doubt regarding path selection

The best thing about consulting is that there is no singular way to MBB. There is a traditional path, but I've seen people enter from undergrad with all types of backgrounds, the most important consideration is not your academic background, but your overall resume and showing yourself as a well-rounded individual. I'll summarize the generally agreed upon criteria below.

- Academic Performance: a strong GPA is a great sign of competence, but the GPA requirement itself is usually relative. For instance, Business GPA standards are usually higher than Engineering or Math-intensive programs. And if your GPA isn't the best, many people supplement it by boasting about their own strengths or networking.  

- Work Experience: any corporate work experience offers transferrable skills, whether it's communicating with clients, detail oriented notes or work (like audit), technical skills in Python, Excel, JIRA, SQL, or other software. 

- Community Involvement & Leadership Experience: non-work leadership experience like club executive positions or case competitions are appreciated since it shows you take the initiative outside of your tasks. It also lets you show case your skills (like creating a case presentation or leading a team for a conference).   

- Interests/Passion Experience: interests and passions outside of the office are greatly appreciated at consulting firms. This could be anything from offering pro-bono resume or interview services to launching a solo startup to see how it progresses. It could also be a passion project like making something in Python for the sake of making it or even a book.   

- Bonuses: foreign languages, credentials (like CPA, CFA, CBV, CSA, etc.) to show competence/interest, Master's Degree, Coding Languages

Above all else, making a strong impact in your internships (regardless of placement) and networking in the firms you're aiming for will be the defining characteristics. I've seen a handful of colleagues and alumni pivot from Technology, Audit, Industry Research positions to Consulting positions.  Heck, I met a colleague from a tech consulting shop who had a background in Political Science with no prior consulting experience. She did have a fantastic attitude, proven work-ethic via internships and genuine interest in the field and work. 

To learn more and help provide some guidance for interview preparation, I've shared the below resources. I've shared them so much, it's my unofficial trademark on this forum. 

The Resources I ALWAYS Recommend Folks Look Into

Resources list: 

• CraftingCases (free) - has articles + free 7 day crash course - personal favourite of mine since it dives into case components, has self-study drills and walkthrough examples
• PrepLounge (free) - has a market for matching individuals case prepping with one another - it's a hit or miss where you sometimes find some incredible people globally and many students casing for the first time
• RocketBlocks (free trial) - offers 7 day free trial and has (in my opinion) the most helpful consulting drills to practice mental math, case structuring, data extrapolation and some other stuff 
• Victor Cheng's Looking Over My Shoulder (paid) - a paid case interview walkthrough where you hear an interviewee deliver a case and the narrator highlights why the execution was good, this is *invaluable* after you've done ~5-10 cases and become conscious of the case cues to hit 
• Case in Point (free) - offers a *foundational* understanding of the case interview process along with some basic/rudimentary frameworks - this gives you a bit of insight into the high-level areas to brainstorm around and some common questions, but keep in mind that frameworks need to be customized for the case
• Case Interview Secrets (free) - offers a more in-depth look into the consulting mindset and how to structure frameworks from scratch - I'd argue this is more applicable to on-the-job thinking, but I've seen it work really well (and I've referenced it myself)  
• University Case Books (free) offers more cases than anyone could possibly cover in a lifetime; you can find them by simply googling a university + Case Book and a year. "Darden 2013 Case Book" for instance.

Edit: Some insights into the different specializations and niches in management consulting: 

• HR Consulting Firms: Mercer, Korn Ferry, Aon
• Economic Consulting Firms: Charles River Associates, FTI Consulting, NERA Economic Consulting
• Turnaround & Restructuring Firms: Alvarez & Marsal, FTI Consulting, Alix Partners
• Strategy Consulting
  • Big Four Account Firms with Strategy Arms: PwC, Deloitte, EY, KPMG
  • Big Three Consulting Firms: Bain, BCG, McKinsey
  • Pure Consulting Shops: LEK, Oliver Wyman, Accenture

As the post below mentioned, Economic Consulting shops handle disputes and litigation client work and could really benefit from someone with your background! 

Here's a post about what Economic Consulting entails: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/consulting/thoughts-on-economic-c…;