How long to prepare for MBB be ready status? 1 year or let us say 2-3 month at max not to loose momentum?
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That's a fantastic question, and honestly, worrying about momentum is exactly right—I see candidates totally derail their prep because they get the timeline wrong.
The truth is, you should absolutely reject the idea of a 1-year timeline. Recruiting preparation is not a marathon; it’s a high-intensity, focused sprint. For the vast majority of strong candidates, the sweet spot is 3 to 4 months of dedicated, relentless effort right before the target recruiting cycle opens.
If you stretch preparation over a year, you hit peak performance three months in, plateau for several months, and then experience classic burnout right when you need maximum mental acuity for the actual interviews. You’ll be tired of the cases, and your feedback will lose its edge. We advise candidates to treat 2-3 months as the absolute minimum to build fluency, but four months is ideal for embedding the structured thinking into muscle memory.
Focus less on the calendar time and more on the volume of high-quality reps. You need 70-100 cases total, with at least 25 of those delivered to partners who have real experience conducting MBB interviews. Define your goal (fluency, speed, poise) and hit that volume aggressively within that three to four-month window. Don't drift; sprint.
All the best!
This is always the million dollar question.
Let's dive into the variables
- How much time you can dedicate per week (are you working for example)
- How much foundation you have (math, formula, past casing experience etc.)
- How effectively you debrief your cases and study in between casing
- How much you need to polish your presentation/communication style
- If you hire a coach
Based on these factors I do think it is reasonable to say 1 year is too long. 2-3 months could be a nice sweet spot - depending on the above factors. I have worked with candidates who secured their MBB spot after ~2-3 months and those that have prepped for ~6 months while working. It all depends.
Happy to discuss further and more specific to you if helpful.
Merry Christmas!
