A consulting interview prep timeline is how long you spend getting good at the interview, not when applications open. Undergrad recruiting is a four-year clock (undergrad guide). MBA recruiting is a one-year crush (MBA timeline). Deadlines are a tracker (deadlines). This page is only: given N weeks until the first live case, what do you do each week?
How to get into MBB often assumes 10–12 weeks. That is the default if you have it. If you have 14 days, you run a triage plan, not a fake 12-week plan at 8x speed.
Pick the plan with three inputs
- Date of first interview or test (the earlier of Casey/Solve/Sova and live rounds).
- Baseline: have you ever done a live case? Can you do interview math at speed?
- Hours per week you will actually protect (6 vs 15 is a different species).
Fit/PEI is part of the same clock. McKinsey PEI is not a Sunday night. See process for what each round scores.
12-week plan (the MBB default)
Weeks 1–2. Mechanics: profitability tree, market entry logic, how to open. Daily 20 minutes of math. Draft four stories (impact, leadership, conflict, failure). Read one firm’s format so you do not mix interviewer-led and candidate-led.
Weeks 3–6. Volume: 2–3 live cases a week with a partner who will interrupt you. One case per week should be your weakest type. Record yourself once a week. Start the named online test in week 5, not the night of the invite.
Weeks 7–9. Mix first-round simulations (two cases back to back plus fit). Kill one bad habit (muttering, no recommendation, slow math).
Weeks 10–12. Final-round altitude: messier prompts, partner-style “why us,” rest. No new frameworks from social media.
This is the plan in the MBB guide’s skeleton. Use it when intern or FT interviews are a quarter away.
8-week plan (most campus candidates)
Skip the long mechanics course. Week 1 is a diagnostic case (brutal honesty). Weeks 2–6 are volume (3 lives/week if you can). Weeks 7–8 are simulations and test polish. Stories: two hours a week, not a memoir.
MBA students often have 8 weeks in the summer before August portals. That is this plan, not the undergrad “I’ll start junior spring” plan.
4-week plan (late but possible)
You cannot do 40 cases. You can do 12–15 with feedback.
- Week 1: structure + math daily + one story set.
- Weeks 2–3: cases every other day; review every case the same night (what failed: structure, math, insight).
- Week 4: only full mocks and the test. Sleep.
Cut optional firms from the list if you cannot prep two case styles. How to get into consulting is list design.
2-week plan (triage)
You are not becoming excellent. You are becoming safe.
- Daily math.
- 6–8 cases with the same partner, same format as the first firm on your calendar.
- Two stories that can survive PEI-lite or Bain fit.
- Test crash course for the invite you actually have.
Do not start a case competition. Do not rewrite the resume for the 12th time. Do not read ten blogs. The case competition is a different product.
What to put on the calendar besides cases
Tests. Solve, Casey, Sova, HireVue get dedicated blocks. They fail people who only cased.
Fit. 30 minutes, twice a week, out loud. Interns: shorter (intern interviews).
Rest. A tired final round is a failed final round.
Networking is not prep. If coffees are eating case hours inside two weeks, stop coffees. If you have 12 weeks, coffees belong in the first month (networking).
Checkpoints (pass/fail)
After week 2 of a 12-week plan (or day 4 of a 2-week plan): can you open a profitability case in 60 seconds without a memorized 12-box?
Midpoint: can you finish a 25-minute case with a recommendation and a number that is internally consistent?
Final week: can you do two cases in one afternoon and still answer “why this office” without rambling?
If you fail a checkpoint, narrow (fewer firms, more reps), do not add content.
When the offer comes, this timeline is over. Negotiation is a different week.
Sources
- CoachNed, How to get into MBB (10–12 week default)
- CoachNed, MBA and undergrad clocks (so you do not mix them into this page)