For summer internship position while in undergrad
Applied through BCG website.

Went to information session.
-everyone was very friendly and had a relaxed attitude.
-There was enough time to talk with employees and learn about the office

Offered first round interview
-had scheduling issues and they were very accommodating
-actual interview had two case questions and behavioral test
-the case questions were very similar
(there is a problem here [industry, product etc] -> break down major factors -> one of major factors was problem -> breakdown again -> make recommendation
-I had prepared for much more variety and the mental math was an issue since I have been working with variables for a long time now.
-had drawn a flow chart of possible issues to address at beginning and worked with it through the case
-found issues and made recommendation.
-the behavioral questions were exceedingly simple (only had two: tell me about *points to most relevant thing on resume* and tell me about a team experience where there was a challenge)
-interviewers were very friendly and relaxed although one was in a rush and left 30 min in
-was not offered second interview for lack of organization on the case interview

Interview Questions

Tell me about a team experience where you faced a challenge.

Answer Question

Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jan 2012 in New York, NY (took 1 week)

I was offered an interview on Thursday evening via email for the following Friday. Two 45 minute interviews, around 3-4 behavioral questions, 30 mins of case, a little bit of time at the end for questions.
Be careful, some behavioral questions can be difficult if you do not prepare, for example "Describe a recent business case you have encountered and how you would have approached it as a BCG consultant"

Interview Questions

Describe a recent business case and how you would react as a BCG consultant?

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Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Skills Test and a Personality Test.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jan 2012 (took a day)

Very nice people, but difficult case with tricky math.

Interview Questions

Tell me about a leadership experience when not everything went as planned.

Answer Question

Other Details

I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jan 2012 in New York, NY (took a day)

Very nice people. Helpful throughout the case interview. 2 interviews, both had fit questions (why consulting, tell me about a time you were on a time, etc.) and then went through a full case. One case was a lot harder than the other -- initially a profit case, which was easy, but suddenly switched to a complicated market sizing case which is what threw me. Overall good experience and the people were very friendly.

Interview Questions

Why are you interested in consulting?

Answer Question

Other Details

I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Oct 2011 (took 4 weeks)

Basic format (seems to be consistent with newer reviews):

First round: 2 interviews w/consultants, 30 minutes of case and 15 of experience/behavioral. This will take place either at your school (if it's targeted) or at the nearest office to your school (they don't reimbursed for travel expenses).

Second round: 3 interviews w/principals and/or partners, 20 minutes of case and 15 of experience/behavioral. This will take place at whatever office you would be a part of if offered (they pay expenses).

Decisions are communicated fairly quickly. First round decision during the following week; second round decision by the following Monday.

The cases are different than those from the others because they are very unstructured. After hearing the case and asking any questions, you'll construct a framework of issues that need to be considered. Then you'll be expected to guide yourself through the framework as much as possible. Generally you can tell if you're on the right track via the interviewer's verbal and visual feedback (though one of my interviewers was impossible to read). Keys to success: 1) Slow down and think things through. Don't hesitate to think out loud either. 2) Absolutely for sure think out loud with numbers. Don't be afraid that your approach might be wrong either. They don't care as long as you realize that it isn't quite right and are able to puzzle out how to do it correctly. 3) Don't accept the numbers blindly and don't waiver on your analysis (they might try to derail you). I wouldn't have gotten the offer if I hadn't essentially said, "forget the numbers, this won't work" and stuck with it. 4) Practice a lot, preferably with people who have done a real BCG interview before. Don't get me wrong, practicing a more structured case will also be helpful (since the data/numbers will be similar), but the BCG interview will be different, and you will bomb it if you don't make any adjustments (vice versa too of course).

The people I have encountered have consistently been very pleasant and down to earth (remarkable if you think about it). Both of the office I have been to were very nice and in some of the nicest buildings in the nicest/hippest parts of their respective cities.

Interview Questions

Too far removed from it to remember specific questions, but there was nothing particularly ground breaking (obviously or I'd remember it).

Answer Question

Negotiation Details

Didn't even think about trying. Very strong numbers from the get go so I can't really imagine that too many try or are successful (I assume that mbb have an unwritten policy of not bidding against one another so I bet the numbers between the three are virtually identical for entry level people).

Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Oct 2011 in Dallas, TX (took a day)

two rounds of 1 on 1 case analysis; about 45 min each; talking to the associates or partners. Cases are pretty typical, you could find them in all online case books. Cases often involve calculations as well as tables or graphs. Very interesting experience for non business students. surely need practise.

Interview Questions

business case about sales channel

Answer Question

Other Details

I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Personality Test.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

5.0

Very Difficult Interview

Overall Negative Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jan 2011 (took 2+ weeks)

First was the resume screen, was notified through email that i was accepted and conducted phone interview with principal in seoul. overall was pleasant experience, i think he noticed how passionate i was about consulting. final round was in chicago, but i noticed i was the only undergrad interviewing alongside a bunch of mba candidates. pissed about that. the interviews were ok too but i screwed up when one of them purposefully got me riled up and kept drilling me about franchise/non-franchise. they seem to hire those with internal connections, so don't even bother applying if you don't know anyone in the firm, you won't get hired

Interview Questions

what are the benefits of franchising vs non-franchising?

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Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Oct 2011 in Houston, TX (took a day)

First round campus interview. Couple of fit questions and a case. Second round in BCG office, format was similar to first round. Received decision next day. Interviewers were very professional.

Interview Questions

Profitability case. The answer was hidden in product mix part.

Answer Question

Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Dec 2011 (took a day)

I applied the position through the company's website. I received a call from the HR on being shorlisted for the interview about 3-4 weeks before my actual interview. The interview involved 2 case interviews each of 45 minutes. The interview was conducted in their office one on one with 2 separate consultants.
The office location, people and work culture seemed good to me. Smart people who were polite.
Preparation - You should focus on practicing cases. Try to practice as many cases as you can. BCG is very selective with their applicant pool so you need to be really well prepared.

Interview Questions

A very complex long case with a difficult business model to understand in a few minutes.

Answer Question

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Negative Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Aug 2011 (took 2 days)

I got the interview through a recruiting event and did therefore not go through the normal application process.

1. Round:
The first round consisted of two personal interviews and a analytical test. The interviewing consultants were fairly junior but still challenging interview partners. The interviews itself consisted of a personal part and the ubiquitous case study. While the case study followed the usual pattern, the personal part felt different from comparable firms: You were asked about a situation in which you faced a difficult situation in a team, convinced people, etc. . During the following discussion the interviewers picked out a statement about me, amplified it to a untruthful degree and played it back at me. E.g., after I said that in teams I care about the work could be as it could be, I was described as perdantic. I felt this to be very uncomfortable and this tactics was what ultimately got be kicked out int the second round.

The analytical test was not too difficult and more a logic exercise. We were allowed calculators so that the numeris were really easy.

I got a call on the same day of the interview inviting me to the second round.

2. Round:
The second round consisted of three interviews and BCG Real Life. The interviews followed the same pattern as before, BCG Real Life is supposed to be a simulation of consultant life, i.e. client interaction and analysis.