Most Strategy& candidates start with someone else's "toolkit" and never open the pages Strategy& and PwC already published for free. That is backwards. The firm tells you the interview shapes, the scoring posture, and — on the PwC side — full sample cases with numbers. After this guide you will have a ranked stack: Strategy& and PwC primary pages first, university sources second, and CoachNed's free practice surfaces only where they fill a gap the firms do not.
The ranking rule most candidates skip
Treat free prep as a queue, not a bookmark folder.
| Priority | Source type | What it is for | What it is not for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Strategy& territory careers pages | Process, formats, firm-stated tips | Universal "global" rules that ignore office differences |
| 2 | PwC published case prep | Practice cases, what interviewers listen for | Assuming every Strategy& office uses the US Advisory script |
| 3 | Strategy& Insights | "Why Strategy&" and industry vocabulary | Memorizing frameworks as if they were interview answers |
| 4 | University career centers and school casebooks | Volume practice with a partner | Replacing the firm's own format description |
| 5 | CoachNed free surfaces | Timed reps and math when you lack a partner | Official Strategy& materials |
If a tip is not on a Strategy& or PwC page, call it folklore until your invitation confirms it.
What Strategy& publishes about its own process
Start with the territory that owns your application. Processes differ by office, and Strategy& says so.
United Kingdom. The Strategy& UK careers FAQ is the clearest free process document as of 2026-09-24. For Associate and internship paths: CV and personal statement, online assessment, then two back-to-back ~45-minute interviews. One pairs fit with an unstructured case; the other is a structured slide-pack case with roughly ten minutes to review before recommending. The FAQ also notes Strategy& sits in PwC UK's Deals Line of Service, bars parallel PwC UK applications inside six months, and says Associate applications typically open from September. The graduates and interns page repeats that structure and flags insight events for CV and case tips.
Netherlands. The Strategy& Netherlands recruitment process is different: online application, ~60-minute cognitive and behavioral assessment, a practice case with a consultant plus a buddy, then three 60-minute first-round interviews and three similar finals. Firm tips on that page: summarize the problem, take a minute to structure, keep the framework simple, think aloud, take guidance, end with a recommendation and next steps.
MBA and Middle East. The LBS recruiting page describes two 45-minute first rounds mixing discussion and case, with finals by senior directors and partners. The Middle East business case prep page states three to four 45-minute interviews with case work in each and the same "simpler framework is better" line. Across territories, Strategy&'s published posture is consistent: no single right answer; they score how you structure and reason. Read the live vacancy for dates — the UK FAQ says recruiting will not invent deadlines beyond the careers pages.
What PwC publishes that Strategy& candidates should still use
Strategy& is PwC's strategy consulting business. That does not make every PwC assessment identical to every Strategy& interview. It does make PwC's free case materials high-signal practice when you want graded sample responses.
PwC's Get Ready for Your Advisory Case Interview page, as of 2026-09-24, states cases are typically 30–45 minutes, there is no perfect answer, notes are encouraged, basic math may appear, and AI during assessment and interview is not permitted. Interviewers listen for structured thinking, comfort with ambiguity, clear communication, business intuition and basic numeracy, curiosity and coachability.
The same page includes two practice scenarios with figures:
- A global bank with about $300 billion in assets planning a two-year digital transformation (roughly 80% of US banking customers visit a branch at least yearly; 40% never use the mobile app).
- A healthcare provider with $20 billion earnings considering an acquisition that would raise total revenue by about 2.5% and grow telemedicine revenue by 35% from a $1 billion base.
Both include associate- and MBA-level sample responses. Do them before another casebook. Time yourself, speak aloud, and compare only to the sample at your level.
Use Strategy& Insights for fit, not as a case crib
Strategy& Insights and the reports and studies library are free published thinking: industry notes, capability themes, and research pieces. Use them to answer "Why Strategy&?" with something that could not be swapped for another firm. Pick one sector page that matches your background, read one recent piece, and write three sentences: what the firm is arguing, why that argument matters to a client, and what evidence from your own work makes you a credible contributor on that topic.
Do not paste Insight frameworks into a case. On the scoring sheet I care whether your structure fits this client's objective. Reciting a published article usually costs points for sounding canned.
University and other free primary practice
After the firm pages, add volume from institutions that publish for students:
- Harvard FAS interviewing guidance explains case questions as tests of analytical structure and clear explanation, not memorized jargon — useful calibration when Strategy& says the same thing in different words.
- Yale OCS: Management Consulting and the Interview Process and its overview PDF cover case-plus-fit interviews, listening for interviewer cues, and structuring without treating frameworks as scripts.
- Your school's consulting club casebook, used the way Strategy& itself recommends on the Middle East and LBS pages: do not read the answer first; find a partner and practice aloud.
If your university career center has a consulting channel, use that portal first. Alumni mock interviews and peer exchange beat another anonymous PDF host.
CoachNed free surfaces — what they actually are
CoachNed is independent practice software, not Strategy& or PwC material. Two free surfaces are honest stops when you need reps:
- /start — a five-minute first case with three typed turns and instant scores, no account required.
- /drills/quick-math — free-forever mental math for the numeracy Strategy& and PwC both flag.
Everything else on CoachNed is open for seven days with no card, then $120 for a recruiting season or $49 a month. Use the free surfaces to diagnose structure or arithmetic; use firm pages to learn the interview shape you are aiming at.
A ten-minute structured drill you can run today
UK Strategy& publishes a structured format: slide pack, ~10 minutes to review, then recommendations. Most candidates never train that clock. Here is an original mini-pack. Set a ten-minute timer. Do not look at the scoring notes until you have spoken a recommendation aloud.
Client: Northline Logistics, a regional freight forwarder. Revenue last year: $480 million. Operating margin: 6.5%. Three product lines: contract trucking (55% of revenue), last-mile parcel (30%), warehouse fulfillment (15%). The CEO wants a recommendation on whether to expand last-mile into two new metro areas next year.
| Exhibit | Figure |
|---|---|
| Last-mile contribution margin today | 18% |
| Contract trucking contribution margin | 11% |
| Warehouse contribution margin | 8% |
| Capex to enter two metros | $22 million |
| Expected incremental last-mile revenue in year 1 | $40 million |
| Expected incremental last-mile revenue in year 2 | $70 million |
| Utilization risk if parcel volumes miss plan by 20% | Contribution margin falls to ~9% |
| Rival already live in both metros | Price competition expected in year 1 |
Worked math you should be able to reproduce: year-1 incremental contribution at 18% on $40 million is $7.2 million; year-2 at 18% on $70 million is $12.6 million. Against $22 million capex, a two-year contribution sum of $19.8 million does not yet recover the investment before tax, before corporate overhead, and before competitive price pressure. A passable recommendation either says "delay / pilot one metro" with the payback math, or "proceed only if" with a concrete volume or margin condition. A weak answer lists the exhibits and never commits.
Score yourself on four boxes: (1) restated objective in one sentence, (2) a structure you named before diving into numbers, (3) at least one calculation with units, (4) a recommendation with a next step for the client. That is closer to what a structured Strategy& slot rewards than another untimed interlocutor case.
Ned's rule. Budget half of Strategy& case hours for timed slide synthesis — ten minutes of silence, then a recommendation with numbers — and half for interlocutor cases. Offices that publish both formats will expose whichever half you skipped.
A two-week free plan
| Days | Task |
|---|---|
| 1 | Map your territory process page onto one sheet of interview shapes |
| 2–3 | Both PwC sample cases aloud; compare only to the sample at your level |
| 4 | 60-second "Why Strategy&" from one Insights piece plus one personal proof |
| 5–7 | Three partner school-casebook cases; one must be timed exhibit-style |
| 8 | Four fit stories (leadership, conflict, teamwork, impact), 90 seconds each |
| 9–10 | Margin, growth, and percentage speed on /drills/quick-math |
| 11–14 | Alternate interlocutor cases and ten-minute structured packs; log the first failure |
If the UK FAQ applies, treat the online assessment as its own gate using whatever practice your invitation links. Do not invent a vendor from forums.
Practice this today
Open the PwC Advisory case prep page, run the digital-bank scenario under a 35-minute clock while speaking, then run the Northline drill under ten minutes. Note which of structure, math, exhibit reading, or recommendation failed first. Repair that skill with /start or /drills/quick-math before collecting more PDFs.
Frequently asked questions
Are Strategy& and PwC the same interview process?
No. Strategy& is PwC's strategy arm, but territories differ. UK Strategy& describes assessment then unstructured and structured cases; Netherlands describes a buddy, a practice case, and six hour-long interviews across two rounds. Follow your office page and invitation.
Where can I find free Strategy& practice cases from the firm itself?
Strategy& careers pages teach how to case and point you to school consulting clubs for volume. For free scenarios with numbers and sample answers, use PwC's Advisory case prep page, then confirm your invitation for the unstructured vs structured mix.
Do I need a cover letter for Strategy&?
Check the live vacancy. UK graduate and internship applications ask for a CV and personal statement; other territories may want a cover letter or transcripts. Use any statement for motivation the CV cannot carry, not for repeating bullets.
Is CoachNed an official Strategy& resource?
No. CoachNed is independent. The Strategy& and PwC links above are the official free sources; /start and /drills/quick-math are free practice aids only.
How many cases should I do before a Strategy& first round?
Strategy& says practice many cases aloud with a partner and expects imperfect early reps. Aim for enough volume to run both an interlocutor case and a timed slide recommendation without freezing — often a dozen-plus spoken cases plus several ten-minute structured packs.
Sources
- FAQs | PwC's Strategy& UK — UK application steps, two 45-minute interview formats, PwC application exclusivity, September Associate timing. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Graduates and interns | PwC's Strategy& UK — insight events and first-round unstructured vs structured case description. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Recruitment process | Strategy& Netherlands — assessment length, practice case, three-plus-three hour interviews, firm case tips. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Business case prep | Strategy& Middle East — interview count and case-prep guidance in Strategy&'s voice. Checked 2026-09-24.
- London Business School recruiting | Strategy& — MBA first-round and final-round shape. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Get Ready for Your Advisory Case Interview | PwC — interviewer criteria, 30–45 minute case length, sample cases with figures, AI policy. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Insights | Strategy& — published thinking for motivation research. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Reports and studies | Strategy& — longer-form Strategy& research library. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Interviewing | Harvard FAS Mignone Center for Career Success — university guidance on case analysis vs jargon. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Management Consulting and the Interview Process | Yale OCS — university case-plus-fit overview. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Consulting and the Interview Process Overview (PDF) | Yale OCS — structured tips for listening, frameworks, and questions. Checked 2026-09-24.
CoachNed is not affiliated with Strategy&, PwC, or any firm named above.