Where to look for jobs

I'm a senior at a well known Canadian school, who is considering applying for consulting jobs in Northeast region (Montreal, Toronto, New York, Boston, Wash DC, Philly etc...) or in NorCal (San Francisco/PA etc...). After submitting resumes to McKinsey and Oliver Wyman this year, I got rejected, which was a big wakeup call to me since I think I definitely overestimated my qualifications.

Since then, I didn't actively seek any jobs available, and I'm starting to get worried. Is it too late to apply for consulting jobs right now?

I attended a networking event at the end of November and met this associate from McKinsey who told me there was another round of application acceptance or something like that. I obtained her name card, but haven't really contacted her or anyone I met at that event.

So basically, here are my questions

1) When applying for consulting jobs (small firms), should I just send them my resume and cover letter and then wait on them? There are not many postings available when I checked my career website.

2) Am I too late to be applying for jobs in consulting firms at this point?

3) What sort of backup plans do most people have if they don't end up getting any jobs at all?

Thanks