What is the general benchmark score needed to pass Bain SOVA?

Question

I’m not entirely sure if it’s the Bain SOVA. I was applying for Bain London and they sent an online assessment - this included personality, logical reasoning, and numerical reasoning only. None of it was timed. I finished the numerical within 26 minutes - the last 3 questions would not load properly for me so I ended up guessing them (I have no proof of this so haven’t emailed Bain). I think I got most of them correct? Maybe with the last 3 and 1-2 incorrect from the other questions. I think before I started Bain had a disclaimer that it should take around 30-40 minutes but don’t remember the exact time. The logical reasoning was difficult for me. I always do well on online tests and logical reasoning is something that I have always prided myself on - it’s a section I almost always know I’ve got 100% on but the SOVA one was the first time I found very difficult. I spent a while on it but also know I got some wrong. I found that the questions were nothing like the practise ones I saw on the SOVA website which were a lot easier! How do people prepare for this? It seems like natural intellect rather than preparation? It definitely caught me off guard. Now combined with the logical reasoning and the technical error in the numerical, I have no idea whether I’ll make it to the next stage. What do you need to get to the first round? I’m quite worried as this is my dream firm! I know I can apply again but it would be amazing to get in and know that I have a job here after university!

Answer 1

Hi there,

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

First of all, unfortunately, no one can seriously answer the question about your chances of success without looking over your shoulder.
Moreover, generally speaking, the Bain Sova pre-interview assessment is very similar to the reasoning section of the GMAT, even if, of course, not the same. You will be required to solve numerical, verbal, and abstract reasoning exercises, as well as complete a psychometric personality test.
Therefore, I would highly advise you to familiarize yourself with the format and types of questions and utilize any practice materials or mock tests that might be available. Since it is very similar to the GMAT, official GMAT preparation material should suffice.
For the personality test, I would advise you to carefully consider the personality traits being tested and how they would be desirable in a (Bain) consultant. This might guide you in answering the questions.
Finally, Bain, like most other consulting firms, does not publish a required score - and even if they did, you would still need to know how heavily your wrong answers were weighted.

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 there,

There are quite a few prep resources out there. The best is to work with a guide + practice sample questions (I have developed one with more than 500 questions). However, that's a bit too late now
As regards the score, they don't publicly talk about it (same as for every other recruiting test) but for similar tests at BCG and McK in the past there was always a 70=80% cut-off score floating around in each section of the test

Fingers crossed for a postiive outcome!

All the best,

Florian

Answer 3

Same here!!! I just finished the bain sova test and found it difficult, especially the logical thinking. I can't quite figure out the patterns behind the diagram, so i can only make it a guess :(

Hope we can proceed to the next round, power!!