Consulting club case prep calendar
A ten-week case prep program for a university consulting club, keyed to published recruiting calendars, with the session plan, homework and resources page.
Updated October 28, 2026
| When | Club session | Member homework |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 (early Sept) | Kickoff: what a case is, the eight types on one page, the recruiting calendar for this school | Read the frameworks guide; pick two fit stories |
| Week 2 | Profitability live: one case run by a second-year, structure said out loud by three members | Ten math drills a day |
| Week 3 | Market sizing: two chains, assumptions on the whiteboard, sanity ratios | Build one chain for a question of your own |
| Week 4 | Clarifying questions and play-back: the first 90 seconds of five prompts, timed | Partner case 1 |
| Week 5 | Market entry and M&A: the sequence and the payback table | Partner case 2; eight fit stories drafted |
| Week 6 | Fit interview: PEI themes, STAR skeletons, follow-ups in pairs | Partner case 3; tighten two stories to 150 words |
| Week 7 | Exhibits: reading a chart out loud, title, axes, biggest number, so-what | Partner cases 4 and 5 |
| Week 8 | Virtual setup clinic: web client, tab audio, camera, paper; a full mock on the real setup | Partner cases 6 and 7 |
| Weeks 9 to 10 | Mock interview week: second-years and alumni run full rounds, case plus fit | Partner cases 8 to 10; firm pages read for each target firm |
| Interview weeks | Drop-in office hours; no new material | Sleep |
When should the program start?
Count back ten weeks from the first interview on your school’s own calendar. Two published examples are quoted in the recruiting timeline guide: Kellogg lists second-year on-campus interviews in October and first-year internship interviews from January 11, 2027; Cornell describes undergraduate interviews in late summer through fall. So an undergraduate club starts in the first week of the fall term, a second-year MBA program starts in the first week of classes, and a first-year MBA program starts in late October to land at the January window.
What does each session need?
- One case, run live, by someone who has been through the round. Reading a case from a book is not the session; the structure said out loud by members is.
- Three members on their feet per case. One structures, one takes the exhibit, one synthesizes. Everyone else writes their own structure and compares.
- The first 90 seconds, timed. Play-back, objective question, buckets, question. Most of a case’s grade is decided there.
- Math on the board. Setup before answer, rounding announced, one check. The drills page gives twenty with methods.
- A debrief that names one thing per person. Not five. The one moment the interviewer would have asked twice.
How do partners practice between sessions?
- Pair up for the whole program. Same partner, alternating interviewer and candidate, one case each per week from week 4.
- Use a casebook’s own clarifications as the answer key. Most public casebooks list what the interviewer should say if asked; a good clarifying question unlocks one of those lines.
- Record one case a week and listen for the setup before each number and the question at the end of each structure.
- Run one case a week in a browser tab with a structure coach listening. Compare its structure and question hints with what you said after each turn; the gap is the homework.
What about the firm policy question?
Members will ask whether AI help is allowed in interviews, and the club should answer with the firms’ own words rather than a forum thread. McKinsey marks practicing interview questions with AI as encouraged and real-time answers during an interview as not allowed; BCG asks for your own responses unless told otherwise; Bain publishes nothing. All three are quoted with dates in the firm policies guide; link it from the club’s resources page.
What goes on the club resources page?
| Resource | Why |
|---|---|
| The firms’ own interview pages | Primary sources for format and policy; the formats guide quotes them |
| Two or three public casebooks | Cases with the interviewer’s clarifications; check each book’s license before copying |
| The school’s recruiting calendar | The program’s start date comes from it |
| A setup checklist for virtual rounds | The virtual setup guide |
| A list of alumni willing to run mocks | Weeks 9 and 10 depend on it; ask in week 1 |
Questions
When should a consulting club start case prep?
Ten weeks before the first interview on the school’s own calendar: the first week of fall term for undergraduates and second-year MBAs, late October for first-year MBAs aiming at the January window.
How many cases should a member do before interviews?
About ten partner cases plus the club’s live cases, with the first 90 seconds timed on many more prompts. The homework column above adds up to ten.
Can a club use AI tools for practice?
For preparation, McKinsey marks it as encouraged; for real interviews the firms’ rules apply and are quoted in the firm policies guide. A structure coach listening to a practice case is preparation.
Does Casepartner offer club access?
Each member subscribes individually; there is no club plan today. Members can share the guides on this site freely.