Deloitte and PwC are described as more competitive.
Like all the MBB firms, McKinsey has offices worldwide, but its presence in Germany, Dubai, and China overpowers competitors both in numbers and in the range of expertise offered. Some of the most competitive offices to break into include McKinsey New York, McKinsey Chicago, and McKinsey Boston.
Is BCG more prestigious than McKinsey? Both McKinsey & Company and BCG are highly prestigious management consulting firms, and their prestige can vary based on factors such as industry reputation and individual experiences.
The three consulting firms widely regarded as constituting the Big Three, or MBB, are McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company.
While McKinsey and the other top firms are heavily represented by graduates of Ivy League universities (and their international counterparts), it is not staffed exclusively this way. The story that follows is very instructive for anyone applying from a non-target school.
McKinsey, Bain, and BCG don't have a strict GPA cutoff, but they do typically consider anything from 3.6 up as a strong GPA. However, it's not quite that simple. For instance, you may have a 3.4 GPA but have top scores on your SAT or GRE, so all of these academic results will be reviewed.
McKinsey's recruiting process is one of the most competitive in the world. The firm typically hires candidates with Ivy League backgrounds and/or prestigious work histories. McKinsey is also known for pioneering the recruitment of advanced professionals with non-business degrees to its consulting teams.
Taking the McKinsey Solve is now mandatory for all candidates. In the past, some senior consultant positions recruitment at McKinsey did not require taking Solve, but now everyone must take it.
The Big 4 firms in management consulting are Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (Deloitte), KPMG International (KPMG), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and Ernst & Young (EY). The term “Big 4”, however, comes from the accounting industry where these four firms dominate the market.
The consulting firms considered as tier 1 firms are the 3 largest strategy consulting firms: McKinsey & Company, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Bain & Company. They have a long history and are considered the most prestigious firms globally. The acronym "MBB" is widely used to label them (McKinsey, BCG, Bain).
We can estimate that based on job openings for students, Deloitte's acceptance rate is around 3.7% (which makes sense, considering it's also the biggest of the Big Four), based on 2,500 entry level job openings and 250,000 total applicants (which includes applicants to non-entry level roles).
We would, however, say that the minimum GPA required is 3.0. But if you find that yours is a bit lower than that, just work on your GPA for grad school, gain work experience, or take on leadership roles during your academic career. These are called compensating factors.
KPMG, the smallest of the Big Four by most metrics, is tougher to parse. According to careers advice site thecambridgeconsultant, the firm received around 50,000 applicants to 3,900 roles in the USA, an acceptance rate of around 7.8%.
The General GPA Cut-Offs used by Consulting Firms
The GPA cut-offs used vary by consulting firm and also by your major. The top three consulting firms, McKinsey, BCG, and Bain, have the highest GPA cut-offs. Generally speaking: A strong GPA is > 3.7 on a 4.0 scale.
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The second largest of the prestigious “MBB” (McKinsey, The BCG, or Bain & Company), Boston Consulting Group is one of the most selective of the Top 3 consulting firms, just behind McKinsey, using a rigorous and challenging hiring process.
Preferred applicants have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above.
The most prestigious firms are McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. Next most prestigious are "Tier 2" firms such as Kearney, Accenture, and LEK. This tier also includes the strategy consulting arms of the Big 4 firms, including Deloitte Monitor, EY Parthenon, and PwC's Strategy&.
McKinsey's salary for entry-level consultants in the United States likely ranges from $100,000 to $140,000 per year, while the figure for MBA-level/experienced Associates can be over $200,000.
The acceptance rate for job offers at McKinsey is estimated to be around 1-2% of applicants.