ResumeAdapter
Updated 2026-06-07

The BCG Online Case, decoded.
The chatbot, the CCA, and what to do about both.

Why this matters

Before BCG invites you to a live case interview, most candidates complete two online assessments: the Online Case (which the prep community calls Casey) and the Consulting Career Assessment (CCA), an SHL-built tool BCG introduced for most offices in 2024. This page gives you the verified CCA facts from BCG's own candidate FAQ and the community-reported Online Case format, clearly labeled for each, so you know what to prepare for and what to ignore.

Scan my BCG resumeResume firstThen the assessmentsRewrite plan
By the numbers
Online Case duration
25 to 30m
Community-reported; BCG publishes no spec
CCA duration (official)
30 to 35m
From BCG's own candidate FAQ
CCA provider
SHL
Third-party talent assessment platform
CCA retake
None
BCG FAQ: you cannot retake the assessment

The quick answer

What are the BCG Online Case and the CCA?

BCG's pre-interview funnel typically includes two online assessments. The first is the Online Case: an interactive, chatbot-style case that BCG's own materials call the Online Case and the prep community widely calls Casey. Casey is not BCG's official name. It runs about 25 to 30 minutes, presents around 8 to 10 sequential questions testing structuring, math, graph interpretation, and business judgment, and closes with a roughly 60-second recorded video recommendation. The format is community-reported; BCG publishes no official test specification. The second is the Consulting Career Assessment (CCA): BCG's own assessment, introduced for most offices in 2024, designed and administered by SHL. BCG's candidate FAQ describes it as measuring cognitive functioning and behavioral traits, states that there are no right or wrong answers to the behavioral questions, that no preparation is needed in advance, and that it takes about 30 to 35 minutes. It cannot be retaken. Both sit on top of BCG's Eightfold AI application screen, so a strong resume that passes the AI platform comes first. Scan your resume against the role before you reach either assessment. Scan your BCG resume.

The name Casey emerged in the prep community because the Online Case's chatbot interface prompted candidates to give it a name. It spread quickly across prep forums, coaches, and YouTube, and is now the dominant label in the prep ecosystem. BCG itself uses the name Online Case in its candidate communications.

What is verified: the assessment exists, it is interactive and chatbot-style, it gates live interviews for most tracks, and it tests the analytical skills you would use in a first-round case. What is not verified: the exact question count, the exact duration, and whether specific offices or roles see a different version. BCG does not publish a test specification.

The CCA is better documented because BCG publishes a candidate FAQ for it. The verified facts come from that FAQ, and are labeled as such throughout this page. Community-reported details on the CCA are labeled separately.

Applications run through Eightfold AI before either assessment reaches you. See the BCG pillar for the Eightfold screen in depth. This spoke covers what happens after the portal accepts you.

The two assessments

Online Case and CCA:
what each tests and how to prepare.

Community-reported details and BCG-official details are labeled separately throughout. A third row covers the legacy pymetrics and office-specific cognitive test, hedged hard, so you are not misled.

01
Community name: Casey

The Online Case

What it is

An interactive, chatbot-style case assessment completed after applying. BCG's own materials call it the Online Case; the prep community widely refers to it as Casey. Casey is not BCG's official name for it. The assessment acts as a gate before live interviews.

What it tests

Commonly reported format (BCG publishes no test specification): approximately 25 to 30 minutes, 8 to 10 sequential questions mixing single-select, multi-select, and short and long free-text responses. Tests business-case structuring, quantitative judgment, graph and data interpretation, and data synthesis. The assessment closes with a roughly 60-second recorded video recommendation.

How to prepare

Because it tests structuring and math under time pressure, practice reading exhibits quickly and leading with a clear recommendation before supporting it. On your resume, the same evidence that passes an ATS screen, quantified outcomes and clear problem ownership, signals the analytical habits the Online Case rewards.

Source

Community-reported format. BCG publishes no official test specification.

02
BCG official / SHL-administered

The Consulting Career Assessment (CCA)

What it is

BCG's own assessment, introduced for most offices in 2024. From BCG's candidate FAQ: “Consulting Career Assessment (CCA) uses industrial and organizational (IO) psychology scientific practices to help BCG better understand job candidates.” The CCA is designed and administered by SHL, a third-party talent assessment technology platform. BCG states: “CCA is one of several components of our overall candidate evaluation process.” A calculator is allowed; you can pause between sections.

What it tests

Per BCG: “The tool measures the building blocks of cognitive functioning and behavioral traits.” BCG also states: “There are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers to the behavioral questions” and “There's no need to study or prepare in advance.” The CCA takes about 30 to 35 minutes and cannot be retaken. Community-reported structure on the SHL platform: a personality section (approximately 76 prompts), a numerical reasoning section (8 questions, 12 minutes), and a second shorter personality section (approximately 15 prompts).

How to prepare

BCG's own guidance says no preparation is needed. Answer the behavioral prompts authentically, as there are no right or wrong answers. For the numerical reasoning section, a calculator is allowed; practice reading tables and charts quickly. The CCA's cognitive component reads for the same analytical clarity your resume should already demonstrate.

Source

BCG candidate FAQ (BCG Unlock, January 2025) and BCG Careers, careers.bcg.com.

03
Hedge hard: not universal

Legacy and office-specific formats

What it is

Two earlier or regional formats exist but should not be treated as the universal current experience. pymetrics (12 neuroscience games) was used historically but is largely displaced by the CCA and is now office-dependent. A separate written Cognitive Test is used in German and select offices only.

What it tests

pymetrics tests attention, memory, risk tolerance, and learning via game-like tasks. The written Cognitive Test in German offices presents numerical and verbal reasoning questions under time constraint. Neither is a standard part of the assessment funnel for most international applicants in 2026.

How to prepare

If you are applying to the German office or see explicit mention of pymetrics in your application portal, check for the most current format before preparing. For all other offices, the CCA and the Online Case are the primary assessments to know.

Source

Office-dependent formats; not confirmed as part of the standard international funnel in 2026.

BCG's candidate FAQ (BCG Unlock, January 2025) states: the Consulting Career Assessment uses industrial and organizational psychology to help BCG understand candidates; it is designed and administered by SHL; it measures cognitive functioning and behavioral traits; there are no right or wrong answers to the behavioral questions; there is no need to study or prepare in advance; it takes about 30 to 35 minutes; and you cannot retake the assessment. A calculator is allowed and you can pause between sections.

Source: BCG candidate materials (Consulting Career Assessment FAQ) and BCG Careers, careers.bcg.com (accessed 2026-06-07); Online Case format is prep-community reported. The mapping to preparation is ResumeAdapter Editorial.

How to prepare

Five moves from
uninformed to assessment-ready.

01
Step 01

Understand what each assessment screens for

The Online Case tests structuring, math, graph reading, and synthesis under time pressure. The CCA, per BCG, measures cognitive functioning and behavioral traits; BCG says no preparation is needed for the behavioral sections and that there are no right or wrong answers. Map your preparation time accordingly: the Online Case rewards case-math practice; the CCA rewards authenticity and a calm calculator-aided approach to numerical reasoning.

02
Step 02

Practice the Online Case format under time pressure

The community-reported Online Case presents 8 to 10 sequential questions in about 25 to 30 minutes, closing with a recorded video recommendation of about 60 seconds. Practice leading with a clear recommendation before supporting it: state the answer first, then the structure. For the video close, record one or two short practice answers to reduce anxiety; BCG is checking communication clarity, not production value.

03
Step 03

Prepare your resume before starting the funnel

Both assessments sit on top of BCG's Eightfold AI application screen. Your resume is scored before you reach either assessment, so a resume that clearly signals BCG's five qualities, integrity, intellectual curiosity, creative thinking, collaborative mindset, and drive, is a prerequisite. Scan your resume against the specific BCG role using ResumeAdapter first, fix the keyword and impact gaps, and then proceed to the assessments.

04
Step 04

For the CCA numerical section, practice reading data fast

A calculator is allowed in the CCA numerical reasoning section, which consists of approximately 8 questions in 12 minutes per community-reported data. The questions test reading tables, graphs, and percentages quickly, not mental arithmetic. Spend 30 minutes with financial or market-sizing tables before sitting the assessment. Answer the behavioral prompts authentically; BCG says explicitly there are no right or wrong answers.

05
Step 05

Check your application portal for your specific path

The BCG assessment funnel varies by office and candidate track. The Online Case and CCA are the current standard for most international markets, but pymetrics (12 neuroscience games) is still used in some offices, and a written Cognitive Test is used in German and select offices. Your application portal will show what BCG has assigned. Do not assume the universal path applies; read the instructions in your portal first.

Both the Online Case and the CCA sit in between the resume screen and the live interviews. The Online Case tests the same reasoning the case interview tests: structuring a problem, doing the math, interpreting exhibits, and making a clear recommendation. The CCA tests behavioral traits and cognitive functioning, not case skills, and BCG says preparation is not needed.

The underlying signal they share: analytical clarity and the ability to make a good judgment call under a constraint. A resume that demonstrates both, through quantified outcomes that show you diagnosed a problem and drove a result, is preparation for the spirit of both assessments even before you open the portal.

For how the assessments sit inside the full interview sequence, see the BCG interview process spoke. For the full level ladder and what the resume signal looks like at each band, see the BCG levels spoke.

FAQ

BCG Online Case and CCA FAQ

The questions candidates surface most often about the Online Case and the CCA after reading the pillar. Answers are byte-identical to the FAQPage JSON-LD, because AI engines that extract HTML and AI engines that extract JSON-LD should not see different text.

Does everyone get the BCG Online Case?

Not universally. The Online Case is part of BCG's pre-interview funnel for most candidate tracks, but availability varies by office and role. BCG does not publish a single universal process specification. Most applicants in the US, UK, and other major markets report completing it; community-sourced data suggests it is skipped for some experienced lateral hires or office-specific tracks. Check your application portal for what BCG has assigned to your specific application.

Is the BCG Online Case the same as Casey?

Casey is the prep-community name for BCG's Online Case, not BCG's own label. BCG's own materials call it the Online Case. The chatbot-style interface prompted the prep community to nickname it Casey, and that name is now universal in prep circles. When BCG communicates with candidates, it uses the name Online Case. Treat Casey as widely understood prep shorthand, not an official BCG product name.

How long is the BCG Online Case?

The commonly reported format, based on prep-community sources, is approximately 25 to 30 minutes. The assessment presents around 8 to 10 sequential questions in formats including single-select, multi-select, and short and long free-text, closing with a roughly 60-second recorded video recommendation. BCG does not publish an official test specification, so treat these figures as community-reported and subject to change.

What is the BCG Consulting Career Assessment (CCA)?

The CCA is BCG's official online assessment, introduced for most offices in 2024. BCG's own candidate FAQ states it is designed and administered by SHL, a third-party talent assessment technology platform, and that it measures the building blocks of cognitive functioning and behavioral traits. The assessment takes about 30 to 35 minutes, cannot be retaken, and allows a calculator. The community-reported structure, per prep-community sources accessed June 2026, is a personality section of approximately 76 prompts, a numerical reasoning section of 8 questions in 12 minutes, and a shorter second personality section of approximately 15 prompts.

Do you need to prepare for the CCA?

BCG's own candidate FAQ states: there is no need to study or prepare in advance. There are no right or wrong answers to the behavioral questions. BCG says the CCA is designed to help BCG better understand job candidates using industrial and organizational psychology, not to trick candidates. For the numerical reasoning section, a calculator is allowed, and the questions test reading tables and charts quickly, so practice with financial or data tables can help build speed. The behavioral sections reward authentic responses.

Can you retake the BCG Online Case or CCA?

For the CCA, BCG's own candidate FAQ is explicit: you cannot retake the assessment. For the Online Case, BCG has not published a universal retake policy; community-sourced reports are mixed, with some candidates receiving a second chance and others not. The safe assumption is that both are one-attempt assessments. Treat each as a single opportunity and prepare accordingly.

Continue

The rest of the BCG
resume cluster.

Pillar

How to get a job at BCG

The pillar that anchors this cluster: Eightfold AI, the five BCG qualities, the Online Case and CCA overview, and the Associate to Managing Director & Partner ladder.

Sibling spoke

The BCG Skill, Case, and Team interviews

How the case interview and behavioral questions run across BCG's named rounds, who interviews you, and who decides.

Sibling spoke

BCG levels, Associate to Managing Director & Partner

The up-or-out ladder with scope per band, the steps that change the resume most, and commonly reported compensation.

Data

ATS statistics: the data behind the score

Why the median pre-edit resume scores 48 of 100 against roles it is qualified for, and what the scoring model rewards.

Fix the resume before the assessment gate

Run your resume
against a BCG job description.

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