How To Get In If You Don't Go To A Target School?

Agree with the previous posters -- it will be hard from an 'absolute non-target' at this stage. This is not because you don't have what it takes, but because you don't signal now that you do. Recruiters are basically risk-averse and thus not don’t aim to hire those guys that will be the very best consultants (they should, but this would consume too much effort); they're trying to avoid those that would be bad ones. This strategy is generally implemented by focussing hiring on the 'target' school students with ‘good’ GPAs.

I'll outline below what you should do at this stage. Do not, under any circumstances, move into IT consulting, as this is not a comparable position, will not provide the same challenges, does not have sufficient prestige, and will not put colleagues around you that are sufficiently high-calibre. I’ll outline below what your alternatives to MBB are that will give you a chance in later.

You still have a chance to get into MBB if you're good, but getting in will be an uphill battle, which you can win. Getting into the second tier strat firms will only be marginally easier. Most of the non-target people that my firm hired are absolute stars though and in fact often outperform 'target' BAs. What you can do now is as follows:

1. Get into the recruiting pool. Obtain an absolutely outstanding GPA in your institution (reads: become the valedictorian) and maximise your chances to attend an analytical program (MCs look for intellectual horsepower), such as an MSc or MA in Finance or Economics, at an elite school. This will get you into the relevant set of potential applicants for them. The problem though is that when you apply for MBB during your grad program, you will not be able to show yet that you're on par with those other people who got into your MSc/MA program, as the grades won't be in yet. Your chances are thus slightly lower than those 3.8 Harvard BA guys in your MA/MSc prog, but not 0. Also, consider the network that you will build in that program. I've seen a couple of cases where the non-target BA / target MScs where referred for recruiting one year out of school by their MBB friends that they now had.

2. Show you have the brainpower. For your grad school program you’ll probably need a GMAT or GRE, and you have to destroy the test. Make getting a really good score your mission (quant and analytical writing in the GRE are key) and put that on your CV when you apply for MBB. Again, you need to be better than the Harvard 3.8 guy in this one, so do aim high. There is so much prep material and know-how out there in the internet, and if you have a certain talent for a) simple maths and b) working efficiently under stress, this should not be a problem if you invest weeks (or months). If you suck at / hate maths and are not good in difficult environments, I can assure you that you would not enjoy consulting and look elsewhere anyway.

I also often hear that people in the US take additional coursework in quant stuff next to their job but have not ever met one who did (I’m in Europe so the number of non-target US people I know is small).

3. Show that you can achieve. Maybe you already are a star athlete – congrats, mission completed. If not, get involved in whatever you like next to school and assume leadership positions. You should not pursue something now to build your CV, but think about what you do next to studying accounting and assume appropriate functions (perhaps you’re already part-timing in an accounting firm – any chance of you taking up a team management role etc?).

4. Relevant work experience: I’m not sure what you’ve done yet in terms of internship but top consulting firms want prestige. Have you interned in M&A, large-cap corp dev, Big 4 TS? Perhaps something in a large NGO or politics? Do so between your undergrad and the grad degree. I think it should be possible for you to get into a smaller bank as an intern now (in the absence of on-campus recruiting use any inside connection that you may have) – this would give you ‘relevant’ experience, and certainly an offer there if you do well, which would be a fantastic backup.

5. Alternatives: if you don’t get into MBB now, work in one of the positions that I mentioned under 4 full-time. You can always still apply during those jobs shortly after your degree, or get an MBA and then go from there. Tons of MBB people did not start as MBB folks out of undergrad. Also, consider the second-tier consulting firms (RB, Booz, OW, Monitor perhaps ATK), as they potentially give you an identical experience. You can transfer from there, or go via the MBA route (or pursue post-consulting jobs identical to MBB without going to MBB, but your chances without the MBB name are smaller).

If you have more questions, I’m sure you’ll get help here. Don’t listen to people who tell you that you have no chances. Good luck.