Is my university a target university for consulting.

Hi there,

Q: I am wondering if my university is considered a target university for management consulting recruiting by MBB (McKinsey, BCG, and Bain) firms. Can you provide any insight on this matter? 

You can use LinkedIn to check that.

Steps:

1. Go to LinkedIn
2. Add your university as "School"
3. Filter by each MBB company as “Current company”

If you find a good number of people working there, it means it is a target university. If you are not sure what could be a good number of people, you can take a school you are sure is a target one in your country as a benchmark.

You can find below an example for Harvard and McKinsey:

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi there, 

We can't know. 

And it doesn't really matter.

If there are target schools, that doesn't mean that all recruiting is done from there. It just means that consulting firms want to make it easier for themselves and go straight where the usual talent is rather than looking for it everywhere. 

My suggestion would be to apply to all your dream firms regardless of whether or not you're part of a target school. I wrote a guide here that details how to approach the application process to maximize your chances of success:

• Maximising your chances of getting a consulting job during an economic downturn

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

It looks like your university is a target for McK and BCG but not Bain.

Of course, you know there's an easy way to figure this out right? Speak to the people that you pay with your tuition money…your university's career office! They will know.

Hello A,

The answer is straightforward: Your university is considered a target school for McKinsey and BCG, but not for Bain.

However, it's possible that Bain might still give you the opportunity to apply through a dedicated link.

Regardless, being a student in a target school for two out of three MBBs is a great achievement, and with some effort and networking, you have a good chance of being recruited by one of them.

Wishing you the best of luck!

Hello,

Based on the information you shared, it seems like your university is a target university for McKinsey and BCG, but not for Bain. I would also check to see if those firms recruit on campus at your university (e.g., do info sessions, workshops, coffee chats, conduct first round interviews) - if so, you are at a target school for them. This is great news, as being at a target school helps you get your foot in the door more easily. However, if Bain does not consider your university a target school, that should not stop you from applying there! It just might take a little bit more effort on your part. I would recommend trying to network with people at the office you are interested in applying to, reaching out via email and LinkedIn, attending events if there are any in your area, and potentially trying to get a referral. Best of luck!

The three firms do not always target the same schools. So yes, it is possible that some will come, and other will not. But also understand that in some cases they may not go, but doesn't mean that they don't want candidates from that school (it can be that they are only able to recruit a limited number of students from there so it is not worth the investment of going there).

Now there's one (kind of) rule in recruiting. The more prestigious you are, the more candidates (or first picks) you get, so you need to go to a fewer number of schools. As such, Mckinsey usually goes to less schools that BCG and Bain, for example.

So if you are a target school for Mck, most likely you are to Bain as well. As I mentioned above, probably Bain doesn't get a lot of candidates from there, and directs its efforts elsewhere.