McKinsey Application Process and the Solve Assessment

The shape of the process

McKinsey's consultant hiring runs in five stages, and Solve is the second of them. You apply and are screened on your CV and cover letter. If you clear that screen you are invited to Solve, which is described by multiple sources as going to most candidates who get past the screen rather than to a shortlist. Passing Solve leads to first-round interviews, normally two, each combining a case with the Personal Experience Interview. A second round with more senior interviewers follows, and then the offer.

The important structural point is that Solve is not a standalone gate. McKinsey states that “the results from Solve will be taken into consideration together with the rest of your application and any other assessment results”. That is a genuine statement about how the result is used, and it is worth holding onto: the assessment is not the only thing being read, and a result you are unsure about does not automatically end the application.

The invitation, and what it tells you

Solve arrives by email with a unique link. Two details in that email matter more than anything you will read online.

The stated length tells you which modules you are getting

McKinsey publishes no duration at all. Its FAQ says only that “the length of your Solve assessment is outlined in your invitation email”, which makes the number in your email the single most useful piece of information you have. As of September 2026, candidate reports converge on a 65 minute invitation meaning the Redrock Study plus Sea Wolf, and an 85 minute invitation adding Sustainable Futures Lab. A 95 minute version began being reported in September 2026 and is not yet corroborated. The mechanics of each module are on our Solve assessment guide.

The deadline is shorter than people expect

Reported completion windows vary between roughly three to seven days and one to two weeks, and the invitation states yours. Because the assessment must be finished in one sitting, with no pausing and returning, the practical question is not when the deadline falls but when you have an uninterrupted 90 minutes on a computer you trust. Book that slot the day the invitation arrives rather than the day before it expires.

Practical requirements that catch people out

• PC or Mac only. McKinsey states the assessment is not available on a phone or an iPad. Sound is not necessary and a mouse is optional, though the interface is built around dragging and a trackpad makes that harder than it needs to be.
• A tech check runs before you start. Do it early rather than in the same session as the assessment, so a browser or network problem costs you nothing.
• One sitting, no pausing. Plan for the full invitation length plus the untimed tutorials that precede each task, and remove the obvious interruptions.
• You participate alone. Applications, websites, AI tools and pre-prepared notes are all prohibited, with consequences up to and including rescinding an offer. What this means in practice, including one very widely recommended shortcut that is a breach, is set out on our can you cheat McKinsey Solve page.
• Languages. Solve is available in English, Spanish for Iberia or Latin America, Portuguese for Iberia or Latin America, and Japanese.
• Adjustments. Accommodations are arranged through your recruiter, not inside the assessment platform. Ask before you schedule.

What happens after Solve

You will not receive a score. No source describes any score report reaching a candidate, and the only number the assessment itself shows anyone is the efficiency percentage on each Sea Wolf site. You learn the outcome as an invitation to interview or as a rejection.

One further possibility is worth knowing about because it is in McKinsey's own FAQ: you may be asked at random to take an additional task in person, or to explain the logic you used. That is unusual among online assessments and it is a reasonable thing to be ready for rather than alarmed by. If you reasoned your way through the tasks, describing how is not a difficult conversation.

First-round interviews follow. Each is normally a case interview plus the Personal Experience Interview, which asks for structured examples of personal impact, entrepreneurial drive and inclusive leadership. The reasoning Solve asks for and the reasoning a case interview asks for are closely related, which is part of why the two sit next to each other in the pipeline: both are about structuring a problem before attacking it, and about knowing which number actually answers the question.

Roles and offices

McKinsey frames Solve as part of “our consultant recruitment process”, which covers the business analyst, junior associate and associate entry routes. Whether internal functions or the technology and AI practices use it is not established by any source we could verify, so ask your recruiter rather than assuming. Geographically it is broad: McKinsey reported more than 15,000 people in 30 countries had sat it by May 2020, and it has since been deployed far more widely.

Reapplying

McKinsey's published rules name restrictions on future applications as a consequence of breaching assessment rules, which tells you reapplication exists as a normal route for everyone else. Standard practice across the firm's offices is a waiting period before a fresh application, and the length varies by office and by the stage you reached. Your recruiter is the authority on your case, and the answer is office-specific enough that a forum thread about somebody else's office is not evidence about yours.

Frequently asked questions

Does everyone who applies to McKinsey sit Solve?

No. It follows the CV screen. Once you are past that screen, reports suggest most candidates receive it, but it is not sent before the application has been read.

Can I retake Solve if my connection drops?

Contact your recruiter immediately rather than attempting to restart. The assessment is designed to be completed in one sitting and the resolution is a human one.

How much should I prepare?

McKinsey's own position is that no preparation is needed and that no business knowledge or gaming experience is required. On knowledge, that is true. What costs candidates time is meeting an unfamiliar interface with a clock running: a three-panel research screen, a calculator that logs its own results, a pool of microbes with attributes to average. Sitting each task once removes that cost, and that is the whole of what practice buys here.

Is the McKinsey Problem Solving Test the same thing?

No. The Problem Solving Test, or PST, is an older paper multiple-choice test that Solve replaced. If you have been told you are sitting “the McKinsey test” and you have found PST practice papers, you are preparing for a discontinued instrument.