most places (like firms outside of MBB). if you choose to lie on your application, eventually they will see it and then comes the question of your integrity. however in your case, a 3.5 is not bad! keep on working hard!
gpa for m/b/b (Originally Posted: 02/25/2007)
What kind of gpa do you need to get an interview for a summer internship position with m/b/b?
3.6+
do you know this from experience? or by word of mouth?
experienced.
McKinsey tend to put a bit more weight on the gpa than BCG and bain
experience.
i interviewed at all 3 with a 3.5
is it a cut-off?
i think it might be
once you pass the initial screening and get an interview, is your gpa still really important?
After landing interview, GPA is not important. I know a kid that landed an offer with Bain with a 3.4 in Poli Sci.
How do you pass the initial screening? What do they look for when giving out interviews?
what's the average pay for a 1st-year at BCG??
i believe it's something around 60k base plus 5-10k signing and a year-end bonus. not sure how much the bonus is though.
McKinsey is probably the hardest GPA wise...from experience, they're all looking for 3.6+ from a target school, though.
Of course, it depends on other things too that manipulate the 3.6+ standard up or down - your major, your school (a Harvard kid will get more slack GPA wise than a Dartmouth kid), your ethnicity, your work experience, etc.
Thanks for the responses, what kind of work + internship experience / extra curriculars do consulting firms tend to like best?
i did an internship at a securities firm this summer (originally wanted to go into IB but changed my mind near the end of sophomore yr), are finance-related internships like that ok or should i be looking to add experiences more directly relevant to consulting? (consulting internships?)
what gpa range are the folks at M/B/B looking for? (Originally Posted: 08/16/2007)
what gpa range are the folks at M/B/B looking for?
(particularly M in Toronto Canada...)
Above 3.6
for their Toronto office?
any exceptions to that rule? particularly, exceptional experience at a Big4 + accounting degree from Waterloo...
Nothing about Big4 is exceptional
Pretty sure for Bain in Toronto you have to go through the Chicago office. For undergrads, I believe the pre-screen "ding" GPA cutoff is 3.5
Also, this question should not be in the IB forum.
Even Deloitte will automatically ding you if you have less than 3.5 and their recruiting standards are MUCH lower. Also not being auto-dinged vs. being a strong candidate is a big gap. I would say from talking to people in my office who read resumes, it's about 3.7, 3.8. Keep in mind pretty much everyone with a 3.8+ is also applying...
high gpa's are a must for these firms but you can get away with a low gpa if you have super impressive work experience with top firms (esp. investment banks early on (think freshman year, sophomore year) and extremely impressive leadership. These firms are looking for "leaders", especially M. The easiest way out is to over compensate for your low g.p.a by being a really impressive campus leader and by having great work experience
thanks for the comments so far.
Other than M/B/B, can you recommend other respectable management consulting firms that would be ideal (e.g., 2nd choice...)?
also, what about M/B/B starting salary stats for Canada?
I understand this kind information is readily availible for the U.S., but I haven't been able to get credible information wrt to Canada...
You really need to do a search for other firms, it has been hashed thru many times.
Thanx to all for sharing info..
Is 3.5 for major GPA or for cumulative GPA?
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