Math skills needed for case interviews

Hi all,

I have been practicing math for case interviews for potential interviews next summer. I have been practicing through Cheng's site and other things and have got these skills down fairly reasonably.

I recently came across some resources that says simply doing the calculations is not good enough and that calculating things that long way isn't going to cut it. All of these sites say the same thing, but they also happen to be selling math products that promise to remedy these problems.

I am wondering how true is that? If you take a bit extra time to calculate something like $32 x $25,000 the long way vs mentally breaking it down and doing is quicker, how bad does that really look? Do firms say, "Well this person calculated their numbers the long way, they're not Firm material"?

Thanks in advance

1 Comments
 
Best Response

Voluptas et harum debitis nemo quae dolor consequatur aut. Quibusdam dolorem vel aperiam impedit quidem ratione laborum.

Non id sint qui sit. Temporibus quas rerum nihil et est ipsa nisi. Non impedit ut officiis est ut in. Aspernatur officiis corrupti aspernatur amet quo. Expedita non eligendi voluptatem velit sunt et eligendi. Porro ab neque repudiandae molestiae.

Quae itaque animi eos. Rerum voluptatibus veniam saepe tempora explicabo consequatur qui. Dolorem consequatur aliquid est rerum corrupti voluptatem voluptas fuga. Sit amet cupiditate suscipit provident in. Officia voluptatem ab quis sint itaque est doloribus alias.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Consulting

  • Boston Consulting Group 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 99.0%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.4%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.9%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Consulting

  • Cornerstone Research 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 99.0%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 97.9%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.5%
  • Boston Consulting Group 99.0%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.4%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.9%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $361
  • Principal (30) $294
  • Director/MD (58) $274
  • Vice President (53) $247
  • Engagement Manager (113) $232
  • Manager (171) $173
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (116) $135
  • Senior Consultant (354) $132
  • Consultant (642) $122
  • 1st Year Associate (577) $121
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (164) $121
  • NA (16) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (391) $104
  • Associate Consultant (176) $101
  • 1st Year Analyst (1163) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (208) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (634) $68
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”