25 Comments
 

1) Boston/NYC/SF are the largest (all roughly the same size), though highly competitive.

2) Least competitive is probably Atlanta or Dallas, though your (or your "friend's") actual best odds are likely to be whatever office is geographically close to you. Exception here is if you're coming at this from the perspective of a middling applicant at a top target, in which case your odds probably would be boosted if you apply to ATL/DAL/etc.

 

for OCR at least, it won't matter at all until after your first round anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it too much...

 

I disagree with the point made about Boston- they recruit very heavily from the Ivy's, so even if you're from a target school, it can be hard to stand out in that pool.

The DC office is actually probably a little easier to get into given that it's new, and kind of understaffed right now. I've seen intern applicants get second rounds at DC who wouldn't have stood a chance in Boston or New York. Hope this helps.

 
Best Response
WahooWah

I disagree with the point made about Boston- they recruit very heavily from the Ivy's, so even if you're from a target school, it can be hard to stand out in that pool.

The DC office is actually probably a little easier to get into given that it's new, and kind of understaffed right now. I've seen intern applicants get second rounds at DC who wouldn't have stood a chance in Boston or New York. Hope this helps.

NYC office is also majority Ivy's + Stanford (with heavy tilt towards Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Wharton), so I don't see your point. NYC + SF is much MUCH harder to stand out because you get so many more non-Ivy applicants as well (relative to Boston). If you look at the actual numbers, NYC + SF is a lot more competitive, not just for Bain for any MBB.

And I still stand by the comparison between DC and Atlanta. Yes, it's growing, but it's still smaller compared to Atlanta or Dallas. Not to mention that that pool is much more competitive as DC office attracts a lot of Ivy + Stanford kids in addition to regional schools (G-town, etc).

 
ConsultingOrBust

Are NYU and Dartmouth target schools for any MBB offices?

Was wondering the same thing. Also, does anybody know what are the target schools for the DC offices of MBB? I'm curious to know which schools place well in DC (I imagine Gtown send some kids due to the location).

 
mbahopeful ConsultingOrBust:

Are NYU and Dartmouth target schools for any MBB offices?

Was wondering the same thing. Also, does anybody know what are the target schools for the DC offices of MBB? I'm curious to know which schools place well in DC (I imagine Gtown send some kids due to the location).

Gtown places surprising poorly at DC MBB offices. From what I have seen, DC offices are only really over-indexed on UVA students. Other than that, its your usual mix of HPY, UPenn, Stanford kids.

I have yet to meet an NYU undergrad hire anywhere, might just be my firm though

 
IBTeaching

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the southern MBB offices in general are easier to get in to. You still have to be on top of your stuff, but the bar isn't as psychotically high. Think of somebody getting into HYP (NY/SF offices) vs Brown or Cornell (Southern Offices).

The southern offices also take a much greater mix of schools IMO.

I'd be careful about applying to Southern offices without ties to the south, however. They definitely ask why you are interested in that city and take pride in differentiating themselves from the northeast offices.

I also wouldn't think of the southern offices as inferior in terms of work. The Atlanta offices are rock solid (although I don't know much about BCG) and I know the Miami offices are growing.

 
Tred1 IBTeaching:

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the southern MBB offices in general are easier to get in to. You still have to be on top of your stuff, but the bar isn't as psychotically high. Think of somebody getting into HYP (NY/SF offices) vs Brown or Cornell (Southern Offices).

The southern offices also take a much greater mix of schools IMO.

I'd be careful about applying to Southern offices without ties to the south, however. They definitely ask why you are interested in that city and take pride in differentiating themselves from the northeast offices.

I also wouldn't think of the southern offices as inferior in terms of work. The Atlanta offices are rock solid (although I don't know much about BCG) and I know the Miami offices are growing.

Oh yea, definitely. Most of the southern office have the highest utilization rates and growth rates amongst the firms. You can also be staffed wherever. Half the 1st years in my class are scattered across the country (and Mexico/Canada). I HIGHLY prefer the southern office as a home base than the northern ones. The culture up there sucks.

 

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