How to start preparing for case interviews as a physics student?

Hi David,

Great question! I'd do both, but not one after the other: start with a light business foundation and then let practice take over.

As a physics student you already have the quant and the structured thinking. What you are missing is business intuition: how companies make money, what moves revenue and cost, why margins go up or down. So spend some time getting familiar with that. Read a case prep guide, learn to read a P&L, get comfortable with the basic levers. But without falling into the trap of over-studying the business side (I've seen many candidates doing so and getting to real interviews with plenty of theory and little practice, which usually doesn't work).

Then start doing cases, because you do not actually learn this by reading about it. The gaps you hit while practising are what tell you where to go back and study. Practice is the engine and the studying just fills the specific holes it exposes. Specifically, I'd recommend you do live cases with people as early as you can, not just solo on paper. A case is a two-way thing, thinking out loud, reacting to data, holding a recommendation under questions. That part only comes from doing it with someone on the other side, whether peers, forums or a coach.

Last point, leverage what physics gave you. The rigor is a real advantage. The two things to watch are building that business judgment and communicating your ideas simply, and both come with practice. 

Hope it helps and good luck with the prep!

Federico

Hi,

Start with both, but let practice become the main focus quickly.

You likely already have strong quantitative and structured problem-solving skills. Spend a little time learning the basics of how businesses make money, including revenue, costs, profit, and common industry drivers, but avoid over-studying theory.

Live case practice is where most of the learning happens. Start early with peers or a coach, then use the mistakes you make to identify which business concepts or case skills you need to review.

Also focus on communicating simply and making clear recommendations. Physics encourages overly technical or complex answers, while interviewers value clarity and prioritization.

In short: build a light business foundation, practise cases consistently, and study specific gaps as they appear.

Hope this helps,
Franco

Hi,

Sharing my perspective as someone who also came from a 'non-business' background, and who has also coached several PhD candidates from various STEM backgrounds. 

What the interviewers are really looking is a way of thinking, rather than content itself. Now you do need some basic understanding about business, but frankly it is not much. 

Focus instead on the fundamentals - identify what traits/skills the firms are looking for, then focus on working on those. Live practice will always trump just reading casebooks. 

I talk exactly about this and more in my article:

Breaking into Consulting from a non-traditional background

And you might also find this article helpful to give you a sense of the prep you can take (you can extrapolate it for a longer term): 

The 1-day consulting interview prep plan

All the best!

Hi David,

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

• First of all, I would strongly advise you not to overthink it - there is no single reason why you should prepare any differently than all other candidates only because you studied physics. Yes, you may lack some advanced understanding of business compared to a business major, but that's about it.
• Moreover, do not fall into the trap of over-studying theory. After the basics, real progress comes from doing case studies, not from reading more about them. So start to solve cases early instead of only consuming frameworks in your head.
• Lastly, I would advise you to run both tracks in parallel: keep the business reading light in the first one or two weeks (PrepLounge has the amazing Case Interview Basics for this), then shift most of your energy to live practice with case partners and, ideally, an experienced coach like me who can give you honest feedback on where you lose structure or speed.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your application files, for your upcoming pre-interview assessments and/or interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi,

As a physics student, you are actually starting from a strong position for consulting. The analytical thinking, problem-solving approach, and ability to work with complex information are all highly transferable.

I would not spend months studying business theory before starting cases. Many candidates make this mistake and delay the most important part: building case-solving skills.

I would approach it in this order:

First, learn the basic case structure.
Understand how consulting cases work: problem structuring, hypothesis-driven thinking, brainstorming, market sizing, profitability, and interpreting exhibits. You do not need to know every business concept before starting.

Then start practicing early.
After learning the basics, begin doing cases with other candidates. Case interviews are a skill, and improvement mainly comes from practice and feedback.

Build business knowledge in parallel.
You do not need an MBA-level business background. Focus on understanding common concepts:

• revenue and cost drivers,
• market entry,
• pricing,
• operations improvement,
• mergers and acquisitions.

Reading consulting reports, company annual reports, and business news is usually more useful than memorizing frameworks.

Your physics background can actually be a differentiator, especially for industries like energy, technology, healthcare, and industrials. The key is learning how to translate your analytical skills into business language.

So I would not choose between "business knowledge" and "practice." Start practicing cases now, and use business learning to fill the gaps you discover during preparation.

Best,

Soheil

I'd actually do the opposite.

You don't need to become a business expert before you start casing. Most physics students already have the analytical skills consulting firms are looking for—the challenge is learning how to structure problems, communicate clearly, and think in a business context.

I'd recommend something like this:

• Spend a few hours understanding the basics (profit, revenue, costs, market share, etc.).
• Learn what a good case structure looks like.
• Start practicing cases as soon as possible.
• After each case, identify one or two specific weaknesses (structuring, math, brainstorming, communication) and work on those through targeted drills.

One mistake I see quite often is people spending weeks reading business books before doing their first case. You'll learn much faster by practicing and filling knowledge gaps as they come up.

The good news is that I've coached many candidates from STEM backgrounds, including physics, and they often progress very quickly once they get comfortable translating their analytical thinking into a business setting.

hey David!

Start with practice, not business theory. Physics students do well in cases because they already think in models, assumptions, and structured problem‑solving. You don’t need to study business first. You need to learn the case format.

The clean sequence is this. First learn how a case works: prompt, structure, analysis, recommendation. Then practise a few simple cases to understand the rhythm. Only after that add basic business concepts like revenue, cost, market size, and value chain. You will pick them up naturally while practising.

Your physics background already gives you the right habits: breaking problems into parts, checking assumptions, doing quick math, and explaining your reasoning. Use that. Practise consistently and keep your structures short and relevant.

Alessa

You do not need to study business textbooks before starting. Your physics background already gives you strong first-principles thinking and quantitative logic.

What most people get wrong is trying to memorize finance jargon or rigid frameworks. What actually matters is learning how to structure messy business problems out loud.

Start practicing simple live cases right away to build business context. Feel free to reach out if you want to discuss this further.