Bain lets you use a calculator on its online test, and only there

Bain's London page says its Sova assessment evaluates numerical aptitude, logical reasoning and behavioural preferences, and Bain allows a calculator for it. Our reasoning test covers numerical and logical questions under time pressure, so it is a close warm-up for the two scored reasoning parts.

Our questions are not Sova's, and Bain points candidates to Sova's own preparation hub and sample questions, which you should use too. The behavioural preferences section has no right answers, some offices use TestGorilla or other tests instead, and the case interviews that follow need separate practice.

Bain's FAQ says calculators are allowed for the assessment only and not in later interviews. That one rule shapes two different preparations. For the Sova test, practise with the calculator you will actually use, so that keying figures in is quick and error-free. For the cases, practise rough mental arithmetic, because the calculator will not be there.

Do not let the calculator make you slower. On table questions the trap is often choosing the wrong figures, not the arithmetic itself. Decide what to calculate before you touch a key. Our numerical reasoning test guide walks through the common question types and where people lose time.

Bain points candidates to the Sova Candidate Preparation Hub, which covers numerical reasoning, logical reasoning and a personality questionnaire, and notes that Sova's site has sample questions. That is the nearest thing to a format preview you will get, so do it first and pay attention to how answers are entered and how the timer appears.

After that, use other practice for volume and pace. Our free reasoning test is a timed sitting across numerical and logical questions and will show which of the two needs more work. The logical and inductive reasoning guide explains the pattern questions people find least familiar.

Bain's FAQ says you do not need to complete the Sova assessment in one sitting, as long as every section is done by the deadline in your invitation. That is a real advantage. You can take the numerical part when you are fresh, rest, then take the logical part later, rather than pushing through tired.

Plan the order before you start. Many people find it helpful to do the section they fear most first, while they are sharpest, and leave the behavioural preferences section, which has no right answers, until last. Check the deadline time zone too: a recent London page gave a deadline of midday BST.

Behavioural preferences, in the London page's wording, means questions about how you tend to work. There is no correct consultant profile to copy, and trying to look ideal on every item usually produces inconsistent answers. Answer as you actually are. A 2026 prep guide also describes a situational judgement part, so read each scenario carefully and pick what you would genuinely do.

Bain says AI tools are strictly prohibited during the assessment. That applies to every section, including the behavioural one, so keep other tabs and assistants closed.

Bain says London interviews run in two rounds and both consist of case interviews. A case gives you a business problem, and you structure it, ask for data, do the sums aloud without a calculator and finish with a recommendation. The test checks numerical and logical reasoning in isolation; the case checks the same skills in conversation.

Start case practice before your test result arrives, because the gap can be short. Our professional services assessments guide compares Bain's process with other consultancies, and the McKinsey Solve page shows how differently a rival screens applicants.

These come from anonymous reviews, university careers pages and prep guides. They often disagree, and Bain & Company has not confirmed them. Read them as leads, not rules.

• A 2026 prep guide says the Sova test now includes numerical reasoning, logical reasoning, a personality questionnaire and a situational judgement part, with verbal reasoning appearing to have been dropped.
• Prep guides say Sova is used mainly in European and Middle Eastern offices including London, while Pymetrics is reported in Germany.
• One London candidate on a forum recalls a Sova assessment lasting 75 minutes with no business case, which differs from the 30 to 40 minutes Bain now gives.
• A prep site reports that the London deadline for the 2026 cycle was midday BST on 20 October 2026.