BCG Casey Online Case: Format, Timing and a Practice Set

BCG's online case is a timed business case you solve alone with Casey, a chatbot, before the live case interviews in the Mexico process. BCG's own candidate guide describes 8 to 10 multiple-choice, short-answer and fill-in questions, 35 minutes of casework and a one-minute recorded video recommendation at the end, though several office pages say 30 minutes and some describe a different test entirely.

Soreno isn't affiliated with Boston Consulting Group. Every process fact here comes from BCG's careers pages or the candidate guide BCG links from its Mexico page, all read on October 1, 2026.

What BCG says the online case is

BCG's Mexico office page has the clearest definition: "The Online Case Experience (OCE) is an interactive exercise where you solve a business case guided by Casey, a chatbot." It says you prepare for it as you would for a case interview, and that "The OCE takes approximately 30 minutes to complete, and everything is conducted in English."

The Argentina page (Chile, Colombia, Panama and Peru use the same wording) says the online case "will test your quantitative skills, data interpretations, calculations, and business logic," and that you get 30 minutes, after which "you must record a 1-minute video with the final recommendation." The Kazakhstan page calls it "a mix of qualitative questions, business logic, and analytical problem solving."

In the US, BCG's Associate page says the online case takes about 35 minutes and goes to "A select group of candidates" about two weeks after the application deadline. The US MBA page lists it for full-time MBA applicants except those whose first office choice is in Canada. Applicants who took it during the previous summer-consultant cycle may reuse their submission; the page describes an optional retake.

How the Casey screen works, per BCG's candidate guide

Under the OCE answer, BCG Mexico links a 17-page PDF, "BCG Online Case Assessment: User reference guide & helpful tips," marked 2024. It's the most detailed official description we found:

• The case has 8 to 10 questions followed by a video response. Questions are multiple choice, short answer or fill-in.
• Total time is about 40 minutes: a short intro video, 35 minutes for the case, then the video question.
• For the video, you get 5 minutes to read the question, prepare and record a one-minute answer, with a single attempt. BCG tells you to start recording at least 2 minutes before the 5-minute timer runs out.
• "You will not be able to go back and review, or change previous answers." You work through questions in order.
• You need a webcam laptop and a calculator, not a phone. Your webcam records the whole session (after you consent) to flag things like tab switching, copy-paste and extra faces.
• The timer keeps running if you drop out, though you can log back in where you left off.
• You don't get your score, and question weights can differ.
• BCG recommends a practice case first. The link comes in your invitation email, sent by HireQuotient on BCG's behalf.

In the guide, cost of goods sold is variable and operating expenses are fixed unless stated otherwise, and "profit" means operating profit. Its glossary even works an expected-profit example, so be ready for probability-weighted questions.

What each BCG office page says

Offices don't describe the screen the same way, and some describe a reasoning or numerical test instead of a case. This is what we read on each page on October 1, 2026 (pages are undated unless noted).

The Czech Republic page lists an "Entry Online Test" with fixed dates in each 2026 wave, and the Korea and Greater China pages mention an online assessment without detail.

Don't confuse Casey with the Consulting Career Assessment (CCA). BCG's CCA FAQ for Mexico applicants (updated December 2024) says it's built by SHL, takes 30 to 35 minutes, measures cognitive and behavioral traits, and needs no preparation.

The sources linked here don't give a pass mark or exact question weights, and they don't tell you which industry your case will cover. Mexico says only that the case "can cover any industry or practice area." Your invitation email is the final word on which test you're taking.

How to pace 8 to 10 questions

At 30 minutes for 10 questions you have 3 minutes each. At 35 minutes for 8 questions you have about 4.4. Your average budget therefore ranges from 3 to about 4.4 minutes per question, and give multi-step calculations more of it than quick multiple-choice questions.

Use the progress bar as your gauge. BCG's guide says it moves by expected time per question, not by questions answered. If the timer says half your time is gone and the bar shows 35%, you're behind. Since you can't go back, a quick sanity check before each submit is worth more than speed on the next question.

A Casey-style practice set (ours, fictional)

This set is ours, built to mirror the question types BCG describes. It isn't BCG's material, and the company and numbers are made up. Assume all subscribers start in January and remain for the full year, with one bike per subscriber. Use a calculator, as the linked BCG candidate guide requires.

Prompt. Vela, an e-bike maker, wants to launch a monthly bike subscription in one of three cities next year. The CEO wants the city with the highest Year 1 operating profit.

Exhibit: Year 1 estimates by city

Suggested time budget (30 minutes, then the 5-minute video section)

Q1. Vela's CFO says, "Calder is obvious, it has the most households." Which response is best?

• A) Agree, since the biggest market yields the most profit.
• B) Households only matter with sign-up rate, margin per subscriber and fixed cost, so compare profit by city first.
• C) Disagree, Brenford has the highest sign-up rate, so it wins.
• D) Pick the city with the lowest fixed cost.

Q2. Fill in Aston's Year 1 operating profit, in thousands of dollars.

Q3. Which city has the highest Year 1 operating profit? A) Aston B) Brenford C) Calder D) Can't tell without competitor data.

Q4. Calder's council will vote on a rule capping each operator at 2,000 subscription bikes. Vela puts the chance it passes at 40%. Fill in Calder's expected Year 1 operating profit, in thousands.

Q5. In two or three sentences: is Brenford's forecast safe enough to bet on?

Q6 (video). Give the CEO a one-minute recommendation.

Answers

Q1: B. Profit is subscribers times annual margin, minus fixed cost.

Q2: 300. Subscribers are 200,000 × 2.0% = 4,000. Monthly margin is $60 − $35 = $25, or $300 a year. Contribution is 4,000 × $300 = $1.2 million. Minus $900,000 fixed cost, profit is $300,000.

Q3: C. Brenford: 120,000 × 4.0% = 4,800 subscribers × ($20 × 12 = $240) = $1,152,000, minus $800,000 = $352,000. Calder: 300,000 × 1.0% = 3,000 subscribers × ($30 × 12 = $360) = $1,080,000, minus $700,000 = $380,000. Calder wins with the fewest subscribers, because its margin is highest. Option B is the trap.

Q4: 236. With the cap, Calder serves 2,000 subscribers: 2,000 × $360 = $720,000, minus $700,000 = $20,000. Expected profit is 60% × $380,000 + 40% × $20,000 = $228,000 + $8,000 = $236,000. That's now below both Brenford ($352,000) and Aston ($300,000).

Q5, a model answer: "The forecast has a cushion, but that alone doesn't make it reliable. Brenford breaks even at about 3,334 whole-year subscribers, a 2.8% sign-up rate against a 4.0% forecast. I'd test demand before committing." The math: 3,333.3 ÷ 120,000 = 2.78%, and (4.0 − 2.78) ÷ 4.0 = 31%.

Q6, a model script (about 100 words):

"I recommend launching in Brenford. On base-case numbers Calder looks best at $380,000 of Year 1 operating profit, but there's a 40% chance the council caps it at 2,000 bikes, which would cut Calder's profit to $20,000. Weighted for that risk, Calder is worth $236,000, below Brenford's $352,000. Brenford also has room for error: it breaks even at a 2.8% sign-up rate against a 4.0% forecast. The main risk is that forecast, which is twice Aston's rate, so before signing the depot lease I'd run a pre-registration campaign to test demand. If the council rejects the cap, I'd reassess Calder using the latest demand and cost estimates."

Prep that carries over to the real screen

• Take BCG's practice case from your invitation email before the real one, as BCG's guide recommends.
• Practice with the calculator you'll use on the day (except for the Nordic logical reasoning test, which bans calculators).
• Run percentages, margins and break-even math until a three-step calculation takes under two minutes.
• Practice reading a table and writing its one-sentence takeaway.
• Record ten one-minute recommendations on your phone and watch them back.
• Before test day, check your webcam, use Chrome, turn off VPN and ad blockers, and close video-call apps, all from BCG's technical FAQ.

If your office uses a reasoning test instead, our logical reasoning practice questions fit better. If you pass, the live rounds come next, and our BCG case interview guide covers them.

Soreno doesn't simulate Casey or any chat-based online case, so use BCG's own practice case for the format. Where Soreno can help is the skills under it and the rounds after it: timed consulting math and chart interpretation drills, and voice mock cases, where you can pick candidate-led format and an AI interviewer shows exhibits, pushes back and grades you on a rubric.