ieGAT or IE Admissions Test: Which One Are You Actually Sitting?
If you've searched for IE admissions practice, you've almost certainly landed on ieGAT material. There is a lot of it, it looks official, and some of it is sold specifically as "IE University" preparation.
If you're applying to a bachelor programme, it is probably not your test.
The short version
- The IE University Admissions Test is the entrance test for bachelor programmes. That's what this site is about.
- The ieGAT — IE Global Admissions Test — is the test used for master's programmes.
They are published on different pages, by different parts of IE, with different structures. IE's own master's admissions page describes the ieGAT as required "for applications to most of IE University's Master's Programs".
What the bachelor test actually contains
IE publishes this on its Admissions Test page:[1]
| Section | Time | Tasks |
|---|---|---|
| Numerical reasoning | 12 min | 37 |
| Verbal reasoning | 12 min | 49 |
| Deductive logical thinking | 6 min | not published |
| Learning efficiency (memory) | 5 min | not published |
| Mathematics Assessment | 60 or 15 min, by programme | 20 for the 60-minute version |
Two of those are worth pausing on, because they're where the confusion does real damage:
Learning efficiency is a memory task — recall objects shown briefly, in the right order. It doesn't appear in ieGAT descriptions.
The Mathematics Assessment is programme-determined, and it's recent: IE's test page carried no maths assessment at all in 2024. It appeared for Science & Technology programmes by 2025, and a second 15-minute version for BBA, BIE and PPLE this cycle. Any material older than that describes a bachelor test with no maths in it whatsoever.
Why this keeps happening
Three reasons, and none of them are your fault.
1. The names are nearly identical. "IE Global Admissions Test" and "IE University Admissions Test" are the same words in a different order.
2. Vendors describe the ieGAT as universal. One practice-test site states that the ieGAT is "the exclusive admission test to IE University (IEU), including the IE Business School in Spain". Set against IE's own pages that's wrong for bachelor applicants twice over: the bachelor route is the IE University Admissions Test, and SAT, ACT and LNAT are accepted alternatives — so it isn't "exclusive" either.
3. People recommend it to each other in good faith. On r/IEUniversity, an applicant asking how to prepare was told to "just look up ieGAT test jobtestprep and you'll find what you need" (thread, February 2025). That was an undergraduate applicant being pointed at master's material by another applicant.
What to check before you buy anything
Whatever you're looking at — ours included — ask three questions:
- Does it mention a memory section? The bachelor test has one. If the material has no memory component, it isn't describing your test.
- Does it mention the Mathematics Assessment, and both variants? 60 minutes for Science & Technology, 15 minutes for BBA/BIE/PPLE. Material written before 2025 won't mention maths at all.
- Does it quote the bachelor timings? 37 numerical tasks in 12 minutes and 49 verbal in 12 minutes are IE's published figures for the bachelor test.
⚠️ One thing we can't tell you: whether the two tests share an underlying assessment engine. Some vendors say the online ieGAT runs on a third-party platform, and the section shapes have similarities. But IE publishes different specs on different pages, and we're not going to assert a connection IE doesn't state. What's certain is that the published structures differ — and that's what you should prepare against.
If you're applying to a master's programme
Then the ieGAT genuinely is your test, and this site isn't for you. IE's master's admissions pages are the right starting point, and the ieGAT-specific material you've found is appropriate.
If you're applying to a bachelor programme
Prepare for the five areas above, at the timings above. Start with IE's own free material — it publishes example problems, screencast videos and a practical example per section, plus practice questions inside the test session itself.
And remember the constraint that makes getting this right matter: you sit the IE Admissions Test once, and IE never tells you your score. There's no second attempt in which to discover you practised the wrong exam.
All five areas of the IE University Admissions Test, timed at the real pace, with both Mathematics Assessment variants.
Compare the prep options →Sources: IE University's Admissions Test page (bachelor) and its master's admissions pages, verified 18 August 2026. Competitor claims are quoted from their own live pages. Community observations are attributed and linked, and are individual reports rather than data. IEPrep is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by IE University.
Explore more
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The IE University Admissions Test: Complete Guide (2027/28)
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