The McKinsey test in 2026: Solve explained

What is the McKinsey test today?

The McKinsey test is Solve, a gamified online assessment of problem solving. McKinsey describes it as one step in the consultant recruitment process, considered together with the rest of your application. You take it on your own computer after the resume screen and before case interviews.

Solve replaced the Problem Solving Test (PST), the paper written case I took and later coached candidates on. If you find an older guide that tells you to prepare for 26 multiple-choice questions in a test room, it describes the retired PST.

The Solve games in 2026

McKinsey does not publish the exact game lineup. Candidate reports and prep providers describe the following versions.

Each game has its own timer, according to candidate reports, and tutorials are untimed.

Redrock Study (about 35 minutes). You research a natural ecosystem, collect relevant data into a journal, run calculations and write up findings, followed by short case-style questions. This is the closest relative of the old PST: read, filter, calculate, conclude.

Sea Wolf (about 30 minutes). You select microbes to treat contaminated sites, filtering candidates by characteristics that must match each site's requirements. It tests systematic elimination under time pressure.

Sustainable Futures Lab (about 20 minutes). Reported as a newer module of roughly 13 questions on sustainability-themed scenarios. Expect data interpretation and judgment questions.

The rules McKinsey sets

McKinsey's Solve page is explicit. Without a written accommodation, you may not use applications, websites, AI tools or pre-prepared notes. You may not record or screenshot the assessment, and you must complete it alone. McKinsey warns that violations can lead to exclusion, a rescinded offer or restrictions on future applications.

Practical setup matters too. Use a stable internet connection, a laptop or desktop with a mouse, and a quiet room. McKinsey provides a technical support address in the invitation if something fails during the sitting.

What Solve measures

McKinsey states it assesses connection, drive, leadership, growth and problem solving. Solve targets the last one. According to prep providers, it scores two dimensions:

• Product score: the quality of your outcomes, such as correct calculations and correct final choices.
• Process score: how you work, inferred from clicks, time allocation, the order in which you gather information and how often you change answers.

McKinsey does not publish the weighting or a pass mark. My view on cutoffs, then and now, is in the PST cutoff score.

How hard is it to pass?

Hard. Roughly 300,000 early-career candidates take Solve each year (McKinsey blog, as reported by prep sites), and prep providers estimate that 70-80% are screened out. Those figures are estimates. In my day the PST eliminated about two out of three takers, so the bar has, if anything, risen. The funnel math shows where you stand.

Solve compared with the old PST

The two tests screen for the same ability with different instruments.

The biggest practical change is the process score. On the PST, only the letter you marked counted. On Solve, prep providers report that how you gather and use information also counts, so a calm, systematic approach pays twice.

How to prepare in 4 steps

McKinsey says no preparation is needed. That is fair for familiarity with the games, which you learn in the tutorials. The underlying skills reward practice.

1. Learn the format. Read the official Solve page and watch McKinsey's own preview so nothing on screen surprises you.
2. Build data filtering habits. Practice reading exhibits and long passages for one specific question. Timed written cases are good training.
3. Sharpen mental math. Percentages, ratios, growth rates and unit conversions. Aim for accuracy first, then speed.
4. Rehearse under time. Do at least two full timed sessions of data-heavy problems before test day, then review your errors by type.

Once you pass Solve and are invited to interview, McKinsey gives you free access to an AI practice tool for quantitative case questions. Business Insider reported that it launched in April 2026, generates a new case each time across 15 industries, and drew about 10,000 users in its first month. Use it for the case math that follows Solve.

Stephan's note: When I coached candidates for the PST, the ones who failed rarely lacked intelligence. They lacked a routine for the first 30 seconds of each problem. Solve rewards the same routine: know what you are looking for before you look.

How written case practice fits

Written case practice tests are a compact way to train steps 2 to 4. The Prep Pack bundles my three books at a discount: two full 26-question written-case practice tests (The Key to the PST and The Second Key to the PST) and Cracking the Case for the interviews that follow. The practice tests were built for the PST, which is retired. They still drill the reading, math and objective-finding that Solve and case interviews reward. See the Prep Pack, the 4-week practice plan, and the McKinsey case interview guide for what comes after Solve.