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BCG quant test vs Potential Test

BCG
New answer on Dec 27, 2020
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Anonymous C asked on Oct 29, 2020

I have been invited to do the quant test for BCG - is this the same as the Potential Test?

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Clara
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replied on Oct 30, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

TBH, I am not 100% sure if they are the same thing, let´s see what hte BCG people say in the post. 

However, what is for sure is that those tests are always the same, preparing for them always requieres the same steps and exercises. 

I would strongly recomment you practice it with the Integrated Reasoning part of the GMAT exam.

There are free exams in the internet that you can use for practice (the one of LBS MBA page, Verits prep, as well as some free trials for courses such as the one of The Economist (https://gmat.economist.com/)

The (old) McKinsey PST, BCG Online Test, Bain SOVA test, etc. are all quite similar so leverage resources across all of them (https://www.myconsultingoffer.org/case-study-interview-prep/bcg-online/ , psychometricinstitute.co.uk/Free-Aptitude-Tests.asp)

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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Ian
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replied on Oct 29, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

The online tests across companies are very similar

Format? Somewhat. Content and what's required from you ability-wise? Not at all.

The best way is to really find online tests / questions and practice. Regardless as to whether is a new or old test, the principles are mostly the same:

  • Time management (need to think quick)
  • Business knowledge/context (incl key formulas)
  • Critical thinking (answers that are very similar to each other...clues "hidden" in the text)
  • Ability to interpret data/charts

Think of it as a merge of a case and the GMAT/GRE.

You need to be clear on some key case-related and account formulas (margin, growth, breakeven, etc) as well as be good at critically understanding the question (including nuance to questions) and parsing through complicated text with a fair amount of distraction.

You'll also need to be good at chart/graph reading.

The (old) McKinsey PST, BCG Online Test, Bain SOVA test, etc. are all quite similar so leverage resources across all of them.

https://www.myconsultingoffer.org/case-study-interview-prep/bcg-online/

https://www.shl.com/shldirect/en/practice-tests

https://www.psychometricinstitute.co.uk/Free-Aptitude-Tests.asp

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Anonymous D replied on Oct 30, 2020

I have just taken the test and from what I can gather, they are quite different. The Quant test, in my experience, is much less graph and interpretation heavy. I would say, as they advise in the email, to use GMAT resources to practice. The material in the test was very different from what I have experienced at other firms and included algebra and some basic geometry etc. I would also point out though, that this seems to be a new test they are trailing, as there is a disclaimer before the test highlighting that the results will actually be given minimal weighting when considering the application. How true that is though, I don't know.

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Gaurav
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Content Creator
replied on Dec 27, 2020
Ex-Mckinsey|Certified Career Coach |Placed 500+ candidates at MBB & other consultancies

Hello there!

Though the format of the quant test may differ from the BCG Potential, it's still worth practicing as there's almost no difference in the core principles implemented.

Practicing GMAT tests could be a great help to get used to the format, timing, interpretation of charts and graphs.

Hope it helps.
Cheers,
GB

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Clara gave the best answer

Clara

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