Case Interview Examples: Free Cases, Solutions and Casebooks

This page is a curated directory of external consulting case examples, official firm practice material, and downloadable casebooks. For MCC's own cases, filters, solutions, and practice routes, use the consulting case library.

Quick answer

Use official firm examples first when you want to understand how a target firm describes its interview. Use university casebooks when you need more prompts for peer practice. Quality and conventions vary, so treat third-party casebooks as practice material rather than authoritative descriptions of a firm's current process.

Three case interview examples

These examples show how case objectives and analyses differ. Open the full case when you want the exhibits and solution.

1. Profitability example: Joe’s Café

Prompt: A neighbourhood café has growing revenue but flat profit. Identify the cause and recommend what the owner should do.

Useful starting structure:

Profit = Revenue − Total costs

Revenue
├── Beverages = Volume × Average price
└── Sides = Volume × Average price

Costs
├── Fixed costs
└── Variable costs by product

The exhibits show that gross profit stays flat while sides revenue grows and sides gross-margin percentage deteriorates. Product-level analysis then identifies a made-to-order burger whose price does not cover the material and direct-labour cost supplied in the case. The recommendation is to improve preparation productivity, price or recipe economics and remove the product if a pilot cannot close the gap.

2. Market-entry example: Industrial Lubricants

Prompt: A European lubricants manufacturer wants to expand its automotive range into Southeast Asia. Select a test market and determine how to enter.

This is a two-stage decision:

1. Compare candidate markets using size, growth, profitability, competition and probability of success.
2. Design entry into the selected market across product, supply chain, distribution, brand and price.

The case is useful because the structure must follow the decision sequence. Jumping directly to entry mode before choosing a market would answer the wrong question.

3. Financial-services example: Credit Français

Prompt: Analyse a financial-services business problem using the information released during the case and develop a supported recommendation.

Use this case to practise reading exhibits, keeping units consistent and updating a hypothesis as new evidence arrives. Before opening the solution, state what each calculation is intended to prove and give an interim synthesis after every exhibit.

What a strong case answer contains

Across the examples, strong performance follows the same general path:

1. Restate the objective without adding an unsupported solution.
2. Clarify the scope and success criterion.
3. Build an original structure tied to the decision.
4. Prioritise the evidence that can change the recommendation.
5. Interpret calculations instead of merely reporting them.
6. Synthesize what is known, what remains uncertain and what comes next.
7. Recommend an action with evidence, risks and practical next steps.

Read the complete case interview guide for the method behind these steps.

Official consulting-firm case examples

• McKinsey's official interviewing and sample-case page explains its problem-solving interview and provides sample cases with suggested logic.
• Bain's official interview-preparation page includes case examples and explains what Bain looks for in a consulting-role interview.
• BCG's official case-interview preparation page includes practice quizzes and case-interview guidance.

The exact process varies by role, office, and recruiting cycle. Always prioritise instructions in your invitation and the relevant local careers page.

University casebooks

University consulting clubs often publish PDF casebooks containing interviewer prompts, exhibits, and suggested solutions. They can be useful for partner-led mock interviews because one person can work from the candidate pages while the other uses the interviewer materials.

Before using a casebook, check:

1. Publication date. Older cases can still train structure and arithmetic, but firm terminology and recruiting advice may be outdated.
2. Interviewer instructions. Prefer cases with clear prompts, exhibits, and follow-up guidance.
3. Math quality. Check that exhibits, units, and solutions reconcile before a live session.
4. Case style. Candidate-led and interviewer-led cases require different facilitation.
5. Source and permissions. Use material published by the institution or club, not an unattributed mirror.

Because university files frequently move, MCC does not claim a fixed count of available cases. Search the official site of your university or consulting club for its latest casebook, and keep a local note of the publication year.

External examples versus the MCC case library

How to use a PDF case effectively

Do not read the solution before attempting the case. Ask a partner to hold the interviewer pages, reveal exhibits only when prompted, and record feedback on structure, calculations, synthesis, and communication. For solo practice, stop after each section and write what you would say aloud before checking the solution.

Candidates commonly report that reading many solutions can feel productive without improving spoken performance. Alternate between review and realistic delivery, and revisit mistakes in the consulting math guide or the relevant case-skill article.

Editorial methodology

MCC keeps this page separate from its case library because it serves a distinct intent: finding third-party and official materials. We prefer primary firm pages, describe university casebooks as variable third-party resources, avoid unverified case-count claims, and record the date when this directory is materially reviewed. Inclusion does not imply endorsement, and no private candidate or coaching material is published here.

Recommended next steps

• Free: Open an MCC practice case.
• Paid platform: Explore the structured case interview course.
• High-touch: Compare live coaching options when expert feedback would be useful.