Where would you like to begin?
Choose a space. Go as deep as you need.
Inside the case index
Start with the patterns.
14 indexed cases across five editions. Cases can have more than one type; this selected subset does not represent interview frequency.
Trace the clusters across books
Each band counts case-to-type memberships. Width represents the count; overlapping cases contribute to more than one band. This shows the mix of this selected index, not the full books or measured framework effectiveness.
Case Studio
See the problem. Understand the why.
Work the numbers. Make the call.
What I’ve worked on
Mark your practice here. These are your check-ins, not a mastery score.
Saved only in this browser.
Start with the work.
You don’t need to settle your whole career during orientation. You need a direction you can test.
Begin with two or three roles that interest you. Separate the function you want to perform from the industry you want to work in. Product management is a function. Technology is an industry. The same company can hire very differently.
Would I enjoy the actual work?
Investigate the day-to-day decisions, hours, travel, team and environment. A recognizable employer name cannot answer this for you.
What can I already demonstrate?
Collect specific projects, actions, results and skills. Identify the gaps you can close through research, practice or experience.
Why this path, for me?
Use your priorities and experience alongside CareerLeader. Learn from job descriptions and people doing the work, then adjust your hypothesis.
How does the employer actually hire?
Find the process, geography, requirements and timing. A sample job description is a starting point, not a live opening.
25 career paths · searchable source directory · reviewed September 20, 2026
Go deeper: Role examples & research tracker ↗Career-focus webinar ↗
Different work. Different searches.
Choose a path to see its recruiting pattern, preparation priorities and the distinctions that matter.
Adds the path to your plan. Your other notes stay in place.
What campus, blended and specialized mean
Campus: a more organized school-connected sequence of events, applications and interviews.
Blended: school-connected opportunities alongside independent sourcing and employer-specific hiring.
Specialized: a more self-directed search, often shaped by relationships and a team’s immediate hiring needs.
These are planning patterns, not promises about a particular company’s calendar. Historical offer charts describe earlier classes.
Your plan
Start with your target and next action. Open the details when you need to refine your plan; a parallel path is optional.
Saved in this browser only. Create a free account to keep your plan and open it on any device.
Applications
One line per company and role, ordered by what needs you next. Employer deadlines belong to the employer: confirm them on the posting or in BCP.
This week’s rhythm
A suggested routine to adapt, rather than a school assignment.
The recruiting year
Employer events and school milestones, with a source on every entry. Filter for a firm, check registration, and plan your next step.
MBB registration opens October 5 at noon Central. New BCP listings include information sessions, recruiter meet-and-greets and case practice. Meeting windows are not booked appointments; choose a slot and follow all registration steps in BCP.
Where these dates came from
BCP employer listings were checked October 3, 2026, including events whose registration has not opened. Calendar windows, locations and registration rules remain controlled by the linked source. Canvas program pages supply orientation and preparation dates. The August 12 recruiting webinar, page 21, supplies the October 2 resume submission milestone. The public Booth recruiting calendar supplies academic dates and 2027 interview, offer-policy and internship-availability milestones. The BCP walkthrough adds operational context; its exact booking and deadline times need live confirmation.
Understanding the U.S. Visa Process is listed for October and International Student Quick Questions for February, without exact days in the reviewed support overview. They are not assigned invented dates here.
Read the offer-response policies. January 29 is an earliest response deadline under the applicable policy, not a universal date by which every student must accept an offer.
Coaching booking details from the walkthrough
The session stated booking would open September 25 at 4:30 p.m., with at most one appointment during the first three weeks. Canvas independently confirms the September 25 coaching start. Check the live booking instructions for the exact opening time and limits.
Confirm & register in BCP ↗Recruiting webinar, p. 21 ↗
Employer listings checked October 3, 2026; school milestones retain their original source dates. Event times show Central time. This is a checked snapshot, not a live BCP feed.
What kind of case are you solving?
Choose the business problem, then practice each part of the conversation.
1 · Choose a case type
2 · Work through the case
Start where you need practice. Return to earlier questions when new evidence changes your thinking.
Practice tools
Framework practice · three moves in 10 minutes
Practice three moves: structure the problem, work through it, explain the decision. Give yourself 10 minutes.
1. Structure · minutes 0–4
A framework is the questions you need to answer to make the client’s decision. Clarify the objective, timing and constraints. Then choose two or three relevant buckets.
- Why are profits falling?
- Revenue: price, volume, mix. Costs: fixed, variable. What changed: customers, competition, operations.
- Should we enter a market?
- Attractiveness: demand, growth, competition. Economics: revenue, costs, investment. Ability to win: differentiation, capabilities, execution.
- How should we grow?
- Existing business: customers, frequency, pricing. New opportunities: products, segments, markets. Prioritization: economics, feasibility, risk.
These are starting points. Adapt them to the business. In a profit case, market changes help explain revenue and cost movements; do not count them as separate financial effects.
Say your structure aloud, then choose a starting point:
“I’d examine demand, economics and our ability to deliver. I’d start with demand because we need to establish whether enough customers would buy the offering.”
2. Analyze · minutes 4–7
Within each bucket, use hypothesis → test → implication.
- Hypothesis: “My initial thought is that fewer transactions are driving the decline.”
- Test: “I’d compare transaction volume and average spending over time.”
- Implication: “If spending is stable but transactions are falling, I’d investigate customer traffic and retention.”
For math: state the equation → calculate with units → explain what the answer means.
Try it: A café has 200 transactions a day, average spending of $10 and daily costs of $1,600. Transactions fall 10%; spending and costs stay constant. Calculate the new daily profit and the percentage decline before opening the answer.
Check the café math and its implication
Revenue = transactions per day × dollars per transaction. Profit = daily revenue − daily costs.
- Before: 200 × $10 = $2,000 revenue/day; $2,000 − $1,600 = $400 profit/day.
- After: 200 × 90% = 180 transactions/day; 180 × $10 = $1,800 revenue/day; $1,800 − $1,600 = $200 profit/day.
- Profit decline: ($400 − $200) ÷ $400 = 50%.
A 10% transaction decline produces a 50% profit decline. Unchanged costs amplify the impact of lost sales. This result uses the exercise’s constant-cost assumption; test how costs actually behave in a real case.
Ask next: which costs would actually change with volume?
3. Synthesize · minutes 7–10
Use answer → evidence → next step.
“I’d prioritize recovering customer traffic. In this example, lower transaction volume explains the profit decline, while spending per transaction is unchanged. Next, I’d identify whether the lost traffic comes from fewer new customers or fewer repeat visits so we can choose an appropriate response.”
Ask your MCG practice partner for feedback in three buckets:
- Structure: Did my questions fit the client’s problem?
- Prioritization: Did I explain where I started and why?
- Synthesis: Did I turn findings into implications?
Pause, show the structure, then go into the details. Make your reasoning easy to follow.
Illustrative practice with synthetic café data; not an official MCG or employer framework.
Case worksheet · new variations, same reasoning discipline
Work the numbers. Explain the decision.
Generate an original practice case, check your math and rehearse how you would explain it. No account needed.
Your latest worksheet for each decision survives navigation and reload in this tab when browser storage is available. Loading a case or a new variation starts a fresh worksheet for that decision. Each decision has 12 numerical variations; the same case number repeats the same assumptions.
Follow one worked decision
Start with the worked reasoning, then try one step yourself. Experienced readers can go directly to the math.
Worked example · from evidence to decision
Inspect the full exhibit and assumptions
Clarify before calculating
Complete one step, then solve the decision
Hint for this step
Show the worked math & a changed assumption
Make the reasoning useful to another person
Saved in this tab when browser storage is available; not uploaded or automatically scored.
Compare with one possible recommendation
A different recommendation can be reasonable if its assumptions and evidence hold up.
Try changed conditions · independent practice
Compare the changed-case response
Review your response: named assumption, matching units, conditional decision, useful next test. This text is not automatically graded.
Review your analytical and conversational habits
Mark only what you actually demonstrated. Ask a practice partner which part of your explanation was easy to follow, where they lost the thread and how you responded to a hint. Choose one adjustment for the next case and keep it in your case log alongside the analytical feedback.
Practice with an AI interviewer
Choose how much challenge and conversation coaching you want. Copy the case and source context into ChatGPT or Claude to rehearse one question at a time.
Independent practice settings, not measurements of your personality or hiring prospects. Mathematical standards stay the same.
Read or manually copy the coach instructions
The AI conversation runs in the app you choose. Harper sends nothing; your scratchpad is not copied. AI feedback may be wrong. Use for rehearsal, not during a real interview. The guide retrieves reviewed teaching notes; it does not run an in-page AI model.
Find a technique, official case or Acquired connection
Search reviewed teaching notes by skill. No match means no answer is invented.
Official cases are separate practice resources. Harper’s cases and exhibits are original, with synthetic data. References explain methods; none endorses or scores Harper’s exercises. Reviewed October 7, 2026.
For MCG casebooks and current member guidance, use the latest club newsletter or ask your PAL. Private member materials are not reproduced here.
Digital assessments · guided preparation for Bain, BCG & Solve
Firm guidance emphasizes structured problem solving, thoughtful questions, analysis and clear communication. The exercises below are original practice examples, not actual interview questions or employer assessments.
Interview expectations: BCG · Case Interview Preparation ↗; McKinsey · Interviewing and official sample cases ↗.
A repeatable case conversation
Harper’s five-step synthesis of firm guidance on structure, assumptions and communication: BCG · Case Interview Preparation ↗. This sequence is a practice aid, not a required firm script.
- Clarify the decision. Restate the objective, timeframe and constraints. Ask what success means.
- Build a tailored structure. Break the decision into useful parts. Explain which uncertainty you would test first and why.
- Analyze aloud. State the equation and units before calculating. Use exhibits to change your hypothesis, not simply describe the chart.
- Interpret. Check magnitude and connect each calculation to the client’s decision.
- Recommend. Give the answer, supporting evidence, main risk and next test. Change direction when new evidence warrants it.
When you don’t know where to start
You don’t need to see the answer immediately. Start by describing what one customer, one sale or one hour contributes. Then scale up.
- Name the unknown and its unit. Are you finding dollars of profit, units sold, months or a percentage? Write that first.
- Predict the direction. If costs rise and nothing else changes, profit must fall. A calculation that says otherwise needs checking.
- Use a small, familiar example. Imagine 100 customers or $100 of revenue. For percentages, find 10%, 5% or 1% first.
- Build a bridge to the answer. Ask what each unit contributes and how many units you have. Let the units tell you whether to multiply or divide.
- Estimate, then calculate. Say “roughly two years” before “24 months.” Finish with what the number means for the decision.
A useful first sentence: “I’m solving for [unit]. I expect [direction] because [reason]. I’ll start with [simple relationship], then check [assumption].”
Mental math, one step at a time
Estimate first. Choose a small hint, build the reasoning, then check the worked answer. Original teaching exercises.
Case math: choose your next move
Write the output and unit. Ask “percent of what?” Then choose the move.
Four original teaching cases. Choose a short step to practice; these are not a complete casebook inventory.
Decimal and number cues
1%
Physical cue: Move decimal two places LEFT
Example: 450 → 4.5
Limit: Unit stays the same
0.1%
Physical cue: Move decimal three places LEFT
Example: 450 → 0.45
Limit: Ten times smaller than 1%
2%, 3%, 4%
Physical cue: Left two, then ×2, ×3, ×4
Example: 450 → 4.5 → 18 for 4%
Limit: Apply to the correct base
5%
Physical cue: Left one, then halve
Example: 450 → 45 → 22.5
Limit: Half of 10%, not half the base
15%
Physical cue: 10% plus half of that
Example: 240 → 24 + 12 = 36
Limit: Both pieces use the same base
0.5%
Physical cue: Left two, then halve
Example: 450 → 4.5 → 2.25
Limit: Not 5%
25% / 12.5%
Physical cue: Halve twice / three times
Example: 240 → 120 → 60 → 30
Limit: 12.5%=one eighth
Divide by 0.5
Physical cue: Double
Example: 12 ÷ 0.5 = 24
Limit: Division asks how many halves fit
Divide by 0.25
Physical cue: Multiply by four
Example: 12 ÷ 0.25 = 48
Limit: Unlike multiplying by 25%
Divide by 0.2
Physical cue: Multiply by five
Example: 12 ÷ 0.2 = 60
Limit: Both sides ×10 gives 120÷2
Decimal divisor
Physical cue: Move BOTH decimals right equally
Example: 4.5÷0.15 → 450÷15 = 30
Limit: Moving only one changes the quotient
Decimal multiplication
Physical cue: Multiply whole-number versions; restore combined decimal places
Example: 1.2×0.3: 12×3=36 → 0.36
Limit: Two decimal places total
Billions to millions
Physical cue: Decimal three places RIGHT
Example: $0.45bn → $450m
Limit: Same money, different unit
Millions to billions
Physical cue: Decimal three places LEFT
Example: $450m → $0.45bn
Limit: Do not confuse with finding 0.1%
×19 / ×99
Physical cue: ×20 minus one group / ×100 minus one group
Example: 8×19=160−8=152
Limit: Subtract the original number
Recover original after 20% growth
Physical cue: Divide by 1.2
Example: 120÷1.2=100
Limit: Subtracting 20% from 120 gives the wrong base
Successive percent changes
Physical cue: Multiply change factors
Example: +10%, then −10%: 1.1×0.9=0.99
Limit: Changes do not cancel
Matching map
mix — Split a population or revenue base
time — Change time basis
scale — Scale per-unit amounts
margin — Calculate contribution per unit
net — Combine signed amounts
reverse — Work backward from a target
rate — Choose a denominator and express a rate
scenario — Replace an assumption and rerun
difference — New minus old
round — Respect whole-unit thresholds
constraint — Apply bottleneck or demand cap
opportunity — Subtract displaced contribution
weighted — Weight unequal groups
Market entry · a campus meal service
Step 1 · mix
Worked relationship: 20,000 × 25% = 5,000 buyers
Cue: Quarter: halve, then halve.
Step 2 · time
Worked relationship: 2 × 30 = 60 meals/buyer/year
Cue: Write the time period before multiplying.
Step 3 · scale
Worked relationship: 5,000 × 60 = 300,000 meals/year
Cue: 5 × 6 = 30; append four zeros.
Step 4 · scale
Worked relationship: 300,000 × $12 = $3,600,000 revenue
Cue: ×12 = ×10 + ×2.
Step 5 · margin
Worked relationship: $12 − $8 = $4 contribution/meal
Cue: Subtract variable cost before scaling profit.
Step 6 · scale
Worked relationship: 300,000 × $4 = $1,200,000 contribution
Cue: 3 × 4 = 12; append five zeros.
Step 7 · net
Worked relationship: $1,200,000 − $900,000 = $300,000 operating profit
Cue: Put both amounts in $000: 1,200 − 900.
Step 8 · reverse
Worked relationship: $900,000 ÷ $4 = 225,000 break-even meals
Cue: Divide by four: halve twice.
Step 9 · reverse
Worked relationship: 225,000 ÷ 60 = 3,750 buyers
Cue: Divide both numerator and denominator by 10.
Step 10 · rate
Worked relationship: 3,750 ÷ 20,000 = 18.75% adoption
Cue: Ratio first; ×100 to express a percentage.
Step 11 · scenario
Worked relationship: 15% → 3,000 buyers → 180,000 meals → $720,000 contribution → −$180,000 profit
Cue: Keep the loss sign. Reuse the same columns.
Step 12 · scenario
Worked relationship: 20% → 4,000 buyers → 240,000 meals → $960,000 contribution → $60,000 profit
Cue: Change adoption only.
Step 13 · scenario
Worked relationship: Once weekly: 5,000 × 30 = 150,000 meals; ×$4 − $900,000 = −$300,000
Cue: Frequency halves contribution, not fixed costs.
Pricing · will a higher subscription price pay off?
Step 1 · margin
Worked relationship: $20 − $5 = $15 current contribution/customer/month
Cue: Separate contribution from revenue.
Step 2 · net
Worked relationship: 10,000 × $15 − $100,000 = $50,000 current monthly profit
Cue: Scale contribution, then subtract fixed cost once.
Step 3 · mix
Worked relationship: 10,000 × 90% = 9,000 retained customers
Cue: 90% = all minus 10%.
Step 4 · margin
Worked relationship: $24 − $5 = $19 proposed contribution/customer/month
Cue: ×19 later can be ×20 minus one group.
Step 5 · net
Worked relationship: 9,000 × $19 − $100,000 = $71,000 proposed profit
Cue: 9,000 ×20 −9,000 =171,000 before fixed costs.
Step 6 · difference
Worked relationship: $71,000 − $50,000 = $21,000 improvement
Cue: New minus old.
Step 7 · rate
Worked relationship: $21,000 ÷ $50,000 = 42% profit growth
Cue: Use old PROFIT as the denominator.
Step 8 · scale
Worked relationship: 10,000 × $20 = $200,000; 9,000 × $24 = $216,000 revenue
Cue: Keep old and new in parallel columns.
Step 9 · rate
Worked relationship: ($216,000 − $200,000) ÷ $200,000 = 8% revenue growth
Cue: Use old REVENUE as the denominator.
Step 10 · reverse
Worked relationship: ($50,000 target profit + $100,000 fixed cost) ÷ $19 = 7,894.7368… retained customers
Cue: Add fixed costs back before dividing by contribution.
Step 11 · round
Worked relationship: 7,894.7368… → 7,895 customers
Cue: Round UP to meet a minimum whole-customer threshold.
Step 12 · rate
Worked relationship: 7,895 ÷ 10,000 = 78.95% retention
Cue: Denominator is original customers.
Step 13 · scenario
Worked relationship: 75% retained → 7,500 × $19 − $100,000 = $42,500; change = −$7,500
Cue: Positive total profit can still be a negative improvement.
Operations · where should a clinic add capacity?
Step 1 · constraint
Worked relationship: min(12,8,10) = 8 visits/hour
Cue: Slowest sequential stage sets line capacity.
Step 2 · time
Worked relationship: 8 × 8 = 64 visits/day; min(64,90 demand)=64 served
Cue: Convert hourly to daily before comparing demand.
Step 3 · constraint
Worked relationship: Option A: min(18,8,10)=8/hour; still 64/day
Cue: Improving a non-bottleneck adds no throughput.
Step 4 · net
Worked relationship: Option A: zero extra contribution − $4,000 = −$4,000/month
Cue: Zero benefit still leaves the cost.
Step 5 · constraint
Worked relationship: Option B: min(12,11,10)=10/hour; ×8=80/day; min(80,90)=80
Cue: Recompute the bottleneck after the change.
Step 6 · difference
Worked relationship: 80 − 64 = 16 additional visits/day
Cue: Use additional visits, not all visits.
Step 7 · time
Worked relationship: 16 × 20 = 320 additional visits/month
Cue: Attach /day and days/month so units cancel.
Step 8 · scale
Worked relationship: 320 × $40 = $12,800 additional contribution/month
Cue: 32 ×4 =128; append two zeros.
Step 9 · net
Worked relationship: $12,800 − $6,000 = $6,800 incremental monthly profit
Cue: Not total clinic profit.
Step 10 · scenario
Worked relationship: 70/day demand: min(80,70)−64=6 extra/day; 6×20×$40−$6,000=−$1,200
Cue: Apply the demand cap before valuing capacity.
Product launch · growth or cannibalization?
Step 1 · margin
Worked relationship: $80 − $45 = $35 contribution/premium unit
Cue: Price minus variable cost.
Step 2 · scale
Worked relationship: 20,000 × $35 = $700,000 premium contribution
Cue: 2 ×35=70; append four zeros.
Step 3 · net
Worked relationship: $700,000 − $300,000 = $400,000 before cannibalization
Cue: Intermediate result, not final incremental profit.
Step 4 · mix
Worked relationship: 20,000 × 40% = 8,000 switchers
Cue: 10% =2,000; ×4.
Step 5 · opportunity
Worked relationship: 8,000 × $20 = $160,000 lost old-product contribution
Cue: Subtract lost contribution, not lost revenue.
Step 6 · net
Worked relationship: $700,000 − $160,000 − $300,000 = $240,000 incremental profit
Cue: Separate the two deductions into rows.
Step 7 · mix
Worked relationship: 20,000 − 8,000 = 12,000 new-to-company sales
Cue: Switchers plus new buyers must total 20,000.
Step 8 · weighted
Worked relationship: 12,000×$35 + 8,000×($35−$20) −$300,000 = $240,000
Cue: Cross-check with buyer groups; do not add this to the first answer.
Step 9 · weighted
Worked relationship: $35 − 40%×$20 = $27 incremental contribution per premium sale
Cue: Average the lost contribution across all premium sales.
Step 10 · reverse
Worked relationship: $300,000 ÷ $27 = 11,111.111… units
Cue: Threshold uses MIX-ADJUSTED contribution.
Step 11 · round
Worked relationship: 11,111.111… → 11,112 whole units
Cue: Round UP, never to nearest, for minimum feasibility.
Step 12 · scenario
Worked relationship: 80% switching: 16,000×$20=$320,000 lost; $700,000−$320,000−$300,000=$80,000
Cue: Hold total premium sales fixed; change the mix.
Try it, then explain why
Worked: 4% of $450m = 4.5 × 4 = $18m. The percentage changes the amount; the unit stays millions.
Guided: 3% of $250m. First find 1% = $2.5m. Finish the multiplication.
Independent: Find 0.5% of $600m; convert $0.08bn to millions; calculate 4.8 ÷ 0.12.
Transfer: A product is 20% of a $2bn company. Its price falls 3% at unchanged volume. Find product revenue, the signed change, and new product revenue.
Check answers after trying
Guided: $7.5m. Independent: $3m; $80m; 40. Transfer: $400m; −$12m; $388m.
Explain the base, unit and sign. Reading a revealed answer is not independent practice.
Base → Units → Operation → Sign → Decision
Method references: Break-even and target profit · OpenStax §3.2 ↗; Constrained resources · OpenStax §10.6 ↗; Simple payback · OpenStax §11.2 ↗. The numerical drills and intuition prompts are Harper originals.
A complete mini-case · a retailer’s margin decline
Harper original. Fictional retailer and worked arithmetic. Method reference: Break-even and target profit · OpenStax §3.2 ↗.
Prompt: A fictional retailer sells 100,000 items per year at $50 each. Variable cost rose from $30 to $34 per item; annual fixed costs remain $1 million. Volume and price are unchanged. What happened to profit, and what should the retailer test?
View calculation workbook · formulas & results
Read-only worked example. Follow each row from the stated assumptions to the result. These are teaching calculations, not an Excel connection.
| Row | A · Measure | B · Calculation | C · Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annual revenue | 100,000 × $50 | $5,000,000 |
| 2 | Prior variable costs | 100,000 × $30 | $3,000,000 |
| 3 | Current variable costs | 100,000 × $34 | $3,400,000 |
| 4 | Prior operating profit | $5m − $3m − $1m | $1,000,000 |
| 5 | Current operating profit | $5m − $3.4m − $1m | $600,000 |
| 6 | Profit change | $600,000 − $1,000,000 | −$400,000 (−40%) |
| 7 | Extra units to recover the gap | $400,000 ÷ ($50 − $34) | 25,000 |
1 · Notice what changed before calculating
Price, volume and fixed costs are unchanged. Only the variable cost rose. That means you can isolate the change: every item now leaves $4 less behind. Start with the difference, rather than rebuilding two complete income statements.
Try saying: “Profit must be lower. I’ll multiply the extra cost per item by annual items sold to estimate the lost profit.”
Predict: $4 across 100,000 items is hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. It is not a $4 total loss or a $4 million loss.
2 · Build the profit bridge
Clarify: Assume one product, all items sold, and no other income or costs. The objective is to recover last year’s annual operating profit without damaging customer retention.
Structure: Revenue (price × volume), variable costs (unit cost × volume), fixed costs. Then test the cause of the unit-cost change and feasible commercial responses.
Intuition: Before the increase, each $50 sale left $20 after variable cost. Of that total contribution, $1m paid fixed costs. The new $4 cost increase comes straight out of the remaining profit. A modest cost increase can therefore cause a much larger percentage fall in profit.
Calculate: Revenue = $5m. Prior contribution = 100,000 × $20 = $2m; prior operating profit = $1m. Current contribution = 100,000 × $16 = $1.6m; current operating profit = $600,000. Profit fell $400,000, or 40%.
3 · Reason through the possible responses
There are three direct ways to recover the gap: regain $4 of contribution on each existing sale, add enough new sales at the current contribution, or reduce fixed costs by the gap. These are arithmetic possibilities; customer demand, supplier terms and capacity determine feasibility.
Before dividing: Each extra sale contributes $16, not $50. Using revenue per sale would understate how much volume is needed. With profit down $400,000, 10,000 extra sales would contribute only $160,000; you need more than twice that volume.
Compare choices: A $4 price increase restores $400,000 only if volume stays constant. Recovering the gap through volume at the current $16 contribution requires 25,000 additional items, or 25% growth, assuming fixed costs and unit costs hold. Neither assumption is established.
4 · Turn the math into a recommendation
Separate what is established (the $4 unit-cost increase) from what remains unknown (its cause and customer price sensitivity). A recommendation can be conditional and still useful.
Recommendation: “I would first identify what drove the $4 unit-cost increase and test targeted pricing before assuming volume growth can recover the gap. Profit is down 40%; restoring it through volume alone requires 25% more units. The key risk is customer response to higher prices. Next I would segment customers and assess competitor prices, supplier terms and capacity.”
5 · Test the recommendation if volume falls
Start here: A higher price leaves $20 per unit instead of $16. For the same contribution dollars, each unit now does more work, so fewer units can match today’s profit. But restoring last year’s higher profit is a different target.
Set up the target: Required units = (target profit + fixed costs) ÷ contribution per unit. To match today’s $600,000, recover $1.6m at $20 per unit. To restore last year’s $1m, recover $2m.
Follow-up: At a $54 price and $34 variable cost, unit contribution is $20. To beat current $600,000 profit, volume must exceed 80,000 units. To restore prior $1m profit, it must remain at 100,000. These are different goals.
Practice a whole business decision
Four fictional cases, from a first estimate to a conditional recommendation. Spend 2 minutes structuring, 5–8 minutes analyzing and 1 minute recommending. These are suggested practice intervals, not interview timing requirements.
Solo: say your first move aloud before revealing a hint. With a partner: one person presents the prompt and reveals the follow-up after the recommendation. No single wording is required.
Market entry · a campus meal service
Foundation · Market sizing & break-even
Prompt: A meal service is considering a new campus with 20,000 students. Assume 25% would buy, each buyer orders twice per week for 30 teaching weeks, price is $12 per meal, variable cost is $8, and annual fixed operating costs are $900,000. Should it enter? Ignore taxes and financing; upfront launch investment is not yet known.
Harper original. Fictional scenario, inputs and worked solution. The references below explain the methods, not the scenario or its forecast.
Sources for the reasoning
- Break-even and target profit · OpenStax §3.2 ↗ — Contribution per unit, fixed costs and the sales needed to reach a profit target.
View calculation workbook · formulas & results
Read-only worked example. Follow each row from the stated assumptions to the result. These are teaching calculations, not an Excel connection.
| Row | A · Measure | B · Calculation | C · Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buyers | 20,000 × 25% | 5,000 |
| 2 | Meals / year | 5,000 × 2 × 30 | 300,000 |
| 3 | Contribution / meal | $12 − $8 | $4 |
| 4 | Annual contribution | 300,000 × $4 | $1,200,000 |
| 5 | Operating profit | $1,200,000 − $900,000 | $300,000 |
| 6 | Break-even adoption | $900,000 ÷ $4 ÷ 60 ÷ 20,000 | 18.75% |
Find a starting point
First separate the size of the campus from the number of paying customers. Then follow one customer through a year: how many meals do they buy, and what does each meal contribute?
Questions worth asking
- Does 25% mean paying customers or survey interest?
- Does twice weekly represent sustained purchasing across all 30 weeks?
- Are kitchen capacity, delivery costs and launch investment included?
1 · Build the customer-to-profit chain
20,000 × 25% = 5,000 buyers. Each orders 2 × 30 = 60 meals/year. That is 300,000 meals. Revenue is $3.6m, but only $4 per meal remains after variable costs. Annual contribution is $1.2m; operating profit is $300,000 after fixed costs.
2 · Find the adoption threshold
Fixed costs need 900,000 ÷ 4 = 225,000 meals. At 60 meals per buyer, that means 3,750 buyers, or 18.75% of students. This is operating break-even, not recovery of an unknown upfront investment.
3 · Stress-test the assumption
At 15% adoption, 3,000 buyers generate 180,000 meals, $720,000 contribution and a $180,000 operating loss. At 20%, operating profit is $60,000. A small adoption miss can erase most of the base-case profit.
Common trap & a reasoned recommendation
Watch for: A large addressable market is not the same as demand captured. Do not multiply all 20,000 students by spending and then call it expected revenue.
One defensible recommendation: Pilot before a full launch. The base case earns $300,000 annually, but break-even needs 18.75% adoption at the assumed frequency. Test paid repeat ordering and delivery cost, then assess launch investment and capacity before committing.
Try a follow-up
What if customers order only once per week at 25% adoption?
Check your reasoning
150,000 meals × $4 − $900,000 = −$300,000 annually. Frequency is as important as adoption; holding buyer count constant does not preserve economics.
Pricing · will a higher subscription price pay off?
Foundation · Unit economics & sensitivity
Prompt: A subscription business has 10,000 customers paying $20/month. Variable servicing cost is $5/customer/month and fixed operating cost is $100,000/month. A proposed $24 price is expected to retain 90% of customers. Compare monthly operating profit. Assume the retained count is stable and there are no new customers or implementation costs.
Harper original. Fictional scenario, inputs and worked solution. The references below explain the methods, not the scenario or its forecast.
Sources for the reasoning
- Break-even and target profit · OpenStax §3.2 ↗ — Contribution per unit, fixed costs and the sales needed to reach a profit target.
View calculation workbook · formulas & results
Read-only worked example. Follow each row from the stated assumptions to the result. These are teaching calculations, not an Excel connection.
| Row | A · Measure | B · Calculation | C · Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Current contribution / customer | $20 − $5 | $15 / month |
| 2 | Current profit | 10,000 × $15 − $100,000 | $50,000 / month |
| 3 | Retained customers | 10,000 × 90% | 9,000 |
| 4 | Proposed contribution / customer | $24 − $5 | $19 / month |
| 5 | Proposed profit | 9,000 × $19 − $100,000 | $71,000 / month |
| 6 | Change in profit | $71,000 − $50,000 | +$21,000 / month |
| 7 | Customers to match old profit | Ceiling(($50,000 + $100,000) ÷ $19) | 7,895 |
Find a starting point
Revenue may rise even while customers leave. Profit depends on what each retained customer contributes after servicing cost. Compare contribution, not just prices or customer counts.
Questions worth asking
- How was the 90% retention estimate obtained?
- Is this a one-time customer loss or an ongoing monthly churn rate?
- Would support cost, acquisition spending or service quality change?
1 · Establish today’s profit
10,000 × ($20 − $5) − $100,000 = $50,000/month. Each customer contributes $15 before fixed costs.
2 · Evaluate the proposed price
9,000 × ($24 − $5) − $100,000 = $71,000/month. Profit improves by $21,000, or 42%. Revenue rises from $200,000 to $216,000, an 8% increase; the profit percentage is different because its starting base is smaller.
3 · Find how much loss is tolerable
To match current profit, retained customers must contribute $150,000. $150,000 ÷ $19 ≈ 7,894.74. With whole customers, at least 7,895 are needed: about 78.95% retention. This threshold matches current profit; merely avoiding a loss requires less retention.
Common trap & a reasoned recommendation
Watch for: A one-time 90% retained customer base is not equivalent to losing 10% of customers every month. The latter compounds and changes the analysis.
One defensible recommendation: Run a controlled pricing test and measure retention, segment response and contribution. The proposed price improves modeled monthly profit by $21,000 at 90% retention, but the forecast needs evidence and a longer-term customer view.
Try a follow-up
What if only 75% of customers remain?
Check your reasoning
7,500 × $19 − $100,000 = $42,500/month, below today’s $50,000. The business remains profitable but the change destroys $7,500 of monthly profit.
Operations · where should a clinic add capacity?
Intermediate · Bottlenecks & investment
Prompt: A clinic’s sequential process handles 12 patients/hour at check-in, 8 at consultation and 10 at checkout. It operates 8 hours/day for 20 days/month, with demand for 90 visits/day. Each completed visit contributes $40 before an optional capacity investment. Option A raises check-in capacity to 18/hour for $4,000/month. Option B raises consultation capacity to 11/hour for $6,000/month. Compare incremental monthly profit. Assume steady-state flow, no losses, unchanged contribution and sufficient staffing and appointments to realize capacity up to demand.
Harper original. Fictional scenario, inputs and worked solution. The references below explain the methods, not the scenario or its forecast.
Sources for the reasoning
- Constrained resources · OpenStax §10.6 ↗ — Identify the bottleneck and evaluate contribution under limited capacity.
- Relevant costs and opportunity costs · OpenStax §10.1 ↗ — Compare future differences between alternatives, including contribution given up.
View calculation workbook · formulas & results
Read-only worked example. Follow each row from the stated assumptions to the result. These are teaching calculations, not an Excel connection.
| Row | A · Measure | B · Calculation | C · Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Current throughput | Minimum(12, 8, 10) | 8 visits / hour |
| 2 | Current daily visits | Minimum(8 × 8, 90) | 64 |
| 3 | Option A incremental profit | No extra visits − $4,000 | −$4,000 / month |
| 4 | Option B throughput | Minimum(12, 11, 10) | 10 visits / hour |
| 5 | Option B daily visits | Minimum(10 × 8, 90) | 80 |
| 6 | Extra monthly visits | (80 − 64) × 20 | 320 |
| 7 | Option B incremental profit | 320 × $40 − $6,000 | +$6,800 / month |
Find a starting point
Picture a patient moving through all three stages. The fastest station cannot create a completed visit unless the slowest station also processes it. Calculate the line’s limit before evaluating either investment.
Questions worth asking
- Are these effective capacities after breaks and staffing gaps?
- Can appointments shift demand across the day?
- Would extra staffing change service quality or contribution per visit?
1 · Locate today’s constraint
The minimum of 12, 8 and 10 is 8 visits/hour. That permits 64 visits/day, below demand of 90. Demand is not currently the limiting factor.
2 · Compare the investments
Option A leaves consultation at 8/hour: no extra completed visits, so incremental monthly profit is −$4,000. Option B shifts the bottleneck to checkout at 10/hour, not consultation at 11. Output reaches 80/day, still below demand.
3 · Translate capacity into economics
Option B adds 16 visits/day × 20 days = 320 visits/month. At $40 contribution, that adds $12,800 before the investment cost. Subtract $6,000: incremental monthly profit is $6,800. This is not total clinic profit; existing fixed costs were not supplied.
Common trap & a reasoned recommendation
Watch for: Do not assume improving consultation to 11/hour makes the entire clinic run at 11/hour. The next constraint becomes binding.
One defensible recommendation: Option B is preferable under these assumptions. Validate effective throughput and demand first; then monitor checkout because it becomes the next bottleneck. Improving a non-constrained station alone does not generate the modeled extra visits.
Try a follow-up
What if actual demand is only 70 patients/day?
Check your reasoning
The investment enables only 6 extra visits/day rather than 16. Monthly contribution increases by 6 × 20 × $40 = $4,800, less than the $6,000 cost: incremental profit is −$1,200. Capacity has value only when used.
Product launch · growth or cannibalization?
Intermediate · Incremental profit & tradeoffs
Prompt: A company considers a premium product. It expects 20,000 annual premium sales at $80, with $45 variable cost each and $300,000 in incremental annual fixed costs. Of the premium sales, 40% would replace purchases of the existing product, which contributes $20 per unit. Other existing sales remain unchanged. Evaluate incremental annual operating profit; ignore any upfront development investment.
Harper original. Fictional scenario, inputs and worked solution. The references below explain the methods, not the scenario or its forecast.
Sources for the reasoning
- Relevant costs and opportunity costs · OpenStax §10.1 ↗ — Compare future differences between alternatives, including contribution given up.
- Break-even and target profit · OpenStax §3.2 ↗ — Contribution per unit, fixed costs and the sales needed to reach a profit target.
View calculation workbook · formulas & results
Read-only worked example. Follow each row from the stated assumptions to the result. These are teaching calculations, not an Excel connection.
| Row | A · Measure | B · Calculation | C · Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Premium unit contribution | $80 − $45 | $35 |
| 2 | Premium annual contribution | 20,000 × $35 | $700,000 |
| 3 | Displaced existing sales | 20,000 × 40% | 8,000 |
| 4 | Lost existing contribution | 8,000 × $20 | $160,000 |
| 5 | Incremental annual profit | $700,000 − $160,000 − $300,000 | $240,000 |
| 6 | Break-even units | Ceiling($300,000 ÷ ($35 − 40% × $20)) | 11,112 |
Find a starting point
Split premium buyers into two groups: people who would not have bought before and people switching from the existing product. A switcher adds only the difference in contribution, not the full new contribution.
Questions worth asking
- Does the forecast distinguish new-to-company buyers from existing customers?
- Are the incremental fixed costs avoidable if the launch is canceled?
- Does the launch affect capacity, existing pricing or retention?
1 · Calculate premium contribution
20,000 × ($80 − $45) = $700,000. After $300,000 incremental fixed cost, apparent profit is $400,000—but that ignores displaced old-product contribution.
2 · Subtract the contribution you give up
8,000 switchers × $20 = $160,000 lost existing contribution. Incremental operating profit is $700,000 − $160,000 − $300,000 = $240,000/year. Cross-check: 12,000 incremental unit sales × $35 plus 8,000 replacement unit sales × ($35 − $20), minus $300,000, gives the same result.
3 · Find a useful threshold
At a constant 40% switching share, incremental contribution per premium sale is $35 − 0.4 × $20 = $27. Operating break-even volume is $300,000 ÷ $27 ≈ 11,111.11; at least 11,112 whole units. This assumes the mix and costs hold as volume changes.
Common trap & a reasoned recommendation
Watch for: Subtract lost contribution, not the entire old-product revenue. The company avoids the old product’s variable cost when that sale is displaced.
One defensible recommendation: The launch adds $240,000 of annual operating profit in the base case. Validate total demand and switching share, then include upfront development investment and strategic effects before approving a full launch.
Try a follow-up
What if 80% of premium sales replace existing purchases, with 20,000 total premium sales unchanged?
Check your reasoning
Lost contribution becomes 16,000 × $20 = $320,000. Incremental annual profit is $700,000 − $320,000 − $300,000 = $80,000. Still positive on operating assumptions, but much less attractive and not yet an investment return.
Debrief · what should I practice next?
- I froze at the prompt: repeat only the first minute. Name the decision, the unit and one useful relationship.
- I picked the wrong calculation: draw the flow from customers to units to contribution to profit. Explain why each link matters.
- I got lost in arithmetic: estimate first and label every time period. Rework one mistaken calculation correctly.
- I got the number but not the implication: finish “This means the client should… because… unless…”
- I sounded too certain: name one assumption that could reverse the decision and the smallest test that would resolve it.
Use the notes below to record one correction and a specific next drill. Aim for a better reasoning habit, not a memorized recommendation.
A sustainable practice routine
Harper’s suggested routine and debrief prompts. The timing, drills and progression are editorial suggestions, not employer requirements. For employer-provided practice, use McKinsey · Interviewing and official sample cases ↗.
Begin with an untimed diagnostic. Choose one weak skill—structuring, arithmetic, exhibits, synthesis or listening—and practice it deliberately. Alternate short solo drills with live partner cases. There is no magic required case count.
After each case, record one observed behavior, the consequence and a concrete adjustment. Repeat a short portion correctly before moving on. Keep behavioral stories and firm research in the same weekly schedule.
Case prep · sources & further practice
Public references checked September 20, 2026. Sources support the named concepts; they do not endorse Harper or supply its fictional cases.
Official interview guidance
- BCG · Case Interview Preparation ↗ — structure, assumptions, communication and showing your thinking.
- McKinsey · Interviewing and official sample cases ↗ — problem-solving interview overview and firm-authored sample cases with suggested answers.
- Bain · Interviewing ↗ — logical reasoning and creativity; interview format varies by role.
Methods behind the calculations
- Break-even and target profit · OpenStax §3.2 ↗ — Contribution per unit, fixed costs and the sales needed to reach a profit target.
- Relevant costs and opportunity costs · OpenStax §10.1 ↗ — Compare future differences between alternatives, including contribution given up.
- Constrained resources · OpenStax §10.6 ↗ — Identify the bottleneck and evaluate contribution under limited capacity.
- Simple payback · OpenStax §11.2 ↗ — Initial investment divided by constant net cash savings; limitations include ignoring the time value of money.
Booth community preparation
MCG guide · Canvas, Booth login required ↗
Existing Booth resource link; this restricted file was not re-reviewed for these additions. Harper’s exercises are not attributed to it.
Your experience, made relevant.
Your résumé and story should draw from the same truthful evidence, with emphasis shaped by the role.
Build a résumé from actions and results
Inventory the situation, your actions, the judgment you exercised and the result. Lead with the contribution the reader needs to notice. Use accurate numbers where they help and meaningful qualitative results where a number would be artificial.
Remove jargon that obscures transferable skills. Tailor the emphasis, keeping the underlying facts consistent.
“Helped with a software rollout” could become: “Interviewed users and translated recurring support issues into launch requirements; prioritized fixes with engineering before rollout.” Add an outcome only when you can substantiate it.
Follow Booth’s submission format
Use the official one-page template. Formatting 101 specifies a minimum 10-point font, at least half-inch margins and your Booth email. Use the joint-degree guidance where applicable.
VMock provides feedback; its score alone does not establish how compelling your résumé is for a specific role.
Research a business with Acquired
Company stories for MBB conversations · summaries, business questions and full research →
Use company histories to practice judgment: understand the customer promise, the economic engine, the choices supporting it and the conditions under which it could fail. The path explorer connects each role to a short exercise.
These are selected lessons from the Acquired research collection, checked against episode pages. Successful-company stories contain hindsight and survivorship bias. Compare a rival or failed approach before turning a pattern into a rule.
Before a conversation, write five sentences: who the customer is; why they choose the company; how the business earns money; what tradeoff matters; and what you still do not understand. Verify current company facts using recent primary sources.
Practice a flexible introduction
Connect your background, the work you are pursuing and why, and what you can contribute. Prepare a few sentences, a 20–30 second version and a one-to-two-minute version.
Practice adaptable points rather than reciting a script. Follow more specific industry guidance where appropriate.
Autosaved with your plan. Sign in to keep an account copy across devices.
Use LinkedIn as a preparation tool
Canvas offers Booth-email access to The Job Insiders’ Land the Perfect Job with LinkedIn course, with emphasis on step 2. The September 14 assignment deadline is past; the tutorial remains a learning resource.
LinkedIn tutorial ↗Canvas instructions ↗
Instructions checked September 20; external tutorial content not reviewed.
The BCP checklist
Operational reminders from the walkthrough. Current portal instructions take precedence.
A good conversation has a purpose.
Know what you want to learn. Research the person and their work. Leave room to listen.
Reach out with a specific reason for choosing this person and a small, clear request. Industry conventions matter: IBG directs students into the organized fall process and cautions against premature banker outreach.
Invitations & thank-you notes
A useful thank-you names something you actually discussed and explains why it mattered. It can end without an ask. Keep an invitation, a thank-you and a later update distinct; follow the current outreach rules for your recruiting process. Choose the situation below, then read the bracketed coaching.
Before using an example, replace its story as well as its brackets. A personal aside belongs only if it came up naturally. Loading asks before replacing your draft; no message is sent.
Editing or copying does not send a message. Included in your plan export.
Outreach guide ↗Conversation framework ↗
The right resource, when you need it.
One place to find course materials, recruiting tools and support. The documents come first, grouped by who publishes them; the searchable directory follows.
The documents, by publisher
Where do I go?
- Understand the process: Canvas modules → career exploration, recruiting strategy and preparation.
- Apply, register or book staff coaching: BCP → postings, events, application materials, resume book and appointments.
- Find a guide or template: search the directory below. Every collected document now has a direct file link.
- Research an industry or company: A–Z databases, MBA-Exchange and employment reports.
- Prepare with peers: Career clubs; use Career Services’ current Academy instructions for second-year advising.
- Explore entrepreneurship: Polsky. For individual work-authorization questions, go to OIA.
Who can help with what?
Career Management: direction, strategy, preparation and coaching. Bring your criteria, evidence and a decision to resolve.
Employer Relations: employer relationships and opportunities. Use BCP for events, postings and applications.
Second-year Career Advisors and student groups: recent recruiting perspective and targeted practice. The walkthrough distinguishes staff appointments in BCP from peer advising through Academy.
Polsky: entrepreneurship resources. OIA: current, individual work authorization guidance.
International search & wellbeing resources
Build employer requirements and geographic options into your search. Historical employer hires do not confirm current eligibility or sponsorship policy. Bring individual questions to OIA and confirm employer-specific requirements.
Give Weekly Career News, Booth Groups and BCP a defined place in your routine. Protect time for coursework, community and recovery when sizing your plan.
Coverage, sources and remaining gaps
Scope: Career Services Programming 2028, course 70614, and its linked recruiting resources. All 25 module destinations were checked September 20; 14 announcement previews were reviewed. The directory maps 79 direct Canvas file links, including the 68 documents collected earlier and 11 additional linked files.
Content review: the 68 collected files were text-reviewed with selected visual checks, not a page-by-page visual review. Additional linked materials, Academy and live BCP/employer listings are not fully reviewed. The strategy-deck download was blocked and its preview did not expose content. Network Like an MBA slides were still unposted at the September 20 check.
How to use the labels: Booth requirements, student-club advice, employer preparation guidance, Acquired examples and original exercises are different source types. Historical offer charts do not predict your offer timing. This is a dated consolidation, not a live or exhaustive copy of everything Career Services provides.
Access routes: GoinGlobal should be opened through the international summer-resources page; access codes are intentionally omitted. For second-year advising, follow the current Academy instructions through Career Services. Check Weekly Career News, course announcements, BCP and employer instructions for subsequent updates.