McKinsey comes to my business school to interview candidates every year. They shortlist students for the interview purely based on their resumes unlike the other consulting firms who rely, at varying degrees, on networking. This shows how meritocratic they are. Even though the consultants who came to the school appeared aloof during the company presentation and networking events, they become extremely friendly, polite and humble during the interview days both at my b-school campus and during my visit to their NYC office. There were two interviews on campus and then those selected for the final rounds had 3-4 rounds with partners/principals at their preferred location. All the interviews are half behavioral and half case. In the campus round, the behavioral questions were more predictable - they wanted to know how you influence people or handle conflicts. The stories have to be detailed with focus on what you were thinking at that point and why you did what you did. The final rounds are very similar to the first rounds except that the partners have more freedom in the process. Be ready to talk about things not on your resume, about your passion, about your personal life as well (what I mean is, questions like biggest mistake, etc shouldn't or needn't just be a professional story). I think a BIG factor here is likability - the partners have to like you. Hence it becomes more subjective very unlike the first round.