McKinsey vs BCG vs Bain - Which is the best & why?

Many top MBA aspirants dream of getting into the prestigious MBB (McKinsey-BCG-Bain) firms for good reason. For one, they are the cream of the lot and are considered as the fast track to CXO level roles. They are also know as knowledge accelerators. From experience I can tell you that a year spent at such firms teaches you much much more given the diversity of projects, training on best practices and working with highly intelligent and smart co-workers.

At both top Global MBA programs like Harvard, Stanford and top local programs like IIM ABC, MBB are all day zero companies. Each of these firms are leaders in their own right all over the world and in India. Their alumni have gone on to become CXOs in some of the world's largest companies. So which one is the best out of these three? 

The truth is that the preference part comes in only when someone has worked in all three firms. I've seen this happen very rarely. However, I've worked on the client side with ALL THREE firms and hence am reasonably placed to discuss how they compare. During MBA, one of my best friends chose McKinsey vs. others, the reason was that he liked the partner more than the ones for other firms. Another chose BCG for the same reason. From a career perspective, the learning and skill acceleration is similar across the three.

McKinsey is the largest strategy consulting firm in the world and as such the size of an average practice is bigger than that for BCG and Bain. This may attract some students. While I’m not aware of the latest numbers, in India, McKinsey and BCG are bigger firms while Bain’s fast making inroads.

Due to it’s sheer size, McKinsey hires maximum number of MBAs out of the three. So there are just more positions available at McKinsey vs. the rest. In my US experience, McKinsey engagements were shorter (2–3 months) whereas BCG/Bain’s were longer. Work ethic was similar, though I found BCG consultants more intellectual (but again, this is from a limited sample size of 2-3 engagements with each of the firms). Bainies seemingly appeared most chilled out among the three.

The reason that the comparison is difficult is because all three firms focus on getting the right interns and then offering them PPOs. This is largely true for India. In the NYC and SFO/Silicon Valley Offices for these firms, 2/3rd to 3/4th of MBA hires were summer interns and only 1/3rd to 1/4th were through final year placements. Once the MBA student becomes familiar with the partners and others during his/her internship, it’s rare for that person to refuse a PPO and join one of the other two.

My friends who are partners in some of these firms have shared that the firm culture really varies from city to city. A BCG NY will have a different culture vs. BCG LA - just something to think about.

If you are lucky to get offers from all three, it will ultimately boil down to how much you like the people you see around - since everything else is comparable.

Note: I’ve answered many similar queries in My Quora Space, Indians Aiming@ IvyLeague feel free to visit & follow.

Consider following me on quora and look me up on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/sumeetverlekar

How can a candidate get into top global MBA programs? I'm not from IIT

It’s possible for an applicant from a no name university to get an admit from top tier MBA programs. You’ve got to focus on the tangibles and intangibles and outperform an average applicant to these schools. Read on…

First, the tangible things you’ve got to do:

Test Scores: Get a test score ideally higher than the school average. With a higher score, you’re helping the adcom pull up their score average. Scores in excess of 730 are desirable.

GPA: A higher GPA shows a higher drive to succeed academically and make most of the offerings in these highly competitive programs. It will help even further if you’re ranked in top 5–10% of your class.

Employers/Undergrad Brand: While quality experience can be secured in any
company, top schools value where you come from. So if you don’t have a known undergrad brand, try getting an experience with a known employer brand. The schools want to make sure that their application is not the first time that you have competed and won vs. a highly talented competitive pool.

Choice of Recommenders: Assuming that you will pick recommenders who have observed your work first hand and closely, having a recommender who is a school alumnus can only help you. They’ve been in competitive environments before and their evaluation about you would matter to the adcoms.

Legacy: If your parents, siblings or close relatives have attended, do communicate that in your application.

Next, the intangibles:

Co-curriculars & Extracurriculars: IMO, your co-curriculars and extracurriculars do move the needle for the adcom if they are remarkable. Remarkable would be achievements that are at international or national level. Yes, winning a college level competition may be important for you but 100s of applicants would have won at a college level. The proportion of winners at higher levels is much lesser and hence will standout for the adcoms

Leadership experiences: These can come from both professional and personal life. The choice of the examples you pick to communicate is crucial. Each experience needs to be - a) Highly challenging, b) Showcase innovation, influencing and other coveted leadership competencies, c) Should result in adding significant value to yourself and your organization/community

Community Service: It’s wonderful to take time to give back. However, unless the experience is significant and has longevity, it’ll not likely impact your admit decision.

Engagement with the school: Networking with alums, students and attending school sessions are important in demonstrating interest and I’d highly recommend them. Not only do they enable you to get an authentic perspective on the school and your fit, you may make contacts and get experiences that can help the quality of your application tip over the edge into admit land.

Ultimately, besides scores and GPA, your key docs are resume, essays and letters of recommendation. Every school is unique and the above docs, besides positioning you as a top applicant, should also demonstrate your understanding of these unique features.