Freshman feeling really discouraged
I’m a freshman going to an Ivy that’s pretty well known for finance (not Penn). I would like to do consulting most likely, and it’s been so hard to get in anywhere. I feel like the kids around me literally have coaching or something, and even my friends I feel like pretend to be nonchalant but have every resource behind their back. This is so intimidating to me because I don’t have parents or siblings in those industries and I’m not sure what to do. I am very willing to work hard, but I’m not sure what to do now that I’ve gotten rejected from all the consulting clubs and even some of the fun clubs I wanted to do. And how do I navigate friends? It’s so frustrating to know that people still have their whole family editing whatever application they do while I have to figure all this out myself. And I feel like a lot of mine pretend that everything went so bad and then I don’t get the interview and they do for clubs. And yes, life isn’t fair I know that, and I am definitely lucky to even be going here. Would just like some advice as to what I can do to get a consulting job in general
Hey man, I hear you and I know where you're coming from. When I was in college I also didn't have the same level of family/friend connections or anybody in my family who worked in IB or consulting and it felt like I was at such a big disadvantage compared to my peers who had more resources and knowledge going into recruiting. I was never the most intelligent, charismatic, or popular student and I didn't come from a wealthy background, but I still ended up landing offers in IB and Consulting.
None of us gets to choose the cards we are dealt in life, but I think starting with a slight disadvantage can be it's own type of advantage. You have a chip on your shoulder, and if you're willing to put in the extra work to network and join clubs and do internships while you're in school, you will succeed. Don't focus on other people, just try to move 1 step closer to your goal every day (even if its a small step like sending 1 email to an alumni at a firm you want to work at).
You can do it, I believe in you. The future you is a successful individual, you just don't know it yet. And in case helpful, I also have a small youtube channel where I talk about my experiences in consulting - feel free to check it out if you're interested:
What’s the name of your YouTube channel?
Replying because I’m also interested.
I’m going to be honest, I hate the fake sneaky people that pretend they don’t have resources or aren’t grinding and say it’s because everything is super easy, when they’re secretly grinding their asses off. Just keep it up, the clubs are good obviously but not necessary, and you can overcome these issues through other means. Networking is still important for consulting, but maybe just be a bit more careful as it’s not as common as banking and some people might get ticked off.
Also for fun clubs, I think it really depends, for some rock climbing club I really don’t understand why they’d need to be selective, but I can definitely see why an event management club(e.g. hosting concerts) needs to be selective.
The fun clubs are so selective here lmao like that’s another layer to my general insecurity but it’s unimportant. I just am a very naturally honest person and I’m very naive as well. So, I have a tough time dealing with people who aren’t honest. Networking does sound great though.
I was in a similar position as you are: target ivy, no family background in consulting, no coaching, getting rejected from seemingly every consulting-related club, etc. Don't get too discouraged from getting rejected from consulting clubs on campus. They really don't factor too much into the recruiting process. However, do go to every single recruiting event that those consulting clubs host. Get the names of ppl you interact with at these events and build a genuine relationship with them via short follow-up calls/chats/emails. This will help you (to a small extent) in getting past the resume screens, and more important give you talking points that you can bring up in the actual interviews.
As a freshman tho, there are a few things you should focus on:
1) Do not dip below a 3.7 GPA in a consulting-related concentration track (business, economics, mathematics, STEM)
2) Find clubs/activities that you are genuinely interested in (does not have to be academic) and try to be in some leadership position
3) Focus efforts on finding business/corporate-related internships for both summers after your freshman and sophomore year (F100 or F500 companies are a good start, you will need to put in a lot of work to network your way via LinkedIn into interviews with these places tho) - EXTREMELY important if you want to apply to MBB
4) Develop a strong, deep understanding of what consulting is and what you do as a consultant (talk to alumni who work at consulting firms)
5) Start case practice the second half of your sophomore year (do not become egotistic and think that you are starting to getting good at casing; reality is you need to be 99-100% perfect in these cases to get an offer, so be humble)
6) Build your resume early and actively go to your career center or reach out to upperclassmen for help on this (kind upperclassmen may even give you their resume template)
Unfortunately, I didn't have someone to tell me this when I was starting college, but the above helped me find success in the recruiting process later in my college years. Good luck!
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