Comparison R1 - R2

Hi There,

Definitely echo what Kevin & Mihir said. Expect to see more of your interviewers at the partner level. They tend to have more flexibility but will still do their fit portion and case. However, some of the cases they give you may be from actual cases they worked on, so be prepared for more in-depth questioning. Also, you may see Partners wanting to focus on a subsect of the case, skip over a part, or even ask you a mini case question before your actual case.

Basically, keep prepping the way you have but be ready to potentially be flexible and show that you can roll with the unexpected.

Hope this helps and happy to chat!

-Ankit A

Hi there,

I wouldn’t say there’s a huge gap between R1 and R2, but there are definitely a few things to keep in mind.

In Final Round interviews, your interviewer is usually more senior. That often means: less structure, fewer guiding questions, and more focus on your ability to drive the conversation, apply sound business judgment, and communicate top-down.

In terms of prep: the core casing skills stay the same. But it helps to practice with someone experienced (ideally a coach) who challenges you more, throws in curveballs, and gives you sharp feedback – that simulates the Final Round dynamic quite well.

Best of luck!
Kevin

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the (presumed) progress in the application process thus far!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

• Contrary to what other coaches have said, final interview rounds are often times a bit different, but not necessarily any harder. I have written a detailed article about all the potential differences in the final interview round.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming final-round interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

hi there, 

Yes, i would say that the expectations definitely shift from R1 to R2. In R1, firms check whether you can solve cases and have the right toolkit. In R2, they look for whether you’re ready to be client-facing. So the bar is higher in terms of polish, confidence, top-down communication, and business judgment.

in my opinion, you should prep differently in R2: focus less on mechanics and more on how you deliver. Practice sounding structured without overthinking, challenge the interviewer gently when needed, and sharpen your personal fit answers—they get more conversational and reflective in R2.

Let me know if you want to run a mock at R2 level!

Best,
Alessa :)

Yeah, I echo Kevin’s answer.

The added difficulty tends to come more from the interviewers being less structured, and more demanding.

At some firms they do also tend to give a bit harder cases in r2

The interview evaluation scorecard does not change between R1 and R2. Like others have mentioned, the profile of the interviewers change.

Does this mean some differences? Potentially. But it also may not. My R2 had 1 super standard traditional case, and 1 really unexpected interview (basically the MDP drew a graph on the board and say "tell me what you think").

So bottom line - focus on the fundamentals.. and don't try and predict what you will get :)

Agree with what have been mentioned. There is no huge gap between R1 and R2 case interviews - the fundamentals are the same. Only that if your interviewer in R2 is more senior e.g. partner, sometimes the question / conversation might appear a bit less structured. 

Particular for Bain, note that R1 has no fit interview, the fit interview questions would only come up during R2. 

Best,

Emily

Hi,

When coaches say that the interview is less structured in R2, it means questions may seem almost informal or conversational. DO NOT try to answer them in the same manner. Partners expect you to keep being structured, even if you don’t have time to properly outline your answers. 
This has happened to me in my R2, the interviewer has asked me casually to think about some ideas to increase revenues for a business, and my MECE answer on the spot was something he positively noticed.

Best,

Mari

Hi there,

That's where ChatGPT is only summarising opinions from online chats that are propagated by candidates, not interviewers or firm policy.

In short, no, the difference between the two rounds is not big, arguably not even significant. You are tested for the same things, and they want to see that you consistently perform well (as in, you didn't just have a lucky day in the first round) and that you can improve of the feedback provided after the first round (which is why it's important to be very clear about what you need to work on).

Best,
Cristian

One other point to note here is that some firms specifically test for how you respond to feedback received after R1 to assess how ‘trainable’ you are.

Good luck!