Top Business Schools for Consulting 2021

Looking at the school's employment statistics, LBS is truly one of the best MBAs for consulting: Forty percent of LBS’ 2020 MBA grads got jobs in the consulting sector, many of them landing jobs with large consultancies like Boston Consulting, McKinsey, Bain, and Strategy&. The school’s MBA offers various options for students to improve their consulting chops, including a summer consulting project.

The Big Three love Columbia MBAs. Each year, each of the ‘MBB’ firms—McKinsey, Bain, and Boston Consulting— typically hire dozens of Columbia graduates. In all, over one-third of Columbia’s 2020 cohort went into the strategy consulting industry after the MBA.

The percentage of INSEAD MBAs going into the consulting sector generally ranges from between 30 to 40 percent. In 2020, it was whopping 51 percent—the highest rate of all schools surveyed by FIND MBA. INSEAD remains a major feeder school for large consulting firms in Europe, with hundreds of the Insead 2020 cohort going into firms like McKinsey, Boston Consulting, Bain, and others.

Although the school does not offer an MBA concentration in Consulting, it does offer a major in Managing Organizations. Generally, over thirty percent of any given Kellogg MBA cohort goes into the consulting industry. In 2020, three of the top hiring companies of Kellogg MBAs were consulting firms McKinsey, Bain, and the Boston Consulting Group, who, combined, recruited over 100 Kellogg MBA graduates. 

Forty-one percent of 2020 Darden MBA grads went into the consulting field, working for firms like A.T. Kearney, Deloitte Consulting, and Bain & Company. Darden offers an MBA concentration in Strategy Consulting.

Over 31 percent of Sloan’s 2020 MBA cohort went into the consulting industry, with many getting hired by either McKinsey (20 grads), Boston Consulting (36), or Bain (13). Almost 40 percent of all MBAs got jobs with a consulting or strategic planning function.

Over 36 percent of 2020 Yale MBAs went into functional roles in consulting—either internal consulting or external. Yale grads are regularly snapped up by McKinsey, Booz Allen Hamilton, and the Boston Consulting Group.

Forty-one percent of 2020 Ivey MBAs went into the consulting industry - the highest rate of all Canadian business schools surveyed by FIND MBA. Many of the school’s graduates end up in the Toronto area, where there are headquarters for many management consulting firms. The school’s MBA offers a range of consulting-oriented electives in the Corporate Strategy & Leadership area.

IESE’s MBA provides a proven record for transitioning students into the consulting sector. Some 33 percent of last year’s IESE MBA class ended up in consulting firms (even though only 12 percent of the class had any previous experience in the field.) Grads have gone into consulting firms such as AT Kearney, Roland Berger, the Boston Consulting Group, and others.

Location-wise, Cass’ London footprint can’t be beat, in terms of access to the top consulting firms. The school’s most recent employment part suggests that 43 percent of MBA grads went into the consulting sector. The school’s MBAs have gone into top consulting firms like McKinsey and Bain & Company.