I’ve been doing case interview prep for a couple months now and I can feel the plateau happening. I’m scoring consistently around 65-70%, which is decent, but not the 80%+ that seems necessary for a real shot. I’ve done probably 40-50 cases at this point, watched YouTube videos, read the frameworks. But something’s not clicking.
I’m starting to wonder if it’s a time allocation problem. Like, am I spending 80% of my time on things that don’t actually matter much? I see people doing these massive case libraries and I’m not sure if that’s real practice or just busywork.
For people who’ve actually broken into consulting interviews or gotten strong feedback from practitioners, what was the actual turning point? Was it a specific type of case? Was it working with someone else? Or is it just hitting some threshold number and hoping your performance stabilizes above the bar?
Your 65-70% plateau is actually the critical inflection point, and most candidates don’t push through it because they assume it’s just time investment. Here’s what typically separates 70% from 80%+: it’s not more cases, it’s diagnostic feedback. If you’re not getting expert review on your actual case performance—where specifically you’re losing points—you’re just repeating the same errors. Video review or feedback from someone who’s passed the interview shows you patterns you can’t see alone. Second, structure matters enormously. At 70%, you likely have adequate frameworks but weak hypothesis development or poor data interpretation. Spend time on fewer cases but with actual thinking time between them. Third, communication is underweighted in most prep. Many strong analysts fail interviews because they communicate findings poorly. Record yourself and listen critically. Finally, specialized case types—M&A, profitability, market entry—deserve focused practice because firms use them to differentiate. But hitting them without mastery across basics is inefficient. Focus on diagnosis first, then drill.
yeah most people just grind cases mindlessly. you plateaued because you’re not getting actual feedback. do like 10 cases with someone who actually knows what they’re doing and they’ll tell you exactly what you’re doing wrong. that’s worth more than 100 cases alone. also stop watching youtube—just practice with real people.
oof i hit that same wall. started doing mocks w someone experienced and it helped way more than just doing more cases on my own honestly
You’re so close! The fact that you’re at 65-70% means you’ve got the fundamentals down. Focused practice with feedback is going to push you over the top!
I was stuck at like 68% for two weeks and then I did a mock with a friend who’d passed McKinsey. She told me I was rushing the initial hypothesis phase. I slowed down, thought more carefully, and suddenly my scores jumped. I think the issue was I was treating it like a speed test when it’s really about quality thinking.
Research on case interview performance shows diminishing returns after approximately 30-40 cases without structured feedback. Candidates in your 65-70% range typically improve 5-10 percentage points per expert feedback session. The critical variable is diagnostic specificity—knowing whether your gaps are in problem structuring, quantitative analysis, or communication. Studies indicate that mock interviews with practitioners yield 2-3x faster improvement rates than independent practice. Consider focusing on 3-5 high-quality mocks with detailed feedback rather than volume-based case grinding.