First-round MBB interviews in 10 days – how should I prioritize my preparation?

Question

Hi everyone,

I’m currently finishing my Master’s at LSE and have first-round interviews with BCG London and Bain London in around 10 days.

I’ve done about 20–25 cases so far. I feel reasonably comfortable with structuring and maths, but I’m still inconsistent with exhibits: sometimes I get the main insight quickly and sometimes I spend too long describing the chart without really saying what it means.

I also haven’t prepared fit very seriously yet. I have stories for leadership, teamwork and failure, but they are not very polished and I sometimes ramble when answering follow-up questions.

I have enough time to do maybe 1–2 cases per day until the interviews.

What would you prioritize over the next 10 days? More full cases, drills, fit, or firm-specific preparation?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi there,

At this point, I would not try to increase case volume dramatically. You have already done 20–25 cases, so the priority now should be to make your performance more consistent and remove the specific weaknesses you already know you have.

I would structure the next 10 days around three things:

Keep doing full cases, but use them diagnostically. One good case per day with a strong peer is probably more useful than doing three randomly. After every case, write down the 2–3 things that actually hurt your performance and deliberately look for those again in the next session.
Drill exhibits separately. Your issue does not sound like reading charts; it sounds like moving from observation to implication. For every exhibit, force yourself to go through: key insight → evidence → implication for the case. If you can make that automatic, you will improve very quickly.
Start fit now, not two days before the interview. Have 4–5 strong stories and practise them with someone who will interrupt, challenge details and ask follow-ups. The goal is not to memorise STAR answers, but to become comfortable going deeper without losing structure.

I would keep firm-specific preparation relatively light. Understand the process, know why you want each firm and speak with people there if you can, but do not change your entire case-solving approach because one interview is Bain and the other is BCG.

One thing I would also do in the final week is reduce the amount of “new” preparation. The closer you get to interview day, the more valuable consistency, confidence and clean execution become versus learning another framework or doing another ten cases.

With 10 days left, I would rather arrive having fixed two real weaknesses than having increased your case count from 25 to 40.

Best,
Carlos