okay so i did a lot of searching on this and couldn't find anything specific to 2026 so i'm posting what i found after going through the bcg x recruiting process this spring.
bcg x does recruit new grads directly for software engineering roles. the title is 'associate software engineer' which is their entry-level IC track. here's what i was told and what i found comparing notes with two other people who went through the same cycle:
base: $130,000 - $145,000 depending on location and specific sub-team within BCG X. i was offered $138k in boston.
bonus: 10-15% target. they described it as performance-based and said most new grads hit target in year 1. so effective cash with bonus was roughly $152k-$160k.
equity: $40k over 4 years ($10k/yr). 1-year cliff, standard vest after that. this is noticeably below FAANG new grad grants but i was told they've been increasing the equity component over the last two years as competition for eng talent got tighter.
sign-on: $5k in my case. heard from one other person it was $8k for them (different city, maybe different negotiation outcome).
total year 1 all-in: somewhere in the $163k-$175k range depending on bonus and sign-on. for reference i had offers from two SaaS companies around $155k TC and one FAANG offer at $215k TC (bay area, granted). i took the BCG offer because of the brand and the type of work.
did not negotiate the base much, they told me the band was pretty set for new grad roles. i did negotiate the sign-on from $0 to $5k which felt like a win at the time.