Do consulting internships have to take place in the penultimate year of undergrad studies? Or has anyone done it a year before the penultimate?

consulting internship summer
Recent activity on Jun 02, 2018
4 Answers
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Ant asked on May 31, 2018

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Anonymous A replied on Jun 01, 2018

I feel as though to be accepted you'd need to be EXCELLENT and an outlier. Here is why...

Many companies simply don't let you even apply if you are not penultimate. Think about it - Would you as HR take the person in their 2nd last year with more proven results or the kid who just started their degree and barely has anything to show for it? They aren't interested if you in your first year you have a high GPA, they want to see this high GPA maintained for 3/4/5/6 years, These companies get thousands of legit applicants so why bend the rules to accommodate someone - Graduates are commodities lol.

Also If you are given a delayed start offer you'll probably end up leaving as a lot can happen in over 2 years. THey know you will change your mind, want to get a better company offer, decided to travel etc.

This is all why i say you'll need to be SIMPLY OUTSTANDING (if you can even apply).

Source: I did a penultimate internship in consulting xD.

Best of luck,

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Anonymous replied on Jun 02, 2018

This will depend by firm, and my geography. Some firms are very strict, whereas others are more flexible. The best way to know is to contact the HR/recruiting team at the firm/office you want to apply to and ask them directly!

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Retired
Expert
replied on Jun 02, 2018
Former BCG interviewer

As job market is at all time highs, it’s becoming more and more common for top tier consulting firms to look for internship candidates the year before their penultimate year of university and give them delayed offers. These allows firms to secure candidates before they get taken by other industries. These offers usually come with some conditions (on time graduation and GPA), but candidates who get selected usually shouldn’t have an issue in meeting them.

hope it helps,

andrea

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Vlad
Expert
replied on May 31, 2018
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

Yes, you can do that. In that case, you usually get a delayed offer.

Best

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