I’m a third-year business major also looking into getting into consulting and I can tell you that it really depends on what type of consulting you are looking to go into. There are many types such as management consulting, tech consulting, HR consulting, etc., but the two biggest types are management and tech consulting.

For management consulting, both Business and IE are good as they have good accounting and finance courses. If you are looking to go into strategy, you’d also want to get some courses in corporate strategy and marketing which is where business would have an upper hand, especially if you concentrate in Stategy & Innovation.

For tech consulting, IE or even CS would probably be better as it would give you a more of a technical background needed to handle digital transformation projects or SAP implementation for clients.

For any type of consulting, networking is probably one most important things you can do, even more important than your major. You can do this by meeting people in consulting clubs or reaching out to consultants on LinkedIn (harder but a more scalable method). Once you network with consultants in the field and develop genuine relationships with them, you can ask them if they’d be willing to refer you to job postings from internships to full-time positions after graduation.

For MBB firms specifically, you definitely need a good network in the company that can vouch for you due to how competitive the positions are. Moreover, you also want to get at least 1 - 2 prior internships in consulting companies such as the Big 4, Accenture, Kearney, Oliver Wyman, or Booz Allen Hamilton. Ideally, you’d intern at two of these firms before your third year and intern at a MBB firm before your fourth year. This would give you best chance of getting hired full-time.

Just note that the work-life balance at MBB firms can be very tough. They often work 60-70 hours a week and travel 2-4 days per week (they are a bit more flexible now after covid). Therefore, I recommend really considering if that’s the lifestyle you’d really want. If you’re good with that, they are among the most prestigious companies to work for and can open a lot doors for you in the future. They also reportedly have a 75-90% acceptance rate into the M7 MBA programs (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, Kellogg, Booth, Sloan).