US MBB/Consulting Prep Advice for 2026
Hi everyone,
I'm sure this gets posted often but couldn't find an updated guide for consulting prep on here. With applications opening at the end of this summer I wanted to ask for advice to best prepare for the process. I'm starting from completely scratch in terms of consulting, though I do have a business analyst internship in PE lined up for this summer.
If anyone has a general guideline and recommendations for books to read and casing resources/learning strategies, as well as any specifics for MBB firms that would be greatly appreciated. I currently plan to complete WallStreetPrep's Financial Valuation and Modeling Certification Program by summer, as well as getting well acquainted with Excel and possibly a certification.
Thanks for any and all tips!
Additional Info I probably should have added:
Data Science + Econ double major (undergrad) with 3.87 gpa from a non target (T20 though)
Not in any consulting clubs and no experience with case competitions. Also an international student on F1 visa.
Definitely coming from a more technical background and hope to levy that with strong casing skills.
Advice on networking would also be super helpful!
Can't comment on networking since I am based in London where networking is pretty much useless, but for casing I suggest doing 2-4 a week starting ASAP (if you've never done a case before). I think I did around 50 cases in total before my first MBB interview. For case books, I particularly liked: Peter K 2023, MBB 2020, Stern 2018 (this one is quite data heavy). You can find all of them for free online.
Dont think the finacial valuation course or any excel modelling course will be useful. MBB (and T2/boutiques) just care about ur motivation/behaviourals and casing.
To pass resume screening focus on getting leadership positions and show initiative that you're interested in consulting. Also highlighting sports/music/theatre/whatever achievemnents is also a good way to stand out.
Thanks for the response. I think the financial course and excel modeling is more-so to make sure I kill it this summer, as well as making me a more developed candidate for similar type of roles. I was hoping as an added bonus it could be a differentiator in resume screens/interviews. I will take your advice and 2-4 cases a week is definitely manageable. As I don't think I've ever really cased properly before, would you recommend to just start going through cases or is there a book you know that may be helpful in thinking about casing/beginner friendly?
Mmm, I think your summer will be better spent getting a boutique consulting internship, doing a personal project / startup, volunteering, etc.
to start casing I would watch a few videos on youtube first just to get an idea on how a case usually goes. Find a case book that talks a bit about the most common frameworks and case types. Its important to have a partner to case with you interview style, doing cases solo won’t get you very far.
I also liked the free video series from crafting cases, and I think is a good place to go when you get to intermediate level. There is so much free resources online, as long as you have someone to practice with (suggest multiple so you don’t get too used to the interview style of your partner), there is no reason to pay for anything.
For casing I would start by watching some cases on YouTube (RocketBlocks is probably best) to get a feel for how they flow.
After that I would strongly recommend you find a case partner (or multiple) that is at a similar level. Doing live 1 on 1 reps is infinitely more helpful than just reading cases and doing them on your own. If you have trouble finding case partner considering you aren’t in a campus consulting group, I’d sign up for RocketBlocks as it has a good community that makes it easy to find others to prep with. You also would have the added benefit of access to their other prep material.
Good luck!
To pass the interview screen, keep your GPA high, do lots of interesting and impressive extracurricular. No need to be consulting related.
For the interviews, you need to nail the cases. You have a while until the end of summer if that’s when interviews are, so no rush but may as well get started. I think the valuations course is worthless as far as MBB is concerned. If you want to spend money, I’d recommend a good case course. I’m sure there’s other good ones online, but I used CaseCoach for my MBB interviews and it prepared me very well (I got the offer). Don’t know about the US but it’s £100 for 6 months in the UK and I honestly think that’s good value. It’s important to practice a lot with others, and casecoach has a built in online casing tool and I found lots of good partners through it.
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