Top MBA programs and Best Business Schools for Consulting

I've heard from so many people that if you do not have a background in consulting prior to your MBA then getting into it post MBA is very very tough. I was always under the impression that an MBA allows you to switch careers/fields (isn't that what everyone usually says?). Then, could somebody please shed some light on why exactly the switch to consulting might be difficult? Genuinely interested.

I think these are published by schools or at least reported to a number of places such as US News
(number of Admits vs. number of applicants)

Nikhil - question for you really

It is a good question!

Consulting is hard is not that there is discrimination. Actually consulting is open to ALL applicants and is probably the most universally accepting field - you can be a singer or a golfer in your previous career and still be considered seriously by consulting companies as a candidate.

The reason former consultants have a leg up and advantage is the recruiting process. It is very rigorous and consulting companies look for certain traits:
1. We have been told MBB has a 2-3% conversion rate - that's pretty insane
2. Interviewing. Consulting is all about how you present yourself, interview, and perform on the questions. If you have done consulting, you know how to handle the parts of the process and likely you had to interview others so you know what to do right/wrong
3. Prior experience and inside knowledge. You can easier connect with interviewers and know hat they are looking for in your answers so you can compensate for any deficiencies

You may want to check this awesome YouTube session we did with MBB consultants just a year ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjlOBaJimZg

P.S. I have known several people who have been able to convert very high ranking Tech and CPG companies while unable to break through the recruiting barriers in consulting. So while consulting does aim to favor or recruit solely former consultants, consultants tend to preform better. There are probably some intangible factors such as "this person worked in this role" at Deloitte for example and therefore that carries some weight since of these folks may have worked there too and realize that to be a project lead, you really have to be good. Whereas that connection may be lost if someone worked for a regional company as a "Manager" - that does not really say a whole lot.

shivam10

The data source is mainly the class profiles that these schools publish. The "acceptance rate" data was taken from the US News rankings data. You can find more about the acceptance rates at the following link https://gmatclub.com/forum/acceptance-r ... l#p3033372

Hey bb,
Once again, thank you for clarifying this! Will definitely watch the video. This will help me in the future for sure.