Case prep often takes longer when business language and commercial intuition are new, but the range is wide.

Your starting point matters more than your degree title. Quantitative PhDs may find the math easy but still need time to build structured communication and business judgment.

A diagnostic case or two will tell you much more than choosing an arbitrary number of weeks.

Build a plan around the gaps you actually observe, then increase live practice as the interview gets closer. For more detail, see the first-round consulting interview guide and the case structure vs. case framework guide.

Candidate-led cases felt harder until I got comfortable explaining why I wanted to explore something.

tbh Candidate-led cases felt harder until I got comfortable explaining why I wanted to explore something.