The Best Extracurriculars for Consulting: An Analysis of LinkedIn Profiles

Setting the foundation for a career in consulting begins long before your first position at a firm. 

But not every extracurricular makes sense for a future consultant. While there are many activities to choose from, you want to dedicate your time to the one or two that resonate the most with admissions offices and recruiters. Which ones? It’s easy to say “the one you feel like doing,” but what if you are open to many things? Are some activities objectively better than others?

Why LinkedIn and Why the Ivy League?

We don’t have a final answer for you because there isn’t one. But this article seeks to give you some data to consider: what extracurriculars actually show up on the resumes of people who actually get jobs. And the best way to do that is to look through LinkedIn since it provides accurate, real-time, objective data on working professionals.

Why focus on students and alumni from the most elite schools, and not just all LinkedIn profiles of consultants? Because by all accounts students at these institutions succeed the most at entering consulting firms--not just in absolute numbers, but in terms of the percentage of applicants who get in. One of the reasons for this success is the brand that Ivy alumni have by virtue of graduating from an Ivy League institution. However, another part of the reason is also that they get the best advice to be ready for consulting at graduation. Why? Because (1) these institutions have the most resources to give the best advice to their students and (2) these students have the most peers and alumni to learn from. Bottom line: Chances are, the “Ivy to Consulting” LinkedIn profiles are particularly worth looking at and learning from.

We’ve Done the Work for You

You say “wait, are you asking me to spend hours going through LinkedIn? What about my classes, given that GPA is also a major determinant of being hired at a consulting firm?” Don’t worry, we’ve spent the time doing that and are summarizing the lessons in this article.

A note on our methodology: we searched for individuals working at the top consulting firms (McKinsey, BCG, or Bain) in full-time roles after graduating from an Ivy League institution. Note that, for privacy, we will (1) never mention individual profiles and (2) never mention trends that are so unique that their source would be easily identifiable. Keep in mind also that not everyone’s extracurriculars are listed on LinkedIn and that these numbers may slightly understate the percentages. 

Let’s Start with the Conclusion (A Practice You’ll Learn in Consulting)

By analyzing just under two dozen profiles, we found the majority of these professionals participated in these 5 extracurriculars: Consultant Clubs (75%), Business/Entrepreneurship Organizations (60%), Fraternity/Sorority (42%), volunteer work (50%), and holding leadership positions at various clubs (25%). Let’s detail each in turn.

Consultant Clubs (75%)

Every Ivy League, and almost all top universities in general, have at least one consulting club. These spaces are typically the best way for future consultants to gain exposure to the industry and make professional connections, so it is no surprise that the majority of the profiles we analyzed (around 75%) mentioned this extracurricular.

One profile that stood out was a consulting professional who participated in the Yale Undergraduate Consulting Group. According to the club’s official website, “As a member of the Yale Undergraduate Consulting Group, students can hone their critical thinking skills and perform consulting services in areas and industries they most care about.”

This group and similar ones at other universities are often the first time students can gain hands-on consulting experience on projects small and large. These aspiring consultants can work with companies spanning different industries, helping them to explore their passions “and allow interested candidates to become leaders and innovators within the consulting industry and beyond.”

The experience at consulting clubs, such as those of Yale and Columbia, is in essence similar to that of Beacon in that each seeks to provide University students with elite-level consulting experience. The difference is that Beacon is a full-time experience (1-10 weeks), and each participant is taught directly by an alum of one of the elite consulting firms, in an intense project. 

Beacon alumni often land consulting offers because their experience (1) shows consulting ability and (2) consulting interest, all of this gained (3) while studying abroad. To an extent, the first two of these reasons can also take place in a consulting club on campus.

(Other) Business or Entrepreneurship Organizations (60%)

Another common theme among the extracurriculars of Ivy alumni in consulting roles on LinkedIn was their involvement in business or entrepreneurship organizations at university--beyond just the consulting clubs. Many profiles (about 60%) included involvement in one of these clubs during their time on campus.

Business and entrepreneurship clubs help students gain a better understanding of how companies operate, which is essential for consultants who will need to analyze a business’s strategy, operations, etc.

Fraternities & Sororities (42%)

Hundreds of thousands of students join fraternities or sororities during their college years. While there is a large emphasis on the social scene in these extracurriculars, many are also career-focused. Through our research, we found a handful of professionals (about 42%) that participated in Greek life during their time as undergrads.

On this topic, Columbia’s Undergraduate Student Life says, “Fraternity and sorority membership can be one of the most enriching experiences a student can have. Membership into one of our values-based chapters provides students with a close community of peers. Through leadership development, learning, philanthropy, and civic engagement, students grow and thrive.”

Other societies focus on business and help students learn valuable skills through hands-on experiences, professional speakers, and networking events. Many undergraduates choose to join a fraternity or sorority with an academic reputation so they are simultaneously making connections and actively learning about their chosen career path.

Is it essential to join one of these? Definitely not. Fraternities and Sororities can have both great and terrible reputations, and both for real reasons. They can have destructive social environments, most notably through how they relate to alcohol (and possibly drugs). If this is what you expect in joining one we cannot emphasize enough that you should stay away. No benefit from these institutions can ever be worth destructive life habits. They won’t make you successful in consulting, and most importantly they won’t make you successful in life.

You can be successful without them. If, on the other hand, you expect the environment to be healthy, you should consider it. Just remember that every activity has an opportunity cost, and decide carefully. 

Volunteering (50%)

Another common extracurricular activity mentioned on the LinkedIn profiles we evaluated was community service. Around 50% of our sample participated in volunteer work or community service at an Ivy League institution and include it in their profile.

While there is no one volunteer position that is better than the other (because it must be something you are passionate about), one profile that caught our attention includes a current MBB consultant who volunteered at the Science Olympiad at one of the Ivy League institutions (where he/she attended). This volunteer position shows their passion for the sciences and also demonstrates their time spent honing other important consulting skills, such as interpersonal abilities and communication skills.

Check out the list of the nine consulting industry’s key competencies here (this is in the context of a PhD-authored study that found that 92% of Beacon alumni progressed on the competencies, but it’s worth seeing the list regardless of your interest in Beacon’s programs).

Leadership (25%)

Finally, we can’t overlook that nearly a quarter of the consulting profiles we analyzed on LinkedIn made mention of a leadership position at various clubs or organizations they participated in at university.

Clubs, organizations, and sports are all ways for students to explore passions that might not be related to their chosen field. Columbia Undergraduate Admissions explains that “In meeting rooms and auditoriums, theaters and playing fields, brownstones and practice rooms, students pursue their passions,” and it’s no wonder that, upon graduating, some of the most successful alumni did just that. 

It’s important to note that most of the LinkedIn profiles we reviewed included participation in a club unrelated to their major at school, but the ones that stood out were the handful that highlighted a leadership position in said organizations. For instance, one profile co-led their Ivy League institution’s Debate Association. While the association doesn’t have obvious ties to consulting, it does show their interest in other subjects and implies they are likely a skilled speaker and presenter (which are important skills for a consultant to have).

That’s All!

We hope that helped! Check out more resources in our blog, and consider our consulting programs. Consulting firms look for “can do” and “will do.” Beacon runs short-term study abroad programs that utilize an elite-tier consultant to guide you in an on-premise consulting project for a top organization. Beacon alumni often land consulting offers because their experience (1) shows consulting ability and (2) consulting interest, all of this gained (3) while studying abroad. 

Beacon is the global leader in high-learning-curve elite-brand business experiential education in & surrounding the University years. Beacon operates short-term study abroad programs (1-10 weeks) over school breaks, taking place primarily in the U.S. and Europe, aimed primarily at undergraduates and graduates, and following a management consulting approach to learning. Beacon’s mission is to help build a world where elite early-career business skills and jobs are available to more people.

Beacon does not imply an endorsement from the institutions mentioned in this article; however, it seeks to disseminate important truths about this topic to as many students as possible.