Give every study session a purpose
Consulting preparation can become a collection of disconnected activities: reading frameworks, watching solutions, taking notes and occasionally attempting a case. A training plan becomes more useful when those activities build toward a demonstrated skill.
Quick Prep’s Courses & Training area focuses on that learning sequence. It connects the site’s explanations, case material, industry primers and interview guidance into a practical curriculum. You can use the structure below to organise self-study and identify the support you need.
The approach suits beginners who need a starting point, working candidates with limited study time and returning candidates who want to address specific weaknesses. For current course formats, availability and any enrolment terms, use the contact link at the end of this page.
Progress from foundations to performance
Stage one: understand the business language. Learn revenue, variable and fixed costs, contribution, profit, cash flow and common operating measures. Practise translating a short business description into a simple model.
Stage two: isolate core interview skills. Work on objective clarification, issue trees, arithmetic, chart interpretation and concise conclusions. Short exercises make it easier to identify the source of an error.
Stage three: combine the skills in cases. Work through unfamiliar problems from beginning to end. Explain your reasoning aloud and respond to changes in the information.
Stage four: add sector and role context. Use industry primers and employer instructions to target relevant business models and assessment formats.
Stage five: rehearse the whole interview experience. Combine case work with motivation and experience questions, then review whether you remain clear and organised across both.
These stages can overlap. A candidate who is already comfortable with financial statements may move quickly through part of the foundation while spending more time on communication.
Use active practice and revisit what you learned
Research reviewed by Dunlosky and colleagues found strong general support for practice testing and distributed practice across learning settings. It does not establish a particular consulting offer rate. Our practical application is to attempt an exercise before viewing an answer and revisit important skills across separate sessions. Dunlosky et al.: Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques
For example, after learning contribution margin, solve a simple retail example without notes. Later, use the same concept in a subscription business. Revisit it again inside a full case. This helps reveal whether you understand the relationship or only remember one set of numbers.
Review should produce a change in your next attempt. If you forgot to distinguish monthly and annual revenue, build a unit check into your setup. If your structure was too broad, practise prioritising three branches for several different prompts.
An example six-hour training week
Illustrative study plan. Adapt the time allocation to your baseline and interview schedule.
| Session | Time | Intended output |
|---|---|---|
| Business concept and retrieval drill | 45 minutes | Explain and apply one concept without notes |
| Structuring and exhibit practice | 45 minutes | Two short structures and one evidence-based insight |
| Full case attempt | 60 minutes | A recorded or written reasoning trail and recommendation |
| Case review and targeted retry | 45 minutes | Correct the most consequential weakness |
| Fit story development and questions | 45 minutes | One specific story with credible follow-up detail |
| Second case in a different sector | 60 minutes | Test whether the learning transfers |
| Spaced review and next-week planning | 60 minutes | Revisit errors and set the next priorities |
The total is six hours. The point is the distribution between learning, attempting, reviewing and retrying. If you have less time, shorten the volume while preserving that cycle.
Avoid spending the entire week on the most comfortable activity. A strong quantitative candidate may need more practice interpreting results. A persuasive speaker may need slower, more reliable calculation setup.
A training exercise that checks understanding
Choose a business that charges 20 per month to 1,000 customers and has a 40% contribution margin. Calculate monthly contribution, then annualise it under an explicit assumption that the customer base and economics remain constant.
The monthly result is 1,000 × 20 × 40% = 8,000; the annual result is 96,000. Now explain why these figures would change if customers joined throughout the year or if the margin excluded a recurring delivery cost.
Next turn the numbers into a recommendation. If an acquisition initiative costs 100,000 upfront, the annual contribution figure alone does not justify it: the model describes the entire customer base, not necessarily the additional customers created by the initiative. This distinction tests whether you can apply arithmetic to the correct decision.
Check progress through observable performance
Use a small review rubric: objective clarity, structure, quantitative accuracy, interpretation, adaptability and recommendation. For fit practice, assess specificity, personal contribution, results and reflection.
A stronger score should reflect something you can point to. “The recommendation now identifies the main uncertainty” is better evidence than “the case felt easier.” Periodically use a new case to avoid confusing familiarity with improvement.
Employer formats can differ. McKinsey describes several interview and assessment types depending on the role, so adapt the final rehearsal stage to the instructions you receive. McKinsey: Interviewing
Choose the next learning priority
Start with Case Interview Mastery if you need to understand the complete case process. Use Technical Skills Enhancement for focused numerical and data practice, and Fit Interview Preparation to develop experience answers alongside cases.
Contact Quick Prep with your starting level, target role and available preparation time to discuss the training options currently available. The monthly plan rates show what each level of support costs, and the frequently asked questions cover how sessions are scheduled and what happens between them.