McKinsey Redrock Study is the data-interpretation module of Solve; candidate reports commonly describe a roughly 35-minute Study flow (Investigation, Analysis, Report) plus six independent mini-cases, while your invitation remains the source of truth.
The reported timing and mini-case count come from MConsultingPrep, StrategyCase, PrepLounge, and Prepmatter, checked June 10, 2026. McKinsey's official Solve page describes Solve as a gamified assessment that showcases problem-solving ability and says performance is considered alongside the rest of your application and any other assessments you are asked to take. For the umbrella view of how Redrock fits into Solve, see our McKinsey Solve guide. This article focuses on Redrock-specific prep: the reported format, the math, the scoring caveats, and how to practice without treating unofficial details as guarantees.
Live free simulator from Road to Offer for the McKinsey Solve Red Rock study. Practise this style of assessment in the browser, no account needed to start.
What does Redrock Study test?
Prepare to select relevant evidence, calculate with the right units, and explain what the result means. McKinsey's official Solve page describes the overall assessment, but does not publish a Redrock scoring matrix or guarantee a particular game sequence.
This table is a Road to Offer practice framework. The phase descriptions come from third-party accounts, including the Redrock walkthrough reviewed for this guide. Your assessment instructions control navigation and timing.
What Is the McKinsey Redrock Study?
Candidate reports place you in the role of a researcher analyzing fictional wildlife population data, often involving wolf packs and elk across geographic regions. The fictional context is useful for prep because it removes prior-knowledge advantage and forces pure data interpretation.
Some third-party prep providers report a roughly 35-minute Redrock flow and a shorter mini-case section in recent versions. Treat that as preparation context, not a promise: McKinsey can vary assessment details by role, region, and cycle, and your invitation should override any prep-site description.
The core skill being tested is reading a chart or table and pulling the right number under time pressure. That is exactly what a graph drill rehearses, so build the reflex before you sit the Study.
Read a Redrock chart under pressure from the Road to Offer drill engine. Answer a real prompt and get AI-scored feedback. Free accounts include 3 drills per day for the first 3 days after signup.
How Does Redrock Work? The Two-Part Structure
Candidate reports describe two distinct parts. The boundary between them is critical for time management if your invitation uses this version.
Part 1: The Study Section (Three Sequential Phases)
Candidate reports describe the three Study phases as one-directional. If your version works that way, once you advance you cannot return, so missed data in Investigation cannot be recovered during Analysis.
Phase 1: Investigation (practice target: 6 min). You receive about a page of text plus charts and tables describing a research scenario. You drag relevant data points into a Research Journal. The discipline: read the research objective first, identify which calculations Analysis will require, and only collect the data points those calculations need. Candidates who grab every number end up with a cluttered Journal and slower Analysis.
Phase 2: Analysis (practice target: 9 min). You answer math questions using the data you collected. Some candidate reports describe an on-screen calculator that logs unrounded results and lets you reuse those values. If present, this feature is a major accuracy lever because manual re-entry of rounded numbers creates cascading errors.
Phase 3: Report (practice target: 6 min). You fill in a partially completed research report: numeric blanks, directional comparisons ("higher" vs. "lower"), and chart-type selection. If your Analysis answers were wrong, the Report fill-ins can propagate the error.
Part 2: The Cases Section (Six Independent Mini-Cases)
After the Study, candidate reports describe a set of standalone mini-cases. Each case is self-contained, so an error on one does not necessarily affect the others. This breaks the cascading-error problem of Part 1 and lets you recover from individual mistakes. In practice, aim for high accuracy across the set rather than chasing a published pass line.
What Math Does Redrock Test?
Candidate reports suggest Redrock is math-heavy. The math is not advanced, but it must be fast and accurate under time pressure. Keep a consulting math formulas reference beside your practice and build the mental math speed these questions reward. Build automatic fluency with five concept areas:
Worked Example: Growth Rate Comparison (Analysis Phase)
Scenario: Compare wolf population growth in the Northern vs. Southern Region (Year 1 to Year 5). Northern: 240 → 312. Southern: 180 → 216.
- Northern growth rate: (312 − 240) / 240 × 100% = 30%
- Southern growth rate: (216 − 180) / 180 × 100% = 20%
- Difference: 10 percentage points (not 10%, not 33%)
If your version includes calculator logging, save both rates before computing the difference. For pooled growth, retain the original population counts as well: the two rates alone do not tell you how much weight each region carries.
From research journal to completed report
Use the same original population example above. The research objective is: which region grew faster between Year 1 and Year 5, and what was the combined growth? This is a teaching exercise, not an official question.
Do not add territory size to this journal unless the question asks for density. The objective asks for population growth, so area would not enter the formula. Preserve the year and region beside each number; four unlabeled values are not usable evidence.
Analysis. Combined Year 1 population = 240 + 180 = 420 wolves. Combined Year 5 population = 312 + 216 = 528 wolves. Combined growth = (528 - 420) / 420 × 100 = 25.71%, rounded only for this final display. Averaging 30% and 20% would give 25%, which weights unequal starting populations equally.
Completed report. "From Year 1 to Year 5, the combined wolf population rose from 420 to 528, an increase of 25.71%. North grew by 30%, compared with South's 20%, a gap of 10 percentage points. These observations show population growth; they do not establish its cause."
Chart choice. Use grouped bars to compare each region's Year 1 and Year 5 counts. Two observed dates do not show the path between them, so do not invent annual points or imply steady yearly growth. A pie chart would show composition, not the change requested here.
Run the short Redrock study to practice selecting evidence and using it in a new calculation.
Worked Example: Weighted Average (Analysis Phase)
Scenario: Calculate the island-wide wolf density weighted by territory.
- Weighted (correct): (480 + 360 + 240) / (120 + 180 + 60) = 1,080 / 360 = 3.0 wolves/km²
- Simple average (incorrect for "island-wide"): (4.0 + 2.0 + 4.0) / 3 = 3.33
Read the question phrasing carefully. "Average density across the island" requires the weighted method. "Average of the three regional densities" requires the simple method. The wording determines which denominator is correct.
These growth-rate and weighted-average steps are the same arithmetic case interviews demand, just under a research wrapper. A timed math drill is the fastest way to make them automatic.
Drill case math under time from the Road to Offer drill engine. Answer a real prompt and get AI-scored feedback. Free accounts include 3 drills per day for the first 3 days after signup.
