Management Consulting to Top MBA?
Ok, I know if you get into a MBB, you have a great shot at a Top MBA School. But I was wondering what about in general, just any Management Consulting firm, not necessarily a brand name, do MBA schools still look at that as good work? Do you still have a good shot at HWS or Top 10 MBA School?
Or are your chances hurt quite a bit because you didn't go to MBB or another big brand name Consulting Firm.
Plenty of non-MBB consultants get into HSW. It's not as much about brand as it is about what YOU actually have done with the experience.
Another related to what you just said I always wonder. What exactly do these people DO at their Management Consulting Firm that gets them so far? I've never seen this question answered.
Get promoted early, lead a team, excel at a given project, etc.
Sojourner is right. Plenty of people at HSW come from internal strategy groups and non-MBB consulting firms. They tend to outperform their peers and had qualifications/credentials in line with consultants at MBB. Personally know of at least 5 people who transitioned from a non-MBB consulting firm to MBB after B school.
Well not just non-MBB like Boozk, Monitor, etc. But what about just non brand-name management consulting firms? So Below 2nd or maybe even 3rd Tier firms (depending on your tiers)
AT Kearney, Deloitte and others have placed their consultants at HBS/Wharton/Kellogg/Chicago etc.
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not to hijack the thread--but what about those who do go work at MBB before their MBA--what would you say is the average success rate of them getting into HBS? ~60% of those who apply? Is it pretty equal % across Mck/Bain/BCG?
You've already had 5+ years of military experience, right? Why would you want to put in another 2-3 as base-level consultant only to apply to b-school? I'm guessing you'd be 30+ years old by the time you applied and even older when you graduate. HSW admit VERY FEW people over the age of 30 when they apply.
It's not equal across McK/Bain/BCG but each firm has very strong placement relative to the stats of other firms. According to a variety of sources, McK consultants have accounted for nearly 10% of the incoming class at HBS in some recent years. BCG consultants have over a 70% acceptance rate at HBS/other top 5 B schools.
I saw that 70% stat on another post but it seemed questionable--where did you get that info? Just curious. Also, you mentioned Mck and BCG--is Bain the lesser of the three in terms of being an HBS feeder?
70% stat is straight from BCG. from second hand sources (take this for what it's worth), Bain has a higher percentage than BCG at HBS/Stanford.
I find that 70% stat to be highly suspect for HSW... maybe by "top" they mean top 25 or something. There are THOUSANDS of 2nd/3rd year consultants at each MBB firm who apply to HSW. Maybe 1/3 of any class will be from such a background so maybe 400-500 spots total. No way that 70% could be true for each MBB firm (again, unless you are talking about Top 25, etc.).
"There are THOUSANDS of 2nd/3rd year consultants at each MBB firm who apply to HSW. "
I think you're overestimating the number of 2nd and 3rd year consultants that are even employed at these firms.
Sure about that? Consulting firms are bottom heavy... think of a pyramid. BCG and Bain have around 5000 employees and McKinsey is double that or more.
think again.
bain/bcg has roughly 500 pre-mba consultants each and mck double ~1000
so ~2000 total and if 1/2 are 2nd/3rd years (some do not stay for 3rd year)
take another half that would apply to bschool so roughly 500 per year for all mbb combined
Your sources? 500 applicants per year at the aforementioned 70% yield (which is too high) would mean 350 admits. I can assure you that there are more than 350 former MBB consultants in HSW alone, not to mention the Top 25.
BSchool after MBB (Originally Posted: 07/12/2007)
Anyone have approximate statistics of MBB alums getting into HBS or Wharton?
i'm sure it's a very, very high %. highest out of any company. Goldman might have better placement than BCG, but from what i heard McKinsey and Bain are tops with some crazy ass placement %. Basically if you come out from McK or Bain you'll do no worse than wharton, with most in HBS or S. Provided you do everything else decently like GMAT, etc.
I know that Bain Boston used to have 75% acceptance into HBS in 2004 and 05. McK is probably similar. The thing is that you can get into HBS/S/Wharton after 2-3 years of consulting. The same can't be said for GS/MS these days.
Bain's AC/SACs that apply directly to bschool have a 70-80% acceptance rate to H/S. The rest generally go to other top tier MBAs like W and Kel.
MBB ---> M7 chances (Originally Posted: 11/06/2012)
Hi! Long time lurker, first post!
I am finishing my third year at an MBB and will be applying to B-schools this year. Wanted to assess where I stand and what schools I should be targeting.
Stats: GMAT: 740 UGrad: Top public (Berkeley/Michigan/UCLA/UVA/UT-Austin) Major: Double major (Engineering, Economics) GPA: 3.53
International, South Asian/Indian male (sigh)
Considering H/S/W, Kellogg, Chicago, Columbia, INSEAD (want to return to consulting or try to break in to PE)
I don't know if college internships mean anything - but interned at another MBB, and 3 F500 firms during college. Also did intercollegiate sports, am a long distance runner and have been involved in a community service effort (teaching underprivileged children) for the last 4 years.
Also, side question: what kind of work experience should I be highlighting and who should I reach out to for recs etc.? I have worked on one international project. Would that position me better? Thanks!
You're a lock at every b-school except HBS and Stanford.
This is obviously an exaggeration. I'd say your chances are probably 75%+ at Columbia, MIT, Chicago, and Kellogg, 65%+ at Wharton, and maybe 25% at Stanford/HBS (which is about as good as it gets).
you should get in at a few programs. People with your profile get admitted and dinged for god knows what reasons, but you will most certainly get in at 2+ schools
As a HSW alum and a former consultant (though I was tier 2, a notch below MBB) I can tell you you’re in a great position for a top-tier b-school. Your background puts you pretty much in the most competitive candidate bucket.
To answer your questions, the work experience you highlight should focus on two things. The first (and most important) is to align your work experience with the school. So for HBS, the school is all about leadership so the experiences you discuss need to display your past and future potential leadership abilities. Second is what your future goals are. For instance, if you’re interested in going into F500 strategy for healthcare then obviously choose to the experience you have in the same industry to elaborate on.
In terms of other advice I’d give you, keep the number of b-schools to apply to small. The general rule is to apply to 3-5 schools, in fact I know people who were in your position who only applied to 2. The application process is pretty gruelling (the essays take up a lot of time/energy) so you don’t want to “spread yourself too thin.” In addition, you’re young as you said you were finishing your 3rd year so I assume you’re around 25. Worst case scenario, you can always re-apply if you don’t get in. It’s more than worth it to wait another year to get into the school you really want to and one that best serves your future goals.
Lastly, you mention PE is a possible goal of yours. If that’s the case, you may want to consider getting a PE-job now and working it for a couple years before going to b-school. In my experience/observations, the vast majority of people who got the coveted buy-side jobs (PE/VC/HF) after MBA were the ones who had previous experience in the area.
Consulting prior to MBA (Originally Posted: 05/03/2007)
Just wondering, if someone does IB for 2 years and then 2 years of PE, will it be a bad move to do 2 years of consulting to "broaden" one's experience prior to b-school, or will it look unfocused in the eyes of recruiters (both MBA programs and employers)?
If you have done MBA so you can get more offers from different fields organizations. Consulting is not first priority of MBA. You can make better career in many different fields with an MBA. Consulting fields also best for a career making so you can go with it.
What?
dude 4 years of quality experience? just get the MBA already and get going on the next phase of your career
agreed
What is your end goal ? 2 years IBD + 2 years PE can get you pretty much wherever you want to go.
Non-target to MBB to B-School? (Originally Posted: 02/02/2014)
Hi all,
I'm curious about what the transition looks like from MBB to B-School if you went to a Non-Target. Do you have an advantage because the background is less traditional than the typical Target--->MBB--->B-School route?
Thanks!
what are you, joking? are you seriously asking if in business school admissions, is coming form a non target better than a target?
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