Chances of breaking into consulting with math degree + INSEAD MBA?

Hi,

Happy to answer that having been an INSEAD 17D alum, McKinsey Associate Partner and as someone who pursued three Masters degrees, just to get into McKinsey :)

Short answer - Yes, INSEAD is the consulting school of the world. For a very long time, INSEAD has been the business school that places the most (or in the top-3) number of students into MBB (especially McKinsey) globally. So yes, one of your best bets to get a McKinsey interview is to go for an INSEAD MBA!

Having said that, there are other ways to get there too - read networking, beefing up your credentials (CV), having the right kind of internships or work experiences, figuring out which office / practice is the best fit for you, connecting with recruiters etc.

Happy to help, if you'd like to chat - hope that helps!

I sit on the hiring side at my firm, so this is what I actually see. When MBA resumes land in front of me, the school name gets someone into the pile, but nobody in the room cares about it by the second interview. What I do notice is the people from a math background who can't explain in one sentence why consulting and why now. "I did an MBA to get into consulting" is a weak story on its own, so use the two years to build a better one.

Something nobody mentioned is timing. At most MBA programs the consulting recruiting cycle starts within a couple of months of arriving, so people who show up without a few real cases done and a cleaned up resume lose the first round to classmates who prepped over the summer. I've seen strong quant people get dinged because they were fluent in numbers but rambled on the so-what. Math grads are often better at the maths than at the story around it.

Also, before you pay for it, ask yourself what actually happened last time. If you lost a few first rounds, I'd fix the case skills first, it costs far less than an MBA. And honestly plenty of people come in from non-target backgrounds by joining a smaller firm or a boutique and moving over later. Worth thinking about that route too.

No, INSEAD won't guarantee a consulting offer, but it changes your odds in a way that reapplying with the same profile usually can't. What you're buying is access: consulting firms recruit on campus, alumni across the major firms take calls from current students, and your CV gets read as an MBA profile instead of a math graduate's second attempt.

What it won't fix is whatever stopped you last time, so before you commit the money, work out exactly where you dropped out. If you weren't getting interviews, the MBA solves much of that. If you were getting interviews and losing them in the case, that's a skills gap, and a one-year programme leaves little room to close it once recruiting starts.

To make the bet a good one, start case practice and networking before you arrive. Pick two or three target offices where your languages and work authorisation fit, then read the school's latest employment report for consulting placement in those regions. Skip that preparation and the degree becomes the gamble you're worried about.

Hi,

As an INSEAD alumnus and a former BCG Principal: INSEAD is one of the top schools in terms of consulting placement and probably the best place to be if you want to become a consultant, but it does not guarantee anything. It gives you a lot of chances and no guarantee, so eventually it is up to you to make your way up.

Having said that, there are a lot of consulting companies out there, so if you really want to be a consultant in one way or another, your chances of landing a consulting job are high.

An INSEAD MBA works as a career reset, so what you did before becomes much less relevant in the resume screening and in the interviews.

Good luck!
Franco

An INSEAD MBA does not guarantee you an offer at a top consulting firm. And to be honest: nothing does.

The CV is always a composition of many steps and stations, so no one can tell you if a specific university or degree will be enough. 

However, even once you are in the interview room, the MBA label no longer matters. You still have to pass the case and the personal fit interview completely on your own merits.

Before you make a financial investment, you need to be very honest with yourself about why your math degree did not get you in.

• If you failed at the CV screening: Your resume likely lacked somewhere. An MBA will definitely fix a certain gap but might not be enough. I would recommend to talk to someone about your CV first to see if there is enough to move.
• If you failed during the actual interviews: Your quantitative skills are probably strong, but you might have struggled with business synthesis or structured communication. An MBA environment gives you peers to practice with, but you still have to do the heavy lifting to fix your case mechanics.

Do not spend the time and money on an MBA unless you are willing to put in the intensive, specific preparation required to actually pass the interviews.

Best of luck with your next steps.

Is your ‘only’ goal to get into consulting or what would want to make you go for an MBA?

Consider this: The total cost of an INSEAD MBA - or any other top MBA - is exorbitant (opportunity cost, school fees, living expenses, etc.) and there’s no guarantee of anything.

If you spend a fraction of the resources (time + money) on getting into MBB without an MBA, you may have similar chances. I’m talking networking, career choices, projects, perhaps some coaching, etc.

I myself have an ESADE MBA and went from Geology to McKinsey. In hindsight, I could have done it without the MBA. I’m sure of that (I have countless examples from former colleagues and people I coach). But then again, the MBA benefited me in other ways…

Bottom line: Don’t do an MBA just for increasing your chances of getting into MBB. There’s other avenues for that.

Let me know if you want to chat. Best of luck!

Hi there,

In terms of whether it's worth the cost, that's an ongoing debate! You need to run the numbers yourself to see if it makes sense for you. Create a model that accounts for your current income + current expected growth on income, subtracts out 1 year missing this income and the cost of education, then compare that to the newly anticipated income + growth.

There are other benefits (network, opportunities, learning, the experience itself etc.) to consider.

Scholarships are the best route. You can also try to get your company to pay for it. (but then you have to work for them on your return)

Good luck!

That said, an INSEAD MBA does drastically increase your chances of breaking into consulting. It just doesn't guarantee an offer!

Hi there,

What do you mean you weren't able to break into consulting with a math degree? There are lots of people that come in with non-traditional background. I'm actually one of them. So I wouldn't take that as a given. Feel free to reach out and we can discuss your situation a bit more. 

That being said, yes, business degrees, MBAs, MFEs, etc., do increase your chances because they upskill you making you more attractive for consulting employers, but also because they make you part of an institution that has close ties with the consulting world. 

Best,
Cristian

Hey there :)

An INSEAD MBA can significantly improve your chances, especially given its strong relationships with MBB and other top consulting firms. However, it certainly doesn't guarantee an offer. Your pre MBA experience, academic profile, networking and interview performance will all matter. To maximise your chances, try to connect with MBB recruiters and alumni before applying, get involved in consulting clubs and start case preparation well before the programme begins. Also, look at INSEAD's employment reports to understand actual placement rates. I’d make sure you have a realistic Plan B before investing that much money.

Best, Alessa :)