Prepare a small portfolio of strong stories that can cover the major dimensions McKinsey may test rather than dozens of shallow examples.

Each story should have enough detail for deep follow-up: context, your specific actions, decisions, interpersonal dynamics and measurable or observable outcomes.

Three or four highly developed stories can often provide a strong base, but you should have backup examples in case a story does not fit the exact question or gets used earlier in the process.

Quality matters more than count. Choose situations where you personally drove something difficult, then practice the details rather than memorizing a polished script. For more detail, see the McKinsey PEI guide.

I had four core stories and a couple backups. That was enough coverage without becoming impossible to remember.

The depth of follow-up surprised me more than the number of stories.

This sounds like one of those questions where the specific office or school process matters more than the broad rule. In my case, the exact timing around how many stories do i need for the mckinsey pei as an mba candidate mattered most.

I would keep the decision practical and focus on what actually changes your next step.

I had something similar and the useful part was clarifying the exact recruiting rule instead of relying on what classmates had heard. In my case, the exact timing around how many stories do i need for the mckinsey pei as an mba candidate mattered most.