How grading works

The short version

When you submit a memo, an AI grader reads it alongside the case packet and scores it against a fixed 100-point rubric. Each of the six scores comes with a short comment and a sentence quoted from your memo as evidence. You also get the three fixes that would improve your memo most, and six follow-up questions for the IC grill.

The grader judges your memo against the case. It doesn't compare you with other users.

The six dimensions

What the bands mean

Each dimension has three bands. Roughly: the top band means an IC would accept that part of the memo as written; the middle band means it's there but generic, unranked, too mild or not quantified; the bottom band means it's missing or wrong.

• Investment thesis: 13–15 clear call with specific reasons; 8–12 recommendation present but reasons generic or buried; 0–7 no clear recommendation.
• Business risk: 13–15 the risks that matter, with evidence; 8–12 risks listed but not ranked or tied to the case; 0–7 boilerplate or missing.
• Financial analysis: 17–20 correct and reconciled; 10–16 mostly correct with minor errors or one key metric missing; 0–9 material math errors or no numbers.
• Downside case: 17–20 realistic and quantified; 10–16 present but too mild or not quantified; 0–9 no downside case.
• Structure and covenants: 13–15 judges the terms and proposes changes; 8–12 describes the terms without judging them; 0–7 ignores structure.
• Communication: 13–15 concise with numbers behind claims; 8–12 understandable but wordy or unsupported in places; 0–7 hard to follow.

Quotes are checked against your memo

Every dimension shows one sentence from your memo as evidence. Before you see it, we check that the quote really appears in your memo text (ignoring differences in spacing, quote marks and capitalisation). A quote also has to be substantial: at least six words or 30 characters.

If a quote fails either check, the card shows "Not found in memo" instead. That usually means your memo didn't have a sentence that clearly addressed that dimension, which is useful feedback in itself.

Graded at the case's level

Every case has a difficulty level, shown on the case page with a short note on what an IC expects at that level. The grader applies those expectations when it chooses a band, and your scorecard says which level you were graded at.

The verdict thresholds don't change with the level.

Checks and diagnosis

Alongside the six scores you get four checks, each marked met, partly met or missed: correctness (your numbers tie to the case), answers the assignment (you answered the case's questions and the actual loan request), depth (you went beyond restating the packet) and polish (the memo is IC-ready). Checks don't add or remove points.

Under the top fixes, Where you went wrong names up to three root causes: the underlying analytical error behind a weak section, such as stressing revenue while holding margins flat, or using last year's coverage for a new capital structure. Fix the root cause and the symptoms usually go with it.

Totals and verdicts

The grader assigns the six scores. The total and the verdict are calculated in code, so the same scores always produce the same result:

Supporting files are context only

You can attach up to three supporting files, such as your model or deck: .xlsx, .xlsm, .csv, .pptx, .docx or .pdf, up to 10 MB each. The grader may use them to understand your numbers, but it grades and quotes only the memo. A great model attached to a thin memo still gets a thin-memo score.

Limits and what happens if grading fails

• Memos must be between 200 and 60,000 characters.
• Uploaded memos can be PDF or Word (.docx), up to 10 MB. PDFs are limited to 20 pages.
• If the grader doesn't finish a complete review, you see an error instead of a partial score, and the attempt doesn't count toward your grades. Try again.

How to use your scorecard

1. Read the three top fixes first. They're ordered by how much they'd improve the memo.
2. Look at the weakest dimension, marked in red, and read its comment and quote.
3. Revise, then use Revise and re-grade to submit the next draft and see which scores move.
4. Run the IC grill to practice defending the weakest parts out loud.

Scores are generated by AI and can be wrong. Use them as a sparring partner, not a verdict on your career.