Hi Everyone! I am quite concerned about McKinsey PST and BCG Potential Test. Do you know great materials I can use (other than the company website)? Any tips? Thanks

HI Julien!
Thanks for reaching out.
McKinsey PST and BCG Potential test are quite different.

Indeed, for BCG Potential Test, you are allowed to use a calculator and the difficulty lies in three main things:
1. the point system: +2 right answer, 0 no answer, -1 wrong answer. The idea here is not to gamble too much when you answer your questions.
2. Being fast and accurate: BCG Potential test gives you two sets of informations at first (with introduction, quants and testimonies from executives in the firm) and then you have to adress one or two problems. The idea here is to navigate between those informations and look for the right one.
3. Qualitative questions: Here the idea is to look closely to the options (give a recommandation to the CEO type) and eliminate irrelevant answers.
For BCG Test, there are some examples that are free in the internet.

For McKinsey PST, the idea is to use math tricks in order to increase your speed and accuracy.
For McKinsey PST, I advise you to work on the examples on McKinsey website as well as old PSTs. I Got An offer has also a pack to prepare for PST (But I don't want to do marketing for them here :) )
Finally, to increase your numerical accuracy (which will be also helpful for the cases), I advise you to work on Math apps/GMAT.
Best of luck and do not hesitate to contact me if you need any help.
Norah

(edited)

Dear Julien!

I would recommend you to:

• Practice GMAT for BCG

1) Keeping your math trained with GMAT exercises is always a good idea. Free resourced can be found online, for example:

• http://www.mba.com/global/the-gmat-exam/prepare-for-the-gmat-exam/test-prep-materials/free-gmat-prep-software.aspx
• https://www.mba.com/exams/gmat https://www.mba.com/-/media/files/mba2/assessments/2018/gmat/gmat-handbook-2020-07-10.pdf?la=en&hash=9DCAD3E9A43EEE7B520C84327FBEC6F399A72D82

2) Also, tests that usually are for investment banks (with graphs analysis) are useful. Free resourced can be found online, for example:

• https://www.tptests.com/Candidate/practice/Instructions

3) Official BGC Potential test examples:

• https://www.bcg.com/careers/path/consulting/practice-interview-cases.aspx

Practice PST. You can find some guidance on PrepLounge https://www.preplounge.com/en/bootcamp.php/interview-first-aid/master-the-problem-solving-test/guide-to-improving-speed-in-written-tests-such-as-the-pst

• Buy Viktor Cheng test prep program - the best materials I've seen so far.

• Practice your math.

Do the 2nd test and check the score

Also, you can find a good number of PST tests online

Best,

André

Hey Julien,

As a BCG veteran, i'd tell you not to worry about the BCG test. It mostly tests speed, which most candidates that have experience in doing case interview math can easily tackle.

Not very helpful, I know - but I see a lot of students stress out about this test, and it usually tends to be rather straight forward.

Best,

Vasilis