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<p>The bit about preferring a masters is not true. I know a ton of MIT people with only bachelor’s degree who went straight to McKinsey after graduating.</p>
<p>These firms (MBB) also recruit undergrads and have programs for both summer interns and recent grads. These programs are relatively small compared to the MBA classes. You are expected to go get a MBA after 2-3 yrs. Target recruiting schools include Williams and Northwestern as well as Ivies.</p>
<p>These are the campuses where McKinsey sends a dedicated recruitment team and does on-campus interviews/programs for folks getting a bachelor’s degree. Note that students at these schools have different deadlines (usually later deadlines for applying for summer analyst programs and jobs) than students at schools where McKinsey doesn’t have a recruiting program:</p>
<p>Harvard ([Harvard</a> University | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Harvard_University]Harvard”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Harvard_University))</p>
<p>Yale ([Yale</a> University | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Yale_University]Yale”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Yale_University))</p>
<p>Duke ([Duke</a> University | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Duke_University]Duke”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Duke_University))</p>
<p>Stanford ([Stanford</a> University | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Stanford_University]Stanford”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Stanford_University))</p>
<p>University of Pennsylvania ([University</a> of Pennsylvania | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/University_of_Pennsylvania]University”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/University_of_Pennsylvania))</p>
<p>Princeton ([Princeton</a> University | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Princeton_University]Princeton”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Princeton_University))</p>
<p>MIT ([MIT</a> | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/MIT]MIT”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/MIT))</p>
<p>Columbia & Barnard ([Columbia</a> University & Barnard College | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Columbia_University_and_Barnard_College]Columbia”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Columbia_University_and_Barnard_College))</p>
<p>Dartmouth ([Dartmouth</a> College | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Dartmouth_College]Dartmouth”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Dartmouth_College))</p>
<p>Brown ([Brown</a> University | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Brown_University]Brown”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Brown_University))</p>
<p>Northwestern ([Northwestern</a> University | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Northwestern_University]Northwestern”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Northwestern_University))</p>
<p>Univ. of California- Berkeley ([University</a> of California - Berkeley | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/University_of_California_-_Berkeley]University”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/University_of_California_-_Berkeley))</p>
<p>University of Texas - Austin ([University</a> of Texas - Austin | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/University_of_Texas_-_Austin]University”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/University_of_Texas_-_Austin))</p>
<p>Georgetown ([Georgetown</a> University | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Georgetown_University]Georgetown”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Georgetown_University))</p>
<p>University of Michigan ([University</a> of Michigan | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/University_of_Michigan]University”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/University_of_Michigan))</p>
<p>University of Virginia ([University</a> of Virginia | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/University_of_Virginia]University”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/University_of_Virginia))</p>
<p>UNC-Chapel Hill ([University</a> of North Carolina - Chapel Hill | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/University_of_North_Carolina_-_Chapel_Hill]University”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/University_of_North_Carolina_-_Chapel_Hill))</p>
<p>You can check if a particular school is part of McKinsey’s recruiting program by searching for the school’s name (and make sure to select the undergraduate & master’s option unless you are interested in their MBA/other recruiting) here: [University</a> recruiting | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting]University”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting). Best to my knowledge, the schools I listed are the entirety of their on-campus specialized recruiting program, though they clearly welcome applications from anyone. </p>
<p>I say this not to weigh in on your query, but more to provide some facts/evidence for the discussion.</p>
<p>(As far as your question: It is statistically possibly for someone to be anything coming from any school. It’s just a matter of whether the road is a bit smoother depending on the alma mater/institution. . . . . )</p>
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<p>My understanding (from friends who work at these firms) was that some of the “top” consulting firms no longer recruited at the LACs and had decided to focus pretty strongly on a core set of universities (see my McKinsey post above). For example, neither McKinsey nor BCG recruit on-campus at Williams or Amherst. Bain does still recruit at both (which makes sense given the Boston stronghold).</p>
<p>In case it is helpful:</p>
<p>To check whether a particular consulting firm recruits on-campus at your institution (or an institution you are interested in attending):</p>
<p>-McKinsey University Search ([University</a> recruiting | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting]University”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting))
-BCG University Search ([BCG</a> - Learn about events, application procedures, and recruiting teams on campus](<a href=“http://www.bcg.com/join_bcg/oncampus/default.aspx]BCG”>http://www.bcg.com/join_bcg/oncampus/default.aspx))
-Bain University Search ([Join</a> Bain & Company: Bain on your campus > Apply to Bain](<a href=“http://www.joinbain.com/apply-to-bain/bain-on-your-campus/default.asp]Join”>Work with Us | Bain & Company))</p>
<p>You can then see if a school is on their on-campus recruiting list if they have a specialist on-campus recruiting page. </p>
<p>Using Duke as an example:
-McKinsey ([Duke</a> University | Careers | McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Duke_University]Duke”>http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/University_recruiting/Schools/BA/Duke_University))
-BCG ([BCG</a> - BCG at Duke University](<a href=“http://www.bcg.com/join_bcg/oncampus/duke.aspx]BCG”>http://www.bcg.com/join_bcg/oncampus/duke.aspx))
-Bain ([Join</a> Bain & Company: School welcome > Bain on your campus > Apply to Bain](<a href=“http://www.joinbain.com/apply-to-bain/bain-on-your-campus/school_welcome.asp?school_id=5]Join”>http://www.joinbain.com/apply-to-bain/bain-on-your-campus/school_welcome.asp?school_id=5))</p>
<p>Otherwise you will get some variation of the “We’re sorry, We’re not coming to your campus” message or something along the lines of a generic “Apply here” without any recruiter names/on-campus recruitment calendar.</p>
<p>Of course these firms also hire folks who don’t go to the schools where they recruit on-campus, but my sense is that many (dare I say most?) of their incoming consultants who arrive straight from undergrad are coming from the schools where they recruit on-campus.</p>
<p>I know one undergrad goes to BCG who’s not from HYPSM.</p>
<p>I think there’s serious confusion here about what MBB do vs. the Accenture’s of the world. The word consulting is used to describe many types of jobs.</p>
<p>Perhaps the OP can try something ‘different’, such as becoming a fully qualified accountant in both the US and in China. Then you would have something substantive to consult with, instead of blowing hot air like most of the others.</p>
<p>Agree completely w Waverly. But in any case, what’s the obsession w McKinsey et al? I turned down BCG to go into a Fortune 50 company years ago (am now doing boutique consulting), am extremely familiar w a lot of McKinsey people who do similar work. And they aren’t making any more than me.</p>
<p>To be very honest, getting into M/B/B is a very very difficult process. The brand name of your undergrad school is important, though there are many more filters. In my opinion, to strengthen your profile you need to attend to a graduate school of ‘high brand value’. Coupled with high GPA (3.7 +) you are ready to qualify for the interview!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Consulting isn’t really a career ambition. I know a few people – a very, very few people – who started out in consulting and didn’t leave until much later, but generally consultants are young people biding time, picking up skills, and networking until they figure out what they really want to do, and older people who developed substantive expertise doing something other than consulting and wind up selling that expertise. I think that’s true even at the McKinseys of the world, although they do have some home-grown talent. (Pizzagirl: I have no idea what you earn, but my friend the erstwhile McKinsey partner earned enough to run a smallish country.)</p></li>
<li><p>The OP has obviously given some thought to what he or she wants out of life, and high-end consulting is consistent with that (maybe), but it’s hardly the only thing consistent with that. It’s just visible, prestigious, and it has recruiters. There are lots of opportunities out there for people like the OP, and high-end consulting jobs constitute a tiny fraction of them. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>If I were the OP, I would try to get into the business of brokering relationships between US design/distribution companies and Chinese manufacturers (including manufacturers owned by overseas Chinese in other Southeast Asian countries, like Malaysia or Cambodia). That would put his or her linguistic abilities and social skills to excellent use, and could be extraordinarily lucrative. I had a client sell a moribund business for millions of dollars to a big company, and the only thing the company really wanted out of the deal was the phone numbers of the factories my client dealt with and a couple of employees in a provincial office in China who maintained the relationships with the factories. And that was one niche business.</p>
<p>By contrast, my McKinsey friend spent years in places dominated by ethnic Chinese businesses, and as far as I know he never spoke more than rudimentary Chinese of any type. (His wife, a polyglot, did a fair job with Mandarin.) At his level, business was conducted in English, period.</p>
<ol>
<li>I am not any kind of expert on high-end consulting recruiting, but my impression is that what they value is quantitative skills, leadership, and communication ability. Because they pay so much and have so much prestige, they basically get the pick of the litter anywhere they look. So if the OP really wants to take a shot at it, the issue isn’t so much getting a fancy MBA (although that’s one way to approach it) as being the biggest, shiniest package of those qualities wherever he or she is. Including Chapel Hill. And if, in all honesty, he or she isn’t the biggest, shiniest package – forget false modesty, there’s absolutely no place for it in that world – then start working on Life Plan B.</li>
</ol>
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<p>I’m not talking about people who grew up at McKinsey from Day 1. I’m talking about people who are of generally comparable age / career status as I am, and who followed similar career paths as me in the early part of their careers, who are now at McKinsey (in the case of many I know, because their boutique consulting company was bought out). Many of them have elite degrees but quite a few of them have degrees from more “ordinary” schools. But they’re of value to McKinsey because of the business acumen and analytical ability they bring and have been proven to bring. I know for sure that I’m making in the same general ballpark as they are.</p>
<p>I don’t know why all the focus on McKinsey. They have only 9,000 consultants worldwide, many of them with degrees outside the U.S., and many of them having worked for other firms prior to to having joined McKinsey. How many could they be hiring in the U.S. each year right out of college - 400 tops? (I think that is probably an overestimate.) The number of consultants at the Big Four (just as an example) dwarfs them in size, and is a far more likely career path. And, as noted, it doesn’t seem like students at prestige privates have much (if any) of a leg up there.</p>
<p>Well, ask the OP. He “wants to be a consultant.” JHS nailed it when he said that being a consultant is consistent with making a good amount of money, but certainly not the only way. That’s one of the most frustrating things about CC in general - this misguided belief that only xyz career paths can “make money.” There are PLENTY of paths into an upper middle class, nice lifestyle - the ones focused on in CC are just a handful among many.</p>
<p>Well, the point being that the overwhelming number of “consultants” DON’T work for McKinsey, and never will, and didn’t go to HYPSM-Penn-Stanford, etc., and that is clearly false that the major consulting firms don’t recruit outside the prestige privates, and that (from the little experience some of us have seen), these schools don’t even provide an advantage (other than the fact that the students may be smart) in breaking in.</p>
<p>Haha yeah if you didn’t go to HYP you’d better just give up and climb into a hole. Yeah because the land of opportunity won’t let you be successful without being in the .000001 percent of kids who get into those schools. /sarcasm off. This is not 18th century china here where if you don’t go onto a certain path you are a peasant. It just ain’t like that here. You can restart at any point you decide to. More than that, even if you are from HYPSM you will HAVE to reinvent yourself in life. So don’t think you have the keys to the castle if you have a degree from those places. It just ain’t so.</p>
<p>Oh, I think it’s certainly true that the major consulting firms don’t recruit at the undergrad level outside the prestige privates, but so what? The bigger thing is - there’s more to life, and more to money (if that’s an intrinsic part of “success” for some) than a handful of consulting firms. McKinsey’s just a firm and the people who work there put their pants legs on one at a time just like the rest of us. Really. It’s not nirvana, it’s not heaven on earth - it’s just a company. There are tons of them. No need to idealize them (or Goldman Sachs, or Morgan Stanley or … take your pick). </p>
<p>Hugcheck makes an even more important point - WHY do people from other countries persist on thinking that how America works (re colleges) is just like their homeland?</p>
<p>The OP specifically named BCG and McKinsey, and that is the reason for the focus on these two firms on this thread.</p>
<p>The Big Four (which include huge consulting arms) DO recruit outside the prestige privates -that’s already been established. And from the little experience shared on this particular thread, the prestige privates didn’t provide any advantage to applicants.</p>
<p>Together, McKinsey and BCG have a total of 14,600 consultants, many of them outside the U.S., educated outside the U.S., or recruited from other firms, as well as JDs and Ph.Ds. in particular subject areas. There is no way they recruit more than 600-700 students out of college a year. In terms of the sheer number of consultants and number of undergraduate students recruited, in fact, they would seem to be minor players.</p>
<p>We are talking about two different things here. The Big Four (Pricewaterhouse, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG) are still primarily ACCOUNTING firms and their consulting arms are still more accounting based. The McKinseys and BCGs are a different kind of consultant offering different kinds of services. I have very up close and personal knowledge of the kind of strategy work that McKinsey and to a lesser extent BCG do at major corporations. The Pricewaterhouses and KPMG’s wouldn’t ever be considered for that kind of work. It’s just very different in scope.</p>