Will an unknown school deter me from getting a chance?

Hi Gage,

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your questions:

• First of all, while top consulting firms prefer applicants from so-called target universities, your situation is not necessarily a deal-breaker. However, you will definitely need to compensate for the non-target university, e.g. through excellent academic results, highly relevant professional experience and/or a very strong referral. Ultimately, you won't know until you apply.
• Moreover, the background check is only there to confirm the accuracy of the information in your application files, so you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

You can find more on this topic here: How to deal with a rejection from a consulting company.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your application, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi Gage,

1) Will the unknown university (University of Maine at Presque Isle) deter top (or even mid-tier) consultancy Firms?

Unfortunately if your school is a non-target, your chances of receiving invitations in general will be lower. To understand the exact chances, you can check on LinkedIn how many alumni of your school are there for your target companies. 

You might want to try to compensate for the non-target brand with a referral to increase your chances. You can find more on referrals below:

▶ How to Get an MBB Invitation

2) And if I somehow make it to the background check, will the transfer credits deter them? 

You mean the fact that you changed your degree? This should not be an issue if you pass the screening (the background check is actually done after the offer).

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi there,

your best shot will be to try to get internal referrals from the consulting companies you intend to apply to. Coming from an “unconventional” school like that, you will need to do a lot of networking so you can present your case and illustrate that you'd be a good fit for the company. A mere “anonymous” online application in such a situation would probably just get you filtered out during the CV screening stage. 

While the school's reputation is just one piece of the puzzle, you'd still need to be very strong in the remaining areas (e.g. previous consulting experience, relevant internships) to compensate for a non-target school background if you are applying as a fresh graduate. If you apply as an experienced hire, the academic aspects lose their importance over time of course.

Hope that helps to give a general overview

Hi, Gage

Nice to meet you. I'm gonna try to build on the answers from the experts that have already answered you. As you can see, being from a non-target school might reduce your overall chances of getting an offer. However, this is a statisticall observation, meaning that it is not true for everyone every time and everywhere. It does not mean that you do not have a chance. On the contrary, I have met people that came from non-target schools myself. Therefore I would like to suggest you 3 options that might increase your chances of getting an offer:
1. Compensation: to compensate for the fact that you have a “less prestigious” diploma, you can focus on present either excellent grades on your academic record and/or interesinting professional stories, specially if you are older and have acquired specialised expertise.

2. Multiple applications: I recommend you to apply to more than just the most famous consulting firms, but instead to 10 or more of them if you can - I did that back in 2016 and it payed off. This strategy increases your chances because of a) statistical probability (you never know which firms are opening new projects understaffed and need as many good people as possible and which ones are just seeking for 1 or 2 people) and b) because with each interview you do with one firm you get significantly better for the next one.

3. Geography: if that is the case for you, you can consider applying to other geographies, including different countries, where the name of the institution you attended is not directly tied to any sort of prestigious. If you happen to know other languages and /or if you know of countries where there are typically more demand for consultants (e.g., Middle East and Australia need more people from times to times), that might be a good way to start.

I hope that helps you ellaborate your stratagey to increasing  your chances to getting an offer at consulting.

Best of luck!

Anderson

Answers seem to be considering this in a binary way: target vs. non-target school.

In reality, it goes deeper than that. It may not be a target school, but a reputable school nonetheless and as such top candidates are still considered when they apply. Let's say it's not a top 20, but a top 50 school… they'll need to see a better academic performance and other strong qualities, but if they see them the candidate still has a decent chance. 

But if you go downward in that list, and move to a school that doesn't have much of a brand name and is pretty much unknown, your chances of being invited to an interview are close to zero.

Regarding transfer of credit, I don't think that is an issue.

Hi, 

Going to a non target school unfortunately can significantly impact chances of getting in. If you are going to a non standard school it makes it even harder as consulting firms can be pretty traditional in their recruitment practices. My suggestion would be to reach out to alumni from your program in successful careers in consulting to ask for advice on how to get in. Having gone through the process, they are likely to be able to guide you well.

Best,

Udayan

Hi there,

If you are applying for US-based MBB offices, the school could indeed be a major issue.

There are ways around it (no guarantees):

• Networking and referrals from partners
• Applying with smaller firms first, working there for 2-3 years, then making a transition
• MBA a few years in your career and then move to MBB

All the best,

Florian