How to Prepare for the dMAT: Official Practice Resources

The dMAT doesn't have a fixed content syllabus the way an entrance exam built around a specific subject would. The Core Module measures general reasoning skills, and the General Academic Module tests whether you can apply reasoning to unfamiliar academic material rather than recall facts from your own degree — so re-reading your undergraduate textbooks isn't the useful prep here. Getting familiar with the exact task types and the on-screen interface is.

Official preparation materials

g.a.s.t.'s own preparation page (linked from d-mat.de) hosts the resources worth using first:

• Preparatory-materials PDFs with sample tasks, worked solutions, and explanations of how to approach each task type. At the time of writing, dedicated PDFs exist for specific subject modules (for example, Battery Science and Technology, and Data Science) — check the same page for the latest set, since g.a.s.t. adds materials as new modules are introduced.
• Five tutorial videos covering: an overview of the exam format, a walkthrough of the Figure Sequences subtest, a walkthrough of Mathematical Equations, a walkthrough of Latin Squares, and a demonstration of the Subject Module screen. These interface walkthroughs apply regardless of which module you're sitting, including the General Academic Module used for APS purposes.

g.a.s.t.'s own guidance is to work through everything available on that page before test day, since no further explanation of task types is given once the exam starts — you won't get clarifying instructions mid-exam, so any confusion about how a task type works needs to be resolved in advance.

The TestAS Core Test as a reference point

The dMAT's Core Module uses the same three-subtest design (Figure Sequences, Mathematical Equations, Latin Squares) that g.a.s.t. has run for years in its established TestAS Core Test, described on testas.de. That page is a useful supplementary reference for understanding how the subtests are built and timed — just keep in mind TestAS and dMAT are separate exams with separate registration; working through TestAS materials helps you understand the Core Module format, but it doesn't substitute for registering and sitting the dMAT itself.

For a refresher on what each section actually covers before you dive into practice materials, see the exam pattern breakdown.