McKinsey Insight, Bain Advantage and Bridge2BCG 2018 for ADP
As from 2017, I would like to start a megathread for 2018 McKinsey Insight, Bain Advantage and bridge2BCG status updates for advanced degree candidates.
Please feel free to post updates and indicate which programs in which region you applied to!
Deadlines
McKinsey: 8th of April
Bain: 13th of April
BCG: 8th of April
To keep track: https://docs. ** google. ** com/spreadsheets/d/1dz1dhE72yvleHPEU4Fp4K4IfH8vA7giGK5lfZY3yMeE/edit?usp=sharing
Hello Zugg and all fellow applicants.
Submitted to Bridge and AIC/ADvantage (I don't live in one of their cities so I'm not sure my chances). I'm not STEM or Asia Pacific so there wasn't an Insight program to apply for.
Only update so far is BCG is doing a pilot program of pymetrics- not for assessment purposes (I believe them). I could see it being used for 2019 FT applications though.
Looking forward to others' updates!
themarshone, did you complete the pymetrics thing yet? I am a bit skeptical whenever something says not for assessment purposes, but I figure it's best to do it since they asked for it.
I did, and it was actually pretty fun and the trait results felt pretty accurate. It was also nice that when you're done, you can look at the "Explore Careers" page to see which careers have similar profile as you. Both strategy and consulting had 99% so that at least made me feel good!
I do think they are honest in not using it for the application since they say it twice (email and before the test). My best guess is they've done in in-house, and now want to see how candidates compare (using a less high-stakes application). I could see the FT including it but as of now, can't imagine it would actually effect anything.
I just did it. It was kind of interesting, but I didn't find it as entertaining as the email made it seem. I got some interesting results on their "explore careers" page. 99% biz development, 99% project management, 96% corporate finance, 96% PE, 82% consulting, 10% VC, IB 1%...
I noticed that the email it is worded saying that it won't affect your potential to receive an interview or offer from BCG. Says nothing about Bridge to BCG specifically. I would say everyone should do their best on it and not take it lightly.
Hm, I wish I hadn't looked at that "explore careers" thing. It's making me insecure. 18% consulting, 86% IB, 52% strategic planning, and 34% STEM research (my current job, at which I'd like to think I'm reasonably successful). I'm doomed! Apparently I should consider careers in the following fields (85%-94%): writing, hedge fund investor, marketing, buyer, customer service representative, bioengineering. In all fairness, I'm a pretty damn good writer, but I'm perplexed by the lack of apparent pattern.
I wonder whether the criterion on which the data are trained is presence in an occupation or success in that occupation?
I'm going to cope by telling myself (1) my personality may be unusual for someone who wants to be in consulting, but it doesn't preclude success; (2) maybe the fact that I was familiar with the instruments influenced my responses and it's producing nonsensical results; (3) maybe the assessment's overall validity is questionable, as much as I respect the concept in principle.
The emotional pull of personality and cognitive assessments is kind of amazing.
Yeah, the mix is unusual to be sure. I got high marks in finance and management related careers, but ~50% in consulting, STEM, and quantitative based careers. If it makes you feel better, even if the science behind the process is sound they are probably still building up a large enough data set for helpful recommendations.
Hi guys,
I finished Pymetrics games as well, but don't seem to find this 'explore careers' at all. Looks like my portal is a BCG-customized version, with access only to the 12 games, plus the trait report. Where can i find that explore career section? thanks!
Had to google it, there wasn't a link for me either. pymetricsDOTcom/careers/
Personally, I wouldn't read too much into these results. I am very interested in VC and I got that it would fit me 10%. I am guessing this has to do with the fact that I played all the money games super conservatively and 'fairly' and didn't gamble a lot on the clicking games. I agree with NeverSayNever, I am not really sure how twelve clicking games can assess all these characteristics, especially among people that are skeptical about the fact that they aren't being judged.
It seems like they've pivoted as company from using it to explore careers to using the neuroscience for hiring process. Given there's no way to get to explore careers from main page and all the links related to explore careers (like the why) are dead. So take with big big grain of salt!
Hey, Mr./Ms./Mx./Dr. Zuggsburg, would you fill out a sample row of the spreadsheet so that we can see the format for entering our own values?
Hey yes, just did
Any MDs applying this year? I'm wondering what the usual breakdown of MD vs PhD applicants is at these things?
Also, what does "Target" in the spreadsheet mean?
From what I remember, there was no MD at all on the spreadsheet for last cycle. Target means target school.
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Compared to past years, we should be hearing back from McKinsey today, I think!
Just got a rejection letter from Mckinsey insight. Good luck to everyone else!
A rejection from McKinsey here as well. They wrote that they cannot provide individual feedback explaining there decision, but mentioned two full time positions I might be interested in applying to. Was that the same for you, babsbabm ?
Yes. Same here. I noticed last year someone got insight program's rejection but was offered with an FT interview invitation. Nothing in my letter. Kind of sad.
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Do they say that they invite you to the full-time interviews?
..
Don't think that is generic, they didn't say that in their email to me. they said "unfortunately we can't invite you to participate" and then mentioned two specific roles from their full-time positions list they said might be fit my background and interest, but didn't mention the deadlines like they did with you, and didnt say they encourage me to apply :)
Me neither. They also give me a link to the Mckinsey APD eligibility and their general selection criteria. Guess I'm not the type of person they are looking for.
Received a generic rejection letter from McKinsey Insight today. Same as the guys before.
New here, and no news for now. I was wondering does MCK send all rejection letters first and then invitations to interviews? No news is good news still works? Thanks guys.
Did you end up hearing back?
I do. I got a interview invitation finally.
I received the generic rejection from McKinsey as well.
I also received a generic rejection from McK.
Has anyone heard back from connect to clearview?
They sent out invitations for phone interview last week. But maybe there's a wait-list.
got invitation for interview for McK. Anyone knows what those 'business scenario' questions would be like? judging from last years post, although no one revealed specific questions asked, it sounded just like case questions...
Do they send all invites/rejections at once? I still haven't received a response from McKinsey Insights yet.
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I do and I know someone has already got the interview invitations.
I applied have not hear anything yet. They did not even send an email acknowledging receipt of my application. Did you get one?
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Rejected by Insight. Does anyone know when BCG will be sending out emails? Don't want to take two disappointments in one single day.
BCG seems to have their pymetrics test open until the 22nd, so I am guessing they won't be sending anything out until after that.
Likewise, I just got rejected from Insights but wasn't really expecting to be accepted to it. Good luck to everyone who got interviews.
Got notified as a finalist for insight. As in previous years, do you know if finalists get first round full time interviews in the fall regardless of outcome of the insight interview?
I have no idea what McKinsey is looking for... I have near perfect grades, >20 publications, but rejected first round. It probably has to do with my school not being a target school... Oh well, what can you do.
same here. Don't feel sad. It won't define us.
Yeah! I have been wondering the same. If the accepted ones can comment on what they think they did to stand out, it will be helpful.
got insight interview.
background: 4.0 gpa (phd) 0 publication (all in preparation). target school. (i think this is important.) no business/consulting experience at all. (according to the recruiting consultants i talked to, since slots are limited, they would only accept people who really have NO consulting experience, since this is supposed to be some introductory program.)
fun fact: a lot of consultants i talked to said they were rejected by their firm when applying for this short internship. so not accepting into insight/bridge does not mean you are not qualified, not at all. besides, a lot of consultants were rejected by the firms that gave them short internships.... so say consultant A, got into mck insight and rejected by bridge, later got FT at BCG but rejected by McK.
Ah, cool, I see, thanks for sharing! I co-founded a small company, I guess that could explain why I wasn't invited.
That's cool, thanks for sharing. Good luck with your interview, I hope you get accepted!
Hey folks - I also got an insight interview.
Background: I'm currently an MD at a reputed residency program in Midwest. I have no consulting background, but I did work at a Fortune 50 company prior to med school. Undergrad - Target school with high GPA MD - Nontarget school. Several Medical Publications (not >20 like a few people mentioned above) Several entrepreneurial projects, literary publications, global health projects.
I agree with "NeverSayNever"'s above comment that they likely want to give exposure to folks who seem to have little to no consulting background. I look at it as a way to figure out if consulting is what you want to do not so much as a "foot in the door," for the job. Presumably, from reading the comments above and prior years, people are getting interviews for full-time positions without an Insight acceptance, and it seems like there is no guarantee of an interview after completing the Insight program - just a weekend workshop to explore what they offer, a sort of "day in the life of a McKinsey consultant".
Just my thoughts - let me know if I have the wrong impression since I'm new to all of this, as many of you seem very up to date on these programs.
Good luck with the job/career search folks! I hope my comments/background info helps - everyone seems bright and successful (many of you guys are PhDs, which means you have legit research and deep domain insight) or else you folks wouldn't be applying - I wouldn't beat yourselves up over not getting into a weekend program if the ultimate goal is to get into a good consulting job!
Congrats and thanks for sharing! However, I was under the impression if you were accepted for Insights you were guaranteed at least an interview for a full-time position with McK.
Got rejected by bridge and insight. Target school Ph.D. for their local offices. 2 working papers ready to submit. Business related major(more precisely, doing stats and econometrics.) Got an MBA from a top institute. Decent GPA but not 4.0. GMAT 720 GRE 325. Several kinds of fellowship and scholarships. Manage a small charity fund by myself. Sort of frustrated at the beginning but don't really think this will define who I am and what I am capable of. Good luck to all of you!!
sure. Be happy and continue.
Don't worry! i know more than dozen of consultants who were rejected by this before they landed a FT offer in that firm! you are apparently overqualified for this program and that is probably why! good luck on your FT application.
BTW, you already have heard back from BCG?
Thanks for the reply and the kind words!! Yep. I heard from them last week. They sent me an email saying because I have already got an MBA, I am not qualified for this program. I think this early rejection is just for those who got MBA degrees. Hope this helps!!
Curious what you received on the Pymetrics test for consulting as a career (if you completed it).
I scored low (after rushing to complete it one late night) and received a rejection. Curious about the strength of the correlation :)
Did anyone receive an invitation from Bain for a case prep workshop for Advanced Degrees at local office (Not AIC)? I was wondering what this program is about. Thanks!
Received the phone interview invitation from Bridge to BCG. Interestingly, they specified in the e-mail that it's the Bridge to International Offices, which was not mentioned in the application page. I actually applied through BCG south. I guess it's because I'm an international student and chose an oversea office as one of my preferred locations.
I didn't hear back yet. Applied to Bridge Boston. I wonder if each Bridge region communicates separately.
Did you hear back from Bridge South? Or more generally from BCG?
Not from Bridge South but from "Bridge to BCG International". Though I applied through the South. I believe they may select some candidates who expressed interest in international offices,
Congrats and very interesting! When did you hear back? Are you also getting these pymetrics emails about taking it and surveys on it?
And also, what office does that mean you actually go to? In the US or international office?
Got invited to the interview for Asia-Pacific Insight and the interview will be tonight with a EM from Beijing. In the email it says the interview will include questions about resume, interest for insight, and local language if necessary+a business scenario question (not prep needed). Hope this will help and good luck to everybody!
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Received a Bridge to BCG interview invitation this morning. Chicago office.
Congrats!
Received Bridge to BCG interview invitation (20min video chat, SW/Dallas).
Congrats and good luck!
Got a 20 min video interview invitation today for Bridge to BCG south. Does anyone know what the format of this video chat is going to be (although they've mentioned it would mostly focus on the essay question). Any help on this is much appreciated.
I have heard that it is a general discussion on your resume experiences and leadership essay, with some time for questions about BCG/consulting.
Thank you!!
Congrats! Applied for the B2B South as well. Have not received any results yet.
And expect a short case and/or case question.
Got interview invitation from BridgetoBCG South. Not too confident with the interview. Just wonder if it's true that BridgetoBCG finalists automatically get FT interview (even though they did not end up going to BridgetoBCG)? Anyone knows it?
I don't know--but do Bridge attendees automatically get FT interviews?
Okay, thank you all the same!
It was true until last year, all B2B attendees automatically get the first round interview. But some rumors say it might not be the case from this year.
Not all finalists got full time interview but all attendees got FT interviews last year.
Previously, yes - some Bridge2BCG finalists received an invitation for a FT interview (even after being rejected from Bridge post-interview).
No news here. Applied to Bridge New York program. While I guess they already sent out all invitations?
A
Got the official Bridge to BCG rejection:
"Thank you for applying to 2018 Bridge to BCG. Unfortunately, given the overwhelming interest and competitive nature of the summer program, we are unable to move forward with your application at this time.
However, due to the strength of your application, we are eager to stay in touch with you over the next few months and hope that you consider applying for a 2019 full time position. Please know, your Bridge application will not hinder your chances of receiving an invite to interview for full-time. Deadline to apply is July 22nd. This is our most significant full-time ADC hiring push and we think you would be a strong candidate for that process.
Thank you again for your interest and please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions regarding next steps with BCG!"
The encouragement to apply FT is nice! Good luck to all.
Same here!
rejection and same message....
same here
Same here from B2B South!
Got the same rejection message just now. I'm staying hopeful. Good luck to others!
which office did you target? It seems that even for the same south Bridge program, there are different groups.
Same message here. I feel like they encourage everyone to apply full time- but still nice to see!
Same generic rejection letter from Boston office. Good luck to all the ones who got the interview! :)
Same here as well.
Curious for those completing the Pymetrics assessment - scores for consulting? Perhaps an attribute to that table? :P
Personally, I was rejected for Bridge (previously had an interview and scored low on the Pymetrics for consulting, so not sure if those attributes dinged me). For Pymetrics I scored >90% for Entrepreneurship, Trading, Investment Banking, and Engineering/Data - skills I tend to use when I have to act like a robot while working late nights. Interestingly, I completed Pymetrics at 2 in the morning in bed. Correlations (is not causation, but... :)
I've got 96% for consulting but still got rejected by Bridge...
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Congrats! Good luck with the interview!
Just got an invitation for interview a minute ago!(Bridge South) Almost lost hope then the email came up! Good luck everyone!!
same message rejection for NY
Changing subjects real quick, does anyone have an idea of when we'll hear back from Bain's programs? I didn't find much info from older threads.
Likely to be in Mid May.
Same rejection for Chicago. Is there anything to this rejection if you have more business experience? Or is this just something that helps me keep my spirits up?
Maybe? I have heard of folks who were rejected to Bridge but then got FT interviews and eventually were offered a position. Hope is not lost! :)
But did they re-apply with the same resume/CV etc? I'd like to know which part I should strengthen for my FT application though...
Anyone heard from Bain Advantage yet?
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Just received an invite from BAIN for their AIC event! [No update on ADvantage] Still waiting for BCG South Bridge result (fingers crossed)!
Apparently, you will only be invited to either AIC or ADvantage! So no ADvantage for me!
Do you know for sure? It doesn't say so on the website.
I also just received an invite to Bain AIC around 5:45pm (EST) today, and also did not get an update about ADvantage.
Same here! Received the AIC invitation. I didn't apply to ADvantage so not expecting anything else now.
Which AIC city/date did you apply to? I haven't heard anything yet.. Just got a rejection from BCG so hopefully not two rejections in a day!
Which AIC city/date did you apply to? I haven't heard anything yet.. Just got a rejection from BCG so hopefully not two rejections in a day!
Congratulations!!
Congrats! Also curious to know which city office you applied to.
(I applied to NYC and haven't heard anything.)
Just received an invite to interview for BCG Chicago 8 PM EST
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What is your Plan B if you don't bag an MBB interview or job?
Are you targeting the Big 4? Boutique firms? If you take a job elsewhere, are you prepare to re-apply to the MBB? If you join a non-MBB firm, are you concerned about the brand/cache of a smaller firm?
Will appreciate thoughts!
Continuing my current job, perhaps pushing forward starting an independent consulting practice (with a few colleagues), and considering applying again (it's on my bucket list and overall I think it would be a great experience).
I have heard that it's harder to pivot from non-MBB consulting to MBB due to barriers including branding. Curious to hear other thoughts on here!
Got an interview call for Insight-Asia Pacific. Rejected for bridge 2 BCG (NY office). I also gave a phone interview for C2C.
For those who got through B2B, congrats! Can you guys please share your profile?
Can someone throw light on what happens in a BAIN AIC session? Does being invited for AIC guarantee the first-round interview?
I was wondering the same thing.
Could have sworn I applied for ADvantage, lol.
Regardless, curious to hear what Bain has to present. I have had little experience with the firm along my travels, but do use at least one of their outcomes (Net Promoter Score anyone? :)
AIC is a half day session. There will be some introductions about the firm, a small group case discussion and networking opportunities. AIC does not guarantee the first-round interview. Although if you do well enough to impress them, they will send you an early invitation for first-round interview.(Refer to last year's WSO discussion.)
Good to know, thank you! I noticed you attended last year's AIC? Was it helpful for you to get an early interview invitation? Looking forward to your insights.
Did anyone else receive a request from BCG to offer feedback for the Pymetrics assessment?
Curious if and how I should frame any responses :)
I assume every applicant was requested to give feedback even if you didn't do the pymetrics assessment. Also, the feedback was supposed to be anonymous I think.
Could anyone tell whether Bain will send out rejection letters if I am not invited to attend the AIC event or the ADvantage program? Haven't heard anything so far and kind of anxious. Thanks!!
Someone above said that invites for ADvantage interviews won't come until mid-May. So I don't think it's time to worry yet.
Did anyone hear back from Bain NYC office?
Just got an invitation from AIC NYC office.
Congrats on your invitation for AIC!
I'm still waiting to hear; no rejection or acceptance yet... Which is probably not great news :/
Finished the phone interview with Bridge to BCG. This year only 1% of applicants got into the finalist. Really surprised about the competitiveness!
Would you mind some experience with the Bridge interview this year?
Wow that's really really surprising.
How was it? Was it just fit questions? Good luck!
Fit questions in general. There was actually one hard question so get prepared. The interviewer seemed to care much about my fit with the specific office since it's an oversea office.
Wow that is far less than I would expect for this type of program, but guess that makes sense given the overall competitiveness! I wonder if it also has anything to do with Insight being more targeted (I don't get impression it was just STEM/Asia previous years).
Good luck!
Insights has a 1600-200-60 selection rate every round in 2016. I'm not surprised if BCG this year has over 5000 applicants since non-STEM and international students are also welcomed to apply.
Did they tell you about how competitive Bridge is and if you weee to not get invited, you shouldn’t be discouraged and go ahead and apply for FT? That’s what I was told at the end of my interview which was a little discouraging haha.
It also confirms that finalists don’t automatically get FT interview.
I was not told so but I think it's just a general claim for everyone. Last year some finalists who were not selected into the program also received FT interview...Hope it's also the case this year.
My interviewer said the same thing to me like just don't be discouraged if not get invited. But he then claimed that he had to say this to everyone. So don't worry too much!
Saw a bunch of folks got their BCG rejection/interview the 27th. Is it weird I only just got my rejection?
Just got invitation to AIC/Boston.
Congratulation again to the ones who got bridge interviews! 1% sounds very competitive! One interesting thing i noticed when going over the tracking spreadsheet is that most people got only one invitation from McK/BCH, with only a few exceptions. Is that a coincidence, or M & B are coordinating seceretely to cover as many people in total as possible?
I did read somewhere that McKinsey likes non-traditional backgrounds more (though it's for STEM so you would think have to at least be semi-traditional). Might explain why?
Lol no. They gauge each other's eyes out for the right candidates. MBBs flagship programs are all extremely competitive hence there's chance at play, and also slightly different selection criteria between the three
It did seem counter-intuitive to the general vibe of both firms... BCG seems more like the "non-traditional." Might just refer to the McK's greater % of non-MBA, non-undergrad.
Applied both B2B and Insight. Rejected by Insight and scheduled an interview with B2B. Fingers crossed
Off topic: anyone know when interview dates are (approximately) this summer? Trying to make sure I make space for interviews this summer.
The timetable for B2B decisions sounds like a week out. Is radio silence from McKinsey indicative of a decline?
How long have you been waiting? I remember they said in the email that we should be hearing back by May 7.
I interviewed for B2B; but, I have not been contacted about a rejection or interview for Insight. Looking at the timeline it seems your comment may be referring to hearing back after the interview. Apologies if I misread.
Wondering the same thing, but it looks like no one has heard from either B2B or Insight yet. Fingers crossed for all of us!
Anyone heard back from Bain regarding the AIC event or ADvantage program hosted by Atlanta office? Bain Atlanta is my first choice (for family and personal reasons). Do hope I can get in. Fingers crossed.
I heard they started to calling people into the Bain Atlanta office for chats. Not sure what it means. Last year, for the San Francisco and Chicago ADvantage, they each had about 4 participants, so I would imagine it will be similar this year.
I haven't heard anyone got official rejections or invitations for either AIC or ADvantage for Bain Atlanta office.
Thanks for the useful information!! It does help! Would you mind also telling more about the chats? I think if they are chatting with the candidates, then probably they want to select the participants for ADvantage from those people. Sadly, I haven't got any calls from them.
Will they send out rejections or they will just ignore the candidates who are not selected? Thanks for the answers!!
Just had my interview for Insight Asia Pacific. It was mainly a case interview with just one fit question.
I too had my interview for Insight Asia Pacific. The fit question was: Tell me about yourself and the case was about market entry of a banking product. I found the case quite tricky.
I had the same format and case. I guess we interviewed with the same person.
Yes, possibly!
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I applied for Insight and interviewed, and I'm waiting to hear back. Did you receive it before or after your interview?
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Reporting back on B2B interview! Here was the process, which appeared pretty scripted:
I may be forgetting one of the questions, but I hope that helps folks.
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