Comments on: In Consulting, Which B-School Is No. 1? http://poetsandquants.com/2010/08/23/in-consulting-whos-no-1/ Covering all that matters in the business school world, with in-depth analysis of B-schools rankings and full-time MBA programs Mon, 21 May 2012 14:38:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: McKConsultant http://poetsandquants.com/2010/08/23/in-consulting-whos-no-1/comment-page-1/#comment-12145 McKConsultant Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:47:23 +0000 http://poetsandquants.com/?p=1032#comment-12145 This list is a bit silly for consulting, imo. There's a few schools I'd never list as a "top school for consulting" and a few who definitely should've made the list. Note, I was hired as a pre-MBA consultant at McKinsey in 09, currently working as post-MBA (skipped the MBA). Here's my perspective on the Top 10 list. I'll go bit by bit, based on my experience and that of colleagues, who have attended a large portion of this list: 1. Northwestern (Kellogg) Great school. Definitely NOT the top school for consulting here. The main advantage to Kellogg is that its a top 1-year MBA program (the 2-year MBA program is really not competitive with HBS, Stanford, etc. Among those accepted to multiple, Kellogg tends to be last pick). Kellog is a favorite for pre-MBA hires who want to do their MBA but don't want to spend 2 years on it. Among that crowd, they pick Kellogg if they want to work in the U.S., but the overall perception is that INSEAD is the better 1-year MBA for consultants (the downside being that your connections are mostly outside of the US, as INSEAD is only about 20% American). Note: INSEAD absolutely should have made this list and is the LARGEST base of McKinsey partners (bigger than Harvard). 2. Harvard Business School Should be number 1, together with Stanford. Among consultants the top picks are always Harvard and Stanford. A few prefer Wharton. The reasons here are generally the prestige factor. In terms of getting hired, Harvard and Stanford are great schools to hail from, but the process is very competitive and Harvard is a large school, so its not a guarantee to get into a top consulting firm, though if you graduate cum laude, its at least a guarantee of an interview. 3. Chicago (Booth) Solid school. Ranked too highly, imo. 4. Pennsylvania (Wharton) Solid school. Ranked about right. 5. Michigan (Ross) Ranked WAY too highly. There is just no way you can place Michigan over numbers 6-10. This is completely out of place, in my eyes. Michigan is one of those "almost" schools. It offers you no name cred. Its more like, "its probably ranked" than "wow, you went there" - and for consulting, the wow factor is pretty important. Michigan is a good school, but the hires I know from Michigan always had nosebleed stats (3.8+, super GMAT's, top internships, etc). The average performer at Michigan will get shunned at MBB. 6. Columbia Great school. For some reason more popular for European consultants than American ones. 7. Duke (Fuqua) Good school. Should not be ranked over MIT or Stanford. 8. MIT (Sloan) Good school. Typical profile is the engineer who wanted to move into management. In terms of name cred an amazing piece of resume branding. Sloan is ranked very low on this list. 9. Stanford Why is Stanford number 9? Seriously? I know multiple people who have turned down Harvard for Stanford, and the number of Stanford grads inside McK is very high (especially considering the smaller class size - 400 - v HBS 900). Listing Stanford at 9 is ridiculous. You put Duke, Michigan, and Columbia over this? Makes no sense. 10. New York University (Stern) Stern is a good school. Again, you will need to get good grades to get recruited out of Stern, this goes for most schools, but even more for NYU. Schools omitted, but should definitely have been included: 1) INSEAD 2) London Business School 3) UC Berkeley - Haas This list is a bit silly for consulting, imo. There’s a few schools I’d never list as a “top school for consulting” and a few who definitely should’ve made the list.

Note, I was hired as a pre-MBA consultant at McKinsey in 09, currently working as post-MBA (skipped the MBA).

Here’s my perspective on the Top 10 list. I’ll go bit by bit, based on my experience and that of colleagues, who have attended a large portion of this list:

1. Northwestern (Kellogg)

Great school. Definitely NOT the top school for consulting here. The main advantage to Kellogg is that its a top 1-year MBA program (the 2-year MBA program is really not competitive with HBS, Stanford, etc. Among those accepted to multiple, Kellogg tends to be last pick). Kellog is a favorite for pre-MBA hires who want to do their MBA but don’t want to spend 2 years on it. Among that crowd, they pick Kellogg if they want to work in the U.S., but the overall perception is that INSEAD is the better 1-year MBA for consultants (the downside being that your connections are mostly outside of the US, as INSEAD is only about 20% American). Note: INSEAD absolutely should have made this list and is the LARGEST base of McKinsey partners (bigger than Harvard).

2. Harvard Business School

Should be number 1, together with Stanford. Among consultants the top picks are always Harvard and Stanford. A few prefer Wharton. The reasons here are generally the prestige factor. In terms of getting hired, Harvard and Stanford are great schools to hail from, but the process is very competitive and Harvard is a large school, so its not a guarantee to get into a top consulting firm, though if you graduate cum laude, its at least a guarantee of an interview.

3. Chicago (Booth)

Solid school. Ranked too highly, imo.

4. Pennsylvania (Wharton)

Solid school. Ranked about right.

5. Michigan (Ross)

Ranked WAY too highly. There is just no way you can place Michigan over numbers 6-10. This is completely out of place, in my eyes. Michigan is one of those “almost” schools. It offers you no name cred. Its more like, “its probably ranked” than “wow, you went there” – and for consulting, the wow factor is pretty important. Michigan is a good school, but the hires I know from Michigan always had nosebleed stats (3.8+, super GMAT’s, top internships, etc). The average performer at Michigan will get shunned at MBB.

6. Columbia

Great school. For some reason more popular for European consultants than American ones.

7. Duke (Fuqua)

Good school. Should not be ranked over MIT or Stanford.

8. MIT (Sloan)

Good school. Typical profile is the engineer who wanted to move into management. In terms of name cred an amazing piece of resume branding. Sloan is ranked very low on this list.

9. Stanford

Why is Stanford number 9? Seriously? I know multiple people who have turned down Harvard for Stanford, and the number of Stanford grads inside McK is very high (especially considering the smaller class size – 400 – v HBS 900). Listing Stanford at 9 is ridiculous. You put Duke, Michigan, and Columbia over this? Makes no sense.

10. New York University (Stern)

Stern is a good school. Again, you will need to get good grades to get recruited out of Stern, this goes for most schools, but even more for NYU.

Schools omitted, but should definitely have been included:
1) INSEAD
2) London Business School
3) UC Berkeley – Haas

]]> By: Gerontology Salary http://poetsandquants.com/2010/08/23/in-consulting-whos-no-1/comment-page-1/#comment-6931 Gerontology Salary Sat, 09 Jul 2011 19:02:02 +0000 http://poetsandquants.com/?p=1032#comment-6931 Kellogg? No way! Kellogg? No way!

]]> By: CiD http://poetsandquants.com/2010/08/23/in-consulting-whos-no-1/comment-page-1/#comment-623 CiD Wed, 08 Sep 2010 07:51:28 +0000 http://poetsandquants.com/?p=1032#comment-623 I agree with Sujay and would like to suggest that there should be a list of top European schools in consulting. Or, is it just because those top consulting firms do not mainly hire European school graduates? I agree with Sujay and would like to suggest that there should be a list of top European schools in consulting. Or, is it just because those top consulting firms do not mainly hire European school graduates?

]]> By: John A. Byrne http://poetsandquants.com/2010/08/23/in-consulting-whos-no-1/comment-page-1/#comment-470 John A. Byrne Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:21:05 +0000 http://poetsandquants.com/?p=1032#comment-470 Yes, they certainly do. But you need to check the employment reports of the schools you're interested in to make sure. For example, at IE Business School, 23% of the Class of 2008 (the last year IE posted an employment report on its website) went into consulting. There's an impressive list of consultancies which recruit at IE, including Accenture, Booz & Co., Ernst & Young, etc. But the very top-tier consulting outfits, such as McKinsey & Co., Bain, and Boston Consulting Group, are not listed in IE's employment report. Yes, they certainly do. But you need to check the employment reports of the schools you’re interested in to make sure. For example, at IE Business School, 23% of the Class of 2008 (the last year IE posted an employment report on its website) went into consulting. There’s an impressive list of consultancies which recruit at IE, including Accenture, Booz & Co., Ernst & Young, etc. But the very top-tier consulting outfits, such as McKinsey & Co., Bain, and Boston Consulting Group, are not listed in IE’s employment report.

]]> By: Ojas http://poetsandquants.com/2010/08/23/in-consulting-whos-no-1/comment-page-1/#comment-458 Ojas Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:49:51 +0000 http://poetsandquants.com/?p=1032#comment-458 To add to Sujay's query. Do consulting firms in the US hire from an Insead or an IE? To add to Sujay’s query. Do consulting firms in the US hire from an Insead or an IE?

]]> By: Sujay Shah http://poetsandquants.com/2010/08/23/in-consulting-whos-no-1/comment-page-1/#comment-400 Sujay Shah Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:31:52 +0000 http://poetsandquants.com/?p=1032#comment-400 John, what are the good non-US schools for getting into Consulting? John, what are the good non-US schools for getting into Consulting?

]]> By: Rich http://poetsandquants.com/2010/08/23/in-consulting-whos-no-1/comment-page-1/#comment-394 Rich Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:29:51 +0000 http://poetsandquants.com/?p=1032#comment-394 John, thanks for the quick response. I appreciate the advice. John, thanks for the quick response. I appreciate the advice.

]]> By: John A. Byrne http://poetsandquants.com/2010/08/23/in-consulting-whos-no-1/comment-page-1/#comment-393 John A. Byrne Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:18:11 +0000 http://poetsandquants.com/?p=1032#comment-393 If you want to use the MBA to move out of a position and transition into consulting I wouldn't recommend the EMBA. The reason: the major consulting firms aren't recruiting from those programs. So you would either have to already be in consulting, or have some sort of inside track, to use the EMBA for that purpose. I know it's tempting to go the EMBA route, because it's easier on your life. But there is no replacement for the incredible experience that a two-year, full-time program brings, despite the huge costs. Good luck. If you want to use the MBA to move out of a position and transition into consulting I wouldn’t recommend the EMBA. The reason: the major consulting firms aren’t recruiting from those programs. So you would either have to already be in consulting, or have some sort of inside track, to use the EMBA for that purpose. I know it’s tempting to go the EMBA route, because it’s easier on your life. But there is no replacement for the incredible experience that a two-year, full-time program brings, despite the huge costs. Good luck.

]]> By: Rich http://poetsandquants.com/2010/08/23/in-consulting-whos-no-1/comment-page-1/#comment-392 Rich Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:13:36 +0000 http://poetsandquants.com/?p=1032#comment-392 John, Does this include Kellogg's EMBA program? I have been told that I may be able to apply to both the full-time or EMBA side. The EMBA would be a lot easier for me financially, but my primary goal is to transition from the military. Kellog's Miami program would be an incredible opportunity given the location ( I would be working there and would like to base my civilian career in the area work post-military). But I also understand schools do not want you to use the EMBA program as a career transition tool. I'd be very interested to get your thoughts on this. Thank you. John, Does this include Kellogg’s EMBA program? I have been told that I may be able to apply to both the full-time or EMBA side. The EMBA would be a lot easier for me financially, but my primary goal is to transition from the military. Kellog’s Miami program would be an incredible opportunity given the location ( I would be working there and would like to base my civilian career in the area work post-military). But I also understand schools do not want you to use the EMBA program as a career transition tool.

I’d be very interested to get your thoughts on this. Thank you.

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