McKinsey Problem Solving Test

Question

Hi, I wanted to hear about different experiences for McKinsey's Problem Solving Test. I have been invited to take it as the first step in the interview process, and any help (tips and tricks) would be greatly appretiate it.

Thank you in advance!

Answer 1

Hi Paola,

in addition to what mentioned by Carlos, I would recommend you the following:

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 (GMAT or online resources from Victor Cheng and/or PrepLounge)
Use elimination process when in doubts
Practice graph interpretation
Practice quick reading and quick understanding of key information only
Remember there are no penalties in the test, so you should try to answer all the questions

The best practice you can have is doing the higher number of tests you can find online; besides the 3 on McKinsey website, you should find additional 3-5 that you can buy online (or simply ask an expert if they can provide them and book a session – many of us have samples available. In this way you would get both the tests and a session).

You can also find some additional tips from Vlad at the following link:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/i-have-my-mckinsey-pst-in-another-3-days-i-have-a-basic-idea-of-the-test-please-anyone-help-me-how-to-crack-it-with-only-3-days-preparation-609#a1226

Best,

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi Paola,

First of all, congrats on the invitation and best of luck in the process. A few of my friends have had experience with the PST and I'd be happy to share a brief overview of their suggestions / best practices.

In short, since the PST tests business acumen along with math abilities, it is important to practice both of these areas. The main difficulty with these tests happens to be the fact that you will not have enough time to comfortably answer each question. Therefore, it is important to be agile and precise.

In terms of tips and tricks, I would suggest the following websites (see below) to go through some sample questions. At the same time, it is always great to work on your mental math (PrepLounge offers some good resources for this). *Note: I've included GMAT and GRE questions because these are challenging and, in some ways, reflect the mental process you'll need to solve the PST math problems.*

https://mconsultingprep.com/problem-solving-test/

http://www.majortests.com/gre/problem_solving.php

http://www.majortests.com/gmat/data_sufficiency_mark.php

If there is anything else you need help on, please feel free to reach out.

Mucho éxito!

Carlos

Answer 3

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Hallo, in Deutschland wurde er laut HR in den meisten Büros abgeschafft und wenn, dann wird ein Test nur für bestimmte Practices verwendet. Die Aussage war von September '15.

Answer 4

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Neil, I was an experienced hire as well, so can definitely relate. The hardest part for your will likely be to get an interview. McK is probably most open, assuming you have a... (read entire answer)

Answer 5

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