Freshman in Undergrad - Best Strategy for Junior Year Summer MBB Internship?

I'm a first-semester freshman at Harvard prospectively concentrating in CS and Economics (~3.9 GPA this semester). While I have a really technical background (software engineering internships/experience mostly), I really want diverse internships in college so I want a junior year MBB consulting internship. I'm planning on sticking with SWE internships at startups/hopefully FAANG? for my freshman and sophomore summers. At Harvard, I'm in the biggest/most selective consulting org so I should have some semi-real-world experience by the time I apply in junior year. What should I be doing now to prepare myself for success in my junior year internship search? I know how competitive MBB is, even from a target!

5 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Please don't optimize your entire college experience around getting into MBB. At Harvard with a good GPA, you'll get good work experience and MBBs will want to interview you. You can start working on case interviews after your sophomore year.

Do whatever's fun/interesting for you. Meet a ton of people, join some fun clubs, do an interesting internship, etc. Don't worry about doing the "things MBBs want to see in a resume," whatever that means. You'll not only have a better time in college, you'll also develop soft skills faster, and that'll be a huge differentiator come interview time.

 

Molestias maxime quo impedit. Ipsum voluptas sit quos qui non earum libero qui. Maiores et quia est. Esse debitis autem alias qui magni. Dignissimos id eos accusamus consequuntur repudiandae quae. Saepe quod minima sint quia voluptas dolore quis.

Adipisci saepe architecto ut quod iste perspiciatis soluta. Reiciendis sint facilis voluptas. Error necessitatibus earum beatae aut hic. Molestias occaecati rem ad nesciunt. Rerum ea deserunt non iusto enim aliquid aut sed. Quo qui voluptates excepturi itaque deserunt quasi aperiam laboriosam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Consulting

  • Boston Consulting Group 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 99.0%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.5%
  • Oliver Wyman 98.0%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Consulting

  • Cornerstone Research 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 99.0%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.5%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.0%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.5%
  • Boston Consulting Group 99.0%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.5%
  • Oliver Wyman 98.0%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $361
  • Principal (30) $294
  • Director/MD (58) $274
  • Vice President (53) $247
  • Engagement Manager (111) $232
  • Manager (167) $172
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (115) $135
  • Senior Consultant (354) $132
  • Consultant (635) $122
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (162) $121
  • 1st Year Associate (575) $121
  • NA (16) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (390) $104
  • Associate Consultant (175) $100
  • 1st Year Analyst (1152) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (205) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (626) $67
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
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”