Help needed with consulting plans
I am currently a junior at a top 10 university who has decided that consulting is what they want to do. I am majoring in Neuroscience and was previously premed, and so all of my extracurriculars including my summer activities tailored around this and Nuero Research. I'd really like to work in management consulting and so I'm wondering what is the best way to go about this. Should I just shoot my shot and apply this fall for full time, or should I go and get a masters in economics after school and go from there. Any advice is appreciated!!
I was premed my first year, switched to econ sophomore year, and now as a junior I'm interning at MBB. Here's my advice:
- Shoot your shot and apply full time. Definitely do not get your masters in economics because you will learn nothing useful. If you are going to get a masters, do a 1 year masters in finance because it will open up a lot more doors and give you much more practical knowledge. I'm studying econ and it's all theory, no useful knowledge.
Consulting firms do not care about major, and honestly I think you can gear your premed background to make you stand out. When consulting firms interview/review resumes, they look for analytical skills, problem solving, leadership, communication skills, etc. Your research is great analytical work, and I'm sure you've done some volunteering at a hospital, which shows you can communicate with doctors and patients.
These firms do a lot of healthcare work. My 'story' when I applied was "my parents are all in healthcare, I was premed my first year. But when I shadowed a doctor I decided that I didn't want to do it, but I am still interested in healthcare as a whole..." I applied to a specific office that does a lot of healthcare/pharma/biotech work, so I was able to say "that's why I want to apply to the ______" office. You can definitely make this work.
Next steps: focus on developing your story, go to your school's career center and build a strong resume. The key is showing impact on each line. resumeworded.com is a great resource.
Thank you so much this definitely helped, because I was wondered that my app would get thrown out due to it not having much consulting like experience. I have two follow up questions. 1. With a 1 year Masters in Finance, by open up more doors do you mean in consulting or in general? and 2. Another thing that is worrying me is that my GPA might be lower then the average business major due to the nature of the classes I was taking. Will firms understand this or no? If it helps I'm also on the college athlete.
> 2. Another thing that is worrying me is that my GPA might be lower then the average business major due to the nature of the classes I was taking
The firms that recruit from your school should have a general understanding of this, but how low are we talking?
> If it helps I'm also on the college athlete
Absolutely it does. Hard major at a top 10 school + reasonable big time commitment = leeway with GPA
It's currently at a 3.35, but after this semester and for recruiting it will be around a 3.4-3.45.
I don't think a 3.4 is high enough for a top firm, unless you go to an elite target like UPENN or Harvard. However, I do think being an athlete helps, so it always pays to go for it. There are many small boutique firms that do healthcare focused work that would gladly take someone with a 3.4 GPA provided he/she is smart and driven.
As for the masters in finance, all it really provides is an extra year to fix GPA, gain experience, and recruit. I don't think getting a masters vs just having a bachelors makes you any more of an attractive applicant, especially if you already go to a target school that has good recruiting opportunities. I would use this as a backup in case you are still unemployed after graduation.
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