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Your consulting toolkit

Everything you need to crack the case — from interview prep books and firm casebooks to recruiting timelines and resume guides.

Start with case prep
Read Case in Point or Victor Cheng first to build your foundation.
Practice with peers
Use PrepLounge or connect with ADCA members to do mock cases.
Join our Slack
Get casebooks, templates, and real-time recruiting intel from ADCA members.
Know your timeline
Advanced degree recruiting follows a different calendar — plan at least 6 months ahead.
Library

Consulting Resources

Curated by ADCA members and alumni. Updated each recruiting cycle.

Key: Free Paid Slack members only
Quick Guide

Case Interview Crash Course

Never done a case interview? Start here. This is ADCA's quick-start guide for advanced degree candidates new to consulting recruiting.

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What is a case interview?

A case interview simulates a real client problem. You'll be asked to analyze a business situation — typically involving profitability, market entry, or operations — and walk the interviewer through your structured thinking process.

Unlike academic exams, there's rarely one "right" answer. The interviewer is evaluating your structure, communication, and quantitative reasoning.

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Common case types

01
Profitability — "Our client's profits are declining. Why?"
02
Market Entry — "Should our client enter the European market?"
03
Market Sizing — "How many golf balls fit in a 747?"
04
M&A / Growth — "Should our client acquire Competitor X?"
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The MECE principle

Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive. Every bucket you identify should be distinct (no overlap) and together they should cover all possibilities (no gaps).

Profitability = Revenue − Costs
Revenue = Price × Volume
Costs = Fixed Costs + Variable Costs

Structure every answer as an issue tree — start broad, then drill down into the most promising branch.

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Your advanced degree advantage

Firms actively recruit PhD, MD, and JD candidates for their depth of expertise. You bring skills most MBA candidates don't have:

Deep domain expertise (healthcare, tech, policy)
Rigorous quantitative and analytical skills
Research and hypothesis-driven thinking
Credibility in expert-level client conversations