How to Get Into Consulting: Routes for Students, Switchers, PhDs

How do people get into consulting?

People get into consulting through five routes: campus recruiting as a bachelor's or master's student, the same campus route from a non-target university, an advanced-degree track for PhDs and professionals, a career switch (often through an MBA) and experienced hiring. Each route ends in the same interview format, so the plan differs mainly in timing and in what you need to prove.

The constant across all routes is the case interview. A candidate who can structure an unfamiliar business problem, calculate without a calculator and state a clear recommendation has a real chance from almost any starting point. The variables are deadlines, entry titles and the story your resume tells.

The funnel: from application to offer

Strategy firms filter applicants in four or five stages. The official process pages describe the stages; the pass rates are estimates, because no major firm publishes them.

Volume explains the low top-line odds. Roughly 300,000 early-career candidates take McKinsey Solve each year, as reported from a McKinsey blog post. The funnel math is broken down further in how many candidates pass McKinsey's test. The useful conclusion: the test and the case rounds are where preparation counts most, and both are open to any applicant who reaches them.

What firms screen for

Firms publish their criteria, and the lists overlap heavily. All of them look for structured problem solving, comfort with numbers, evidence of leadership and a credible reason for joining.

Two further signals matter in 2026. McKinsey encourages AI for practice and forbids it for inventing achievements or answering in live interviews, and BCG's candidate guidelines also forbid using AI to invent or exaggerate experience. Fortune reported in January 2026 that McKinsey's CEO said the firm is looking more closely at liberal arts majors. A strong fit interview built on true stories therefore matters as much as the degree on your resume.

Five entry routes compared

The table summarizes each candidate profile. Entry titles come from firms' own careers pages and vary by office.

From a non-target school or a one-year master's

The US idea of a "target school" travels poorly to continental Europe. Public research universities dominate, and firms spread their events across many campuses: BCG Netherlands, for example, scheduled recruiting events in Eindhoven and Utrecht in fall 2026. Applicants from outside the visited campuses still apply through the same portals and sit the same tests.

Three tactics close most of the gap. First, apply directly and early, since the online test treats every applicant alike. Second, build contact with alumni or consultants before the window opens, and ask specific questions about the office. Third, make the consulting resume do the work a famous university name does elsewhere: quantified results, leadership roles and test scores.

One-year master's students, common in the Netherlands, face a timing problem. Deadlines for the following September often fall in the first weeks of the program, before any master's grades exist. BCG Netherlands accepts provisional master's certificates with grade lists, and McKinsey Netherlands runs several intakes a year, which helps. The Dutch consulting jobs guide covers local firms and language rules.

As a PhD, doctor, lawyer or engineer

Advanced-degree candidates have dedicated tracks at all three MBB firms. McKinsey says PhD, MD, JD and other advanced-degree candidates typically join as Associates, as generalists or in expert roles. Non-MBA master's candidates with fewer than four years between degrees qualify for Business Analyst instead.

BCG's UK advanced-degree page covers PhD students, postdocs and medical students with up to two years of work experience, and promises training built for non-business backgrounds. Bain invites PhD, MD and JD candidates, postdocs, residents and fellows, including graduates from the last three years, and hires them as Associate Consultants in London.

The main adjustment is speed. Academic training rewards completeness; a case rewards a good-enough answer reached quickly and explained to a non-expert. Engineers and data scientists have extra options, since McKinsey lists specialist paths in operations, digital and QuantumBlack alongside the generalist role.

As an experienced hire or career switcher

Experienced hiring runs on a different clock. McKinsey states that it accepts experienced-professional applications throughout the year and places people as consultants, associates or engagement managers according to experience. Bain London moves anyone with more than two years since graduation into its experienced-hire process, and BCG's UK page directs advanced-degree candidates with more than two years of work there too.

Career switchers choose between two paths. A direct application works when your sector expertise matches a practice the firm is building, such as energy, healthcare or digital. An MBA works when you need a reset in title, network and timing; the trade-offs are covered in consulting and the MBA. Big Four and tier-2 firms hire experienced specialists in larger numbers, and many consultants move from there to MBB after two or more years.

Experience never replaces case practice. Experienced hires face the same structure, math and synthesis tests as graduates, often with a sharper focus on their own sector.

Stephan's note: From the interviewer's side of the table, the experienced candidates who struggle usually answer from habit, jumping to the solution their own industry would choose before structuring the problem in front of them.

A 12-month plan

Count back from your target application deadline. For a September 2027 start at an MBB office, that deadline typically falls in fall 2026.

1. Month 12: List 8-12 target firms across MBB, tier-2 and Big Four, and note each office's deadline type (fixed or rolling).
2. Month 11: Fix gaps in your record: a leadership role, a quantitative course or a project with measurable results.
3. Month 10: Attend firm events, on campus or online, and register for advanced-degree programs if eligible.
4. Month 9: Speak to three or four consultants at your target offices about their work and the process.
5. Month 8: Draft a one-page resume and a firm-specific cover letter.
6. Month 7: Learn the case method and start daily mental math drills.
7. Months 6-5: Practice the online tests your target firms use, under time limits.
8. Months 4-3: Run 20-30 live cases with partners and build five fit stories.
9. Month 2: Submit applications early in each window, since many firms review on a rolling basis.
10. Month 1: Sit online tests promptly, then run mock interviews until your first round.

Stephan's book Cracking the Case follows this path from cover letter to final-round case, with the guesstimate principles, three business-case frameworks and three fully worked candidate cases. See the Cracking the Case page for the contents.