Consulting recruiting (BMM) at UChicago

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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<p>How heavily is UChicago recruited by the top consulting firms (McKinsey, Bain, BCG)? as compared to, say, Columbia or UPenn CAS? How intense is the competition to land an interview/eventually an internship, or even a full time offer (i.e. Are there a lot of people applying compared to the number of spots available) ? When do people tend to start landing summer internships (which year), and is it possible to intern during the year in the city of Chicago?</p>

<p>I've been hearing some pretty conflicting things about McKinsey, some say it's heavily recruited because the firm is started by a Chicago grad, others say the company does not recruit at all out of UChicago undergrad. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>I’m not sure about Columbia, but I imagine UPenn CAS and UChicago are pretty similar. What I mean is, I imagine BCG and Bain do some recruiting at these two schools, and its extremely difficult to land a job at McKinsey (which is generally considered to lead the consulting pack).</p>

<p>As a case in point, here are detailed career surveys for UPenn CAS:</p>

<p>[Career</a> Services, University of Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/reports.html]Career”>http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/reports.html)</p>

<p>As you can see, for CAS, McKinsey is just not a major employer - maybe a handful get jobs there from CAS every year. For 2012, 5 students went to McKinsey, and for 2011, it was under 5. </p>

<p>McKinsey seems to come to UPenn for the Wharton students - about 15-20 go from Wharton to McKinsey every year. </p>

<p>UChicago is probably comparable to Penn CAS, and certainly steps behind Wharton.</p>

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<p>Unless things have changed, McKinsey doesnt recruit from the undergrad</p>

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<p>@cue7 interesting site you found there, is there a similar one for uchicago?</p>

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<p>and why do you think the top IB’s recruit more people than the top consulting firms? Is there just a higher demand for the IB people?</p>

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<p>And also, when do people tend to start landing summer internships (which year), and is it possible to intern during the school year in Chicago?</p>

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<p>Jamesbond1:</p>

<p>Penn provides great data. UChicago and Columbia generally don’t. The UChicago data is very sparse:</p>

<p><a href=“https://careeradvancement.uchicago.edu/about/outcomes-data[/url]”>https://careeradvancement.uchicago.edu/about/outcomes-data&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Out of the top consulting firms, McKinsey boasts the most rigorous application process. That’s why very, very few schools are true feeders for McKinsey - Harvard, Yale, Wharton, Princeton, and Stanford. MIT to some degree too. That’s about it, from what’s generally known. </p>

<p>If you look at the Penn CAS numbers, they’re not really great - maybe 3-5 grads per year go on to McKinsey. It’s why, I think, the UChicago numbers are similar. Even though McKinsey doesn’t recruit directly, probably a few UChicago students do the general McKinsey interviewing and get offers from the firm each year.</p>

<p>McKinsey, at the top of the heap, seems to have very few true feeders. It’s hard to get a job there from virtually any college, and only a few are really feeders for the firm. It’s why if you look at the top hiring firms at most top colleges, McKinsey rarely makes the list anywhere (e.g. look at Duke: [Class</a> of 2008 Statistics | Duke Student Affairs](<a href=“Duke Student Affairs”>Duke Student Affairs))</p>

<p>I imagine that IBs have a higher level of need than McKinsey, and the app process is less rigorous. McKinsey (and, to a lesser extent, the other consulting firms) have very particular requirements for their people - with everyone needing a good mix of technical and soft skills. For lower level IB positions, I imagine the reqs are less stringent. It’s why Goldman or JP Morgan take larger numbers of kids from Duke or UPenn or probably UChicago, whereas McKinsey takes very, very few. </p>

<p>Basically, if you really want McKinsey, unless you go to a tippy top school (Harvard, etc.) your odds aren’t good. Even if you go to Harvard or Wharton, McKinsey generally only takes the best of the best there.</p>

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<p>Cue7:</p>

<p>Thanks again for the very informative response!</p>

<p>I’m definitely not shooting for McKinsey in particular – I just happen to think that the working environment at consulting firms is much healthier than at IB’s, while still making a good amount of money, which is why I’d like to enter consulting.</p>

<p>Could you possibly speak about consulting firms in general (Bain, BCG, Deloitte etc.) and the level of recruitment at UChicago? It’d also be great if you or someone else could chime you on Chicago vs Columbia vs Penn CAS in that aspect.</p>

<p>Thanks again</p>

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<p>I think you’ll do fine going to Chicago. I have a friend who works at Deloitte in the Chicago office, and she tells me consulting firms are recruiting more Chicago kids as of late. FYI, if you go to UChicago, chances are you’ll end up in the Chicago office.</p>

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<p>I imagine, outside of McKinsey (where places like Harvard or Wharton send considerably more than Penn CAS, etc.), your opportunities at any of these schools will be largely the same. At that point, it’ll come down to your talent, interview skills, fit with the firm, etc. </p>

<p>One note, if you’re dead-set on working in NYC and absolutely want to maximize chances for NYC (even if only marginally), Columbia is probably your best bet, as it’s right in the city and you have the best chance of landing an NYC job from there. You’ll be right in the city and could intern during the school year, something that’s harder to do at Penn, and virtually impossible to do from UChicago. </p>

<p>If you want NYC from UChicago or certainly Penn, that’s easily do-able. Columbia does maximize your chances and exposure, though. General shot at consulting at any of these schools is largely comparable, and, again, depends much more on how you perform both at the school and in the interview process.</p>

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<p>There’s a truly nutty flavor to this conversation. Whether it’s Chicago, Columbia, Penn, or Harvard, a kid has to be the best of the best within that institution, both in terms of grades and in terms of leadership/personality, to have any kind of shot at getting hired by McKinsey OR Bain or BCG. The implied premise of the OP’s question is that he’s clearly going to be that kind of person, but the fact of the matter is he’s NOT clearly going to be that kind of person, and it will be at least a couple of years before he’ll know if he’s in the ballpark.</p>

<p>Now, if it turns out that he really is that kind of person, then any of the colleges will be fine. He won’t even care if McKinsey recruits where he is or not, because he will have all the great job prospects he wants, and McKinsey would just be one more. It’s a big brand name, and easy to focus on because it hires a fair number of people every year, but there are many elite smaller or more focused firms where someone can work as hard, learn as much, and get paid as well as at McKinsey . . . if he’s that kind of person.</p>

<p>If he’s not that kind of person, it won’t do him a whit of good that McKinsey recruits at his college, because he won’t be getting a job there.</p>

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<p>JHS,</p>

<p>My only caveat to your analysis is that, if you’re dead set on say, McKinsey, and have the ability to go through the process, and you are choosing between Harvard and UChicago or Wharton and Cornell or wherever, going to the school that has a more robust history with the firm can be to the applicant’s benefit.</p>

<p>I imagine the network of folks you can talk to about McKinsey, the varied perspective on the interview process there, the frequency of contact with those who know the firm, etc. is much higher at Harvard or Wharton than it is almost anywhere else. If you’re set on that path and have the ability, best to go where the availability of information and contacts is widest.</p>

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<p>I’m more or less in line with JHS’s position here. It boggles my mind that someone would base his/her choice of colleges on how a couple of consulting firms perceive those schools. Put aside the issue of whether a high school senior has the slightest idea what a McKinsey/Bain/BCG consultant even does (or what an investment banker does, for that matter). That is such a narrow sliver of the overall pie of considerations to factor into the decision-making, it should be deeply subordinated in favor of where you think you fit best and would be happiest. If you’re miserable, you’re likely not going to do well enough to be considered for these positions, and the whole premise of this discussion becomes moot.</p>

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<p>You guys have definitely raised a lot of valid points there, and I thank you for that.</p>

<p>Chicago here I come. :)</p>

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<p>Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Chicago isn’t considered a core school for a lot of key consulting firms like McKinsey & Company, Deloitte, and Oliver Wyman. Bain and BCG do recruit there but they only pick up a few undergraduate Chicago alums each year compared to some of its peer schools where they hire 7-10 ugrads annually.</p>

<p>I would attend Michigan Ross or Northwestern if you want to stay in the Midwest and maximize your chances of attaining a consulting gig.</p>

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<p>^^It was only a matter of time before Goldenboy from Duke (his proud alma mater) to surface again…I was wondering where you have been lurking. I love how you want to lessen the prestige of Chicago along with your other homeys from Duke…to speak of Michigan and Northwestern without even mentioning your “alma mater” wow…that’s delicious. Give me a break. You guys are sad.</p>

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<p>@gravitas2
Tone down the vitriol. I’m not going to bother checking the validity of Goldenboy’s claims (or your ad hominem attacks for that matter), but there’s nothing inherently wrong with his post, other than a possible factual inaccuracy, but that’s not what you seem to have a problem with.</p>

<p>@Goldenboy
I doubt you’re very sorry at all, but regardless…</p>

<p>I hope you’re correcting for size when comparing Chicago to NW and Mich. And since UChicago has among the best post law and business school placements (arguable the best for law, and top 3 for biz), among the best graduate school placements and among the best Int’l employability stats around, I would be quite surprised if it fared so poorly (although worse than Northwestern and Ross isn’t really a poor showing by most means) as far as consulting recruitment is concerned*. Indeed, I’ve heard that UChicago placed among the most interns of any college at several consulting groups last year, but I have just about as much proof for that statement as you provided for yours. Zilch.</p>

<p>*My tacit premise here is that all placement is a function of a school’s prestige (one that I do not concur with), and I believe that UChicago’s success in placements is varied enough for it to be a testament to it’s overall prestige. If this is not the case to any appreciable extent, (if recruitment depends solely on student quality) then the question itself (and your response) would be meaningless.</p>

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<p>Goldenboy:</p>

<p>I really only know of McKinsey being so rigorous in their app process as to cut out many undergrads. That being said, like Penn CAS, McKinsey is rarely a top employer at Duke - it’s really hard to get a job there from anywhere. Penn CAS gets ~5 students a year to McKinsey - I imagine Duke is about the same. Neither of these schools are “feeders” like Wharton or Harvard. UChicago probably gets a few there a year too. </p>

<p>Beyond that, for Deloitte, Oliver Wyman, etc. the chances from any top school are about the same. The numbers and interest may vary by school, but I don’t think the school matters at all in that case - it’s all about the student’s abilities.</p>

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<p>“Worst case”, you can go into banking from UofC and transition into consulting later on, considering how hard it is to get into consulting from undergrad <em>shrugs</em></p>

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<p>@thebanker
I’m not a big banking guy…The technical/heavily mathematical/long hours aspects of the nature of the job are a big turn off</p>

<p>and I won’t comment on goldenboy, but I’ll just say that I’ve read enough posts to know this guy is full of ****</p>