The summer before you start the MBA program, you may be focused on wrapping up your previous job or taking a break – or thinking about how to gain additional work experience to prepare for your future career. The pre-MBA internship is not an essential part of the MBA experience, but it can help you build experience, confidence, and a network in a particular area of business in preparation for your MBA internship. MBAs may also want to consider participating in a pre-MBA program, and opportunity to learn more about a company or industry, often through learning activities and networking.
- Pre-MBA Internships – pre-MBA internships allow you to explore a new area of interest, or practice a skill set you know will be necessary for your next career step. These are more traditional internship experiences where you add value to the organization. They are student-sourced and often found through networking at early-stage and startup companies.
- Pre-MBA Programs – these programs are often found in large companies and while a company may use these programs to interview and extend early offers, students typically don’t have a typical internship experience that includes doing work for the company. It’s more of a “day in the life” and “get to know us” style of event/program. Students may participate in several of these programs if they’d like as they tend to be shorter than an internship. Details on many programs are listed below and posted on the AdMIT website.
Step 1. Identify What Experience You Want to Gain and What Skills You Have to Offer
Knowing what you want and what you have to offer is critical for the pre-MBA program or internship search. In cases where the company will be creating an internship around what you offer, you must be able to speak to what the company needs and how you can add value.
Step 2. Update Your LinkedIn Profile
If you are seeking a pre-MBA internship, we encourage you to update your LinkedIn profile to reflect your admittance to MIT Sloan.
Below are some actions you can take:
- Update your Headline to read: “MBA Candidate, MIT Sloan School of Management.”
- Add MIT Sloan as your current employer with the title of “MBA Candidate.”
- Add MIT Sloan to your Education section (include expected years of attendance, ex: 2024-2026).
- Keep your profile up-to-date by adding an end-date to your pre-MBA employer. This will also let companies know you are available to work.
Note: You can remove months from your employment dates.
We also recommend any updates to your profile to ensure it positions you well for the types of role you are seeking. Note: This can be an iterative process.
Pre-MBA Internships are not part of an existing job market; they are often unpaid opportunities that a candidate creates through proactive networking and relationship building. Recent MIT Sloan MBAs have created pre-MBA internships at early-stage and growing startup companies. Over the last two years, students completing pre-MBA experiences have found opportunities in: financial services, mobile payments/payment systems, software development startups, ecommerce, automation, AI, cleantech/energy, real estate, consumer healthcare, agtech, social ventures, digital media, and venture capital/private equity.
If you are targeting startup or growing companies, reach out to your personal, professional, and alumni contacts – including the MIT Sloan Alumni Network on LinkedIn – who are working at firms of interest to you. Let them know you’ve just joined the MBA program at MIT Sloan and would like to learn more about their experience at the company, and whether their organization has ever offered pre-MBA internship opportunities. Again, be sure you have a strong pitch for you can contribute to their organization.
Pre-MBA Programs and Events are listed below and you may find additional programs highlighted on the AdMIT website. The industries most likely to have pre-MBA Programs are consulting and finance, although opportunities also exist in other industries at companies with robust recruiting programs, such as large consumer products companies.
Important: If your pre-MBA experience results in an internship offer for Summer 2026 that you are being asked to accept or decline before career advising begins in Fall 2025, please contact us at mbacdoadvisors@mit.edu before making any commitments. A career advisor can help you consider your options for responding to the offer.
Typical Pre-MBA Programs
The following companies have offered pre-MBA programs in the past. They typically open their websites for applications each Spring. We will update this list with links when they become readily available.
PRE-MBA PROGRAMS (2025)
Pre-MBA Consulting Programs: Many pre-MBA consulting programs are offered by top consulting firms. These pre-MBA programs consist of a wide range of elements – from summer events to various educational bootcamps to networking and travel opportunities.
They have become an integral part of MBA hiring because they accelerate the recruitment timetable, giving incoming 1Y MBA candidates access to employers in the summer before they start their MBA. Yes, that’s right – no longer do you have to even be on-campus to start engaging with prospective employers.
If you’re starting your MBA this fall and are considering consulting, you will want to consider a pre-MBA program. Here are some of the most illustrious examples.
Bain Pre-MBA
The Bain pre-MBA program, ExperienceBain, is open to significantly more schools than, for instance, the BCG pre-MBA program. However, it offers a similar blend of education, experience, and networking under the care of one of the world’s foremost consulting firms. Programming usually runs from June to early August (1-2 events per week). Bain is also hosting a pre-MBA program for incoming MBAs in the Middle East – Mustaqbalak (‘Your Future’ in Arabic). The application deadline typically falls in early May.
ExperienceBain Application Deadline: May 4, 2025
Bain has another pre-MBA program open to Black, Latinx, and Native American applicants. The program is called the Building and Supporting Excellence (BASE) Scholars Program and it is held over the course of a week in the firm’s U.S. offices. BASE participants get a taste of Bain’s culture and work – and an opportunity to secure a future summer internship. The program is scheduled to run either the week of July 22nd – 26th or July 29th – August 2nd.
BASE Scholars Application Deadline: May 4, 2025
BCG Pre-MBA
The BCG pre-MBA program is known as BCG Unlock. BCG Unlock is offered to incoming MBA students the summer before their first semester, though only about 30 specific MBA programs are eligible. This program is billed as an educational opportunity that allows future MBAs to meet one another, to gain one-on-one mentorship from BCG consultants, and to get to know BCG in advance of a career with the firm. This year’s Unlock program will run from late May through late July.
BCG Unlock Application Deadline: Expected late April 2025
Similar to Bain, has another pre-MBA program specific to diversity candidates known as BCG Empower. Empower is for pre-MBAs who identify as Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino and/or Native American/Alaska Native/Indigenous. To apply to BCG Empower, candidates must first register for BCG Unlock. The 2024 Empower program will take place in Washington D.C. on June 24-26 and in Chicago on July 10-12.
BCG Empower Application Deadline: Expected late April 2025
McKinsey Pre-MBA
The McKinsey pre-MBA program, called McKinsey Early Access, is similar to BCG Unlock. Offered the summer before matriculation for future MBAs, McKinsey Early Access gives students the chance to network with one another and their future peer consultants. As with BCG Unlock, it’s an excellent opportunity to learn and vet the culture of a company you might work for in the future.
McKinsey Early Access Application Deadline: May 12, 2025
McKinsey has another pre-MBA program specific to diversity candidates (Black, Hispanic, Latino, & Indigenous) – McKinsey Inspire. The program runs for two days – both virtually and in-person in select U.S. offices.
McKinsey Inspire Application Deadline: May 12, 2025
L.E.K. Consulting is hosting two pre-MBA programs to provide matriculating MBA students with valuable insights into strategy consulting careers. L.E.K. Consulting’s pre-MBA programs focus on two candidate groups: women and underrepresented minorities (Black, Latinx, Native Americans).
The programs will be held virtually in June and participants will have the opportunity to attend seminars, network with L.E.K. staff, participate in practice case interviews, and learn about summer internship opportunities. In addition, program participants will be invited to interview for the Summer Consultant position. Learn more and apply to L.E.K. Consulting’s pre-MBA Women’s Program and pre-MBA Diversity Program.
2025 Program Dates:
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- Women’s Program: Expected early June
- Diversity Program: Expected early June
Application Deadline: Expected late April 2025
Deloitte Pre-MBA
The Deloitte pre-MBA internship – known as the Deloitte Consulting Immersion Program – typically lasts 4 weeks and is available to admitted MBA students before they officially matriculate. It consists of 1 week of training and 3 weeks of work, often on one continuous project. Despite its short duration, the interview process is more involved than for many full-time positions, with 3 fit interviews on top of at least 1 case interview.
Application Deadline: Expected mid October
Kearney Pre-MBA
A unique program in this landscape is the Kearney pre-MBA program known as the Kearney Diversity Boot Camp. This program is open to newly admitted MBAs of Black, Latino/Hispanic, and Native American backgrounds. The Kearney pre-MBA program is in-person in Chicago and takes place over 2 days. It offers students an in-depth introduction to Kearney, the nature of consulting work, as well as case interviews. People who complete the boot camp are offered an interview for the company’s larger Summer Associate Consultant Program.
Application Deadline: Expected early May 2025
Accenture Pre-MBA
The Accenture pre-MBA program bears many similarities to the other firms mentioned above. One difference, however, is that Accenture puts even more emphasis on helping incoming MBAs to develop core insights when it comes to analytics and design.
Application Deadline: Expected early May 2025
Additional Pre-MBA Programs:
PwC MBA Consulting Preview (Program Dates: July 14 – 16, 2025, Location TBD)
The Strategy& Catalyst: Pre-MBA Consulting Journey
Analysis Group – Ignite@AG (Boston, MA – Application Deadline April 2025)
MBA Takeoff (Forté) (Registration Opens: Feb. 26, 2025)
ClimateCAP Initiative – Integrating Climate into your MBA
COMPANIES KNOWN TO OFFER PRE-MBA PROGRAMS (by Industry)
Finance: Barclays, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo
Tech: Amazon, Google
Healthcare: Johnson & Johnson
Consumer Products: P&G, PepsiCo
Conferences
Career Conferences offer a unique opportunity to build community and belonging by connecting with other MBA program participants and engaging with employers of interest.
https://prospanica.org/conference2025/
Prospanica Conference
October 19-22, 2025 – Minneapolis, MN
https://nbmbaaconference.org/
National Black MBA Association Conference
September 23-27, 2025 – Houston, TX
https://reachingoutmba.org/romba-conference/
ROMBA Conference
September 25-27, 2025 – New Orleans, LA
https://mbaveterans.com/
MBA Veterans Career Fair
Oct 9-10, 2025 – Atlanta, GA
Virtual Career Fair October 17, 2025
https://www.fortefoundation.org/site/SPageServer/?pagename=events_powerup
Forté Womens’ Leadership Conference
June 13-14, 2025 – Denver, CO
