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BCG test

Any tipps for BCG Potential Test?

Hi guys! I'm about to start preparing for the BCG potential test and was wondering if someone here has some tipps how to study for it. Would be great!

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Anonymous F
on Mar 21, 2017

The reason why BCG potential test is so difficult is because of the time constraint.

So what I did was work on any questions from the BCG potential test I could find and try to solve them super quickly. For example, this question should be solved in 30 seconds

"One of the biggest global airlines has decided to buy new aircrafts. The ratio of first class, business and economy seats in the new aircrafts will be 1 to 3 to 8 and the total number of seats will be 240.

Average ticket prices for popular destinations are expected to be €700 for first class, €300 for business and €150 for economy. The average duration of these flights is 3 hours.

First and business customers get free Wi-Fi on board but economy customers need to pay €2 / hour to use Wi-Fi.

Assuming that only 5% of economy customers use Wi-Fi all the time, what are the expected revenues from a flight to a popular destination using a new aircraft at its full capacity?

  1. €56,048
  2. €56,016
  3. €56,480
  4. €56,160"

Good luck on the test!

36
on Oct 21, 2018
this is really tricky because you end up solving the whole problem, but if you just calculate the cost of wifi only one answer would qualify...
on Feb 13, 2019
I went about this the wrong way. Joseph's approach makes a lot of sense.
on Feb 14, 2019
56,048
Anonymous G
on May 27, 2019
thanks !
on Jul 29, 2019
First -> 20 seats, business -> 60 seats, economy -> 160 seats
Anonymous D
on Nov 09, 2023
How does one calculate this question?
Vlad
Coach
on Mar 19, 2017
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

  1. Try to find as many people in your country as you can who have done the test. Ask them for the topic, industry and questions they remember. For example in one of the countries there was a test about airlines and reading a couple of articles / company reports / wikipedia artticles with industry terms could significantly improve performance
  2. Try to practice tests with strict time-management. McKinsey PST from the official web site and all mck and bcg -like tests you can find online
  3. Additional recource can be GMAT Integrated reasoning from the official guides and apps if you feel that you are not p[erforming well
  4. As far as I remebmer calculator is allowed on BCG test. Make sure you know how to simplify calculations and use it fast
edited on Aug 22, 2021
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ interviewoffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

I agree with Vlad, I reported below some additional tips based on a previous post:

  • One of the most important thing to do well in the case is to do at least a couple of Potential tests before the actual test date. Unlike the McK PST, there are not so many available online, but you should be able to find a few at least.
  • Commit to a time for each question, and go on if you surpass that time. If you do not set discipline, you will end eating too much time for some questions (these tests sometimes are actually structured to have some questions it is better to skip and review at the end). If time and test allows, you can then go back to the questions at the end.
  • Practice a lot of math before – it is normally a key component of all the tests
  • Practice graph interpretation: take some random graphs, give yourself 30 seconds and check if you can get the main insides from them. Then repeat till when you get a sufficient level of accuracy
  • Practice quick reading and quick understanding of key information only: get a Harvard Business School case, give yourself 2 minutes and check how much information you can absorb. Then repeat till when you get a sufficient level of accuracy
  • Use elimination process when in doubts

You can find the original post here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/online-analytical-tests-483#a992

Finally, you have to take into account you get penalized for wrong answers in the Potential test, so you should adapt your strategy accordingly.

That being said, BCG has been rolling out a new BCG Online Case (also called the Chatbot Interview) since 2019. It is a 8-10 questions test structured in 2 parts:

  • 8-10 questions to be taken in 25-30 minutes
  • 1 video interview question at the end, where you have to provide a recommendation

The main differences compared to the previous version (BCG Potential Test) are the following:

  1. 8-10 questions instead of 23
  2. 25-30 min instead of 45
  3. Calculators allowed
  4. Presence of open questions
  5. Video sum up at the end

The main challenges based on the candidates I helped are the following:

  1. Time. Questions are not particularly difficult, however you will feel time constraints also due to the fact you don’t know how difficult the next questions could be - thus how much time they may require
  2. Chatbot interaction. Unlike a test like the McK PST, you cannot proceed “at your own pace”. You will have to follow the evolution of the test as questions are revealed one by one
  3. Math. Candidates often find the math quite challenging given the time constraint

If you want to prepare in the best possible way, I created a guide exactly for that.

This guide will:

  • Show you the perfect strategy to answer the 5 types of questions in the Chatbot
  • Offer you a clear strategy to optimally structure the One-Way Video Assessment
  • Provide insider information from previous applicants who succeeded the Online Case
  • Structure a clear preparation plan based on 6 FREE PSTs and Potential Tests
  • Replicate the same experience of the interview thanks to 2 FREE Complete Chatbot Cases (Casey-style)

And much more ;)

You can download the guide instantly here:

 https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/bcg-online-case-secrets-69

 

4. BCG Online Case Secrets - Chatbot Interview.png

As an extra bonus, I am currently offering the BCG Potential Test #1 (worth $39) and Graph Analysis Cheat Sheet (worth $29) for free with the guide. That may change in the future so hurry up if you are interested ;)

If you need additional support or have any questions on the guide please feel free to PM me, I will reply within 12 hours. 

Best,
Francesco

edited on Sep 05, 2021
Former BCG | Case author for efellows book | Experience in 6 consultancies (Stern Stewart, Capgemini, KPMG, VW Con., Hor

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