Applying for summer consulting internships and had thought majority of them are not rolling basis.
I assumed BCG is only rolling basis for the full time hires and had no idea that they were for the summer internships.
Deadline is on the 27th January and I’ve only applied today whilst applications opened on the 7th January.
There’s no on campus hire in my country (I don’t think), everyone applies within this time period and goes through screening, assessments, and then interviews if invited.
Just saw an AMA from an official on thestudentroom and saw that the person said BCG rolls out invites to interviews on a rolling basis so even if I’m a strong applicant, if they rolled out all their spaces for interviews, I will not be invited to interview even if I was going to be invited if they had spots left. So they strongly recommended to apply as soon as possible and pretty much on the first day of applications opening.
Last time I applied, I applied near the end of the deadline too thinking nothing of it. Ended up with an invite to the online test 1 week later (I think everyone applying for BCG in London is invited to the online test so I don’t think I passed any screening), before being told 2 weeks later that I’ve been rejected.
I have a feeling the same might happen considering that they’ve apparently been inviting people to interview since they’ve opened up.
Have I just ruined my chances again?
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Ah you’re incredibly correct. Some things we just won’t know even if we spent months googling. Unfortunately, I’m a low-income student here so paying for coaching is not an option for me (I’ve seen the prices and they’re way more than I could afford). There was no option for me to put down a referral on the application so when they had asked me about where I had heard of this opportunity, I just put BCG staff which I know isn’t a referral area but again, had no idea how referrals work. It’s annoying as I spent the entire year for this application season and I just feel like I’ve wasted it especially because it’s so difficult receiving a job offer unless it’s through the summer internship. I’ve applied to quite a few and waiting to hear back but like everyone else, MBB is a huge goal and it really does determine that trajectory of someone’s life and in some cases, like mine, it changes their lives completely.
It you had networked properly, and picked up the phone to speak with people, then they would have TOLD you that the applications were rolling. I promise that is not incorrect (yes, googling is a waste of time. That's why I said networking) In regards to MBB, yes it changes the trajectory. That's why it's HARD. You have to hustle to get it. And, maybe, you need to spend years doing other things before you just get granted/gifted it. Like most things in life, patience, hard work, smart work, and luck are ALL required. I worked for 4 years in a boutique consultancy and then did my MBA before I got a 2nd chance at MBB (after applying as an undergrad)
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Hi Ian. The thing is, I had messaged a lot of BCG people from my university and those that had answered back became regular contacts. Unfortunately, when I had asked them about the process all of them pretty much told me to email HR as they didn’t have an idea on the application process. Despite doing so, I didn’t receive a response from HR and they only had the email provided anyway. I had also individually emailed some of the recruitment team in London but again, no response. Same happened when I was recruiting for IB - very close contact with the vice president of a top investment bank and he had no clue how recruiting worked. Just gave me the emails to email HR people directly. I also trusted what I had found on here. A few people on preplounge had asked about whether BCG London was rolling or not and many of them had received answers stating that it’s only rolling for experienced hires which is why I didn’t really check like I should have. I’m definitely taking your advice don’t worry. You know way more than I do for sure and really appreciate the advice you gave. I don’t have many people from my university making it to MBB so have tried networking as much as I could/can. Thank you for letting me know and amazing work! I’m still waiting on other firms so hopefully I receive something.
Hey! This is super helpful! Ok, so, most importantly don't beat yourself up over it at all. You clearly put in a lot of time/effort and generally did things right. Please remember that it's not MBB or nothing. You are NOT a failure if you don't get MBB. Apply to 40+ other firms (consultancies, startups, etc.). Appian was the BEST place I ever worked (BCG was not). Appian opened all the doors to me and trained me as an undergrad hire. You do NOT need 1 of MBB to succeed - there are SO many other pathways. You got this :)
Thank you Ian! You have regularly been a super supportive and honest guy on here and I honestly wish you all the best. I hope for you to be even more successful every time I’m on preplounge (you’ve been a massive help which I know sounds weird from an anonymous poster but I’ve been here a while and have had my questions answered by you over the past year and seen your answers on other questions). You are incredibly correct. It’s always hard to keep my sight not so narrow and need to remind myself that there many consultancy firms that are just as good and do a lot of the same work. Thank you so much! I hope to come back on here one day and say I’ve made it to one of the many firms.