Bain C

It’s well known that the mainstream recruiters of MBA talent have favorite hunting grounds for their future employers. Those lists tend to be highly guarded, in part because a company would not want to discourage MBAs from other schools from applying. But sometimes a firm will show its hand in special programs designed to get to know incoming students. That is the case with Bain & Co. for its ExperienceBain summer learning program.

All of the MBB have similar programs for incoming MBA students. The Bain list differs significantly from those at McKinsey, which only has 17 targeted schools for its Early Access program (see McKinsey’s 17 Target Business Schools), or the Boston Consulting Group, which includes a broader range of 28 schools but is U.S.-centric with one exception: The University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management (see BCG’s 28 Target Business Schools).

In contrast, Bain includes a bevy of 40 different schools, many of them outside the U.S. The firm’s target list opens the door to incoming MBAs from INSEAD and HEC Paris in France, London Business School, Cambridge Judge and Oxford Saïd in the U.K., IESE Business School, ESADE and IE Business School in Spain, Italy’s SDA Bocconi School of Management, ESCP Business School with its six campuses in Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Turin & Warsaw. In all, Bain recruits MBAs from 50 to 60 business schools so not all of the MBA programs are listed among this target group for the pre-MBA experience.

‘WILL HELP YOU PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD AT SCHOOL AND IN YOUR FUTURE CAREER’

This is typically a highly selective program, but due to the pandemic, this year it is virtual and by registration, meaning that applicants need not apply to attend. Bain will, however, make some parts of the program more exclusive. Registration is expected to go live on Bain’s website on Monday, April 12th. Bain describes the program as an opportunity to get a feel for life as a consultant. “Whether you know consulting is where you want to be, or you’re still exploring your options, our virtual pre-MBA program, ExperienceBain, will help you put your best foot forward at school and in your future career,” according to the firm. “You’ll leave with new skills, experiences and connections with our people, our affinity groups and your future classmates.”

Translation: The program gives the consulting firm an early look at incoming MBA talent. For participants, it provides a glimpse into what a career in consulting might be like and gives students a leg up on landing a summer internship between their first and second years of the MBA program and ultimately a full-time job offer.

The other target schools, of course, include the big brand powerhouses that dominate the top of most MBA rankings. It will surprise no one to know that every M7 school is on the list: Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT Sloan, Booth, Kellogg and Columbia. Nor will it be surprising to see the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business or UC-Berkeley’s Haas School among the targets.

TARGET SCHOOLS ON BAIN’S FAVORED LIST THAT MIGHT GO OVERLOOKED BY MBA APPLICANTS

But it also includes several MBA programs that might be overlooked by applicants. Among them are Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management, Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, Southern Methodist University’s Cox School, Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business, and the University of Texas’ Jindal School of Management in Dallas.

Despite the much more expansive list of target schools at Bain, there are a few highly ranked programs noticeably absent, including the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.

Bain’s Target Business School List For Its Pre-MBA Summer Experience

Business School MBA Program	University
Anderson School of Management	University of California-Los Angeles
SDA Bocconi School of Management	Bocconi University
Booth School of Business	University of Chicago
Columbia Business School	Columbia University
Cox School of Business	Southern Methodist University
Darden School of Business	University of Virginia
ESADE Business School	Ramon Llull University
ESCP Business School	ESCP
Foster School of Business	University of Washington
Fuqua School of Business	Duke University
Goizueta Business School	Emory University
Haas School of Business	University of California-Berkeley
Harvard Business School	Harvard University
HEC Paris	École des hautes études commerciales de Paris
IE Business School	IE University
IESE Business School	University of Navarra
INSEAD	Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires
Jindal School of Management	University of Texas-Dallas
Johnson School of Management	Cornell University
Jones Graduate School of Management	Rice University
Judge Business School	University of Cambridge
Kelley School of Business	Indiana University
Kellogg School of Management	Northwestern University
Kenan-Flagler Business School	University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
London Business School	London Business School
Marriott School of Business	Brigham Young University
McCombs School of Business	University of Texas-Austin
McDonough School of Business	Georgetown University
Olin Business School	Washington University
Owen Graduate School of Management	Vanderbilt University
Ross School of Business	University of Michigan
Saïd Business School	Oxford University
Scheller College of Business	Georgia Institute of Technology
Sloan School of Management	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Stanford Graduate School of Business	Stanford University
Stern School of Business	New York University
Tepper School of Business	Carnegie Mellon University
The Wharton School	University of Pennsylvania
Tuck School of Business	Dartmouth College
Yale School of Management	Yale University