Consulting Online Tests Compared: MBB, Tier-2 and Big Four

Which consulting firms use an online test before interviews?

Nearly every strategy firm now places an online assessment between the resume screen and the first case interview. McKinsey, BCG and Bain all use one, as do Kearney, L.E.K., Oliver Wyman and Roland Berger for at least part of their intake. The Big Four consulting arms add one-way video interviews on top.

The format depends on the firm, the office and sometimes the role. Treat the overview below as a map and your invitation email as the final word. Every detail in this guide was checked in October 2026, and anything a firm has not published itself is labelled as a candidate or prep-provider report.

The master table: formats and rules by firm

Two patterns stand out. Tests with strict time limits per question (Kearney, L.E.K., Oliver Wyman) reward speed on short calculations. Tests built around a single scenario (Solve, Casey) reward the ability to filter relevant data out of a lot of noise.

MBB: Solve, Casey, the CCA, SOVA and TestGorilla

McKinsey uses Solve for most consulting roles. McKinsey officially forbids apps, websites, AI tools and prepared notes. Candidate reports describe Redrock Study and Sea Wolf in about 65 minutes, with Sustainable Futures Lab added in some invitations for about 85 minutes. The full breakdown is in the McKinsey test guide.

BCG has no single global test. MyConsultingCoach reports that Casey, a chatbot-led case, gives about 35 minutes for 8-10 questions and closes with a one-minute webcam recommendation, with no way to go back to earlier answers. The Consulting Career Assessment (CCA), used mainly in North America, is reported as a 30-35 minute SHL-designed screen of reasoning and behavior that cannot be retaken. Several European offices use their own cognitive or numerical tests instead. The history of the older format is in the BCG Potential Test article.

Bain uses SOVA in many European and Middle Eastern offices and TestGorilla in several US offices and some European ones, Amsterdam included, according to Hacking the Case Interview. SOVA is reported at 60-75 minutes and about 75 questions; TestGorilla at 40-50 minutes in four hard-timed sections with the webcam on. Bain's own estimate of the time needed is shorter, so confirm with your recruiter. Bain's interview stages are covered in the Bain case interview guide.

Tier-2: Kearney, L.E.K., Oliver Wyman, Roland Berger, Strategy&

Kearney's test is the most documented. StrategyCase reports 40 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes across six sections: logical counting, data sufficiency, logical text, reading a passage, reading a table and reading a graph. Correct answers earn 5 points, wrong answers lose 1 and blanks score 0. If a question has five options, a blind guess is worth 0.2 x 5 - 0.8 x 1 = +0.2 points, so leaving questions blank costs you. Some offices reportedly use an Excel-based variant.

L.E.K. reportedly gives 18 questions in 30 minutes, supervised live on Zoom with the camera on, and no calculator. Topics span fast math, critical reasoning, data interpretation, algebra word problems, data sufficiency and error spotting, and the last five questions are reported to be clearly harder.

Oliver Wyman invites only part of its applicants, according to Road to Offer. The numerical section reportedly runs about 20 minutes with up to 30 chart-heavy questions and penalizes wrong answers; a work-styles questionnaire of similar length follows.

Roland Berger may send permanent-entry candidates an online analytics test whose vendor and rules appear only in the invitation. Strategy& in the Netherlands states on its own careers site that candidates complete a two-part online assessment, cognitive and behavioral, of about 60 minutes within one week, with an SHL practice test beforehand. Two interview rounds follow.

One-way video screens (HireVue, Spark Hire)

Recorded video interviews ask fit questions without a live interviewer. Hacking the Case Interview reports that the Big Four are the heaviest users of HireVue, typically 5-8 behavioral questions with about 30 seconds to prepare and 2-3 minutes to answer each. Bain uses video screens in many offices and BCG in some, while McKinsey typically does not. Road to Offer reports that BCG's version runs on Spark Hire with about three questions. Prepare these like a fit interview: short stories, one point per answer, delivered to a camera.

The three sub-skills that transfer across tests

The formats differ, but three abilities carry most of the score.

The PST, McKinsey's old written test that I took, rewarded one habit above all: read the question first, then look only at the part of the exhibit that answers it. The same habit decides Kearney's table and graph sections and L.E.K.'s data interpretation. The exhibit routine is set out step by step in how to read case interview charts.

A two-week plan when you face several tests at once

Applying to five firms can mean four different tests in a month. Train the shared skills first, then the formats.

1. Days 1-2: map your tests. List each firm, its expected test, length, calculator rule and scoring rule. Ask recruiters to confirm anything unclear.
2. Days 3-6: arithmetic. Fifteen minutes a day of percentages, ratios and growth rates by hand, then one timed set of short word problems.
3. Days 7-9: exhibits. Read the question before the chart, every time. Work timed sets of tables and graphs with a strict per-question budget.
4. Days 10-11: logic. Practice data sufficiency and short critical-reasoning items, which appear in Kearney's and L.E.K.'s tests.
5. Days 12-13: formats. Watch the official Solve preview, run a Casey-style simulation, and do one full mock under the exact time limit of your hardest test.
6. Day 14: rest and setup. Check webcam, connection, quiet room and permitted materials.

The pass rates in this funnel are steep, as the screening math shows, so full timed runs matter more than extra reading.

Stephan's note: My two practice books were written for the PST, which McKinsey has retired. Each still gives you a full 26-question written-case test with dense exhibits and no calculator, which is close to what Kearney, L.E.K. and Oliver Wyman ask. The Second Key to the PST gives you a fresh timed set after your first mock. If you are applying to several firms at once, the Prep Pack bundles both tests with Cracking the Case. For a week-by-week routine, see the practice plan.