PwC Strategy& Case Interview Practice: Free Case and Prep Resources
Strategy&'s own case preparation is its Middle East business case prep page: the interview steps, four short videos ending in a mock case walk-through, and a nine-item checklist that includes mental math with no calculator. Where Deloitte's Case Prep Tool holds ten practice cases, Strategy&'s one written case, Titanium Mine Valuation, returned an error page when we checked.PwC Strategy& (opens in a new tab), read ; Deloitte (opens in a new tab), read
Try a free PwC Strategy&-style case now: Data-Center Cooling. No card, no signup.
Free, no signup: 2 worked cases with model answers. Free, no card: your first full practice case with an AI interviewer. Paid: Pro $49/month for every case.
Updated ·By Esteban Ronsin·Founder · former Deloitte and Accenture Strategy consultant
Built and reviewed with former McKinsey, BCG and Bain consultants and interviewers.
Free PwC Strategy& interview prep resources
PwC Strategy& interview prep resources: what you get, whether it is free or paid, and the link
Resource
What you get
Free or paid
Link
Strategy& business case prep (Middle East)
Strategy&'s own interview prep: the interview steps, four short videos ending in a mock case walk-through, and a nine-item checklist (mental math without a calculator, "Why Strategy&?")
Free. Published by PwC Strategy&, checked Nov 9, 2026
Practice cases for PwC Strategy& interviews3 cases
3 library cases matched to PwC Strategy&'s case types, run out loud with an AI interviewer or step by step and scored on 7 skills; start with Coolant Co. US Market Entry
Free + paid. The case list and a worked excerpt are public; a free account includes 1 full AI-graded case in voice or guided mode; Pro ($49/month) adds every case
Quillfield Mechanical: M&A case with answers Industry: Industrial services. Difficulty: medium.2 math questions.
Should a commercial HVAC services company buy a regional competitor for $180 million, and what is the most it should pay? 6 questions, 4 exhibits, a model answer for each
Free. The whole case and every model answer, no account; the practice button opens a live case like it
Which PwC online assessment you may get, by country: the SHL-style numerical, verbal and reasoning tests prep providers report in the UK, the game-based assessment, PwC US's work-attitudes assessment, and sample items
PwC Strategy& fit and behavioral questions answered out loud, with follow-up probes and structured feedback (choose PwC Strategy& on the page)
Free + paid. 1 behavioral or Learning Mode session with a free account; Behavioral Unlimited ($39/month, behavioral and PEI only) or any Pro plan adds more
Firm-style cases are practice cases written for Road to Offer or adapted from university consulting club casebooks, not the firm's own cases. Road to Offer is independent and not affiliated with PwC Strategy&.
Try a free PwC Strategy&-style case now: no card, no signup
An original practice case written by Road to Offer in a PwC Strategy&-style format, not PwC Strategy&'s own case. Everything stays in your browser.
Data-Center Cooling: A Chinese cooling maker's first move into the US
Built on the three choices Strategy&'s strategy practice says growth depends on: where to compete, how to differentiate, and what the organization must be able to do differently. The full version is Coolant Co. US Market Entry, our library case adapted from the Wharton Consulting Club casebook. PwC Strategy& (opens in a new tab), read
1Step 1: Read the case
A Chinese maker of cooling equipment for large data centers has never sold outside China. AI is driving fast data-center growth in the US, and the CEO asks whether the company should enter the US market and, if so, how. There are local competitors, and imports from China face regulatory concerns.
2Step 2: Ask clarifying questions
Open a question to hear the interviewer's answer.
What does the client need to see to say yes?
Interviewer: The US business must pay back its upfront investment within two years: contribution over the two years has to cover the fixed investment.
How fast is the US market growing?
Interviewer: Revenue of US data-center players is expected to grow 20% a year for the next two years, from 2024.
How much of that spending goes to cooling?
Interviewer: Cooling equipment is about 10% of data-center industry revenue.
Does the product work in US data centers?
Interviewer: Yes. The client's equipment is compatible with US data-center designs.
What could go wrong?
Interviewer: Regulators are concerned about imports from China, and tariffs could rise in the next two years.
Which ways in are on the table?
Interviewer: Enter on its own, or partner with a local company, VRF Co. Other options are open if you can justify them.
3Step 3: Structure your answer
Take two minutes. Lay out how you would decide whether the client should enter the US and how, then state your first hypothesis, as you would to lead the case yourself.
2:00
Show what a strong structure covers
Plays the goal back: a yes or no on the US plus the way in, with the two-year payback as the test.
Where to compete: the size and growth of US data-center spending, the cooling share, and how fragmented suppliers are.
Customers and rivals: what data-center buyers require (service, certifications, delivery times) and how local competitors win today.
Capabilities: what the client must be able to do in the US that it cannot today, such as local service, sales relationships and compliance.
Risks: import rules and tariffs, and whether a local partner actually reduces them.
Ways in: going alone, a partnership, an acquisition or licensing, each with its investment and contribution against the two-year payback.
Ends with a hypothesis to test first, for example that a partnership pays back faster because it can sell in year one.
4Step 4: The interviewer's next question
The interviewer shares an exhibit: US data-center players earned 1.2 billion dollars in 2024, and that grows 20% a year; cooling equipment is 10% of it. How big is the US cooling market in each of the next two years?
Show what a strong answer does
Grows the base first (1.2 billion becomes 1.44 billion, then about 1.73 billion), then takes 10%: about 144 million and 173 million. It uses the 20% forecast rather than the faster growth the chart shows for past years, and says this is the market, not the share the client will win.
Flour costs rose 18% on a $4M flour bill, and prices went up 3% on $20M of sales. How much margin did Harbor lose?
Your answer
Flour went up by about $720K and the price rise brings in $600K, so the net hit is roughly $100K.
What worked
Split the change into a cost side and a price side before adding them up.
Could improve
$720K minus $600K is $120K, not $100K: state the exact net before rounding.
Model answer
Flour: 18% of $4M is $720K more cost. Price: 3% of $20M is $600K more revenue. Net margin loss: $120K.
Next time, say this
Cost is up $720K and price brings back $600K, so Harbor loses $120K of margin.
3
1
Choose a case
Cases matched to PwC Strategy&'s case types.
2
Solve it out loud
An AI interviewer asks, listens and follows up.
3
Get answer feedback
Feedback on every answer: what worked, what to fix.
What makes PwC Strategy& interviews different
Two kinds of case in one round.
Strategy& UK's first round pairs an unstructured case, which opens with questions about you, with a structured case built on a slide pack from a real client project that you read in about ten minutes. Source: PwC Strategy&, read (opens in a new tab)
You stay in the lead.
Strategy& Amsterdam asks you to build a framework, solve the problem from hypotheses and stay in the lead, pausing so the interviewer can course-correct. Source: PwC Strategy&, read (opens in a new tab)
Fit inside every interview.
Strategy& Amsterdam's interviews each open with your background, leadership, team skills and motivation for Strategy&; the case takes about half the time. Source: PwC Strategy&, read (opens in a new tab)
Behavioral examples, frameworks, mental math, current business and regional topics, the guide's case examples, practice with a peer, "Why Strategy&?", how you use AI tools, and formal dress. Source: PwC Strategy&, read (opens in a new tab)
A practice case before you interview.
After the online assessment, Strategy& Amsterdam schedules a practice case with one of its consultants and pairs you with a buddy who guides you through the process. Source: PwC Strategy&, read (opens in a new tab)
Six case reminders.
Understand the question and build a framework, use hypotheses and stay in the lead, work your numbers, articulate your assumptions, stick to the question, synthesise your findings. Source: PwC Strategy&, read (opens in a new tab)
Two PwC sample cases.
PwC US's Advisory prep page has two written sample cases, a bank's digital transformation and a healthcare acquisition, with sample responses for undergraduate and MBA levels; the case runs 30 to 45 minutes. Source: PwC US, read (opens in a new tab)
Each arrow opens the source: PwC Strategy&, PwC US, read Nov 9, 2026.
Strategy&'s own interview prep, item by item
Everything Strategy& publishes to prepare for its interviews, office by office, with our one-line summary of each. The Middle East page is the full guide; the other offices describe their own process. Read on PwC Strategy&'s site .
Strategy&'s own interview prep, item by item: level, area and what each one is, linked to PwC Strategy&'s page
The full guide: the interview journey (application, two case interviews, two with Partners, offer decision), four videos, a checklist, outside resources and an FAQ.
The nine steps from application to first project, the online assessment with an SHL practice test link, the practice case with a consultant, six case reminders and tips for the case discussion.
The two first-round cases (unstructured, and structured from a client slide pack), the second round, and how Strategy& UK sits in PwC's Deals business.
One round of three virtual interviews, each with a case and a behavioral part, prepared with the PwC Professional framework; offer decision within three weeks.
Worked: PwC US's healthcare expansion sample case, in Strategy& Amsterdam's six case reminders
Strategy&'s own written case would not open, so this is a sample case from PwC US's Advisory prep page (PwC's, not Strategy&'s). A large global healthcare provider's growth has slowed, and a smaller telemedicine and remote-monitoring company offers to sell itself. PwC's case asks whether the deal is a strategic fit, what the alternatives are, and how to integrate it after the provider says yes. Read the official case (opens in a new tab)(read )
How you might work it is ours, not PwC Strategy&'s answer key.
1
Understand the question and build a framework
Play it back: the provider wants growth back, and the question is whether buying this company is the right way to get it. A simple frame: strategic fit (what the target adds that the provider lacks), the value it creates, what could stop the provider capturing that value, and the alternatives.
2
Use hypotheses and stay in the lead
State a hypothesis early: the deal fits because the provider tried to build telemedicine itself and failed, so buying fills a capability gap. Then say what would disprove it and which branch you will test first, rather than waiting to be told.
3
Work your numbers
PwC's figures: the deal adds about 2.5% to 20 billion dollars, so roughly 500 million a year, and lifts telemedicine revenue 35% from 1 billion, so 350 million of it is telemedicine. Note that the case says 20 billion of earnings; ask whether that means revenue before you build on it.
4
Articulate your assumptions
Say what the value rests on: the target's key people stay (some oppose the sale), integration costs less than the provider's three earlier deals, and the regulators' questions about patient data do not block or delay the deal.
5
Stick to the question
Answer fit and alternatives before integration. Compare buying with building again (failed before), partnering or licensing the platform, and say why each is faster or slower, cheaper or riskier, without drifting into a valuation the case does not ask for.
6
Synthesise your findings
One answer: yes, it fits, on conditions: a retention plan for the target's key staff, its platform kept running separately at first, and the data privacy concerns addressed before closing. End with next steps and how success would be measured.
Strategy& Middle East says it is far more interested in how you get there, your structure, reasoning and communication, than in a single "correct" answer. Source: PwC Strategy&, read (opens in a new tab)
Potential over consulting experience
You do not need prior consulting experience: Strategy& Middle East looks for problem-solving, structured thinking, communication and potential. Source: PwC Strategy&, read (opens in a new tab)
Lead self, lead others, motivation
Strategy& Amsterdam's three fit headings: develop through every opportunity and stay steady under pressure; know when to lead and when to be part of a team; and a real understanding of why consulting. Source: PwC Strategy&, read (opens in a new tab)
How you think when you structure
Strategy& UK says its cases are designed to show how you think when you structure an approach to a client's problem, rather than coming up with "the right" answer. Source: PwC Strategy&, read (opens in a new tab)
Each arrow opens the source: PwC Strategy&, read Nov 9, 2026.
The PwC Strategy& interview process, and what trains each step
1
Application
Strategy& UK asks for a CV and personal statement online, allows one PwC UK application per six months, and asks you to choose "Strategy" when prompted; Strategy& Amsterdam asks for a CV, academic transcripts and a cover letter. Each Strategy& territory runs its own process and deadlines.
Strategy& UK and Amsterdam both test before interviews. Amsterdam's assessment has a cognitive and a behavior part, takes about 60 minutes in total, and its "practice test" link goes to SHL's practice site; you get a report afterwards. The Middle East and US MBA pages name no test, so follow your invitation.
First round: an unstructured and a structured case
Strategy& UK runs two back-to-back interviews of about 45 minutes: an unstructured case that opens with questions about you and why Strategy&, and a structured case built on a slide pack from a real client project, with about 10 minutes to read it before you recommend solutions. Strategy& says it wants to see how you structure the problem, not "the right" answer.
Strategy& Amsterdam says each interview includes a discussion of your background, leadership, team skills and motivation for consulting and for Strategy&, and the case takes about half the time. The Middle East page adds: prepare a few behavioral examples, a genuine "Why Strategy&?" and how you use AI and digital tools.
Strategy& Middle East lists a first round of two case interviews, then a second round of two case interviews with Partners, and asks for mental math with no calculators. Strategy& UK holds its second round the same day for in-person full-day assessments or on another assessment day.
Missing from PwC Strategy&'s pages: how answers are scored, how long a Middle East case runs, what the online assessment contains outside the UK and Amsterdam, and a working link to its one written practice case.
11 PwC Strategy&-style interview questions
In our words, not Strategy&'s, grouped by the interviews Strategy&'s own pages describe, with what a strong answer does. Market entry and deals come first because Strategy& UK lists them among its core work.
The unstructured case (Strategy& UK)
It opens with questions about you, then a consulting case you work through with the interviewer.
1A European pet insurer wants to enter a neighbouring country where pet ownership is growing fast. Should it, and how?
What a strong answer does: Plays the goal back, then structures where to compete (market size, growth, rivals), what the insurer must be able to do there (distribution, claims, local rules) and the way in, and states a first hypothesis before asking for data.
2A residential solar installer is weighing entry into the Texas home-battery market. What do you look at first?
What a strong answer does: Leads with the one question that decides it (is there demand the client can win profitably?), names the two or three analyses that answer it, and says which it would run first and why.
3A mid-sized manufacturer is offered a competitor for sale. How much should it be willing to pay?
What a strong answer does: Separates the target's value on its own from the synergies only this buyer gets, says which synergies are real and when they arrive, and ends with a price range and the walk-away point.
The structured case: a client slide pack (Strategy& UK)
About ten minutes to read a pack from a real client project, then recommend solutions.
4You get six slides on a retailer's falling margins and ten minutes. What do you do in the first two?
What a strong answer does: Reads every title and axis first, finds the slide that answers the client's question, and writes a one-line hypothesis before reading any detail.
5A chart shows the client's market share flat while the market grew 15%. What do you say first?
What a strong answer does: States the so-what (the client is growing but losing ground to rivals), then the number behind it, then the question it raises about which rivals won and why.
6Your ten minutes are up. Give the partner your recommendation.
What a strong answer does: Answer first, then three reasons drawn from the pack, one risk and the next step, in under a minute and without walking through every slide.
Work your numbers, no calculator (Strategy& Middle East and Amsterdam)
7A data-center market of 1.2 billion grows 20% a year, and cooling is 10% of it. How big is cooling in two years?
What a strong answer does: Grows the base twice before taking the share (about 173 million), says each step out loud, and checks the answer is in a sensible range.
8Entering alone costs 1 million and earns an 8% margin on second-year sales of about 8.6 million. Does it pay back in two years?
What a strong answer does: Computes the contribution (about 0.7 million), sees it falls short of 1 million, and says what would have to change, such as first-year sales through a partner.
9How many hotel rooms are there in a large Gulf city?
What a strong answer does: Picks a clear route (visitors a year, nights per stay, occupancy), states each assumption and rounds to easy numbers, then sanity-checks the result.
Fit in every interview (Strategy& Amsterdam's headings)
Lead self, lead others and motivation, plus the Middle East page's "Why Strategy&?" and AI tools.
10Tell me about a time you led a team through a setback.
What a strong answer does: Short on the situation, specific on what you did and why, ends with a result in numbers and what you would do differently: it shows both lead self and lead others.
What a strong answer does: Names something specific to Strategy& (its office's sectors, its place inside PwC's network, a piece of its published work), links it to something you have done, and stays under a minute.
Strategy& says it cares how you get there, your structure, reasoning and communication, more than a single correct answer, so show your logic as you go. Source: PwC Strategy&, read (opens in a new tab)
Strategy& Amsterdam puts fit questions in every interview, and the case is only about half the time. Prepare stories for leading yourself, leading others and why Strategy&. Source: PwC Strategy&, read (opens in a new tab)
Each arrow opens the source: PwC Strategy&, read Nov 9, 2026.
A PwC Strategy& prep plan, day by day
The order follows PwC Strategy&'s own pages; the timing is our suggestion.
Days 1 and 2
Read Strategy&'s own prep and your office's page
Watch the four videos on the Middle East prep page, work through its checklist, then read your own office's process: offices differ in rounds and tests.
One market entry and one deal case, out loud with an AI interviewer. After each, check you stated a hypothesis early and worked your numbers without a calculator.
Give yourself ten minutes with a set of exhibits, then recommend in a minute. PwC US's two written sample cases are good packs to read against the clock.
A full case with two fit questions under time, then review only what you missed. Dress formally on the day, in person or online, as the Middle East page asks.
How should I prepare for the PwC Strategy& case interview, and which free resources should I use?
Start with Strategy&'s own business case prep page (videos on the fit and case interviews and a mock case walk-through, plus a checklist), then train the steps Strategy& lists: the online assessment if your office uses one, an unstructured case, a structured case read from a slide pack, and fit questions in every interview. On Road to Offer a free account includes 1 full AI-graded practice case in voice or step by step; Larchfield Pet Cover (market entry) and Quillfield Mechanical (acquisition) are worked cases with a model answer for every question and need no account; chart and case math drills cover the slide pack and the no-calculator math. Firm-style cases are practice cases written for Road to Offer or adapted from university consulting club casebooks, not the firm's own cases.
Where can I practice PwC Strategy&-style case interviews for free?
Strategy&'s Middle East careers site has free prep videos, including a mock case walk-through, and this page has a Strategy&-style market entry case you can try in your browser with no account. Road to Offer has no cases tagged to Strategy&; its practice cases page for Strategy& lists 3 library cases matched to Strategy&'s usual questions, such as Coolant Co. US Market Entry, which you run out loud with an AI interviewer, and your first full case is free with a free account. Larchfield Pet Cover (a UK insurer entering Germany) and Quillfield Mechanical (what to pay for a competitor) are free to read with a model answer for every question, no account.
What case preparation does PwC Strategy& publish, and how should I practice for its interview?
Strategy&'s main prep resource is its Middle East "Ace your interview" business case prep page: the interview steps, four short videos (what to expect, the Fit assessment, the case interview and a mock case solved from brief to recommendation), a nine-item checklist and a list of outside books and websites. Strategy& Amsterdam adds six case reminders and a practice case with a consultant before your interviews. Strategy&'s one written practice case, Titanium Mine Valuation, returned an error page on November 9, 2026; PwC US's Advisory prep page has two written sample cases with sample answers by level. To practice: watch the videos, then run cases out loud while you lead the structure, do mental math without a calculator, read a slide pack in about ten minutes, and prepare fit stories for every interview.
Does PwC Strategy& have an online assessment?
In some offices. Strategy& UK asks applicants to complete an online assessment before screening and interviews, and PwC UK's graduate process says its online tests run on the SHL platform. Strategy& Amsterdam's has a cognitive and a behavior part, takes about 60 minutes, and you receive a report afterwards; its practice test link goes to SHL's practice site. Strategy&'s Middle East and US MBA pages name no test. Road to Offer has no Strategy& test simulator; the closest practice is our case math and chart drills.
Is the PwC Strategy& case interview candidate-led or interviewer-led?
Strategy&'s pages use neither label. Strategy& Amsterdam asks you to develop a structure, use hypotheses and "stay in the lead", and to explain your framework so the interviewer can comment, which is how a candidate-led case runs. Strategy& UK's structured case is different: you get a slide pack from a real client project, about 10 minutes to read it, then you recommend solutions.
What fit interview questions does PwC Strategy& ask?
Strategy& asks fit questions inside the case interviews rather than in a separate round. Strategy& Amsterdam says each interview covers your background, leadership, team skills and your motivation for consulting and for Strategy&, under three headings: lead self, lead others and motivation; Strategy& UK opens its unstructured case with questions about your background, experiences and why Strategy&. Prepare a few stories, a genuine "Why Strategy&?" and an example of how you use AI tools, and say them out loud; Road to Offer's fit practice asks the questions with follow-up probes, 1 session free with a free account.
How many interview rounds does PwC Strategy& have?
It depends on the office. Strategy& UK runs a first round of two interviews of about 45 minutes, then a second round, and some experienced hires a third. Strategy& Amsterdam runs two rounds of three 60-minute interviews, first with consultants and then with seniors. Strategy& Middle East lists two case interviews, then two with Partners. Strategy& US describes one round of three virtual interviews for MBA candidates, each with a case and a behavioral part.
Can I use a calculator in a PwC Strategy& case interview?
Plan not to. Strategy& Middle East's checklist says to brush up on mental math because no calculators are allowed, and PwC US says you may be asked to estimate figures or do quick calculations in your head. Practice percentages, growth rates and break-even math on paper until they are quick.
Where is the Strategy& Titanium Mine Valuation case?
Strategy& Middle East's business case prep page lists Titanium Mine Valuation as a second worked case to download, but on November 9, 2026 the link returned the site's error page instead of the PDF. Until it is fixed, the page's mock case video is Strategy&'s own worked example, and PwC US's Advisory prep page has two written sample cases, a bank's digital transformation and a healthcare acquisition, with sample responses for undergraduate and MBA levels.
Is the Strategy& interview the same as PwC Consulting's?
No, they recruit separately in the UK. Strategy& UK sits in PwC UK's Deals line of service, and PwC's Operations teams do not recruit through the Strategy& pathways. PwC UK's graduate Strategy programme asks you to choose Strategy& or Enterprise Strategy before the assessment centre, and its final stage includes case study interviews with a senior Strategy& leader. You can apply to PwC UK once every six months.
How soon does PwC Strategy& make an offer?
Strategy& US says it aims to give MBA candidates an offer decision within three weeks of the interview day, with the offer letter by email about a week after the verbal offer. Strategy& Amsterdam gives feedback after each round, and an offer after the second round if you succeed. Other offices do not publish timing.
