In A Huge Year For Consulting MBAs, These Schools Were The Top Industry Feeders

Let’s look at the top 10 U.S. schools. The average placement rate for consulting gigs at one of these elite schools is 29.2%, and the average median base starting salary is $158,250. All of the top 10 schools report a $30K median signing bonus except Columbia Business School ($25K), and UC-Berkeley Haas, which reports a $30,348 mean.

Year-over-year, six of the top 10 schools are up by an average of 12.8%, and three are down by an average of 6.8%. One, Stanford, is flat. Six are up and four are down over the three-year window. See below for details.

The average consulting industry salary total for all 25 schools that report median totals is $159,854, which is remarkably close to the average at the top 10: $161,600. Doubtless, if we could add some of the other 10 schools that report averages instead of medians, this would not be the case. Well OK, let’s try it! The grand total of 2019 consulting salaries at 35 leading B-schools — regardless of median/mean — is $142,692. Subtract the top 10 and that figure drops to $135,129. So you see, the top schools really are the top schools, after all.