How did I do? Gorilla & Solve

Question

Hello all,

I have a PhD in civil engineering, and I am currently enrolled in an MBA program (UIUC) to be completed by Feb 2027. I'm self-employed at a firm I started 3 years ago, and I'm looking to transition to management consulting. I applied for several positions at MBB;

BCG rejected all my applications. I did the Solve game for McKinsey and the Gorilla assessment for Bain. But have not heard back from them yet and it has been over a month.

- For the Bain Gorilla assessment, I'm confident I did over 90% correct

- For the McKinsey Solve game, I'm confident I did the study (with three questions and a report) correctly. Out of the six mini cases, I did 4 correctly and missed the last two due to time (their calculator is not good and caused me to lose a lot of time). For the Seawolf game, I did 100/100/80, and there was a future lab game (with no pass/fail), but I think I answered strategically.

I am wondering if these scores are within the acceptable range? I would greatly appreciate any insight.

Answer 1

Hi, If the scores are really where you think they are, you are in the right range. Both firms keep the actual cutoffs internal but a strong Gorilla and a clean Solve study with 4/6 mini cases would normally be enough to move forward.

Did you apply through a recruiter or directly on the website? If it was via a recruiter, worth following up with them if you have not already. If direct, the wait can be long and visibility is limited.

One other thing to keep in mind, as firms head into summer the recruiting cycle slows down because the focus shifts to summer interns. A month of silence in this window is not unusual and does not necessarily mean a no.

Given you are a PhD with some real experience, the key for you is to network with the right people in your target offices and get your foot in the door. Online applications alone are a tough channel for experienced hires, warm referrals matter a lot more.

I know its not a clear answer but hope it's useful !