Undergraduate new to the industry. Need advice.

Hello,

I just finished my bachelors in business administration (BBA) from a non-target school in Dubai with a 3.5 GPA. I recently came across the management consulting industry and became more interested to become a consultant at MBB.

From my understanding, the ideal candidate not only aces the case and fit interviews but also has a strong academic, leadership and extracurricular background.

I do have a strong academic background as I graduated ‘with Distinction’ with 3.5 GPA. I also do have a decent extracurricular background (I was the director of photography for a few short films I made during high school years among other things). I was a shy kid in university so don’t have much leadership background. I don’t have any work nor internship experience yet (partly because of the local laws which severely limit work under 18).

I applied to MBB, Accenture, Deloitte, OW but so far have been unsuccessful to secure any interviews. My guess is it’s due to my lackluster extracurricular and leadership background, but more importantly because I don’t have any previous internship experience.

Consulting firms here don’t hold events through which I can network.

My question is, how can I improve my chances of getting into MBB? Do I first gain work experience in non-consulting roles and reapply in one year or is a more broad shift in strategy needed? How can I network with consultants here because there are no alumni from my university working in consulting firms.

I can share my Resume and Cover Letter if needed.

Thank you for your insight.