BCG Online Test by Country in Europe: Format per Office

The BCG online test varies by country: a short numerical assessment in the UK, a 30-minute cognitive test in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, a logic test then a written case in France, an 80-question logical reasoning test in the Nordics and an online business case in Italy. This guide covers each format, the next dates and how to prepare.

Which online test does BCG use in each European country?

BCG's own careers pages name a different first-stage test for each office. We read every page below on 6 November 2026.

That matters because most prep advice treats "the BCG online assessment" as one test. It is not. A candidate for Munich and a candidate for London sit different screens, and preparing for the wrong one costs you the only attempt you get. If your invitation names Casey or the CCA, the BCG online assessment router explains those two. This page is the country map.

Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Greece publish no test step on their country pages or entry-level postings, so we leave them off the table rather than guess. Their postings mostly state language requirements (Spanish, Portuguese, French or Dutch alongside English), which the case interview language guide for Europe covers office by office.

How do the UK numerical test and the DACH cognitive test differ?

The UK test is numerical only and sits inside the application, while the German, Austrian and Swiss test is a 30-minute cognitive test across three areas with no aids. Those are different preparation jobs.

BCG UK says that after an initial review "we'll invite you to complete a short numerical assessment, which forms part of your application" (BCG UK). Pass it and you move to a final CV review, then first-round case interviews with senior members of the London team. BCG gives no length, question count or calculator rule for the UK test, so treat any figure you read elsewhere as a candidate report. The 2026 Associate window ran 9 September to 18 October 2026, and BCG says all decisions are made after the deadline, so applying late in the window is not a disadvantage. For the rest of the UK calendar see the UK consulting application deadlines for 2027 and the UK consulting recruiting guide.

Germany and Austria describe the test precisely. It sits in the first of two rounds held on two days, next to a case interview, both virtual:

BCG Germany and Austria write that all questions are multiple choice and "ohne Hilfsmittel zu lösen", meaning without aids (BCG Germany and Austria). Switzerland uses the same 30-minute test with numerical, verbal and logical questions answered "without any tools or resources", and places it about one month before the first interview (BCG Switzerland). The Swiss internship page says "the majority" of questions are multiple choice, so expect a few exceptions there.

What comes after differs. In Germany and Austria, round two has two case interviews, one in German and one in English, plus two 15-minute "BCG Real Life" conversations; round two is in person for full-time hires and virtual for internships. In Switzerland, full-time candidates get one virtual 45-minute case and then three in-person cases in Zurich, while interns go straight from the test to three in-person cases. The process and deadlines for Germany are in the consulting recruiting guide for Germany, and consulting firms in Germany lists who else hires there.

The practical difference: no aids means your arithmetic must be fast in your head. Percentages, ratios and growth rates are where most time goes. Our CCA-style diagnostic is the closest timed numerical practice we have. It is an independent Road to Offer simulator, not a copy of BCG's cognitive test, and it runs four numerical tasks and four unscored work-style items on one 12-minute clock. Try it here:

CCA diagnostic

4 numerical and 4 work-style questions on one 12-minute clock. All free.

Start free

Not affiliated with or endorsed by BCG.

The first two questions run without an account; a free account continues the same run. Use it to find your weak question type, then drill that type alone. The numerical reasoning test guide breaks down the question types, and the verbal third of the DACH test is covered in the verbal reasoning test guide.

What does the Nordic 80-question logical reasoning test look like?

80 questions in 30 minutes with no calculator, which leaves 22.5 seconds per question. That is our arithmetic from BCG's published numbers (1,800 seconds divided by 80), and it explains why this test feels nothing like a case.

BCG Nordics describes the test on its internship page for Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki: a logical reasoning test of 80 questions to complete in 30 minutes, "supplementing the business case with a nuanced logical profile", with no calculator allowed (BCG Nordics). After it come two case interviews, then a final case with a Partner. Internship applications are accepted on a rolling basis all year.

The Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish country pages describe their consulting recruitment process as an online test with the first interview round, then a personality test before the second round (BCG Sweden). They do not say whether that online test is the same 80-question format, so a full-time candidate should not assume it.

At 22.5 seconds a question you cannot reason each item from scratch. You need pattern recognition you have already built: sequences, rules, syllogisms. Two habits help:

• Skip on sight. If you cannot see the rule in about 10 seconds, move on and come back. A stuck question costs you three easy ones.
• Practise in blocks of 20. Time each block to 7.5 minutes, the pace the real test demands, and track accuracy and speed separately.

The deductive reasoning test guide has worked examples, and inductive vs deductive reasoning explains the two rule types these tests mix.

What happens in France: a logic test, then a written case?

BCG France runs three rounds over four to six weeks: an interview and a logic test in round one, an interview and a written case in round two, then one or two interviews with a Partner. The written case applies to end-of-studies interns and full-time hires; gap-year (césure) interns do an interview instead.

Two official sources describe the French test slightly differently. The ESSEC and HEC campus pages list "1 test logique au BCG" in round one (BCG ESSEC page). The Associate, France job posting lists an "Online Test evaluating logical, numeracy, and verbal capabilities", an oral case interview and a written case study (BCG Associate, France). Prepare for all three areas, as in the DACH test, and check your invitation for where you sit it. BCG France publishes no length or question count for this test. It does host an older practice booklet for its previous online case, which says that case ran 45 minutes with more than 20 questions, allowed a basic calculator and scored +3 for a correct answer and -1 for a wrong one (BCG France practice case, 2019). Treat it as history, not the current logic test.

The written case is the bigger French difference, and BCG France does not publish its format. Written cases in consulting usually give you a document pack to analyse and ask for a short written recommendation that you then discuss. The written case interview guide walks through the slide structure, and the written case and presentation playbook covers the timing. BCG France gives detailed feedback after each round, recommends applying four to six months before your start date on the campus page (at least five months on the posting), and asks for a separate application per office. About 85% of its interns receive a full-time offer, per the ESSEC page. The consulting recruiting guide for France puts this next to McKinsey and Bain Paris.

Why do the Netherlands and Italy test with a case?

Both use a case-shaped screen: the Netherlands adds a 2.5-hour written case to its final round, and Italy sends an online business case before any interview. For both, case practice matters more than aptitude drills.

BCG Netherlands describes a five-step process (BCG Netherlands). Step two is an online reasoning test where "you interpret graphs, draw quantitative conclusions based on available information and make calculations". Round one is two 60-minute case interviews. The final round has four parts: a 45-minute personality-based interview with a recruiter, two 60-minute case interviews and a 2.5-hour written case. Because the reasoning test is chart-based, exhibit reading is the skill to train. This guided drill gives one timed chart rep:

BCG Italy says candidates who pass screening receive preparation material and are invited to complete an online business case. Those who pass continue to an HR interview and a business case, which can be in Italian and/or English (BCG Italy). The internship page requires C1 Italian. BCG Italy does not name the tool behind the online case, so do not assume it is Casey. Its last summer internship window ran 13 to 20 January 2026, and the 2027 window was not posted when we checked.

For both markets, a full case with feedback is the closest rehearsal. Here is a BCG-style case you can run with an AI interviewer:

Practice for BCG in a real case interview

HealthcareMedium

Start the BCG-style case

The BCG case interview guide explains how BCG interviewers score the live rounds that follow.

When are the next BCG test dates in Europe?

The Netherlands window closes 29 November 2026, the UK internship window runs 1 to 24 January 2027, Prague's next deadline is 31 January 2027 and Budapest/Bucharest's is 14 February 2027. Several offices tie the online test to fixed dates after each deadline, so the deadline sets your test week:

Prague shows how tight these windows are. Its autumn 2026 wave closed applications on 31 October, sent outcomes on 3 and 4 November and held the online test from 5 to 9 November per the posting (the country page says 5 to 12 November, in a group Zoom session), with first-round interviews from 19 November (BCG Czech Republic). Budapest and Bucharest ran their summer 2026 test on 8 and 9 September, days after sending application feedback on 4 September (BCG Hungary and Romania). Germany and Austria take Visiting Associate applications all year, no earlier than six months before your start (BCG Visiting Associate Germany and Austria), and Switzerland asks for applications at least six months before your start date. The full cross-firm calendar is in the consulting recruiting timeline for Europe.

Does BCG use Casey or Pymetrics in Europe?

Not on any European page we read: none of the more than 40 BCG careers pages and entry-level job posts for European offices we checked on 6 November 2026 names Casey or Pymetrics. That includes every office in the table above plus Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Greece.

Casey is real, but BCG documents it elsewhere. BCG Mexico describes the Online Case Experience as "an interactive exercise where you solve a business case guided by Casey, a chatbot", alongside the Consulting Career Assessment for Associates (BCG Mexico). An office not listing a tool on its page does not prove it never uses one, so the rule is simple: your invitation decides. If it names the Online Case Experience, Casey or HireQuotient, prepare for the chatbot case with the BCG Casey guide and simulator:

The online tests BCG gives before the case interview

Casey simulatorStart free run

The Casey practice case lets you play the first two questions without an account, then finish the timed case after a free signup with no card. If your invitation names Pymetrics games, the BCG Pymetrics test guide covers the 12 games. If it names the CCA, use the BCG CCA guide.

How should you prepare for your country's BCG test?

Match your prep to the test type in your invitation, then spend most of your remaining time on cases, because every European office follows the test with case interviews. The test gates the interview; the case decides the offer.

A two-week plan that works for any of them:

1. Days 1 to 2: confirm the test. Read your office's BCG page and your invitation. Note the length, the areas, the language and whether aids are allowed.
2. Days 3 to 7: drill the weak area. Run one timed diagnostic, find the question type that costs you the most time, and practise only that type. For no-aid tests, do arithmetic on paper, never on a calculator; the case math drill gives you timed reps.
3. Days 8 to 10: full timed runs. Take two or three complete practice tests at real pace, then review every wrong answer.
4. Days 11 to 14: start case reps. Two cases a day with feedback, including one in the second language if your office runs bilingual rounds (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy). Prepare your fit stories with the BCG fit interview guide.

Get your BCG prep plan

Build my prep plan

1

Learn the format

15 steps

• Learn how to caseGuided learning · 35 min
• The Case Interview MethodLesson · 8 min
• Profitability & Turnaround: AfrihealSkill drill · 5 min
• Profitability & Turnaround: Berty BankSkill drill · 5 min

If you are applying to more than one European office, apply separately to each: BCG France asks for one application per position and office, and each office runs its own test. London candidates can compare BCG with McKinsey and Bain in the MBB London recruiting guide.

Sources

All pages read on 6 November 2026.

• BCG UK: Associate jobs and internships
• BCG Germany and Austria: Bewerbungsprozess
• BCG Switzerland: application and interviews
• BCG France: ESSEC campus page
• BCG France: Associate job posting
• BCG Nordics: Visiting Associate internship
• BCG Sweden: recruitment process
• BCG Netherlands: application steps
• BCG Netherlands: Associate job posting with application windows
• BCG Italy: Summer Internship Program
• BCG Czech Republic: when to apply
• BCG Hungary and Romania: Visiting Associate
• BCG Poland: recruitment process
• BCG France: practice booklet for the previous online case (2019), read 7 November 2026
• BCG Mexico: online assessments