MBB Ascent Program

Whilst there is no fixed criteria, successful Ascent Program candidates generally embody 4 defining qualities:

• 1.Visionary impact: Track record of outsized success in all areas of life they have devoted their attention to. Natural inclination towards taking personal ownership of collective outcomes and initiative via tangible actions.
• 2.Inspiring, empathetic leadership: Capacity to form authentic and meaningful relationships with others. Instills a constant sense of purpose and motivation within their team. Role models and inspires care, kindness and respect in challenging team environments.
• 3.Incisive decision making: Remarkable ability to remain composed, distill core issues and provide certainty when facing time-pressured decisions or conflicting stakeholder perspectives.
• 4.Enterprising curiosity: Innate desire to grow and learn more about themselves and the world around them, with evidence of unconventional or innovative approaches to decision-making.

In addition, successful candidates generally have:

• A clear and nuanced understanding of the nature of management consulting work as well as the preparation required for McKinsey, BCG and Bain interviews.
• The ability to share distinctive and reflective insights when articulating their rationale for applying to MBB and their tailored preparation approach to each firm.
• A unique thought-partnership perspective through the ability to contextualize, apply or challenge feedback by examining its implications and limitations across their personal and professional life.

Practically, we find that successful candidates have generally built up a clear understanding of the nature of management consulting work as well as the preparation required for McKinsey, BCG and Bain interviews.

• Whilst there is no single approach to build this comprehensive understanding, applicants often find it useful to speak to current or former MBB consultants in their personal or professional network about a range of topics (e.g. day-to-day work, associated lifestyle, range of skills gained including learning and mentorship opportunities or potential exit opportunities).
• In addition, candidates may also choose to engage with a range of online or in-person resources at their disposal including casebooks, MBA career advisors, consulting society events or case coaching platforms.

In addition, we suggest that Ascent Program candidates are prepared to provide distinctive and reflective insights when articulating the following:

• Motivation behind career aspiration: Vision for the future and the steps taken towards that vision.
• Clear rationale for applying to MBB: Referencing a range of personally relevant factors, including how it compares to alternate career paths.
• Tailored approach for MBB preparation: Including a perspective on where their unique traits, strengths and development areas might be aligned or misaligned to the distinct qualities sought by each MBB firm.

No. Completion of By Intuity's Core Program is not strictly necessary to gain acceptance into the Ascent Program.

Whilst many candidates have found completion of the Core Program to be useful in their preparation, completion in and of itself will not result in any priority or advantage being given to those candidates.

The format of the Ascent Program is designed to achieve two key objectives:

• 1.Prepare distinctive MBB candidates to excel at each firm's hiring, evaluation and promotion stages, with a particular focus on the casing and behavioral interview components.
• 2.Use MBB preparation as the catalyst for members to achieve extraordinary cognitive, interpersonal and decision-making growth in order to realize their long-term career ambitions.

Program format: Each cohort will attend 10 weekly workshops, facilitated by a Performance Advisor with unique MBB experience and a track record of elevating high-performance individuals.

• Workshop activities: During each workshop, members will be immersed in case studies and interactive exercises (80%) combined with high-performance theory (20%).
• This covers all preparation areas across McKinsey, BCG and Bain interviews.
• Exercises are based on world-leading research into peak performance and leadership, tailored in a way that allows exceptional MBB candidates to achieve significant cognitive and psychological breakthroughs.
• Workshop member composition: To ensure the highest standards of preparation excellence, a maximum of 4 members per workshop will be maintained across the 10 weeks. Composition decisions are based on creating an inspiring and psychologically safe learning environment that encourages deep curiosity and collaboration.
• In addition to personality and learning preference, each member's level of experience and preparation is considered in composition decisions — deliberately going beyond academic, industry and/or geographic boundaries.
• This ensures the opportunity to learn alongside peers with unique perspectives and minimizes the risk of any conflicts of interest that would harm openness or growth.
• Depending on the needs of individual members, By Intuity may suggest a smaller group session or even a 1-1 composition to achieve the optimal learning environment.

Consultation bookings: Performance Advisor 1-1 sessions

In accordance with the standards of the program, members are expected to reflect, revise and reinforce concepts and skills to instill habits that enable accelerated progress during each workshop. To support this foundational development, members will be assigned a Performance Advisor for the duration of the 10-week program, with whom they can arrange individual 1-1 consultations.

If candidates are successful in their application, they will be invited to join the earliest available cohort. However, candidates may elect to defer their offer for upwards of 12 months.

Note: Cohorts are typically filled 3-6 months in advance; candidates are encouraged to indicate their preferred cohort date to avoid future disappointment.

To maintain the standards of the Ascent Program, we do not make any exceptions as to the maximum cohort size. As such, we encourage candidates to apply as soon as they are within the eligibility window. Candidates are eligible once they are within 18 months of their expected interview date(s) with McKinsey, BCG or Bain.

Successful candidates will be invited to join the next available cohort date of their choice. Candidates will also be given the option to be added to the waitlist of an alternate cohort date in the event that another member drops out.

Note: Cohorts are typically filled 3-6 months in advance; candidates are encouraged to indicate their preferred cohort date to avoid future disappointment.