The BCG Online Test: Which One You Will Get, and How Each Works

Which test will you get?

BCG lets each office choose its screen, and its careers pages describe them office by office. The test arrives by email soon after you apply, and the invitation names it, so start there. If you have not applied yet, your office's careers page usually says which one to expect.

Some processes combine two: Mexico's Associates take Casey and the Consulting Career Assessment, and BCG's 2022 North America guide asked for Pymetrics and a Spark Hire video interview before any case. The BCG recruitment process guide shows where each sits in the full route.

The cognitive test, and the Potential Test before it

BCG's pages for Switzerland, Germany and Austria describe the same screen: 30 minutes, all multiple choice, testing numerical, verbal and logical reasoning, answered without any tools. In Germany and Austria you take it on the virtual first-round day, next to your first case interview; in Switzerland it comes about a month before the first interview.

Candidates who sat BCG's older written screen, the Potential Test, describe something close: about 23 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes, mixing maths word problems, reading data from business charts, and short reading passages. Many also report negative marking, with a wrong answer costing more than a blank. BCG's current pages no longer name the Potential Test, so treat those details as history, and read your invitation for the rules that apply to you.

What the three sections test

• Numerical: percentages, growth, margins and ratios, usually from a short table or chart.
• Verbal: a short business passage and a statement that follows from it, or does not.
• Logical: number series and patterns, where you find the rule and apply it once more.

Sample questions, worked

These are written in the style candidates describe, one for each section. Time yourself: about a minute and a half each is the pace a 30-minute test asks for.

Pymetrics games

Pymetrics, now part of Harver, is a set of about 12 short games that take about 25 minutes in all. There are no right answers. People who do well in the role play the games first, their play sets a benchmark, and your play is compared with it. The employer sees a recommendation, not a score you could revise for. Harver says the games measure traits such as attention, decision-making, risk tolerance, effort, learning and focus.

BCG's 2022 North America guide for advanced-degree candidates asked for Pymetrics within 48 hours of applying, with the invitation arriving within a day. Candidates commonly report games like these:

You cannot study for it the way you study for a maths test. What helps: play one practice round of each kind so the rules do not distract you, sit it rested on a laptop with a steady connection, and play the way you would naturally. Trying to guess a "consulting profile" tends to make your play inconsistent, which reads worse than any single choice.

Casey and the Consulting Career Assessment

Casey, BCG's Online Case Experience, is the screen most candidates now meet. It is one business case as a chat: usually 8 to 10 questions in 25 to 35 minutes, mixing options, short written answers and maths on exhibits, followed by a recorded one-minute recommendation. You cannot pause or go back. BCG says to prepare for it as you would for a case interview. The BCG Casey guide walks through each question type.

BCG's Mexico office pairs Casey with the Consulting Career Assessment for Associate candidates. BCG describes it as about 30 minutes, giving "insights into your skills and potential beyond your resume", and says it needs no preparation.

How each differs from the Quant test

The BCG Quant test is the strictest of BCG's maths screens, so it is the useful yardstick. If you can do the Quant test, the maths in every other version will feel familiar.

The main difference is the answer format. With options in front of you, you can estimate and eliminate; with a typed answer, the number has to be right. That is why candidates find the Quant test's 20 questions harder than the older Potential Test's 23, even though the maths is similar.

How to prepare

1. Read your invitation, then prepare for that test. If you have not applied, your office's careers page usually names the screen.
2. Train mental maths daily for every written version. Percentages, growth and margins by hand, at speed. The free consulting maths trainer drills exactly this.
3. Practise under the clock. A 30-minute test with three sections gives you about a minute and a half a question. Skip and return rather than stall.
4. For the verbal section, prove each statement from the passage. If you need an outside assumption, it does not follow.
5. For Casey, run full cases with a partner, and finish each with a one-minute recommendation said out loud.

Our BCG Quant Simulation runs 20 typed-answer questions under the 40-minute clock, which is the hardest form of BCG's maths screen, and the BCG Casey practice runs a full chatbot case with the video recommendation.

Frequently asked questions

Does BCG still use the Potential Test?

Rarely under that name. BCG's current careers pages do not mention it: most offices now send Casey, and Switzerland, Germany and Austria describe a 30-minute multiple-choice cognitive test that covers similar ground. If your invitation says Potential Test, prepare for business maths, data reading and short passages.

What is the difference between the BCG Potential Test and the Quant test?

Both test business maths without a calculator. The Potential Test, as candidates describe it, is multiple choice and mixes in reading and logic. The Quant test is 20 typed numerical answers in 40 minutes, so you cannot eliminate options or work back from them.

Can you prepare for BCG's Pymetrics games?

Only a little. The games have no right answers: your play is compared with a benchmark built from people who do well in the role. Play one practice round of each kind of game so the rules do not distract you, then play rested and consistently.

Can you use a calculator in the BCG online test?

No. BCG's pages say the cognitive test is taken without any tools, and candidates report no calculator in the Quant test or Casey. Scratch paper is the norm, so practise by hand.

Is there a pass mark for the BCG online test?

BCG does not publish one, and the bar moves with each intake. For the Quant test, candidates report needing roughly 14 to 16 of 20 correct to advance comfortably.

What is the BCG Consulting Career Assessment?

A roughly 30-minute assessment BCG's Mexico office uses for Associate candidates alongside Casey. BCG says it gives insight into your skills and potential beyond your CV and needs no preparation.