McKinsey application deadlines vary depending on the program or role. It is critical that you submit your McKinsey application on-time to ensure that you have the best chance of being selected for McKinsey’s programs and roles.

 

If you’re finding it difficult to keep track of all of McKinsey’s application deadlines, then this article is for you. As a former MBB Manager and interviewer, I’ve compiled for you a comprehensive list of all McKinsey application deadlines.

 

McKinsey Application Deadlines

 

All McKinsey application deadlines for McKinsey’s various programs and positions are compiled below. We will update this table as soon as we receive official announcements for the upcoming year.

 

	Target Audience	2024 Deadline	2025 Deadline
McKinsey Business Analyst	Undergraduate seniors, Non-MBA Master’s students	August 8	To be announced
McKinsey Sophomore Summer Business Analyst	Undergraduate diversity sophomores	October 7	To be announced
McKinsey Summer Business Analyst	Undergraduate juniors	September 12	To be announced
McKinsey Associate	Second-year MBA students, advanced degree holders	September (Expected)	To be announced
McKinsey Summer Associate	First-year MBA students	November (Expected)	To be announced
McKinsey Inspire	Incoming diversity MBA students	May 13	To be announced
McKinsey Early Access	Incoming MBA students	May 13	To be announced
McKinsey Ignite	Undergraduate freshmen, sophomore, and junior women	March 17	To be announced
McKinsey Insight	Graduate students, post docs, medical residents	March 1	To be announced

 

McKinsey Business Analyst

 

Deadline: August 8, 2024

 

The McKinsey Business Analyst position is the entry-level role at McKinsey for recent undergraduate and non-MBA Master’s students. It is a two-year, full-time position that leads to a promotion to Associate.

 

McKinsey Sophomore Summer Business Analyst

 

Deadline: October 7, 2024

 

The McKinsey Sophomore Summer Business Analyst program is a 10-week management consulting internship for undergraduate sophomores that identify as Black, Hispanic, Latino, or part of Indigenous groups in North America. Interns will be assigned to a client team and contribute to real projects.

 

McKinsey Summer Business Analyst

 

Deadline: September 12, 2024

 

The McKinsey Summer Business Analyst Internship is an entry-level, 10-week internship for undergraduates who have just completed their junior year. Interns will be assigned to a client team and contribute to real projects.

 

McKinsey Associate

 

Deadline: September 2024 (Expected)

 

The McKinsey Associate position is a mid-level role at McKinsey for recent MBA graduates, advanced degree graduates, and working professionals that have three or more years of relevant business experience. It is a two-year, full-time position that leads to a promotion to Engagement Manager.

 

McKinsey Summer Associate

 

Deadline: November 2024 (Expected)

 

The McKinsey Summer Associate Internship is a mid-level, 8 to 10-week internship for MBA students that have just completed their first year of business school. Interns will be assigned to a client team and contribute to real projects.

 

McKinsey Inspire

 

Deadline: May 13, 2024

 

McKinsey Inspire is an immersive two-day event for incoming US MBA students to connect with members of McKinsey’s diversity networks, explore a career in consulting, and refine problem solving and leadership skills. The program consists of case workshops, panels, and networking events.

 

McKinsey Ignite

 

Deadline: March 17, 2024

 

The McKinsey Ignite program is a highly selective, invite-only half-day program for undergraduate women to learn more about consulting, meet McKinsey women, and improve leadership skills.

 

McKinsey Insight

 

Deadline: March 1, 2024

 

The McKinsey Insight program is a virtual two-day workshop for students in North America pursuing a PhD, postdoc, or MD to see what it’s like to work in management consulting. McKinsey Insight is a program tailored to participants with academic backgrounds in STEM and healthcare.

 

McKinsey Early Access

 

Deadline: May 13, 2024

 

McKinsey Early Access is a virtual program for incoming MBA students that consists of webinars and virtual meet-ups to learn more about McKinsey, consulting, and the recruiting process. The program kicks off in late May and has events through early August.

 

McKinsey Recruiting Timelines

 

The McKinsey recruiting timeline generally follows the schedule below.

 

	Internship application timeline	Full-time position application timeline
Undergraduate and non-MBA Master’s students	June to October	June to October
MBA students	November to December	August to September
Advanced degree holders	February to April	June to September
Experienced hires	Typically not offered	Year-round, but especially in March to May

 

McKinsey recruiting timeline for undergraduate and non-MBA Master’s students

 

Recruiting for undergraduate and non-MBA Master’s students takes place from June through October.

 

To be eligible for the internship program, undergraduates should be in their third-year or junior year of school. Non-MBA Master’s students should be in their first-year or penultimate year of school.

 

To be eligible for the full-time position, undergraduates should be in their fourth-year or senior year of school. Non-MBA Master’s students should be in their final year of school.

 

McKinsey recruiting timeline for MBA students

 

Recruiting for MBA students takes place in in the fall and winter. Internship recruiting is intended for first-year MBA students and takes place from November to December. Full-time recruiting is intended for second-year MBA students and takes place from August to September.

 

McKinsey recruiting timeline for advanced degree holders

 

Recruiting for internships and advanced degree programs takes place between February and April and is intended for candidates in their penultimate year of study.

 

Recruiting for full-time positions takes place between June and September and is intended for candidates in their last year of study or recent advanced degree graduates.

 

McKinsey recruiting timeline for experienced hires

 

There are no deadlines for McKinsey experienced hires. McKinsey recruits experienced hires throughout the entire year. However, March to May is a particularly attractive period to apply.

 

McKinsey does experienced hire recruiting to fill in spots that are unfilled after undergraduate and MBA recruiting. Therefore, the March to May period is the recruiting period in-between recruiting cycles where McKinsey typically interviews the most number of experienced hires.

 

How to Prepare McKinsey Application Materials

 

Most applications for McKinsey programs or positions require: a resume, cover letter, test scores, unofficial transcripts, and office preferences.

 

Resume

 

Your resume is the single most important component that will determine whether or not you are extended an interview for any McKinsey program or position.

 

Therefore, you’ll want to dedicate at least a few days perfecting your resume while also getting feedback from peers, your school’s career center, or even consultants that you know.

 

Make sure to follow the tips below to perfect your consulting resume.

 

• Keep your resume to one page only. If it is longer, you’ll need to make your resume more concise and less wordy

 

• Every bullet on your resume should start with a verb in the past tense to show that you have completed or achieved something

 

• Every bullet should have some kind of number or metric in them so that you can quantify your accomplishments and make them sound more impressive

 

• Your resume’s bullets should show a mix of quantitative skill accomplishments (e.g., analyzing data) and qualitative skill accomplishments (e.g., managing or working with others)

 

• Avoid using technical jargon, unfamiliar abbreviations or acronyms, and buzzwords with unclear meanings

 

• Your resume should prioritize showcasing your work experiences, particularly if you have worked at a brand name company

 

• Include personal interests at the end of the resume to give resume reviewers something interesting to read about

 

If you need professional help crafting the perfect resume that will land you consulting interviews, check out our resume review and editing service.

 

Cover Letter

 

If you are a borderline candidate, a well-written consulting cover letter could push your application over the edge and help you get an interview.

 

Make sure to follow the tips below to perfect your consulting cover letter.

 

• Tailor the salutation to the appropriate members of the McKinsey recruiting team

 

• The first sentence of your opening paragraph should be a powerful statement that summarizes your areas of expertise and the number of years of experience

 

• The body paragraphs should focus on why you would be a great fit for McKinsey, focusing on personal impact, entrepreneurial drive, leadership, and problem solving

 

• Keep your body paragraphs concise, but make sure you substantiate the claims you make about your skills or achievements by using concrete examples

 

• Keep your concluding paragraph short and sweet, reiterating why you’d be a great fit for McKinsey and including a call to action to give you an interview

 

• Instead of rephrasing your resume, use the cover letter to provide a narrative that connects your experiences to McKinsey’s needs and culture

 

Test Scores

 

Some McKinsey applications require you to submit your test scores for the SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE, MCAT, or LSAT, depending on which exam you have taken. You will not need to submit an official score report. You will only need to input the numerical scores and the sub-score breakdowns.

 

Unofficial Transcripts

 

Some McKinsey programs and positions require you to submit an unofficial transcript to show the classes you have taken and your cumulative GPA. This does not need to be an official transcript that is directly sent from the school to McKinsey. Instead, you can submit a PDF document that you downloaded from your school’s website.

 

Office Preferences

 

All McKinsey applications will ask you to list your top three office preferences. While these selections are not binding, you should try to select the offices where you’d most likely want to live.

 

You will be asked to give a weight to each of your office preferences such that the sum of all weights adds up to 100%. For example, you may indicate your office preferences as 70% Washington DC, 20% Houston, and 10% Chicago.

 

However, note that the second and third choice offices you select will not have much of an impact on your application. McKinsey typically will only consider you for your top-choice office.

 

How to Prepare for McKinsey Interviews

 

Most interviews for McKinsey programs or positions consist of case interviews, the Personal Experience Interview (PEI), and fit interviews.

 

Case interviews

 

A case interview is a 20 to 40-minute interview in which you are placed in a hypothetical business situation and asked to develop a recommendation to solve a business problem. Case interviews are a special type of interview that all management consulting firms use in their interview process.

 

Examples of common types of case interview questions you could get asked include:

 

• What is causing profitability to decline and what can we do about it?

 

• How can we increase revenues?

 

• Should we enter a new market?

 

• Should we launch this new product?

 

• Should we acquire this company?

 

• How should we respond to this competitor?

 

The business problem that you will be asked to solve can be from any industry or function. Expect to see case interviews in industries ranging from retail to pharmaceuticals to financial services. However, know that no prior knowledge or experience in the industry is required to successfully solve the case interview.

 

Case interviews are used because they closely simulate what the consulting job will be like. In a case interview, you’ll need to use problem solving, quantitative skills, business judgment, and communication to work through the business problem, uncover insights, and make a firm recommendation.

 

Consulting firms, such as McKinsey, like to use case interviews in their recruiting process because they can assess a variety of skills and traits that are required to be a successful management consultant.

 

Personal Experience Interviews (PEIs)

 

The McKinsey Personal Experience Interview, or PEI for short, is used to evaluate a candidate’s personal experiences, skills, and attributes.

 

During the PEI, the interviewer will ask you to provide specific examples from your past experiences that demonstrate certain skills or qualities. These could include leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, communication, and other relevant attributes.

 

The purpose of the PEI is to assess your ability to handle real-world situations and to gauge how you might perform as a consultant.

 

The McKinsey PEI shares some similarities with consulting behavioral questions. These questions ask you to draw upon a time or experience in the past in which you demonstrated a particular skill or trait. Examples of behavioral questions include:

 

• Tell me about a time when you led a team

 

• Describe a time when you had a disagreement with a teammate

 

• Give an example of how you motivate people

 

• Describe a time when you solved a difficult problem

 

However, the McKinsey PEI dives deeper into your answer than a typical behavioral question, taking about 10 to 15 minutes.

 

To answer McKinsey PEIs well, follow these guidelines:

 

• Prepare 6-8 different stories in advance that draw upon your professional and personal work experiences. This ensures that you have prepared answers and stories that you can draw upon no matter what behavioral question is asked

 

• Only select and share experiences that are the most impressive, impactful, or unique. You want to showcase the highlights of your experiences, not just any experience that is relevant

 

• Make sure that you the stories you prepare are collectively diverse. You’ll want to have at least one story that is relevant to leadership, teamwork, problem solving, resilience, integrity, decision making, communication, and interpersonal skills

 

• Structure your answer to help keep your answer clear and easy to follow. Most candidates use the STAR method, which stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result

 

• When giving your answer, cover the Situation and Task sections quickly and spend most of your time focusing on the Action and Result

 

If you want to learn how to answer 98% of behavioral and fit questions in just a few hours, check out our behavioral interview course.

 

Fit interviews

 

McKinsey asks fit questions to assess your genuine passion for consulting and to see if you are actually interested in working at the firm.

 

Most McKinsey programs and positions have an extremely limited number of spots. Therefore, McKinsey wants to ensure that the applicants that they accept will have a high likelihood of wanting to work at McKinsey full-time.

 

There are two common motivational questions that you should prepare for:

 

• Why are you interested in consulting?

 

• Why do you want to work at McKinsey?

 

What To Do If You Miss the McKinsey Application Deadline

 

If you miss a McKinsey application deadline, you should reach out to a McKinsey Recruiter, consider applying to other programs or firms, and prepare for the next recruiting cycle.

 

Reach out to a McKinsey recruiter

 

The first step you should take is to reach out to a McKinsey recruiter. While missing the McKinsey application deadline can be disappointing, recruiters may still be willing to consider your application or provide guidance on your next steps.

 

Be professional and courteous in your communication. Explain your situation briefly and express your continued interest in the position. In some cases, there might be flexibility or additional opportunities to apply at a later date.

 

Consider applying to other programs or firms

 

If the McKinsey application deadline has passed and you cannot apply to a particular McKinsey program or position, explore other consulting firms and programs. Many top-tier consulting firms, such as BCG, Bain, Deloitte, and others, have similar programs and opportunities.

 

You can also consider looking into boutique consulting firms that may have different application deadlines.

 

Prepare for the next recruiting cycle

 

Missing the McKinsey application deadline gives you the opportunity to better prepare for the next recruiting cycle. Use this time to enhance your resume, gain relevant experience, and strengthen your application materials.

 

Here are some steps you can take:

 

• Gain relevant experience: Seek internships, part-time jobs, or volunteer opportunities that build your skills in consulting-related areas, such as data analysis, project management, or strategic planning

 

• Network: Connect with current consultants and McKinsey alumni to learn more about the firm and the industry. Networking can provide insights and potentially lead to referral opportunities

 

• Improve your skills: Consider taking courses in business strategy, business analytics, and communication. These are all valuable skills that will not only help you pass your interviews, but also help you succeed as a consultant

 

• Prepare for interviews: Practice case interviews and behavioral interviews. Utilize resources like case interview prep books, online forums, and mock interview services

 

• Stay informed: Keep up to date with McKinsey’s latest news, insights, and thought leadership. This knowledge can be valuable in your application and interviews

 

Recommended Resources to Land a McKinsey Offer

 

To give yourself the best chance of landing a McKinsey consulting offer, we highly recommend the resources below. Getting help from a former MBB Manager and interviewer can significantly improve your chances of landing a McKinsey offer.

For help landing consulting interviews

 

• Resume Review & Editing: Transform your resume into one that will get you multiple consulting interviews

 

For help passing case interviews

 

• Comprehensive Case Interview Course (our #1 recommendation): The only resource you need. Whether you have no business background, rusty math skills, or are short on time, this step-by-step course will transform you into a top 1% caser that lands multiple consulting offers.

 

• Case Interview Coaching: Personalized, one-on-one coaching with a former Bain interviewer.

 

• Hacking the Case Interview Book (available on Amazon): Perfect for beginners that are short on time. Transform yourself from a stressed-out case interview newbie to a confident intermediate in under a week. Some readers finish this book in a day and can already tackle tough cases.

 

• The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook (available on Amazon): Perfect for intermediates struggling with frameworks, case math, or generating business insights. No need to find a case partner – these drills, practice problems, and full-length cases can all be done by yourself.

 

For help passing consulting behavioral & fit interviews

 

• Behavioral & Fit Interview Course: Be prepared for 98% of behavioral and fit questions in just a few hours. We'll teach you exactly how to draft answers that will impress your interviewer.