The McKinsey Early Access (MEA) program introduces incoming MBA students to McKinsey and a career in consulting while helping participants build a supportive community.

 

This is an extraordinary opportunity to get a head start on consulting recruiting by learning more about McKinsey and meeting McKinsey recruiters and colleagues.

 

If you’re thinking about applying to the McKinsey Early Access program, this comprehensive article will tell you everything you need to know, including tips for the application and next steps after submitting your application.

 

What is McKinsey Early Access?

 

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.

 

All McKinsey Early Access events are not mandatory. You may attend as many or as few events as you choose.

 

All McKinsey Early Access applicants will receive:

 

• Access to webinars throughout the summer to learn more about McKinsey’s work, culture, and people

 

• Invitations to virtual meet-ups with McKinsey consultants and recruiters

 

• Education on what consulting is

 

• Information on McKinsey Summer Associate Intern opportunities

 

• Recruiting tips to help navigate the McKinsey recruiting process

 

• Early access to taking the McKinsey Solve assessment game

 

• Opportunities to network with other MBA students

 

A select group of McKinsey Early Access applicants will also receive:

 

• Invitations to events hosted by McKinsey’s diversity and inclusion networks, including McKinsey Inspire and the McKinsey Women’s Leadership Summit

 

• Invitations to virtual and in-person networking opportunities with McKinsey colleagues

 

• Touchpoints with their MBA program’s McKinsey recruiter

 

• An introduction to one of the offices that they’re interested in

 

There is no cost or risk in applying to McKinsey Early Access, so we highly recommend that all students interested in consulting or McKinsey sign up for this program.

 

McKinsey Early Access Eligibility

 

To be eligible for the McKinsey Early Access program, candidates must be admitted to a full-time MBA program in the United States. Dual degree program students are eligible to apply, including MD/MBAs and JD/MBAs.

 

Part-time and Executive MBA candidates are not eligible for this program.

 

McKinsey Early Access Deadline

 

The deadline to complete the McKinsey Early Access form is May 13. You should always check the official McKinsey Early Access website to confirm the deadline for the upcoming year.

 

Your application to the McKinsey Early Access program will not have any impact on your candidacy for McKinsey internships and full-time opportunities.

We've also put together an article that compiles all McKinsey application deadlines for their internships, full-time positions, and other programs.

 

McKinsey Early Access Application

 

The McKinsey Early Access application requires a resume, office preferences, and indication of interests in other McKinsey programs.

 

Resume

 

Your consulting resume is the single most important component that will determine how many McKinsey events and programs you’ll get into.

 

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.

 

McKinsey looks for people who demonstrate strong problem solving skills, inclusive leadership, entrepreneurial drive, and the ability to make a personal impact.

 

They look for examples of these qualities across your full-time jobs, internships, research experiences, volunteer work, part-time jobs, and military service.

 

McKinsey recommends that for your resume, you describe what you did and why it mattered. For example, what problems have you solved? How have you made your work stand out? How did you work with others? What skills have you developed?

 

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.

 

Office preferences

 

The McKinsey Early Access form will ask for your top three office preferences. You should pick the offices based on your interests for future summer and full-time opportunities. Pick offices where you would actually want to live after graduation.

 

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% San Francisco, 20% New York, and 10% Chicago.

 

Your office preferences are not binding, but they help McKinsey provide further information to you on these offices and help connect you with McKinsey colleagues in those locations.

 

Interest in other McKinsey programs

 

The McKinsey Early Access form will contain a section to indicate your interest in McKinsey Inspire and McKinsey’s Women Leadership Summit.

 

McKinsey Inspire is a program that is part of McKinsey Early Access, but designed for full-time MBA students who identify as Black, Hispanic/Latino, and Indigenous. Applicants accepted into McKinsey Inspire will be notified in June.

 

McKinsey’s Women Leadership Summit takes place in late fall and is designed for women.

 

You must indicate your interest in these programs on the application to be considered. You should also complete the affinity interest form so that McKinsey can tailor your experience with McKinsey based on your interests.

 

Next Steps After Signing Up for McKinsey Early Access

 

After submitting the McKinsey Early Access program, all applicants will be asked to take the McKinsey Solve and some applicants may be invited to a one-on-one coffee chat with their school’s McKinsey recruiting team.

 

McKinsey Solve

 

After submitting the McKinsey Early Access application, all applicants will be given three days to complete the McKinsey Solve, a 60-minute problem solving game.

 

The McKinsey Solve is a 60-minute online pre-interview screening test consisting of two simulation exercises, ecosystem building and the Redrock case study. It assesses a candidate’s cognitive abilities including critical thinking, decision making, and systems thinking.

 

The test is similar to an ecology-themed video game where players engage in tasks like building food chains, protecting species, and managing ecosystems.

 

The McKinsey Solve assessment does not require any business knowledge or video game experience. The assessment is taken at home, allowing candidates to use resources such as pen, paper, and calculators.

 

The McKinsey Solve is scored based on the final answers submitted as well as the method used to arrive at them.

 

Each candidate receives a unique McKinsey Solve assessment. No two assessments are identical.

 

For a step-by-step guide, check out our comprehensive article on acing the McKinsey Solve.

 

Below, we’ve outlined a video that explains what the McKinsey Solve is and walks you through exactly how to tackle the games you’ll see on your online assessment.

 

After watching this video, we highly recommend practicing playing these games before you take the actual McKinsey Solve. You can do this through PSG Secrets’ McKinsey Solve simulation. This simulation replicates the actual games you’ll be evaluated on in the McKinsey Solve.

 

Completing the McKinsey Solve during McKinsey Early Access will save you a step later on when you apply for the Summer Associate Intern role in the fall. You will not need to take the McKinsey Solve again if you have taken it within the last 12 months.

 

Coffee chat with your school’s recruiter

 

After completing the McKinsey Solve, some applicants will be invited to a one-on-one coffee chat with their school’s McKinsey recruiting team. This is an opportunity to make a great first impression with recruiters that you’ll interact with during recruiting season.

 

You should come prepared to this coffee chat and ask insightful questions about McKinsey that you cannot easily find online. Examples of great questions to ask include:

 

• Can you speak more about McKinsey’s culture and what sets it apart from other consulting firms?

 

• What are the typical career paths for an MBA graduate at McKinsey?

 

• What are some common mistakes candidates make during the recruitment process and how can they be avoided?

 

• Can you tell me more about the McKinsey New York office and what makes it different from other McKinsey offices?

 

• Can you tell me more about the mentorship and coaching programs available at McKinsey?

 

• How does McKinsey support entrepreneurial initiatives and innovation within the firm?

 

You should also prepare thoughtful answers to “why consulting?” and “why McKinsey” in case the recruiter decides to ask you these common coffee chat interview questions.

 

There are a variety of different reasons you could give for why you’re interested in McKinsey:

 

• McKinsey works with large, globally recognized clients on high impact issues

 

• McKinsey has a wide range of different projects spanning across nearly all industries and functions

 

• McKinsey has some of the most ambitious, intelligent people that you’ll ever work with in your career

 

• McKinsey invests heavily in professional development and mentorship

 

• McKinsey is a global firm that provides more opportunities for international exposure compared to other consulting firms

 

• McKinsey has an extremely strong presence in government work, partnering with governments to drive policy initiatives and facilitate public sector transformations

 

There are also a variety of different reasons you could give for why you’re interested in consulting:

 

• You want to make a significant impact by working on the biggest, most challenging business problems that companies face

 

• You enjoy the diversity of solving business problems across multiple different industries and functions

 

• You see consulting as the quickest way to build a strong toolkit of both hard skills and soft skills that are needed to be successful in business

 

• You want to get an insider view on how companies are run and operated

 

• You want to develop knowledge and expertise in a particular industry or function

 

• You value the significant mentorship and professional development that consulting provides

 

• You find fulfillment in working with and servicing clients, helping deliver significant value to them

 

Recommended Resources to Land a McKinsey Offer

 

To give yourself the best chance of getting a McKinsey offer, we highly recommend looking into the resources listed below. Getting professional help can significantly increase your chances of landing an interview at McKinsey and passing your interviews.

For help landing consulting interviews

 

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

 

For help acing the McKinsey Solve

 

• McKinsey Solve Simulation: A realistic McKinsey Solve simulation that lets you practice the exact same games you’ll see during your online assessment. Learn how to ace the McKinsey Solve step-by-step with detailed guides and tips for each game

 

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.