Harvard vs McKinsey

Hi! 

It's difficult to compare, since the experiences are substantially different. However, in terms of pure prestige, I would definitely say Harvard is better.

Just to provide you with a concrete example, in Italy McKinsey probably hires around 25-50 people per year (outside-in rough estimate), while there are probably less than 4-5 Italians per year being accepted to the HBS MBA (I'm using the MBA here instead of the bachelor, but the numbers should probably be the same). So, it's easy to understand why the Harvard brand is perceived as more prestigious vs. McKinsey. Not surprisingly, applying as a McKinsey consultant to HBS is hard, while if you apply to McKinsey as an HBS student you are probably already in the top 1% of the applicants.

This holds true for most countries in Europe. I'm not an expert of the US market, yet I'm pretty sure the dynamics would not change much.

I hope this helps!

Hey there,

Not sure you could put a true value on either. Also depends on the geography.

I tend to say a full-time McKinsey offer, however.

Why?

• 99.9% of McKinsey consultants (rough global estimate I made up) did not visit Harvard yet made it to McKinsey.
• There are significantly more Harvard alumni than McKinsey alumni, so the latter club is more exclusive.

Keep in mind that both come with many benefits and are door-openers. Both come with significant cost (investment of time and effort).

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there, 

I'm of the general principle that you learn more by working on something, rather than studying about said thing (even if you study at Harvard!). 

But you did ask about prestige … so that is different. More people would have heard about Harvard than McKinsey. So your grandma or auntie might think higher of you if you joined the former. 

So it's up to you to answer the question: “prestige in whose eyes”? that matter for you. 

Ariadna 

Harvard… but honestly prestige is always about who's the target segment.