mbb

While the odds are this post is relegated to the WSO trash heap-to grace the eyes neither of monkey nor MD-on the off chance my story could be helpful to someone in a similar position as I was a year ago, I wanted to share. The moral of the story: if you're better at math than schmoozing or stuck at a non-target school due to finances save yourself years of pain and self-loathing and GO INTO TECH! After discovering WSO during my junior year at my T30 semi-target UG, I spent most of my waking moments of the following year in pursuit of an analyst slot at an MBB/T2 firm. I became obsessed. My

18 Apr 2021

Open to answering questions regarding MBB, recruiting, breaking in, day to day life, career choices, etc. Background Academic: MSc in Finance (Europe) - top GPA, public undergrad b-school (target locally) Internships: Summer analyst at MBB; Summer analyst at Goldman Sachs (IMD London); Off-cycle analyst at European Private Equity FOFs. Received full-time offers from all three Other: GMAT 730 WSO Mentor Want to work with me? Check out my profile here.

05 Nov 2020

Hi all, This forum has been a constant source of great information, so I'd like to give back with my first Q&A as I wrap up with MBB and prepare for the next role.

05 Jan 2021

Banking: - You're gonna learn an insane amount about not just financial modeling but also how companies are structured inside-and-out. Bankers are basically real estate agents for companies and just like how real estate agents know everything about a house they sell, bankers become extremely well-informed about the companies and industries in which they operate. - Better pay: nothing else to say here, just the truth - More hours: Sure it sucks to work more, but, guess what? You're young, you have the energy to work. Learn as much as you can now, cash out on your knowledge from banking to find

06 Oct 2020

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well in this coronavirus season. Wanted to contribute to the community during this time with a Q&A. I imagine many of you consultants or college students are at home chilling, so thought this could be an interesting use of time. Open to answering all sorts of questions about life in MM PE, my time at MBB, transitioning from MBB to PE, college to MBB, etc. I hope this is a helpful discussion on this forum. For some brief background - target university, 2 years at MBB, and now towards the end of my first year as an associate at a MM PE firm in the US. Pretty

30 Apr 2020

I am in a very privileged position to have received a McKinsey offer for the associate position in NA. Previously, I had attended the Bain summer program for advanced degrees but unfortunately bombed the final case interview and did not receive an FT offer. The recruiting manager communicated that I was placed on a pseudo-waitlist and that they will reach out to me at the end of August or early September. Now I am in a bind. I know it is easy to just accept the McKinsey offer and never look back, but Bain has always been my top choice and I really felt at home with all the Bainies during my

22 Aug 2020

This year MBB is doing a summer round and a fall round deadline for full-time positions for undergrads in the US. I noticed that there is a thread for the summer analysts but not one for full-time. I personally applied for the summer round, because I want to maximize my options before I commit to my full-time (not in consulting) by the end of August. I am sure many of us who applied for the summer deadline are also in the same boat. SO I made this thread and hope to share updates/information. Has anyone heard back from any of the MBB? (like pymetrics, PSG, interview invitations, etc.) Feel

20 Jul 2021

Open to questions of any nature from students, consultants, or anyone else. I am an incoming first-year associate at a tech-focused PE fund, currently rounding out my 2nd year at MBB. I attended a top target (H/Y/P/S/W) for undergrad and interned on the buy-side in undergrad. I can try to help by explaining any part of the process, including what seems to be a trickier jump from consulting to buy-side, or anything more specific that I can be helpful with. WSO Mentor Want to work with me? Check out my profile here.

03 Nov 2020

Ive been thinking recently. Based on what I've read from this site or heard from others, Most people who join MBB/T2 end up staying there for 2-5 years, maybe getting an M7 MBA along the way. They sacrifice a lot in their 20's due to the work hours and stress of succeeding at a top school and their firms. But at the end of the day, unless they make partner, they usually end up at corporations side-by-side with people who took a more 'normal' or less prestigious route, going to a state school and working 9-5 throughout. If that's the case, then is all the effort (top undergrad --> 60 hrs/week

21 Jan 2021

This is the age old question. Here is my quick take on it. Happy to answer any questions about my experience or anything on your mind. Here it is, Banking vs. Consulting, an overview. #### Skills/Training: Banking: A slightly narrower but more focused skill set: quantitative and modeling focused. By the end of it, you'll be an expert at valuation and typical models like M&A, LBO, and capital raises. Consulting: Broader skillset. By the end of it, you'll get very good at structuring an ambiguous business problem, identifying a path to solve it, figuring out data and information needed

25 Jun 2020

Five years almost to the date, I was fired from Oliver Wyman (after 11 months at the firm, straight out of ugrad). This is when I'd walked into the year-end review genuinely thinking I'd be told I was promoted. There are a few words one never forgets, and the sentence that'll stick with me forever was "based on a few factors, but primarily your performance, we are moving on". No "sorry to say, but...", even. I was shown a few spreadsheets showing how I did vs my peer group. I scored poorly across 8 of the 14 metrics, and was average in all others. Out of the 8 metrics in which I scored poorly

03 Jan 2017

This is my take, and I've included some basic commentary about why I've listed certain firms in certain places. I'm definitely interested in hearing what people think, but before I give the list I offer two disclaimers: 1. This is what I think the landscape CURRENTLY looks like. 5 or 10 years ago I would've had some of these firms in very different places on the list (and excluded some of them entirely) 2. This is based on prestige for the US market. Things are of likely different in Europe or elsewhere Anyway here we go. Tier 1: 1. Mckinsey 2. BCG 3. Bain This is simply indisputable Tier

17 Feb 2018

Hi friends. Recently left MBB after spending 2 years after college there. Always thought it was helpful reading Q&A when I was a student thinking about career-pathing, so wanted to offer this up. Busy in a new job, so will respond when available and might close this thread up early, but for now, please ask away. For context: Target college MBB big US office Based in the US Obviously please keep questions professional and I will try to provide as much insight as possible. Won't reveal anything though that is too personal. Still care about anonymity.

19 Sep 2019

Figured it would be helpful to create this as a way for everyone to update each other when/if they receive offers for this summer's program. In 2019, decisions were released May 8th (Wednesday), while last year decisions weren't released until June as a result of COVID. Appreciate everyone's input/info when they get it!

06 May 2021

Which is more prestigious: McKinsey or Goldman Sachs? McKinsey Pros: McKinsey McKinsey Cons: Not Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs Pros: Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs Cons: Not McKinsey If anyone could provide insight, that'd be awesome!

17 Dec 2020

The biggest draw for me as far as going to Dyson was being in small classes and having a more intimate relationship with my professors and peers. Also, the fact that I'd be studying business as opposed to studying econ is a plus. As of now, I'd like to work in MBB out of college and eventually work in strategy on the west coast. I know that Northwestern is a powerhouse for MBB, and I definitely like the location more than Dyson, but is Dyson really that much worse than Northwestern? Will my prospects be slim for MBB out of Dyson?

25 Apr 2021

It's summer time and many of you out there are likely in your first internship with a consulting firm. Here are 5 things I found to be helpful in converting my internship into a full-time offer: #### Demonstrating core attributes / skills: 1. Coachability: you don't have to know everything day one, it's definitely not the expectation. However, I think it is important to show that you're coachable and are willing to receive feedback and learn / grow from it. Consulting is generally an apprenticeship model where you learn from coaching and guidance you receive from your teammates and team

25 Jun 2020

Hi, I just did a final around for Bain New York Office (Thursday 4/1/21). I graduated in May of 2020, but they are doing off cycle recruiting right now for AC positions. They are doing final round interviews today and tomorrow. I have two questions: 1. When should I hear back? Did anyone else also interview for this role and have you heard back? 2. Does your first round interview play into the decision to extend an offer? I killed my first round interviews but felt less confident on one of my final round interviews. Will they take all four interviews into account or only the last two? Thank

01 Apr 2021

So according to my research, PwC's strategy arm i.e. Strategy& does not operate in Canada, neither does Monitor Deloitte (just Deloitte) nor EY-P (just EY). So are strategy consulting positions even available in Canada? I will be applying for internships soon and was wondering if these strategy arms are integrated in Canada or operate in a different manner. So if I want to apply for a strategy management internship at EY or PwC for example, will I simply apply to EY and PwC and will they have explicit internship openings for strategy consulting? Or does Canada have a different structure

06 Jun 2021

I don't want to be in consulting or ib for more than 2 years, just wanna learn about biopharma space and get into biotech vc. I'm between 2 offers for full-time right now: Evercore in Life Sciences banking division (Menlo Park) or Mckinsey SF is generalist. Pros of Evercore: I'll be only on biotech deals and can learn much more about the field and how to think strategically about business from a finance perspective + more pay Cons of Evercore: Not as well known, so may not add that stamp to my resume that Mck would Pros of Mckinsey: Good to have on resume, will add that stamp to have my resume

25 Sep 2020

Hello! I recently got into both schools, and feel incredibly lucky to have this dilemma before me, but alas. Any input on either school's consulting experience would be greatly appreciated. I guess the first thing I want to ask is if there are any significant differences in placement for either school? I dunno, but the small class sizes and business degree from Cornell seem more interesting to study than hard econ. Consulting is what I want to do right now, but a second question would be which school would be better for keeping my options open as far as the world of business is concerned. What

07 Apr 2021

I looked at some employment reports of top 15 bschools during 2012-2017 and this seems to be the trend. For example, Columbia, a finance powerhouse, had 55 graduates heading over to McKinsey in 2017, while that figure for Goldman Sachs was only 8! The top 5 recruiters in 2017 were McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Amazon, and Deloitte. In fact, across top 15 bschools, the percentage of MBAs who went to IB in 2017 is only 5-10%; for consulting it is 20-30%. Now, I understand that: 1. Maybe half or more of those heading to MBB had their MBA sponsored -> they were just coming back 2. BB IBs get most of their

16 Sep 2018

I go to a top target school, have a higher departmental, strong extracurriculars (varsity athlete and other), and good work experience (nothing too flashy but one good name brand). My freshman year gpa is also what's bringing me down. How likely is it that I will be able to get an interview offer? In addition, what can I do at this point which will help my chances?

04 Jun 2021

Applications for full-time analyst positions at the following firms are now open unless otherwise stated. Get after it, monkeys! See you on the Street ;) Front-office IBD, S&T and/or Research Deutsche Bank Evercore (superday scheduled for 8/8) Lazard Lazard Middle Market Wells Fargo (Application was available 7/23. Appears to have been temporarily delisted) Perella Weinberg Partners (Applications under review as of August 5) Lincoln International (Application always available. Deadline unknown) Goldman Sachs (Applications closed 7/27) Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) (Application available 8/15-10

05 Sep 2014

I spent 5 years working as an innovation strategy consultant at McKinsey in the Montreal office. During that time I worked on projects around the world on a wide range of innovation-related subjects. I also interviewed many applicants for associate and analyst roles in Canada and elsewhere. I'm now the founder of Juniper, a boutique consulting firm, and co-founder of Vocaprep, a case interview preparation website. Ask me anything!

20 Feb 2018

Currently stuck between the first 3 options in the title for Undergrad, but leaning towards UCLA. Any advice for which school would best set me up for a career in IB or consulting is appreciated! Also waitlisted at Cal Berkeley, Cornell, Northwestern, and Georgetown. Have around 10 days to decide on those I've been accepted to. UCLA Pros: International Brand Recognition Highly Ranked Great Student Life In the good part of LA Can intern in LA in the summers Decent Economics Program Decent but very large Alumni Network Diverse Student Body Decent Alumni Network between undergrad and Anderson If

21 Apr 2021

Conventional wisdom here would suggest that you need to go to a M7/T10 school to give yourself a decent chance of making it to MBB, You can make it from a T15 school, but the chances are lower. However, I've noticed on LinkedIn that people from UW Foster (USNR #27) & UM Twin Cities (USNR #32) do make it to MBB (I'm not talking about sponsored MBB kids, but career switchers). Although it seems like they're always in the Seattle or Minneapolis offices. I'm not talking about 1 or 2. These schools seems to send a few grads to MBB every year. I know those are not Kellogg numbers, but what does that

15 Nov 2017

Anecdotally, the kids from my school who summered at MBB (BOS/NYC/SF) were working just as much if not more than the IB/PE kids (minimum 12 hour days at least 5 days per week). Pre-COVID, how many hours on average were consultants working?

07 May 2021

Hello Monkeys - I'm heading into my last week at MBB, and need something to do besides pack up my apartment. Ask away and I'll be happy to answer. My Bio: I have spent the last 3 years at a mid-sized MBB office in the US. I studied Economics at a top liberal arts college without formal MBB recruiting, so I know what it's like to break in from outside a target school. I had a pretty active role in recruiting undergrads, so I can speak intelligently about the process and what I looked for. Most of my work has been in consumer/retail, but I've dabbled enough to know what kind of work we do in

07 Jul 2013

Hey Everyone I am a middle manager/exec at one of the infamous IT services firm. However, I have a pretty strong healthcare consulting experience spread across APAC countries, then moved to Product Management @USA (grew a successful product) and finally to business strategy. I am currently in the states and was applying to the M7 schools. However, at 33, at most got only waitlists. I recently got a great offer from LBS and considering pros and cons of moving to London. Pros - Immigration is easier in UK (I am an international). - LBS is a pretty strong brand in London at least. - Program is

16 May 2021

Hello everyone, I'm currently a third year Italian undergraduate student at Bocconi University, interested in starting my professional path in London IB but that would also be interested in Consulting (most likely in Italy) I'm considering several choices for my masters, and I'm not excluding MiMs from top schools. I was wondering what do you guys consider to be the most attractive alternative and the one providing more optionality with regards to picking IB and MC. I also want to understand if a one-year program is worth the price, given that i have some professional experience (in a PE fund

14 Mar 2020

Enjoying all the posts - thanks for keeping the forum interesting. Does anyone know the 1) hours by title and 2) avg. project length for McK London? I can only find US hours and they seem to be much higher than Europe / London. One of the B's is ~55hrs and no weekends so it would be v interesting to compare. The marginal difference between 55 and e.g. 65 means a huge amount.

06 May 2021

I'm going to be enrolling in UCSD this fall most likely, and I was wondering how difficult it is to break into non-MBB consulting. Consulting interests me, and while it sounds like MBB has its major benefits, it seems like that's pretty out of the question for a non-target. Also, is there a location benefit from being near two of the biggest cities in America? Thanks for any help

02 Apr 2021

Starting school this Fall, background is in ER. Dream career is working at a value oriented HF or traditional asset manager. Not as interested in the multi-manager platforms since I wouldn't have pursued an MBA. Beyond even obtaining a role post-MBA , there is the concern of being irrelevant as a fundamental equity analyst in 15+ years. The industry is obviously changing, and tbh does the world really need another person determining the right P/E multiple for Target? All that said, I enjoy the investment process and the job's lifestyle compared to other roles. I see it more as a craft that I

17 Jan 2020

Hi, I am an incoming MBB consultant post-MBA and I will be starting in a few months. Any advice on how to best get prepared for my new role? Any advice on books to read / skills to sharpen before I officially start? Any advice will be helpful, thank you!

13 May 2021

I am a physician who has transitioned to full-time consulting at MBB (US office). How important would it be to pursue an MBA in order to either climb the ladder at MBB or best set myself up for exit opportunities down the line (such as PE)? I have heard mixed opinions, from completely unnecessary to must absolutely do it given lack of business exposure/finance experience? Thank you.

11 May 2021

All Canadian offices included, and U.S. offices, if any. Is it also possible that a target in one country to place in another one? Especially in less competitive offices, like ME/Africa. Thanks.

26 Jul 2020

Hi all, Been using this site throughout my college career, and it's really helped me out so I think it's time to give back. I love reading success stories on the site, especially non-target ones, so I thought I'd share my own in order to help others who are trying to get jobs, especially you non-target guys. I go to an undergrad business school that has very little recruiting exposure for the kinds of jobs we talk about on this site. Most students go on to work for BB BO roles or B4 audit. Most don't know what MBB is, or what an IB exactly does. Fortunately, I learned about these things

20 Dec 2014

Elon Musk, the richest man on the planet and Donald Trump, the president, both were Wharton undergraduates. There has to be some significance here...how can it be possible that one school graduated two of the most powerful people on the planet??

10 Jan 2021

Do you have a case interview coming up soon? Are you looking for case practice partners? Are you tired being practicing with the same partner? Do you want to check out case interview skills with someone completely new to you? Do you have a case interview coming up soon? Are you looking for case practice partners? Are you tired being practicing with the same partner? Do you want to check out case interview skills with someone completely new to you? If "yes" to any of these, "Case Interview Nuts" group on Skype will be an alternative for you. Join to practice with many other new partners via audio / video chat, and to share resources, experiences, and more. Benefits: 1) mock interviews with new partners to explore various interview styles

26 May 2011

Hey guys, I go to a target (H/Y/P/S) undergrad and we had our final-round interviews for the AC role at Bain (NYC/ Boston/ SF) on Tuesday the 29th. I know MBB typically get back with news within 24h if it's good or longer if it's not-so-good but none of my friends have heard back yet. What should we expect the decision timeline to look like? Maybe we can use this space to keep a tab on when decisions start going out... Would really appreciate any insight on this for this year in particular (have read through previous posts)

01 Oct 2020

I'm interested in what people think the best training is for starting a search fund. I know that this is becoming a more popular career option for people out of business school. For graduating undergrads who plan on going to business school 3-5 years down the road, what do you guys think would be the best gig out of college if you intend to start a search fund after business school. I feel like the main options that people with this goal would consider are: * MBB consulting(you get to learn how many different types of management decisions are made, given coaching on "strategy", get exposure to

18 Apr 2020

Hi! So I am going to USD in the fall of 2020, but I recognize that it's not a target for MBB. However, what I have noticed is that a few USD graduates have made it in, and it appears that they were basically the best of the best. My goal is to pursue internships that will help me and to perform as highly as possible. I'm in the Honors Program as well. So, my main questions: What are some of the best internships for MBB in San Diego (or LA)? What should I be majoring in? (I'm planning to do an Econ-Finance Double Major with a minor in IT Management). I'm asking early so that I can plan ahead

18 Apr 2020

Just wanted to start this forum topic since I know a few of us are feeling antsy about Bain final round decisions. I would be interested in hearing about your ACI final round calls and the turnaround time to receiving an acceptance or rejection. Please post if you have or have not received an acceptance, and for which region of the US! Also let us know how your overall interview went from your perspective, and how well that matched the outcome. Thank you!

10 Oct 2020

I'm interning with an MBB in NJ, but I hope to be in DC long-term. (The decision to be in NJ was made because of the pandemic/uncertainty.) Once/if I receive a full-time offer, how can I start to make the move to DC? Should I stay quiet about where I want to be for a bit or start a conversation early? I know the popularity/demand of an office plays a heavy role in whether you're granted a permanent transfer or not, and I'm not sure how DC compares. I'd be willing to stay in NJ for up to 2 years post-grad, meaning I'd start to look for something else that would get me to DC - maybe apply to

09 Dec 2020

Why I chose to become consultant: I remember the exact moment that I decided to pursue consulting as a career path. I was entering my junior year in college and was exposed to consultants in a summer internship at a large telecommunications company. At the time I pursued a marketing internship aligned with my college major. For my internship, I worked with a marketing program executive who had just transitioned into her role after several years in consulting (I would find this out several years later). Even though I was an intern, she gave me full reign to run a couple of projects the

25 Mar 2017

I'm in the pre-MBA stage of my career and currently working for a T2 Strategy Consulting firm. As the title suggests, I am hoping to get perspectives about how feasible it would be for me to recruit for Banking and Consulting at the same time during MBA recruiting. I would also welcome any general advice about my situation. Investment Banking is far and away my first choice, and I would be willing to devote much more focus to IB recruiting than consulting, the latter of which I think could be done successfully with less effort given my background. That said, I want to be realistic about my

09 May 2020

Let's say you're attending an elite MBA program, with around $150k of tuition costs sponsored by a tier 2 consulting firm (think Deloitte, OY, S&, ATK). Would MBB consider offering a loaded sign-on bonus (covering 50%+ of tuition) to entice such a candidate? Curious to hear if this is a regular occurrence.

06 Jun 2019

I've been lucky enough to land two consulting internships (after junior year of college) - one from Deloitte, and another from Strategy& (PwC). I'm wondering which one I should take. Here's what I'm thinking so far, where a "*" indicates that these are the most important factors I'm taking into consideration: Just to emphasize, name-brand is really important to me, as is the possibility of transitioning into MBB for the following summer - Deloitte (currently leaning towards this choice): *please correct me if I'm wrong, but the name brand here is better I think (at least according to Vault)

14 Nov 2020

For those needing a bit of inspiration: How I passed an internship offer for top 10 strategy consulting to my best friend, who had been looking for a job for 2 years. People involved: 1. SENIOR MD in charge of country's group, who forwarded my email. 2. BEST VP ever who received my email and passed my email to his wife that night. 3. VP'S WIFE who is management at the strategy firm and emailed me next morning. I received an internship offer at my current employer in Singapore (not this one); thus, recommended my best friend to the VP's wife. He is now Hong Kong's first intern at her strategy firm. This is exactly how you should approach cold-emails. Be humble, be open-minded, and as luck may have it, someone will notice. Good luck. -James

01 Dec 2010