CONSULTING STRENGTHS EXTEND BEYOND KELLOGG, INSEAD and TUCK
For the purposes of this post, we’ve focused our attention on Kellogg, INSEAD and Tuck, but that is in no way meant to suggest that these three schools are the only ones you should consider if your career choice is consulting. Indeed, there are many other schools that command the attention of consulting recruiters and send dozens of their graduates into high-paying consulting roles.
At Columbia Business School, for example, McKinsey, Bain and BCG between them took 100 CBS grads in 2014, and a full third of the CBS class went into consulting that year. Students can hone their consulting skills while in school by participating in the student-run Columbia Small Business Consulting Program, which matches MBA students with local small businesses and nonprofit organizations for semester-long consulting engagements.
The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, meanwhile, features the distinctive Multi-Disciplinary Action Program (MAP), which takes place during the second half of the winter quarter. During MAP, student teams are paired with companies in the U.S. and abroad to complete a significant consulting assignment. The teams work for Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs and nonprofits on projects related to business plan development, human resource planning, marketing, process improvement, growth strategies and more.
And the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School offers its students a Global Consulting Practicum each spring. As part of this 1.5-credit course, student teams work with groups from one of 11 international partner schools to support a client’s entrance into or growth in the North American market, traveling to the client’s site during winter break and returning to Wharton to work on the project. Wharton’s student-run Consulting Club also hosts an annual Consulting Conference that brings together industry leaders and experts as keynote speakers and panelists. Platinum sponsors of the 2015 conference were McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Deloitte, Strategy& and Accenture.
All of this is to say that many of the leading business schools have proven strengths in consulting. We hope through this post to have helped you get a better understanding of how to compare and contrast the consulting offerings at different top schools as you narrow in on the choice that makes the most sense for your individual goals.
