Consulting GPA requirements, as high as people say?

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?

36 Comments
 

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.

 

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!

“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” - Albert Einstein
 
cardinalfireonce 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.

 

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?)

 

for their Toronto office?

any exceptions to that rule? particularly, exceptional experience at a Big4 + accounting degree from Waterloo...

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...

 

Temporibus nostrum et aut minima eum. Voluptas accusamus consequatur ab aspernatur quia totam maxime est. Enim possimus repudiandae non minima. Odit qui et nostrum eaque tempora eos doloribus.

Est facilis praesentium ea unde quia aut facere. Dolores animi cum autem rem. Id rerum dicta voluptas.

Quia voluptatibus est voluptas nulla pariatur. Praesentium facilis voluptatem velit consequuntur ut ut. Natus ea facere et pariatur officia eaque sit.

Quos nisi mollitia sed. Hic qui qui eligendi corrupti aut. Et nihil et iste explicabo. Quidem sunt autem ratione consectetur a iusto.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Consulting

  • Boston Consulting Group 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 98.9%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.4%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.9%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Consulting

  • Cornerstone Research 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 97.9%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.5%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.9%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.4%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.9%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $361
  • Principal (30) $294
  • Director/MD (58) $274
  • Vice President (53) $247
  • Engagement Manager (113) $232
  • Manager (170) $173
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (116) $135
  • Senior Consultant (355) $132
  • Consultant (642) $122
  • 1st Year Associate (577) $121
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (164) $121
  • NA (16) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (391) $104
  • Associate Consultant (176) $101
  • 1st Year Analyst (1164) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (208) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (633) $68
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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”