Change of GPA want to get a job in Management Consulting
Hello! I am a Bio major, Chem and Business minor. I originally had the plan to go to Med School and I am studying for the MCAT. I was planning on attending Med School after I graduated but came to the realization that I will not enjoy a profession in Medicine. This past year, I took business classes and took more leadership positions and realized that I might enjoy working in a consulting, management style, administrative style job. I am not really sure exactly what I would like to do, but really need advice. I have around a 3.5 GPA and I feel like I will do decently well on my MCATs though I am not sure if that is helpful. Thanks!!
Your GPA is sort of "on the cusp" for the top consulting firms-- they usually prefer a 3.7-ish or higher, but you might also get some leeway for being a STEM major. Most likely, you would have to network in order to get interviews at most firms. What school do you go to (e.g. a target, a semi-target, etc.)?
I go to a small liberal arts public University in West Virginia, Shepherd University. Since I was originally planning pre-med, I thought it would make sense for me to go to a school for practically free to save money for Med School. Would double majoring in biology and business administration be a better choice compared to just minoring in business?
I'd imagine that Shepherd University isn't on the radar for most major consulting firms, so that'll make things a bit more difficult. To get an interview, you will 100% have to network with existing consultants; the idea here is that if you talk to enough consultants, one of them will eventually like you enough to refer your resume through the process, and get you the interview. For context, most top firms have internal referral systems through which employees can refer promising candidates (some firms will even pay their employees a bonus if their referred candidates successfully get the job).
I suspect there won't be too many alumni for your college working at top consulting firms, but if there are, reach out to them and see if they're willing to chat over the phone. It might also be worth finding and talking to consultants who were previously doctors, or on the pre-med track. Basically, you want to find any sort of connection between you and those consultants, and roll with it.
Frankly, I'd only go for the double major if you don't think it'd be much more difficult. I think the benefits of transforming the minor into a major will be somewhat incremental, and you don't want to inadvertently lower your GPA by increasing your class load.
How would you suggest finding consultants to network. Thank you so much for all your advice. It has been extremely helpful.
Most schools have an alumni database that you can search. Look up if any alumni work at the major consulting firms: McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Oliver Wyman, A.T. Kearney, L.E.K., Deloitte, Accenture, PwC, the list goes on. You can find a fuller list of firms on the Vault.com website, among other places. I don't imagine too many alumni from Shepherd go to work in consulting immediately after undergraduate, but some of them may have found their way there after, say, business school. Those connections work too.
Other people recommend searching and messaging people via Linkedin; I've never done it this way, but since Shepherd is more of a non-target, it might be helpful as well. Get Linkedin Pro for a few months and make use of it. Also see if you know any consultants through family connections and whatnot. Anything helps.
If you can't find enough consultants working in strategy divisions to speak to, consider branching out into operations, human capital, or technology consulting as well. While people on this forum always think that strategy work is the "sexiest," there are lot of consulting jobs out there, and they're all legit professions to be in.
I'm an analyst at a MBB involved in recruiting. I agree with Fantastic that your GPA is certainly below the threshold that we look for (~3.8), but it's just high enough where it's not a complete deal breaker. You definitely need to network for an interview. Furthermore, you can offset a lower GPA by adding to your leadership on campus. I would say this is just as important as GPA. Furthermore, I have noticed that out of the Big 3, McK is usually the biggest stickler on GPA. I had plenty of friends that got offers with ~3.5 at Bain and BCG, not so much at McK. If you're thinking about Tier II's and Tier III's as well, then your GPA is certainly fine for those.
What would you suggest as the best plan of action for me?
What year are you in school?
Did you do well in your business classes? One thing to note is that, if you do have an opportunity to explain why you have a lower GPA. You can explain that Organic Chemistry is very hard and contributes to a good portion of your GPA. Also it's a good thing that you can do well on standardized tests, that will be good for an MBA in the long run. If you haven't graduated yet, is it possible to get a minor in a business related field? While not necessary, minor Economics would look good.
So far I have taken one business class and one accounting class and I have received A's in both of those classes. I am currently getting a minor in business, but I am considering double majoring in business and biology.
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