M vs BB

I interview MBB consultants regularly at my company for a role that exits 2-3 years out of the undergrad role (BA/A/AC). This is something that I’ve noticed, but would love to get people’s thoughts.

The top let’s say 25% of talent from MBB is equal in caliber across firms. I’m truly impressed by how smart they are.

But what’s very clear is that the bottom 25% of McKinsey is way stronger than the bottom 25% of BCG and Bain. Does anyone know why that is? This has also been a trend that few of my other friends who do a lot of “exit opps for MBB” interviewing have noticed for folks at this level (cannot comment on quality at levels above).

Is it harder to work at McKinsey or like are their interviews harder or what’s going on? Or is it more intense? Would love insights from folks more tapped into this…

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