The McKinsey Problem Solving Test (also known as the McKinsey PST) is a math com

putation, data interpretation and logical thinking test used by McKinsey to dete
rmine which candidates are granted a first round case interview. In general, can
didates whose resumes McKinsey deems acceptable are invited to take the test. Ba
sed on feedback from hundreds of test takers, you must pass the test in order to
get the interview. There are few to no exceptions to this rule.
Why the McKinsey PST Exists
The reason McKinsey uses the test is because there are a certain set of numerica
l computation and logical thinking skills required to be successful in consultin
g. While standardized math tests like the quantitative sections of the SAT, GRE,
or GMAT do test math computational skills, it is possible to get perfect scores
on these math tests but fail on the job in consulting.
It's my interpretation that McKinsey developed the McKinsey Test in order to tes
t those skills that regular math tests do not adequately evaluate. In particular
, these skills involve data interpretation and critical numerical reasoning.
Now when I hear the words "data interpretation" and "critical numerical reasonin
g", it always reminds me of those college entrance exam tests that were challeng
ing, seemingly arbitrary and pretty much not useful in the real world. But, it t
urns out these skills actually have a very practical purpose while working as a
consultant.
These skills allow you to:
1) Read a graphical chart (or the data spreadsheet that was used to create the c
hart)
2) Grasp what the "data is conclusively telling you" and separate from what the
"data is suggesting (but not definitively so)"
3) Write a 1 - 2 sentence "headline" at the top of a Powerpoint slide state a lo
gically correct conclusion
In other words, you end up using these skills every single day as a consultant.
And if you use these skills incorrectly, then either your manager or partner has
to redo your work for you (which means at some point you will get fired) or the
client notices the logical flaws in your work and it makes your firm, your part
ner and your manager look bad (and of course means that at some point you're goi
ng to get fired).
Now you would think looking at a chart and writing a powerpoint headline is not
a very difficult skill. I mean anyone can look at a chart and write a headline,
but you would be surprised by how many people actually get the headline wrong. I
n other words, a LOT of aspiring consultants and even some first year consultant
s see that data and come to the WRONG conclusion.
From a McKinsey partner's point of view, it's a complete disaster if someone on
your team lacks this skill... or even worse THINKS he has the skill, but actuall
y doesn't.
It is such a big deal that McKinsey has gone to extensive effort to create this
test and have thousands of candidates around the world take this problem solving
test. All of this effort is taken for the sole goal of hiring new consultants w
ho can do 1) do math accurately, 2) do it quickly, and (most importantly) interp
ret data CORRECTLY.
In short, being able to solve problems logically is a BIG DEAL.

McKinsey PST Format

The computer-based test consists of approximately 26 questions and lasts 60 min
utes. No business background is needed to take the test, but being familiar with
a few commonly used business terms is useful (see the McKinsey PST Frequently U
sed Terms section of Part II of this Guide Below). You are permitted to use pen,
pencil or paper. No calculators or computing devices are permitted.
Typically a graphical chart or table of numerical data is presented along with s
ome descriptive text about a company or industry. 4 - 5 questions follow that re
fer to the chart. The two most problem question types are:
1) Math Word Problem - Given the data in Table X, calculate A, B or C.
A, B or C might be profit margins. It might be figuring out which company's prof
its were larger two years ago. It might be calculating the difference in sales f
rom today vs 2 years ago for two different companies - and figuring out which co
mpany had the bigger change.
In the US, we call these "word problems". The purpose of these problems is to gi
ve you raw data and information conveyed in a text paragraph, and see if you can
figure out the math equation needed to solve the problem. Often the actual math
computation isn't difficult (its just addition, subtraction, multiplication or
division; often math problems are based on percentages - growth rate, cost expre
ssed as a percentage of sales, or profits as a percentage of sales, sales of thi
s year vs 3 years ago expressed as a percentage).
What makes the word problem difficult is a) Time, b) Time, c) Time.
Amongst those who pass the McKinsey Problem Solving Test, the consistent feedbac
k was they finished with barely enough time. The most common reasons for making
a mistake for a math word problem is misreading, misunderstanding, or misinterpr
eting the data presented or what the question was asking. The other big reason i
s computational error.
When I took my first McKinsey PST practice test, I actually missed several probl
ems. To be fair, I had a newborn baby in the house and was sleeping 3 hours a ni
ght at the time, and I made a LOT of careless errors. My mistakes: I thought the
y were asking one thing, when they were really asking another. I rushed the comp
utation, and made mistakes.
2) Data Interpretation - "Given X chart, which of the following conclusions are
accurate:"
The other type of question isn't computationally intensive, but rather tests you
r logic and critical reasoning skills. You will be asked to refer to a chart or
data table (mini spreadsheet with numbers) and asked some variation of the quest
ion: Which conclusion is correct?
Variations of this question including presenting you with potential answers that
are a) definitively correct, b) could be correct but you can't be 100% sure, c)
definitely wrong. The answers that are trickiest are ones that seem consistent
with the data, but is NOT completely conclusive. In other words, you need to be
able to look at the data and tell the difference between a factual conclusion vs
. a hypothesis suggested (but NOT 100% proven) by the data.

Tips for Passing the McKinsey PST

Skim the questions FIRST to get a feel for what you will be asked, THEN read the
data table or chart. This allows you to get some idea of what you should be pay
ing attention to while you look at the data or read the text.
Read the text descriptions and the questions VERY CAREFULLY.
Take the questions literally. (I made the mistake of assuming some of the questi
ons were commonly used business analysis and jumped ahead to calculate what I as
sumed they were asking. What I should have done was look at what they were LITER
ALLY asking and just answer what they asked.)
If your math computation skills are rusty, practice your math accuracy and speed
. You do not have a lot of time to double check your computations on every probl
em. Some people don't have time to double check their computations at all. The m
ore you're absolutely certain your math skills are accurate and quick, the more
time you'll have to actually answer all the questions. (Once again, the main ene
my of the test is time)
For data interpretation / drawing a conclusion type questions, be careful of the
multiple choice answer options that seems consistent with the data, but are not
100% conclusively supported by the data. The easiest way to do this is to immed
iately eliminate the answer options that are clearly wrong. Then BE CAREFUL in l
ooking at the remaining options.
For data interpretation question, one thing to ask yourself is "Is this conclusi
on correct under ALL scenarios?" - Just because the conclusion is true under the
most common scenario doesn't mean it is true under all scenarios. For example,
if you think B is the right answer because it is the conclusion you think is sup
ported by the data, you should ask yourself "Are there any scenarios I can think
of where conclusion B is not correct?"
Remember a conclusion that is true MOST of the time is NOT the same as a conclus
ion that is true ALL of the time.
Bring a watch to time yourself - do not assume every testing room has a clock.
McKinsey Problem Solving Test - 3 Ways to Prepare
The biggest challenge for developing your problem solving skills is there aren't
many McKinsey PST practice test that are at a difficult level equal to that of
the actual McKinsey Problem Solving Test. For a full list of practice tests avai
lable online, fill out the McKinsey Practice Test List - Request Form below.
There are three approaches you can take to prepare for PST:
1) Practice Computations
2) Practice Data Interpretation
3) Take McKinsey PST Practice Tests
Below are tips and resources for each of the practice methods.

Practice Method #1: Practice Computations

The first method is to practice
cK PST is a TIMED test. This is
ntire population of people with
dentify only those who are very
e really good at math, you will

the speed and accuracy of your arithmetic. The M

not the kind of math test designed to test the e
a wide range of math skills. It is intended to i
good at math, logical thinking, etc... If you ar
finish the test BARELY.

So even if you have a PhD in Physics or Math (I'm being serious

VERY IMPORTANT you practice your math computations. I get many,
engineers who had 4.0 GPAs in school who did not pass the PST.
ation skills are a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it

on this), it is
many emails from
Your math comput
gets. Keep in mi

nd even if you calculate an integral effortlessly, it doesn't mean you can't mak
e an error doing basic computations.
One resource I'd recommend to develop your computation accuracy and speed is www
.CaseInterviewMath.com. This is a math practice tool that I developed for practi
cing: 1) arithmetic for speed and accuracy (both VERY important on the McKinsey
PST) and 2) estimation math with large numbers (useful for solving some of the M
cKinsey PST word problems faster where precise math isn't necessary to answer th
e question, just an estimate will suffice.)
This tool compares your math accuracy and speed to other CaseInterview.com membe
rs and to my own test results as benchmark. This will help give you an idea of h
ow your math skills compare with others; and whether or not you need to improve
your math speed and accuracy to be competitive, or if you current skills are suf
ficient.
In addition to practicing math computations, you want to practice and develop yo
ur data interpretation skills.

Practice Method #2: Practice Data Interpretation

For data interpretation, the practice questions that most closely resemble PST q
uestions are practice test questions from certain sections of the GRE. In partic
ular, I would recommend practice "word problems" and "data interpretation" type
GRE questions.
Keep in mind the actual McKinsey Problem Solving Test questions are harder and m
ore sophisticated than the word problems and data interpretation questions in GR
E. Sometimes the questions are combined -- word problem + data interpretation. O
ther times instead of presenting a straight forward problem, as you would see on
the GRE, you'll see a more elaborate scenario (or multi paragraph story with on
e or more charts) where you have to figure out what information is irrelevant to
the specific question at hand.
Remember, each chart is referenced by 4 - 5 questions. So for any ONE question,
most of the information presented is NOT relevant to THAT particular question.
But before you work your way up the elaborate questions, polishing your foundati
onal skills in word problems and data interpretation is a good idea.
Data Interpretation & Word Problem Practice Resources:
Kaplan GRE Exam Math Workbook (Copyright 2008)- Chapter 2 Arithmetic Review (if
you're really rusty on math), Chapter 6 - Word Problem Practice, Chapter 7 - Dat
a Interpretation Practice
Nova's GRE Math Prep Course (Copyright 2010) - Percents (page 330-346), Graphs (
pages 347 - 375), Word Problems (pages 376 - 396) [If you're really rusty on mat
h: Averages (pages 274 - 284), Ratio & Proportions (pages 285 - 303)
Cliff Notes Math Review for Standardized Tests (2nd Edition, Copyright 2010) - W
ord Problems Review (pages 318 - 362, but excluding the section on Geometry page
s 347 - 350)
(Disclosure: The links above are affiliate links that help subsidize the cost of
running this website)
Because GRE problems are much easier than the PST problems, you need to balance
the nearly unlimited practice questions (that are too easy) available for the GR
E vs. the much smaller pool of practice problems for the PST. In addition, there
are only a few PST practice tests available online for free. The other practice

tests available (including the ones I offer) do have a fee.

Additional Note: As of June 5, 2012, the GMAT is being revised to include a sect
ion on "Integrated Reasoning". From my assessment, this section of the GMAT has
many similarities to the McK PST. If anyone has any experience with this version
of the GMAT or as the test prep guides are updated to reflect this new section
of the GMAT, please post your experiences below and I will incorporate the feedb
ack into a revision of this guide.
Practice Method #3: Take McKinsey PST Practice Tests
The following are links to a few McKinsey PST Practice Tests.
Links to Free Problem Solving Test Samples:
McKinsey Problem Solving Test - Sample Test Question on Data Sufficiency (from t
his website)
McKinsey Problem Solving Test - Example Test Question on Data Sufficiency - Answ
er Guide (from this website)
3 McKinsey Problem Solving Test Samples + Coaching Guide (from McKinsey Website)
McKinsey Problem Solving Test - 2001 Version (no longer used, but has similar qu
estions)
Note: The consensus feedback from reader Field Reports is the actual McKinsey Te
st has a lot more reading than the samples posted above. My takeaway from this
is that its important to read the questions FIRST, then read the text and charts
. Keep in mind you are not reading a magazine article or a business school case.
Your only mission is to answer the questions asked and to move on... QUICKLY.
With that in mind, I recommend reading with a PURPOSE in mind, as opposed to jus
t for general knowledge. In other words, KNOW what you're looking for BEFORE yo
u read. Then read carefully while hunting for the data you KNOW you will need to
answer the questions.

Get Part II of the

Definitive Guide to the
McKinsey Problem Solving Test
In Part II of the Definitive Guide to the McKinsey Problem Solving Test, you'll
receive via email:
1.A glossary of commonly used business terms and their mathematical definitions
2.An expanded list of high quality, practice tests for the McKinsey PST
3.Tips on the McKinsey PST and Case Interviews