I am starting my bachelor in Bocconi this year, I've also been accepted to top UK unis but ultimately chose Bocconi for scholarship considerations.
I am originally from the middle east, my main goal is to break into MBB. I figured that breaking into MBB in Europe is unlikely as I don't speak Italian and that London consulting is heavy Oxbridge. Is it possible to get into MBB offices in the UAE from Bocconi? Where I can also leverage my Arabic skills.
Hello,
Nice to hear that you choosed Italy for your bachelor!
You can definetely join Middle East offices of MBB. I have done some interviews there and I know a lot of Italians that work there after studying in Italy.
You can also have some chances in European countries that are english friendly like Scandinavians.
Feel free to text me if you want to discuss this further,
Luca
Hi there,
I have a few suggestions
1) I agree, it's not worth it to apply to Italy
2) Apply to other English-based countries in Europe
3) Apply in the UAE
Regardless of all of these options, make sure to network heavily. Then apply to the companies/offices where you already have spoken to people (and ideally have a referral)
Thank you for your response. I have done some research European offices, it seems that geneva and Brussels require french, Zurich requires German, and Amsterdam requires dutch for McKinsey and BCG, whereas Bain only recommends it. I'll look into the Nordic offices.
Hi,
That's a bit tricky. It's a great school and you should apply. However, chances are high that the on-campus recruiting will be partly in Italian. Thus it could make sense to apply not following your campus guidelines (i.e. apply earlier). The best way is to get a referral from someone in MENA who could check the best strategy with a recruiter
Best
Thank you for responding. I thought that OCR is only Italian for the Milan office. Is getting a referral a requirement in order to be eligible to apply?
Hi A!
First of all, congratulations on getting these offers and eventually deciding on Bocconi!
Thinking about Europe, I do suggest to look into the language requirements of different offices and evaluating your chances office by office. London is not the only office that only requires English. Besides, Amsterdam, Brussels and the Nordics are also offices that accept candidates without local language skills. Though this of course firm-specific and you should reach out to local recruiting teams to get the latest intel.
Regarding acceptance chances, you are right that London has a strong focus on Oxford & Cambridge. However, these are not requirements per se, so there is a realistic chance to get in, coming from other schools. The other EU offices typically work the same: While all offices typically have schools they are familiar with and can process applications easily, they will not reject you just because you are coming from Bocconi.
If you should apply to some of these firms, you would need to network to meet people from the respecive offices to understand as much as possible about the profiles they are looking for and the specific requirements they apply.
As most firms offer to have your application sent to multiple offices, there is no harm in having your application forwarded to UAE and European offices. Several of the candidates that I coached in the past were able to secure offers in regions outside their home country.
Hi there,
Congrats on being accepted in Bocconi with a scholarship, that’s a great achievement.
In terms of Bocconi as a good school for MBB in the Middle East, it depends on the company. If you look on LinkedIn, you will see there are several people from Bocconi at BCG, but very few at McK and Bain – which will make difficult to network.
In terms of Europe, the other realistic offices you can target besides London with English only are:
Remember though that you have to show a good reason to target a specific country and show some degree of connection with it. Thus for you the Middle East seems definitely the best option.
Best,
Francesco
Hi there,
You can definitely apply to join an MBB in the Middle East. There are many people who studies in Bocconi in those offices (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, etc.) and the school is quite known in the industry.
All the best,
Mehdi
Dear A,
I would recommend you to apply to MBB in the Middle East. Otherwise, you can try english speaking offices in Europe like - Brussels, Scandinavia, Amsterdam.
If you need any help or advice, feel free to reach out.
Best,
André
