dMAT format: two modules, three and a half hours
The dMAT is two modules: a core module measuring general cognitive and analytical skills through three subtests, and a subject module — for the APS route, the General Academic Module. It runs three and a half hours with a break between the modules, every answer is single-choice, and the test language is English.
The two modules
| Module | What it measures | Made of |
|---|---|---|
| Core module | General cognitive and analytical skills | Three subtests: Figure Sequences, Mathematical Equations, Latin Squares |
| General Academic Module | Applying those skills to academic problem solving | A typical problem followed by several related questions |
g.a.s.t. is explicit that the tasks require developed transfer and application skills rather than memorised factual knowledge. There is no syllabus to finish and nothing to revise — which is good news and bad news at once.
Figure Sequences
A series of figures that change from one to the next; you choose the continuation. Name the dimensions before you look at the options — rotation, count, position, shading, addition and removal, reflection — and write down what changed between frames.
- Two dimensions changing at once is the normal difficulty; the trap answer gets two of three right.
- When nothing obvious changes, count something: sides, dots, intersections, enclosed areas.
- Eliminate rather than select. Crossing out what breaks a rule you are sure of is faster than hunting for perfection.
Mathematical Equations and Latin Squares
They look unrelated and train the same habit: work from the constraint that pins the most down.
- Mathematical Equations — reasoning dressed as arithmetic, at school level. Estimate before computing; work backwards from the options when the algebra is messy; watch units and direction, because most wrong answers are right arithmetic on the wrong quantity.
- Latin Squares — a grid where each symbol appears once per row and column. Start where the choice is smallest, scan by symbol rather than by cell, and mark eliminations rather than guesses.
Neither subtest rewards finishing everything. Items get harder as they go and an early item scores the same as a late one, so bank the ones that fall out quickly.
The General Academic Module
A problem followed by several questions about it, so the unit of work is the problem and the reading you do at the start is paid back several times.
- Read the problem once, properly, before the first question. Get straight what is claimed, what the evidence is, and what is assumed rather than shown.
- Answer from the material, not from your degree. This is the most expensive habit engineers and commerce graduates bring. If your answer needs something the problem did not say, it is wrong even when it is true.
- Name what the question wants — what the text states, what follows from it, what it assumes, or what would change it. Naming it is most of the work.
- On figures and tables, check the label before the number — which axis, which unit, over what period.
dMAT exam pattern — FAQs
4 questions
Two modules: a core module of three subtests — Figure Sequences, Mathematical Equations and Latin Squares — and a subject module, which for the APS route is the General Academic Module.
Three and a half hours, with a break between the modules.
English. Every answer is single-choice.
No. g.a.s.t. states that the tasks require developed transfer and application skills rather than memorised factual knowledge, so there is nothing to revise.
Sources
Checked on 25 September 2026 against the official pages below. Fees and formats change — the official page is always the final word.
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