Rejection Email following McKinsey Solve Game

Question

I had applied to a junior associate position in MCK in February of this year, and I received an invitation to play the Solve Game. However, I received a rejection email after I took the Solve Game. Can I apply again and receive the Solve invitation or do I still have to wait another year before applying again?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Hi there,

First of all, I am sorry to hear about the rejection from McKinsey!

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

First of all, since you are not in a special situation - for example, in the middle of your master's degree program, having applied for an internship and planning to apply for a full-time role soon - the standard ban period of 12-18 months most likely applies to you too.
Moreover, since it is unclear whether you were rejected because of your McKinsey Solve pre-interview assessment score, application files, referral, or a combination of these factors, please keep in mind that your McKinsey Solve score is valid for 12 months. I would strongly advise you to reach out to the recruiter to find out when you can reapply for certain.

You can find more on this topic here: How to deal with a rejection from a consulting company.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Answer 2

Hi Esraa—sorry to hear about the outcome, but great job getting to the Solve stage.

McKinsey typically asks candidates to wait 12 months from the date of their last application before reapplying. This gives you time to strengthen your profile. If you've had significant changes (e.g. new degree, role, or major project), it may be worth reaching out to the recruiting team to ask if an earlier reapplication is possible.

When you reapply, you'll receive a fresh invitation to Solve—McKinsey doesn’t reuse past scores.

You're clearly a strong candidate already, and this experience will only help you come back stronger. Feel free to reach out if you'd like support with your CV or prep.

Best,

Evelina

Answer 3

Hi there,

Sorry to hear.

Solve can be pretty tough indeed. But it might not be the full reason why you got rejected. When recruiters decide whether to invite candidates for the interview, they also look at your CV, cover letter and referral (if applicable). In that sense, when you reapply, take a close look at all of them.

In terms of timeline, indeed you need to wait for about a year. You can apply earlier, some offices make exceptions, but you'll need to discuss with the recruiter about this.

In the meantime, it's best if you focus on other applications.

Best,
Cristian

Answer 4

Hey, the odds are that you'll need to wait out the cool-off period until you apply again.

However, I strongly recommend reaching out to your recruiter to confirm this.

If the rest of your application is really strong, they may be able to shorten the cool-off period for you, as there are some case-by-case exceptions.