How do management consulting firms perceive those who have earned a Masters in Finance rather than an MBA? Are MBA holders typically given priority on paper?

The simple reality at most top tier management consulting firms is that the "Consultant" role is typically filled by three types of candidates: 1)  Organic hire i.e. he/she rose in the firm from an entry level associate/analyst position up to Consultant (typically 3-5 year path). I think this tends to the firm's most preferred option and, in my personal opinion, the best fit 2) An external hire who brings 3-6 years of consulting (or related) industry experience 3) A post MBA hire. Most firms have two structured recruiting programs - one for undergrad hires (associate level positions) and one for MBA hires. The top firms almost exclusively want to hire from the best MBA programs so that sort of tells you where they stack up in terms of favoring MBAs vs. MFs. Having done management consulting at a top tier firm and gone through cycles of hires for the Consultant position, I never saw a role being filled by someone outside those 3 buckets. In fact the couple of folks who did apply with a non-MBA masters (finance, math, CPA, etc...) were asked to start at a 2nd or 3rd year associate level and work their way up to the consultant role. This is not an opinion on the academic superiority of an MBA over MF. As other users have suggested, it's just about how the MBA is marketed and perceived. Management consulting is one of the primary feeders into all leading MBA programs so these firms like to go there to find superstars. With that said, you mentioned you already work in the consulting space (what kind?) so I think you have an edge there because at the end of the day top firms want people who'll go from "in training" to "superstar in action" asap. If you're already experienced in the role of the consultant, that will help you. Bottom line: It can be firm dependent and you should do some research (talk to the recruiters) on the specific firms you want to work at. Personally, I would choose the MBA because (generically speaking) it does get preference.

is correct. An MF isn't guaranteed to start at the post-MBA level... depending on the firm and hiring situation, you could be considered on par with undergrads and Masters applicants with no experience, unless you're at Business School recruiting sessions. Sure, you could still work yourself into the MBA-level hire conversation, but at the very least it's not straightforward.

Like Michael Lee mentioned, MBA is more popular but there are people from the arts and engineering will get one when they won't venture in quants with the MF and do extra courses to catch up with finance students. So as a result we see a lot of MBA's. If you like consulting more than finance, I'd probably go for the MBA... It seems easier to market yourself, yet you also fall in a larger pool of people to compete with.

Uh, I don't know what David Baker is talking about - but at least the top tier Management Consulting firms recruit many more MBA's than they do MF's. In my class at BCG, i don't remember one MF.