Thank you! Do you think I should still apply if I don’t meet the A Level requirements? My CV is considerably better this year than last year as I have a big name internship on my CV, university leadership roles, consulting projects, and outside extracurriculars that are largely leadership positions but also just interesting hobbies. My experience I think is great and I go to a top 10 UK uni (not a target) but my A Level grades are holding me back. Oh right ok. I’m worried that’s the case with BCG

I would recommend that you have, first of all, a well-written CV and cover letter. These can compensate significantly for poor grades. Referrals also help a lot, as well as applying broadly. It is possible that certain firms may screen you out based on grades, but I expect this to be the exception rather than the rule.

I may have one referral but I heard in London and Europe in general that referrals don’t take you anywhere like it does in the US. A referral I’m receiving for Bain told me they only get updated on the application status but that is it. Networking I heard doesn’t matter? Application rejects also don’t receive emails that they’re ready for people’s application in the U.K. Unless you get rejected in the final round, in which case you may be told to reapply and keep in contact, there’s really no other updates from them. I’ve had friends from Oxbridge unis apply and get rejected in final round and just before final round but never received anything else from them. So I’m not sure if the process is different in the U.K.?

Networking DOES. Matter. I’ve actually done research on this and looked at the data. Networking is the #1 controllable indicator of success. In the data I looked at, networking effectively led to an 80% chance of getting the interview while not networking resulted in a 20% chance. This is a quick Q&A so I’ll leave out the details, but please be careful with all the rumors you hear from peers (they’re often wrong on most things case/interview related…it’s why us case coaches exist!)

Thank you! Yes McKinsey didn’t respond and it is now passed the deadline. BCG has just over a week to go and may have a referral. But heard in the UK referrals don’t matter. I didn’t apply to McKinsey. Deadline was yesterday and was tempted to but I thought I’ll apply when the timing is better for their grad scheme.

Thank you! Do you think I should still apply if I don’t meet the A Level requirements? I’ve also heard that in the U.K., referrals don’t work as much. I’m being referred for Bain and the only thing that they’ll do is keep the person referring me updated on my application. My CV is considerably better this year than last year as I have a big name internship on my CV, university leadership roles, consulting projects, and outside extracurriculars that are largely leadership positions but also just interesting hobbies. My experience I think is great and I go to a top 10 UK uni (not a target) but my A Level grades are holding me back. Do you know if the BCG ban is true that people can only apply a maximum of two times and after that, they cannot apply again?