My Plan - Attending a non-target
I attend a non-target. We all have our reasons, I have good reasons too, but I'm not going to get into that.
I have set my mind in getting into management consulting post-undergrad. It is very appealing to me. I've been reading a lot of forums, and posts, and all the advice is just overwhelming. That's why, I've decided to break it down to a plan. And I'm asking for everyone else's help in determining how realistic and how well-planned this plan actually is. Also, of course, please help me improve it if you see something wrong.
Background:
School: University of Washington (Top 50)
Year: Sophomore
Major(s): Math & Computer Science (UW is #6 in CS)
GPA: 3.7
ECs: Not much. I've volunteered around tutoring in various HSs around the region in Math. I am in the school's Finance Club and Consulting Club.
Internship Experience: Once again, not so good. All I have is a Marketing Internship I had building communication skills from 2 years ago.
That's a quick summary.
The Plan: (After reading and reading a lot of advice)
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Well, I think the major concern right now, is getting an internship over the summer! I haven't found one (started late), and I think it's good to have some kind of experience in the end of your Sophomore year.
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Starting this fall, or the start of my Junior year, get more involved in ECs. I don't know exactly how I will do that, and probably will need some advice from my school, but I will have to get more involved in some leadership roles. The common trait of non-targets > Top Consulting firms, is they all have some strong leadership experiences in school.
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Networking. I'm going to go all out starting this summer in networking. Which I'm still not sure how I am going to go upon doing that, but it's definitely an area I will have to set focus upon.
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Work harder in school. Because I'm going to have to. The classes will get tougher, and I hope to bring my GPA higher than 3.7 as well. Preferably 3.8 and with the goal 3.9.
So really, those 4 things I think I'm going to really have to concentrate on. 1 I'm working on right now. 2 I will probably need some consulting from my school to figure out. 3 I am not sure, all the advice on networking on these forums is so overwhelming, I'm not quite sure how to start. And 4, well, I have to deal with that myself.
The Goal:
Well, ideally I'd like to get into MBB consulting. Though, as I've read, that's still a long shot away. But I'm still aiming for MBB consulting. Thus I still will have motivation to do the best possible, and if I don't make it to MBB consulting, I'm hoping my resume will be strong enough (since I was aiming for MBB consulting) to land in some of the 2nd tier consulting firms.
Lastly, another very important goal of mine (for some reason), I want to get into a Top MBA program. Which should come if I do well in school, get into a good consulting firm, etc. And then maybe after the MBA I can try for MBB consulting again.
So what do you guys think? Realistic? Possible? Well-Planned? Inevitable failure? What would you change, advise, or recommend? I would really appreciate any comments!
I'm in S&T, but generally this plan is excellent for breaking into any of these businesses. In order of importance, probably 1,3,2,4. You absolutely must have something to do this summer if you want to do MBB later (the more brand name the better). For 2) I would advise first-do not list high school stuff after this year, 2-concentrate on only two or so activities and try to be top dog by concentrating all your free EC energy to those clubs. Your grades are fine once you cross a certain threshold (in math and CS no less) although MBB might want you to be 3.9+ because they seem to place a huge premium on GPA.
Sounds like you know what to do, and now you just need to do it!
The EC wasn't done in HS. I was volunteering while in University, in various HSs. It's basically volunteer work.
One concern though, how late am I? Am I behind? Is it too late? Or am I still on schedule and if I do everything in the time I listed I should be fine...
As for EC stuff: Given what I said above is enough to keep you very busy, I suggest picking 1 EC where you can have a direct and significant impact on its activities, eg: raising its school budget by 10k, growing the membership by xx%, raising 5k from outsiders, organize a couple of on-campus events, etc.
Combine those three things (good networking, finance-related internship, one good EC) with a higher GPA and you'll have a solid resume in 7 months that can get you into a good SA spot for next summer.
Thanks for the advice.
What I regret the most right now is starting so late looking for an internship. Do you think I still should look for a really good internship even tough it's end of April? Or do you think that will be a waste of time and just look for some solid internship experience at this point and not miss out on those.
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