Jobs Finished... I got McKinsey and Bain. Here are my insights.
I secured a 2027 Summer Business Analyst from McKinsey at a major office, and also secured a 2027 Bain offer for a smaller office. For my background, I attend a T25 school and did not network for McKinsey, BCG, or Bain. I come from a humanities background. There is a large consulting community here, and dozens of kids apply to each office. Below are outlined a few of my insights for this year's recruiting:
For schools within the T15, and even T25 to some extent, networking is overrated for the majority of offices. It varies between McKinsey, Bain, and BCG (Bain cares more about analyst referrals and is much less likely to hand them out). But overall, for McKinsey/Bain, referrals are not necessary to receive an R1 interview. Plenty of kids I know received R1 for NYC, SF, Boston, etc., with no networking. Me included. Yes, it helps, but it is by no means necessary.
Casing will only get you so far for the Superday. These partners do. not. care. On average, my case across all of the partners/hiring managers probably lasted around 15 minutes. They genuinely care so little about the case that it shocked me. Focus on your behavioral questions instead, and overall be a personable person.
Do not case or prep the night before your interview. There is nothing you can learn in that night before that will change your outcome. Go watch a basketball game. Relax and sleep early.
You have to structure your casing practice around the specific firm. Dozens of kids just grinded Darden casebooks out over and over again, but never structured their learning based on how each firm conducts their cases. Learn which firms are interviewer-led vs. interviewee-led, which ones need clarifying questions, and which ones will allow you to take time on exhibits, etc.
Frameworks above all. Please don't do some product, placement, people, generic framework bullshit. Actually do framework drills to make unique frameworks that stand out from the crowd. Learn to communicate your framework concisely. This is the biggest pitfall and weakness that 90% of candidates struggle with in this case. Even if you think you are good, put your prompt into Claude and watch it spit out a framework 10x better than yours.
6. 70% of this process is luck. If you get turned down do not give up. This is my biggest takeaway from this process. It's a complete crapshoot. Whether you get an interview or pass through R1 or R2 is largely luck-based. Whether you get partners who share interests with you, whether your partner is in a good mood, or what type of case you will get are all factors out of your control. Focus on what you can improve and do that, but if you get turned down, it's not necessarily all your fault. Pick your head up and try again.
Feel free to comment or PM with any questions or if you'd like to case.