Take prerequisites
ACC 200, IS 201, ECON 110. Keep your BYU GPA strong — both BYU GPA and pre-req GPA are weighed.
Prep your application
Practice the case (market sizing), draft your essays, and meet with Strategy faculty or the WSA club.
Apply
Submit through the Marriott apply dashboard before 4:30 PM. Admissions decisions arrive in ~4 weeks.
Start the major
STRAT 401, 402, Career Development, Strategic Thinking. The Junior Core begins.
The Strategy program is intentionally broad. Graduates go on to management consulting, product management, corporate strategy, venture capital, and entrepreneurship. If you aren’t yet sure exactly what you want to do, that’s not a weakness — the program is designed for students who want a high-leverage, transferable skill set that keeps options open. At its core, the program is about learning to operate effectively under ambiguity.
Pre-req GPA + BYU GPA
Both your prerequisite course GPA and overall BYU GPA are weighed.
ACT or SAT — don't retake
Considered as a baseline signal, but it is not worth retaking. Focus your energy on essays, GPA, and your case response — that's where applications are won.
Written essays
Brief essays that show how you think and why Strategy is the right major for you.
Video interview + case response
Recorded response to a case question (almost always market sizing). Tests structured thinking under time pressure.
Faculty and club interactions
Personal interactions with program faculty and club leadership before and during the cycle.
Your application includes responding to a case question — a simulation that explores how you think through a real business problem. The case is almost always a market-sizing question. It tests how you break down complex problems, use data, and communicate clearly under time pressure. Practice several before you record yours.
The McKinsey cases below are designed for 20–30 minute consulting interviews, so they are more involved than your admission case — use them to push your structured thinking further.