Start with the work, not the consulting label.
Economic consulting firms can share an analytical style while assigning interns to different kinds of work. Analysis Group says its summer analysts may work on litigation, regulatory, M&A, and other legal-related matters, while its health-care interns are staffed to a specialized life-sciences practice. Cornerstone Research describes summer analysts working on case teams that analyze financial and economic questions connected to business litigation. BRG describes a broader professional-services platform spanning economics, disputes and investigations, corporate finance, and performance improvement.
Use those differences to refine your search. Ask what question the team is trying to answer, what evidence the intern works with, and who uses the analysis. A role involving econometric analysis for litigation is not the same preparation problem as a performance-improvement assignment or a health-economics engagement. Treat the exact posting and practice group as controlling evidence rather than inferring the job from the firm name.
Check candidate stage firm by firm.
Current firm guidance shows why one eligibility rule should not be copied across the field. Analysis Group says its generalist summer analyst internships seek rising seniors and first-year master's students in quantitative or related subjects. BRG describes its Summer Associate Program as designed for students completing their junior year of undergraduate study or enrolled in a master's program. NERA says it offers summer internships to final-year undergraduate candidates as well as current master's and PhD students.
Those examples are not a universal rule. Use them to identify which programs may fit your degree stage, then read the exact current posting for graduation timing, major, work authorization, location, and any other requirement. If a firm's general careers page and a specific posting differ, follow the specific posting and ask the employer when a requirement remains ambiguous.
Prepare quantitative evidence you can explain under questioning.
Analysis Group's current summer-analyst description includes economic, financial, and health-care data analysis, statistical programming, econometric estimation, survival analysis, and machine-learning work. That does not mean every internship requires every method. It does show why a generic statement such as 'I am analytical' is weaker than a project you can explain from question to data to method to limitation.
Choose one or two truthful examples from coursework, research, work, or an independent project. Be ready to explain what the data represented, why you selected the method, what assumption mattered, what changed after checking the result, and what the analysis could not establish. If you used Python, R, Stata, SAS, Excel, or another tool, describe the actual task you performed rather than listing software without context.
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Practice economic reasoning, not a memorized generic case framework.
Cornerstone Research currently says Analyst and Summer Analyst candidates go through two interview rounds and encounter a case interview in each round. The firm says the exercise is used to observe thought process, comprehension, communication, and response to feedback. NERA's recruiting FAQ says candidates may be asked to complete a case study to demonstrate problem-solving skills. The structure therefore can differ by firm even when both assess analytical reasoning.
Practice by taking a short economic or business question and making the evidence chain explicit. Define the outcome, list plausible drivers, identify what data would distinguish them, perform only the calculations the evidence supports, and explain uncertainty before recommending a next step. Cornerstone also says AI tools are not permitted during its interviews and assessments, so preparation should strengthen your own reasoning rather than create answers you cannot reproduce without assistance.
Build the shortlist with current postings, then track each process separately.
Use general program pages to understand the work and likely candidate profile, but use the employer's current posting for application status, deadline, location, compensation, work authorization, and required materials. A firm can describe an internship program even when no suitable opening is currently available, and one office or practice can recruit on a different schedule from another.
For each target, record the exact role title, office or practice, degree-stage requirement, current application route, published deadline if one exists, and the interview information the employer actually provides. Keep 'not stated' as an unresolved field instead of borrowing a date or requirement from another firm. Then compare roles on the work you would actually do and the evidence you can bring to that work, not only on brand recognition.
- Practice group and likely analytical question identified.
- Degree stage and exact posting requirements checked separately.
- One or two quantitative examples can be explained from data to limitation.
- Interview preparation reflects the firm's stated process rather than a generic consulting script.
- Deadline, location, pay, and application status come from the current posting or remain unresolved.
Compare the program before choosing your preparation
The firm name is only the first filter. Compare the candidate stage, practice and application materials of the exact program. A summer associate in corporate finance may need a different preparation example from an economic-disputes analyst, even when both sit inside a broad consulting firm.
| Your next uncertainty | Useful next task |
|---|---|
| Which candidate stage fits? | Read the source-linked firm and eligibility comparisons |
| What happens in an analytical case? | Work the price, comparison-group and lost-contribution exercises |
| How can I demonstrate quantitative work? | Build a reproducible project with a data dictionary and limitations |
Build one row per program or requisition and keep the employer's statements separate from your preparation choices. The new firm comparison makes these distinctions visible; the worked cases then let you test arithmetic, assumptions and explanation rather than memorize a generic consulting answer.