Wednesday, August 13, 2014

McKinsey offer rate

First thing to know about applying to McKinsey:

The offer rate is low. Really low. Around 1% globally. That's more competitive than getting your kid into Harvard, even if he started a club that teaches the homeless to plant sustainable organic gardens, and almost as competitive as becoming a prison guard in California (really)

Know this number before you pay a penny for case prep materials thinking those materials will get you a job at McKinsey. 

Does that mean you have a 1% chance of getting an offer at McKinsey?

No. Only a very small subset of people has a 1% chance of getting an offer at McKinsey.

It's binary. 

Top schools: 

If you're an outgoing student at HBS with an impressive background and some interview chops, you've probably got a ~20%* chance of getting an offer. 

Likewise, if you're a Bro who worked at TFA then at Uber and are now at Kellogg, you've got a solid ~20% chance. 

Not top schools: 

If the OVERALL acceptance rate is 1%, but the acceptance rate at the very top business schools is at least 10X that #, then the acceptance rate OUTSIDE of the top schools is very low. Far under 1%. 

So, don't bother applying if you're not at a core school?

Wrong. Still apply. In fact your humble author joined McKinsey from a non-tier school. 

But know your odds going in. Don't put all your eggs in the McKinsey basket. You shouldn't do that for a lot of reasons, but especially because the vast vast vast vast majority of McKinsey applicants will do something other than work at McKinsey. 

*Source: Team Analysis. At Mckinsey, if you're not sure where the data comes from or if you need to make up data, add a "Source: Team Analysis" footnote. If that's too risky make it "Source: Industry Experts".)


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