Get Active in Our Amazing Community of Over 451,000 Peers!

Schedule mock interviews on the Meeting Board, join the latest community discussions in our Consulting Q&A and find like-minded Case Partners to connect and practice with!

How does the Consulting Q&A work?

Anyone can ask a question

Anyone can write an answer

Upvotes let answers rise to the top

Clarifying questions

asking questions BCG BCG Case Interview Case Interview case questions case structure Clarifying questions Open question questions Structure

Most recent answer on Nov 10, 2023

Anonymous gave the best answer on Jun 05, 2018

Hey there, It could be helpful if you clarified with whoever provided your feedback on why you should have asked clarifying questions. In the absence of more detail, I'll share 2 cents from some common pitfalls that ... (read entire answer)

16
Answers

43.6 k
Views

88
Total Upvotes

on Nov 10, 2023 on Nov 10, 2023
Last Activity

How much water is needed for one cup of coffee?

case interview practice with consultants case questions interview questions

Most recent answer on Mar 09, 2023

Paul

Expert

PL-level BCG experience (6 years)|Interviewer at BCG| 6/6 personal + 95%+ candidates offer success rate

Paul

Expert

gave the best answer on Mar 08, 2023

PL-level BCG experience (6 years)|Interviewer at BCG| 6/6 personal + 95%+ candidates offer success rate

HI there, 1) Make sure you are solving the right case i.e. clarfy upfront. Confirm the real case ask is a) How much water is needed to produce a cup “worth” of coffee? b) Confirm if there are any boundaries to this an ... (read entire answer)

4
Answers

635
Views

37
Total Upvotes

on Mar 09, 2023 on Mar 09, 2023
Last Activity

Broad case question

case questions unusual case

Most recent answer on Jan 02, 2023

gave the best answer on Dec 30, 2022

Hello, Here are my thoughts: 1) Yes, absolutely you should ask clarifying questions to get a better idea on how to approach the question. But once you have enough info, do the following. 2) Make a broad MECE structure l ... (read entire answer)

7
Answers

442
Views

52
Total Upvotes

on Jan 02, 2023 on Jan 02, 2023
Last Activity

Looking for exciting discussions from the community?

Clarifying questions during case study

brainstorming questions case questions case study Structure

Most recent answer on Jan 01, 2023

Clara

Expert

McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Clara

Expert

gave the best answer on Nov 27, 2022

McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello! Yes, totally! Imagine how foolish you would feel if you failed just because not asking something little! Think about cases as business problems you are helping to solve, and you can only do that when you have 100 ... (read entire answer)

12
Answers

697
Views

49
Total Upvotes

on Jan 01, 2023 on Jan 01, 2023
Last Activity

Market Entry of Chinese Auto OEM into USA - What to consider to answer question to build a plant or not?

automotive case questions market entry Plant

Most recent answer on May 14, 2022

gave the best answer on May 12, 2022

Hi there, Is this a framework question or a case question? There are a few ways to look at this, and each one depends on the context of the case/question (I have a number of clarifying questions I'd have to ask to deter ... (read entire answer)

3
Answers

601
Views

20
Total Upvotes

on May 14, 2022 on May 14, 2022
Last Activity

What questions should you ask before taking a minute to form your structure to tackle the case?

Before structure case questions Forming structure Generic questions Overview questions

Most recent answer on Dec 31, 2020

Vlad

Expert

McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Vlad

Expert

gave the best answer on Apr 08, 2019

McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi, I recommend the following approach: 1) Clarify the business model. Ask how the company actually makes the money. For several reasons: Even if you think you understand the business model, you need to make sur ... (read entire answer)

5
Answers

1.8 k
Views

7
Total Upvotes

on Dec 31, 2020 on Dec 31, 2020
Last Activity

Questions at the start?

case questions Cases MBB

Most recent answer on Oct 03, 2020

Sidi

Expert

McKinsey Senior EM & BCG Consultant | Interviewer at McK & BCG for 7 years | Coached 350+ candidates secure MBB offers

Sidi

Expert

gave the best answer on Oct 01, 2020

McKinsey Senior EM & BCG Consultant | Interviewer at McK & BCG for 7 years | Coached 350+ candidates secure MBB offers

Hi Anonymous! You actually touch on a very important point here. Many candidates don't understand what distinguishes the clarifying questions at the start from later analysis-related questions (asking for market data, ... (read entire answer)

7
Answers

1.5 k
Views

42
Total Upvotes

on Oct 03, 2020 on Oct 03, 2020
Last Activity

How many clarifying questions are appropriate and when should they be asked?

Actively preparing for interviews at McKinsey and BCG asking questions BCG BCG Case Interview brainstorming brainstorming questions Candidate-led interviews Case Interview case question case questions case structure case study Clarifying questions Interview interviewer led issue tree MBB McKinsey Open question order of operations preparation questions rule of thumb Structure timing

Most recent answer on Aug 06, 2020

Sidi

Expert

McKinsey Senior EM & BCG Consultant | Interviewer at McK & BCG for 7 years | Coached 350+ candidates secure MBB offers

Sidi

Expert

gave the best answer on Aug 09, 2020

McKinsey Senior EM & BCG Consultant | Interviewer at McK & BCG for 7 years | Coached 350+ candidates secure MBB offers

Hi Anonymous! You touch on an important point here. Many candidates don't understand what distinguishes the clarifying questions at the start from later analysis-related questions (asking for market data. financials, ... (read entire answer)

12
Answers

9.8 k
Views

102
Total Upvotes

on Aug 06, 2020 on Aug 06, 2020
Last Activity

CAPCO Questions

bank Capco case questions consulting

Most recent answer on May 05, 2020

Anonymous gave the best answer on May 05, 2020

Dear A, Yes, I do. If this is still up to date, feel free to reach out. Best, André

1
Answer

2.2 k
Views

2
Total Upvotes

on May 05, 2020 on May 05, 2020
Last Activity

Market size estimation question: how many vending machines are there in the US?

Case Interview case questions market estimation

Recent activity on Jan 01, 2019

Vlad

Expert

McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Vlad

Expert

gave the best answer on Nov 16, 2017

McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi, 1) First of all, there are two ways to calculate market size: From supply side (e.g. vending machines spots) From demand side (e.g. vending products consumption) 2) There are 2 ways to structure market si ... (read entire answer)

3
Answers

6.7 k
Views

7
Total Upvotes

on Jan 01, 2019 on Jan 01, 2019
Last Activity

How long does it take for a college educated person to catch up in salary to a non-college educated person?

case questions quant problems

Recent activity on Oct 08, 2018

Anonymous A asked on Oct 06, 2018

Was asked this question in a case and it stumped me for some reason. College costs 30k a year, starting salary is 60k, in 10 years it is 100k. Non-college salary starts at 40k, in 10 years it is 75k. What I was ... (read entire question)

1
Answer

2.0 k
Views

0
Total Upvotes

on Oct 08, 2018 on Oct 08, 2018
Last Activity

How to determine which cases are appropriate?

case questions

Recent activity on Feb 26, 2018

Anonymous gave the best answer on Feb 25, 2018

In my opinion best cases are ones provided by consultancies themselves for preparation and cases given by former interviewers at the firm you are interested in (shameless self-promotion :D ). Second tier options are M ... (read entire answer)

3
Answers

2.5 k
Views

8
Total Upvotes

on Feb 26, 2018 on Feb 26, 2018
Last Activity

Do you have a question for our consulting experts, too?

Case Studies People & Change

case partners case questions PwC Interview

Recent activity on Feb 24, 2018

Vlad

Expert

McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Vlad

Expert

gave the best answer on Feb 21, 2018

McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi, My candidates 2 types of cases for these roles: Cost-cutting cases with layoffs, outsourcing, shared service center, etc. M&A deals integration M&A deals synergies with the focus on people 1) He ... (read entire answer)

2
Answers

5.8 k
Views

5
Total Upvotes

on Feb 24, 2018 on Feb 24, 2018
Last Activity

13 results

Consulting Q&A – Ask Questions about Your Career

In this overview, you will find all the questions asked so far by the PrepLounge community. Anyone can ask questions and write answers. Our coaches are also happy to share their expertise. If you like an answer, give it an upvote so that it rises to the top. Here you can also find our guidelines and FAQs for the Consulting Q&A.