McKinsey Problem Solving Test

I managed to work my way into getting a interview at McKinsey. I've been scheduled an interview along with a problem solving test next week. I was wondering what the best way to prepare for this is. Any sites I should know? Are there sample tests around somewhere?

Thanks!

 

I would recommend buying a couple of the tests that you can find online. The test is not hard but the time constraint kills you, mine had 3 full page cases and however many questions for each. The more you practice the better off you'll be

"If you survive to my age and you rack up a CV like mine, you can look at HR and say, "Fuck you. I don't try out."- Eddie
 
turtle:
I would recommend buying a couple of the tests that you can find online. The test is not hard but the time constraint kills you, mine had 3 full page cases and however many questions for each. The more you practice the better off you'll be

I agree that you should do practice tests (I did 3 or 4), but I'm pretty sure you can find enough free ones online. The test itself isn't incredibly difficult. What is difficult is managing to finish the test in time. You don't get penalized for wrong answers, so just go fast.

 

Yeah, thanks guys. Found some and was kindly given some by another WSO user (much appreciated).

What is the success rate on these things? How many do you need to score to pass? I have been nailing the practices one - having had 6 perfect scores on 10 tests. You get scrap paper and a calculator I gather?

 

If you are scoring near perfect on every test, you are more than ready to take it. If I remember correctly, the test is out of 26 and I have heard that in some cases, a score of 14-16 will give you a pass. I took it and passed it a few months back and I'm pretty sure I got nowhere near perfect. Make sure you're timing yourself just as strictly as they would (there is also no calculator or scrap paper). As mentioned above, the test itself is really not that difficult. It's all about managing your time and prioritizing.

 

Solid job if you're getting near perfect scores (but I'm guessing seeing as you mentioned the calculator, you've been using one?). Budget your time and the test is not at all hard. The math is easier then your average SAT or GRE, if you can even compare the two. I have a few exams lying around from my time, hit me up with your email and I can send them to you (with solutions). Good luck.

 

Hi,

I have to take PST in couple of weeks, is there any possible way you could share the materials with me? I would really really appreciate that! my email is nadyak78 at yahoo com thank you so much in advance!!! Nadya

 
Best Response

I have recently been through the selection process of McKinsey, Bain and BCG and I can definitely say that what makes the McKinsey process unique and definitely harder is the Problem Solving Test. People often overlook the importance of the PST and focus exclusively on case interviews preparation. Being good at case interviews does NOT imply being good and fast at the PST.

In my experience there were two big issues in preparing the PST: 1. The speed factor: it is a run against time and there are techniques you can master to save you a bit of time. 2. Understanding where to I stood vs. the benchmark in all areas of the test. I didn’t have enough time to practice everything again and again and wanted to focus my preparation on the areas where I needed it the most.

I tried a few resources, including mconsultingprep and preplounge, but what I found most useful was the My Consulting Coach full package. They take a scientific approach to the PST and give you some performance radar excel spreadsheets which really help you understanding where you are weaker. Then they also give you a nice guide where you learn to solve all questions by question type, and most of all they teach you some tips&tricks that saved me 5-7 minutes in the whole test.

And believe me, 5 minutes in the PST is GOLD, usually the time needed to answer correctly 2 more questions, possibly the ones that make you pass the test.

 

Hey, sorry to piggyback on your thread but I am also scheduled for the PST soon and would really appreciate if someone would be willing to share some sample PSTs with me. Thank you!!! avelez89 at gmail dot com

 

I took the PST a couple of months ago and passed. HR sends (or should send) you some resources to practice. Beyond that, there is really nothing you can do. If they dont, go on the website and practice the PST there, there are old PSTS floating around the web, I think one from 1993 and 2000. Practice those.

Focus on speed and more imprtantly, reading the question carefully. Be able to speed through the passages very quickly and once again, read the questions carefully. Maybe it was just my test, but the passages seemed much longer and more confusing than practice tests but the questions were on par or slightly easier.

I did not finish mine but neither did the 8 or so others taking with me. Good luck

 

Dear alreadyrich,

Can you please send me some PST if you still have some? My email address is narjis.sarehane @ gmail .com

I'd truly appreciate it. Thanks a lot!

Narjisse

 

How many days should I wait before deciding to move on? I took the test on Wed and the HR said that we should hear back on Friday. But since I applied for a different office so it might take longer?

 

Use the damn search function, there was a massive thread about the test. Just study with the materials on the McK website, the test is pretty unique.

FreedayFF, you should just chill out. Unless by "move on" you mean rescinding your application, your only choice is to wait and see.

One of those lights, slightly brighter than the rest, will be my wingtip passing over.
 

Pleased I would appreciate if you can send me the  My Consulting Coach full package...I hv ghe PST Tomorrow..that's in One day time...been searching for materials online and guide On the Pst..my email is gosureboy @ gmail. com Thanks

 
Mikey121112:
I would start with My Consulting Coach

Pleased I would appreciate if you can send me the My Consulting Coach full package...I hv ghe PST Tomorrow..that's in One day time...been searching for materials online and guide On the Pst..my email is gosureboy @ gmail. com Thanks

Modeling Training - Special fo

 
Mikey121112:
I would start with My Consulting Coach

Very Urgent Pleased I would appreciate if you can send me the My Consulting Coach full package...I hv ghe PST Tomorrow..that's in One day time...been searching for materials online and guide On the Pst..my email is gosureboy @ gmail. Com. Thanks

 

Fortunately, I got a delay in my test. The practice ones have slowly become much harder. I'm finding my scores to be around the 10-15 mark, which I dont think is enough to pass.

Not sure how else to approach them. Any tips?

 

I did (and passed) the PST in april. The questions aren't actually hard, just time pressured. You need to work FAST. Skim the questions then skim the data and words in the information provided. Work out what you need to work out first.. then do it.

As you approach the end of the test, you'll need to pick up the pace. There's no negative marking and some questions are easier than others so skip ahead if you encounter a hard one. If you're still not making good enough time, narrow down the question to two or three options then guess. Usually 3 out of 5 possible answers are obviously wrong then there are two that are very close - the longest time is spent differentiating the two, so it's better to go 50/50 on five questions than get two definitely right

 
Ebir:
I did (and passed) the PST in april. The questions aren't actually hard, just time pressured. You need to work FAST. Skim the questions then skim the data and words in the information provided. Work out what you need to work out first.. then do it.

As you approach the end of the test, you'll need to pick up the pace. There's no negative marking and some questions are easier than others so skip ahead if you encounter a hard one. If you're still not making good enough time, narrow down the question to two or three options then guess. Usually 3 out of 5 possible answers are obviously wrong then there are two that are very close - the longest time is spent differentiating the two, so it's better to go 50/50 on five questions than get two definitely right

Thanks Ebir. Where did you sit the test and how long did you have to wait for the result? How many sample PSTs did you manage to find/practic with? Was that helpful?

Did you just do the PST or was there a 'group case' study as well? I've been following PST-related threads and people mentioned there was a non-evaluated group case after the test, but the emails that I have recieved do not indicate of any such thing. Is this a 'surprise' test or an office-to-office variation?

 

I did the test in Oxford. There are a small number of free practice tests available (usually samples of a larger 'paid for' option). I did the ones I could find, but usually found them to be of much lower quality than the real McKinsey test. Just practice your basic maths and remember your tactics.

I had no group case. I don't think it''s really 'the McKinsey Way' to throw in a surprise group case so if you haven't heard anything I imagine you won't have one.

 

Curious about this as well!

Is the mock exam something you can take at their office or do you mean the practice tests McK has on its website? As far as I know they changed the format recently but it's limited to 'looks' - content wise there is no difference.

 

I got that email but I'm not going to participate--might just take up brain space that I'll need for the actual PST next month. Speaking of which, there isn't much out there in the way of quality practice exams. Anyone have any suggestions on how to get more experience with PST-type questions?

 

Hi,

I didn't get any email regarding to the PST change. From what I got from my recruiter yesterday, McKinsey removed PST for BA roles across North America. Are people getting the email applying for BA or higher positions?

 

The email says they're just testing new questions--under timed conditions, in their office--for future PSTs and need volunteers. Good practice opportunity, no bearing on candidacy, etc. Applying as ADP.

 

I have heard of passes in that range (subject to the difficulty of the test) but I would try to improve it in two steps. First, identify where your mistakes are coming from. Is it a time crunch or are there certain math questions that you're not particularly strong/fast at? Then work on them.

If it's a particular problem type, practice the shit out of it. Make random questions up and answer them in your head, that kind of thing.

If it's a consistent time struggle, you may have to change your approach entirely. The most efficient way to go through it is to read the questions first then skim the 'story' for key words/info you need. It will probably feel like a time crunch regardless but you can easily save a few minutes by optimizing your approach

 

Hmmm, I took it just last month and it was definitely 60 minutes and 26 questions for me! I'd hypothesize that they will have added more questions or more complex questions if they've lengthened it; but I have no data to back that up ;)

 

I'm interested in the same^ thing. Also maybe somebody has some extra practice materials (apart from Kosher&Fiji) they'd be willing to share? I'm super-worried: I have a PST coming up and I scored only like 13 out of 23 I managed to do on the Kosher test and 8 out of 10 on the Fiji. Failing the test would be such a waste of opportunity I would really like to avoid.. By the way, for me, as a non-native speaker, the test is 75min, while for native speakers it's still 60min.

 

Hi All

I'm also having a PST next week. Can some one please send me some PST prep material i.e., sample PSTs? I would be happy to share your material if you paid for the additional PST material.

Thanks.

 

Hi All

I'm also having a PST next week. Can some one please send me some PST prep material i.e., sample PSTs? I would be happy to share your COST if you paid for the additional PST material.

Thanks.

 

McKinsey offices in Australia no longer administer the PST for BA candidates (and maybe for other candidates too). Apparently different offices now have different policies; some offices that are very popular still use it as a filter.

 

all the material they provided online was good enough prep. Do some searches for it there are a lot of talks about it from various boards (this one, GMAT club, bw forums).

Overall all the prep material is a lot easier than the actual test, but what worked for me was to look for ways to eliminate answers and try to approximate rather than be 100% sure I got it right. They don't tell you how well you did, just that you passed

 
<span class=keyword_link><a href=/resources/skills/finance/federal-open-market-committee-fomc>fomc</a></span>:
quick question. Do you still have to do the PST for associate level positions (after MBA)??

for North America, I don't think MBAs have to do it--at least from the target schools. APDs do.

I took the PST after not having taken a math/quant class since jr year of high school. It didn't seem all that difficult, just a lot of common sense (and some business-y sense) and a lot of time pressure. Half the battle,it seems, is finishing the test. Despite the easiness, I was worried after the test, because it was actually easy to a point where I felt like I really missed something that I should have caught.

 

Yes, they made the HBS students take it this year.

The best prep for that test, besides their online materials, might actually be LSAT prep. A lot of the McKinsey questions are reading comp and logical reasoning.

 

I knew I'd seen this question before, but honestly the answers were of much higher quality the last time it got asked. I guess this is the part where history repeats itself as farce.

BONUS: I'll give at least one silver banana to the first person to identify what the above farce comment is a reference to.

One of those lights, slightly brighter than the rest, will be my wingtip passing over.
 
Nohelp2015:

Classic McKinsey... ^^

But you just handled the test? nobody from HR came to say goodbye?

HR were nowhere to be found. We just sat in the lobby for around 10 mins before asking at reception. Reception couldn't really help either and told us to hand the tests into security.

I sent over an email to the rep who invited me for the test but still nothing.

This was the London office btw.

 
ZenMaster:
On a shot in the dark, I sent an app to McKinsey and got invited to the 1st round. Pretty stoked about that but I'm struggling a little with the PST. I should really know this stuff but its a little trickier then expected. So, can someone:

1) Explain the best prep for it. I've gone thru the tests and managed an average of 14.

2) Whats the score required to pass? Is this dependent on position? i.e. I know they Research jobs too as well as Associate gigs (I'm going for an Associate role)

3) Anyone with any tests that can share?

Thanks a bunch.

Check out www.caseinterview.com - gives lots of insight into what to practice along with its own resources you can tap into. Also, I PM'd you.

Array
 

Hi All

I'm also having a PST next week. Can some one please send me some PST prep material i.e., sample PSTs? I would be happy to share your COST if you paid for the additional PST material.

Thanks.

 

If you actually got all the other questions right, you are definitely fine. The number of people that advanced to the second round in my batch was ridiculous. Literally half. I probably got around 20 out of 26 right. That is what I was averaging on the practices.

 

Not sure why you opened three new threads for this since they could be combined into one and there have been tons of topics about these previously.

The answer to two of three of your threads is to practice, practice, practice.

 

APDs still do. At least I did, and just got an offer (late 2014) in the U.S.

I found igotanoffer.com and the free Mck prep materials very helpful. mconsultingprep.com seems good too, but I didn't use it much. ...and of course practice addition, substraction, multiplication and division of large numbers manually. This also very helpful too!

Goodluck

 

Those 3 tests on the official site are more than enough for preparation IMO. The key is doing them for time, like you are going to take the actual test.

Prepping for the GMAT can take care of the "brain conditioning", so that you're in a good mental shape, and then finish it off with the timed tests to get acquainted with the tasks et cetera. Sort of like in sports you do more general conditioning during the year, and then start focusing heavily on the sport-specific stuff as you are nearing the competition day.

 

Hi All

I'm also having a PST next week. Can some one please send me some PST prep material i.e., sample PSTs? I would be happy to share your COST if you paid for the additional PST material.

Thanks.

 

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Alexandra Smith
 

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