Consulting Recruiting Timeline: When to Apply for Internships and Full Time Roles

The rule of thumb: apply about a year ahead

The dates shift by firm, by office and by school, and they change from one year to the next, so this page gives you the shape rather than a calendar. The general rule is that you apply about a year ahead of when you would start.

Undergraduate summer internship

Applications typically run from the spring to the fall of the year before the internship.

MBA summer internship

An MBA internship is the exception, at about six months: you network in the fall of your first year, and applications close around December or January, with interviews in January.

Full time roles

The window is slightly later, from the summer to the fall, for a start the following school year.

Experienced hires

Applications are open all year round and recruiting runs on a rolling basis, so your timeline is whatever you make it.

Check your own dates

Exact dates shift by firm, office and school every cycle, and campus deadlines can fall a few weeks before the firms' own. Check your school's dates and your target firms' pages, and find the window that applies to you.

Count the weeks back, then plan

Count the weeks back from your window, then turn that number into a plan: How to Prepare for Consulting Interviews: A 12 Week Plan. For what happens at each stage once you apply, read How Consulting Recruiting Works, and for the first screen at some firms, how to prepare for the online assessments.