Management Consulting Pathway.

I think it's worth making two points here. Firstly, the reputation of the university tends to be far more important than the grade you receive as long as you get a 2.1 or above. This is because often firms filter by university rather than grade so for example a 2.1 for Warwick in economics would get you into more places than say getting 80% from Swansea, this is all about getting you into the interview because once you're there it's not about uni and more about how good the individual is.

Secondly, with A*AB why don't you apply to some of the better unis given how important the uni's relative prestige is in the application process? With those grades I'm sure you could get offers from universities far better than the one's you've listed and that are semi-targets at least. It might be a stretch to get into the Warwick and UCL's of the world with those grades but I'm sure you could get into places like Nottingham, Durham, Bristol, Exeter, Edinburgh for example which would be more likely to land you with a MC interview than any you listed. The one's you've listed, I think most would agree that it would be very hard to get into to MBB or mid-tier, although you might through the really big schemes like big4 consulting, Accenture etc.

As a disclaimer I interned at a boutique consulting firm specialising in the TMT sector over the summer and there wasn't anyone who went to the unis listed. Mainly Oxbridge with some others like the semi-targets I listed. Only exception was one of the MD's went to the university of Stirling but he was the only one. Not saying all consulting firms are like that though, just sharing my experience.

Thanks for the reply, I didn't take Maths at A level so this cuts out a substantial amount of the target/ semi target universities mentioned. My best bet may be Nottingham, Leeds or Edinburgh.

Another question, do you reckon I would have higher prospects if a achieved first so I can do my masters at a target uni after getting my BSc degree or rather; after graduating with my BSc, join a smaller firm to gain work experience for 3+ years and then attempt to apply for top/mid tier firms via that route?

On your first point, I didn't realise you didn't do maths a-level as most Econ students do it. It changes stuff a bit but yeah I think you're right and I would focus on Nottingham (both straight Econ and industrial Econ courses), Edinburgh, St Andrews and then Leeds (in that order). I assume you do know that economics even at undergrad level has quite a lot of maths in?

On your second question, I think the most sensible thing to do would be to apply to spring weeks (1st year) and summer internships in consulting or M&A roles (2nd year). Then apply for grad roles at your desired consulting firms in final year if you didn't receive a return offer from your internship or didn't get one in the first place. You don't actually need a master's for consulting so it's only worth doing one if first you don't get a grad role. But if you don't then yes you should be looking at courses at the target unis in either MiM, Mfin or MSc Econ & fin courses (maybe even A&F as that can be useful for consulting especially at big4). Obviously you should then target LBS, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL and Warwick (probably in that order) and see if you get offers. Failing that then yeah maybe try at the smaller firms and boutiques then transfer to a bigger firm later on.

Ah, thanks a lot for your help. I am aware that Economics BSc is heavily maths based and that is actually one of the reasons why I was drawn to the course. I was considering maths at A level but after achieving a 7 I started to question whether I would be able to cope at A level considering my other subjects were abit 'heavy' and instead took economics. I don't regret it as I love Economics but still miss maths quite a lot.

Thanks for your time, you've definitely put my mind at ease a bit. Have you secured a place in a consulting firm at the moment?

Yeah if you enjoy maths (both calculus and statistics then it's quite a good degree). I often feel like the content is split equally between calculus, stats and economics (each weighted a third).

Happy to have helped. I did a placement year between my 2nd & 3rd year of my economics degree and also a summer internship so I've received graduate offers from both places which is a nice position to be in as I'm just starting my 3rd and final year of uni so will decide which I'm more interested in. My placement was as an economist and the internship was in strategy consulting.

It's worth bearing in mind that you haven't even started university yet so whilst it's good to have career goals and sector interests, be open to the idea that your interests my change over time. I thought I was going to go into banking when I was in your position but found actual economics far more interesting so didn't apply to any banks

I completely agree Economics is really interesting. It was initially my 'filler' subject but now I'm hooked and can't wait to do my undergrad studies.

Also, congratulations on your offers!
It's a great opportunity to get your foot in the door and I do hope you go on to achieve great things. But when you do... I'll message you on LinkedIn- I believe what I just did there is 'networking' loll.
But on a serious note, people tend to slightly forget or not prioritise the importance of soft skills in consulting, such as interpersonal skills but you seem pretty good at it.

Can I ask you how you found the interview process and what uni you went to?