How to Pass Bain's Sova and TestGorilla Assessments in 2026

Bain's online assessment shows up in your inbox after you apply, and it decides whether your application is considered at all: Bain says it won't consider an application whose assessment isn't finished by the deadline in that email. The test itself is short, about 30 to 40 minutes by Bain's estimate, and the invitation email tells you whether yours is on Sova or TestGorilla. Whether you get one at all depends on your role and office, so trust that email over any guide, this one included.

I'm Stephen Turban, founder of WSG and a McKinsey & Company and Harvard alum. I went through McKinsey's on-cycle recruiting myself, and I've since guided dozens of students through it. By the end of this guide you'll know which test your office is likely to use, which rules come from Bain and which only from candidate reports, and how to prepare for either test in a few focused hours.

Which Test You'll Get Depends on Your Office

Bain names two assessment vendors, Sova and TestGorilla, and some offices don't use an assessment at all. Bain's digital assessment page says intern and full-time consulting applicants may need to take one, depending on role and office.

Bain doesn't publish a full map of which office uses which test, so the rest comes from office pages and candidate reports:

• London: Bain's London recruiting page tells Associate Consultant applicants to prepare with the Sova Candidate Preparation Hub.

• US offices: StrategyCase, a prep company that reviewed Bain's office pages in October 2026, reports that US pages list a digital assessment without naming the vendor and that candidates at most US offices report TestGorilla.

• Seoul: Bain's Seoul FAQ for its first-half 2026 Associate Consultant hiring says the assessment runs on TestGorilla, takes about 52 minutes, and is taken with video on. Office-level details like these can differ from Bain's general guidance.

If your email says TestGorilla, the official rules below still apply, but the Sova section breakdown doesn't.

What Bain Officially Says, and What Candidates Report

Bain's own rules are short: finish by the deadline in your email, work alone, and don't use AI tools. Everything else you'll read about the test, including section counts, timing per question, and pass rates, comes from candidates and prep companies.

Question	What Bain says	What candidates and prep companies report
How long is it?	About 30 to 40 minutes (Seoul's FAQ: about 52)	Management Consulted reports about 40 minutes for Sova and about 45 to 50 minutes for TestGorilla
One sitting?	Sova: no, but finish every section by the deadline. TestGorilla: yes	Nothing beyond Bain's rule
Can you prepare?	Sova: review the sample questions on Sova's hub. TestGorilla: no preparation needed	Prep companies recommend practice sets for both
Calculator?	Pen, paper, and calculator allowed for both; no calculator in later interviews	Nothing beyond Bain's rule
Device?	Laptop or desktop recommended, with a stable connection and a quiet room	Nothing beyond Bain's rule
AI tools?	Strictly prohibited, including recording, screenshots, and transcription tools	Nothing beyond Bain's rule
Retakes?	If you've already completed the assessment, you don't retake it unless Bain tells you to	Nothing beyond Bain's rule
Scoring and pass mark?	Not published	Speed is reported to count on Sova

The deadline matters more than any prep tip, because Bain says it won't consider an application whose assessment isn't finished on time. Windows can be short. London's 2026 Associate Consultant applications closed on October 15, and every section of the Sova assessment was due by midday on October 20. In some markets the personalized link arrives within a week of applying, so check your spam folder if it hasn't shown up.

What the Sova Assessment Covers

Bain's London page names three parts for its Sova assessment: numerical reasoning, logical reasoning, and a personality questionnaire. Candidate reports add a situational judgment section, and some include verbal reasoning, so expect three to five parts and don't be thrown by an extra one.

• Numerical reasoning: questions built on tables and charts that ask you to calculate a change, a ratio, or a share. A calculator is allowed, so speed comes from reading the chart correctly the first time.

• Logical reasoning: sequences of figures or numbers where you find the rule and pick what comes next. Practice sets tend to help quickly here, because spotting a rule gets faster once you've seen a few.

• Verbal reasoning (reported in some sittings): a short passage, then a statement you mark true, false, or cannot say. The answer depends only on what the passage states, so "cannot say" is right whenever the passage doesn't settle the statement.

• Situational judgment (candidate-reported): job-related scenarios that test how you make decisions and work with people. Management Consulted's guide describes these as questions where you rank the possible responses.

• Personality questionnaire: questions about how you prefer to work, with no right answers. Sova's general advice for all its tasks is to complete them in a comfortable, natural way.

On timing, Management Consulted's Sova guide says the test isn't timed but that completion times are recorded and considered. Bain doesn't confirm this. It's still a sensible reason to work at a steady pace rather than lingering on any one question, and Management Consulted suggests aiming for about 30 to 45 seconds per question.

What TestGorilla Tests

Bain's Seoul FAQ says its TestGorilla assessment evaluates case study skills, critical thinking, numerical reasoning, and working with data. Candidate reports elsewhere describe a timed, multiple-choice test of about four sections: Management Consulted's TestGorilla guide lists numerical reasoning, business judgment, leadership, and problem solving, and notes that some candidates got only three sections but always had numerical reasoning.

Because TestGorilla has to be finished in one sitting, block out an uninterrupted hour before you open the link. Seoul's FAQ also says you can't go back to a previous page, so if your instructions say the same, check each answer before you move on.

How the Assessment Is Scored

Bain doesn't publish how the assessment is scored or what counts as a pass. Its digital assessment page says the test is one part of the review, alongside the rest of your application, and that it looks at problem solving, communication, and analytical skills.

That means any pass rate or target percentile you see online is an estimate. Some prep sites quote figures for how many takers advance, or say you need a certain percentile, but the ones we found base them on coaching data and candidate reports, so treat those numbers as guesses. The practical takeaway is the same either way: aim for accuracy at a steady pace, and answer the personality questions honestly.

How to Prepare

WSG's advice is to spend a few hours on format practice for the test named in your email, starting with the numerical questions both tests share. These steps are our suggestions. Bain's only official prep pointer is the Sova hub, and Bain's TestGorilla guidance names no practice materials.

1. Drill chart-reading math. Percentage change, ratios, and shares from a table are the core of the numerical section on both platforms. Ten or fifteen minutes a day for a week helps, and it doubles as case interview prep, since case math uses the same skills.

2. If your email says Sova, add Sova's free practice test. The Sova Candidate Preparation Hub has practice questions for situational judgment and three types of ability questions. Bain points Sova candidates there directly, and doing the situational judgment practice as well as the ability questions means the ranking format won't be new on the day.

3. Write down the rule for each logical reasoning question. When you check a practice set, note the rule behind each sequence you missed. Naming the rule is what makes the next one faster to spot.

4. Practice "cannot say" if your test includes verbal reasoning. For each practice statement, ask whether the passage actually states it. That check catches answers based on what sounds likely rather than what the passage says.

5. Take one full practice set under time pressure. This shows you whether your pace is the problem before it counts. For TestGorilla, a timed numerical reasoning set is the closest substitute for an official practice test.

Once practice sets feel routine, put the remaining hours into live cases, because the case interviews that follow the assessment are where offers are decided.

Test-Day Setup and Rules

If you need accommodations, arrange them before you begin: on TestGorilla's setup page, or for Sova by emailing Bain without starting the test.

• Sova accommodations contact: Bain's EMEA talent acquisition team at EMEA.TalentAcquisition@bain.com.

• Lost connection on Sova: Sova says you can resume from the link in your invitation email.

• Browser: both Bain (for TestGorilla) and Sova recommend Google Chrome.

What Happens After You Submit

Bain says applicants can expect to hear back within 60 days, though timing varies by role and office. If you advance, the next step is case interviews. Bain's case interview page has two practice cases, Coffee Shop Co. and FashionCo., and that's a good place to pick up your prep once the assessment is in.