BCG operates more than 100 offices in over 50 countries, and unlike its competitors, the firm has a clear cultural anchor: Boston, where Bruce Henderson founded the firm in 1963. That heritage still shows up in how BCG hires, where it concentrates its strongest practices, and which offices punch above their weight. Most candidates pick…
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Updated July 2026 by Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant. At the case interview stage, roughly 10 to 15% of candidates who reach a McKinsey, BCG, or Bain interview walk away with an offer. Zoom out to everyone who applies, and the overall case interview success rate at MBB falls below 1%. Tier-2 firms and…
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Updated May 2026 · By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant The BCG Cognitive Test is an 80-question, 30-minute proctored numerical and logical reasoning assessment that Boston Consulting Group introduced in early 2024 to replace older screening formats at most offices. You get roughly 22 seconds per question, no calculator, and you take it live…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated June 2026 Yes, you can move from a PhD to consulting, and McKinsey, BCG, and Bain actively want you. They recruit advanced-degree candidates through dedicated Advanced Professional Degree (APD) pipelines, and PhDs usually enter at the post-MBA Associate level, not the analyst track. The pipeline is…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated June 2026 Yes, you can move from a Tier-2 firm to MBB, and you start from one of the strongest positions there is. If you are at Oliver Wyman, Kearney, L.E.K., Roland Berger, or Strategy&, you already do work that looks a lot like what McKinsey,…
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Florian spent five years at McKinsey as a Senior Consultant and is a highly experienced consulting interviewer and problem-solving coach. Having conducted interviews with hundreds of candidates, he understands exactly what top-tier firms look for in successful applicants.
He founded StrategyCase.com to make top consulting careers more accessible by providing tailored, up-to-date insights into the recruiting process. Recognized as the most successful case and fit interview coach, Florian has helped his clients secure 700+ offers at MBB, Tier-2 firms, Big 4 consulting divisions, in-house consultancies, and boutique firms over the past four years.
He is the author of “The 1%: Conquer Your Consulting Case Interview,” “The 1%: Case Interview Workbook,” and “Consulting Career Secrets”, all available on Amazon.
