How to Prepare for the dMAT: Sample Questions, Study Material & 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 PDF for the General Academic Module — the closest thing to an official "dMAT sample paper" or question paper — with sample questions, worked solutions, and explanations of how to approach each task type. This is the module that matters for APS/India applicants; g.a.s.t. also publishes separate PDFs for other subject modules (for example, Battery Science and Technology, and Data Science) used by specific German universities outside the APS India process. Check the same page for the latest version, since g.a.s.t. revises these PDFs as the exam format is clarified.
• Five official walkthrough videos, each explaining how a part of the exam works on-screen: an overview of the exam format, plus dedicated walkthroughs for Figure Sequences, Mathematical Equations, Latin Squares, and the Subject Module screen. g.a.s.t. re-issued this set of videos on 8 September 2026 — the links above point at the current versions, and an earlier set published in August is no longer the one linked from d-mat.de, so work from these. These interface walkthroughs apply regardless of which module you're sitting, including the General Academic Module used for APS purposes.
• A demo version of the test software itself, which g.a.s.t. makes available inside your participant portal under "Exam Preparation" rather than on the public website. It combines the familiar sample tasks with the actual interface, so it's the closest you can get to sitting the exam before the day. This one is easy to miss precisely because it isn't linked from d-mat.de — if you're registered, log in and look for it.

There's also a practical detail g.a.s.t. publishes about test-day logistics rather than content: information about your check-in and test-day procedure appears in the participant portal roughly five days before the exam, along with an introductory video on the technical side. That's the point to confirm your center location and reporting time — see exam day rules for what happens once you're there.

The General Academic Module PDF confirms the module's format directly: you're given a short academic passage — on a topic drawn from mathematics, computational sciences, natural sciences, engineering, business administration, economics, social sciences or humanities, sometimes with figures, tables or formulas — followed by several single-choice questions with four options each, testing whether you can read and apply the passage rather than recall outside facts. Its sample exercises walk through worked passages on vector calculations, hydrostatics, inventory-order-quantity economics and social-science research methodology, each with full solution reasoning. g.a.s.t. puts the module at roughly 60 questions in total — an average rather than a fixed count, so expect somewhat more or fewer on the day — which is the figure worth pacing your 90 minutes against. You can try practice questions built in the same passage-plus-questions style on our General Academic practice page.

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 sample questions are not a difficulty benchmark

This is the caveat most likely to catch out someone who has prepared conscientiously. g.a.s.t. states directly that the sample questions exist to show you possible topics and question types, and that their level of difficulty may differ from the questions on the actual test. They are a format guide, not a calibration tool.

The distinction matters because of how people naturally use practice material. Working cleanly through the sample passages is good evidence that you've understood the task types and the interface — which is exactly what they're for. It is not evidence that the real paper will feel equally comfortable, and it isn't a reason to stop preparing early.

g.a.s.t. is also explicit about how wide the subject range can be: the dMAT may draw on mathematics, computer science, the natural sciences, engineering, business administration, economics, the social sciences and the humanities. A handful of worked examples can only sample that range. A commerce graduate who found the inventory-economics passage straightforward shouldn't read that as a prediction about the engineering or social-science passages waiting on the day — and, since the General Academic Module deliberately tests whether you can work with unfamiliar material, the passages furthest from your own degree are the ones the module is really aimed at.

So use the samples for what they reliably tell you:

• They do tell you what a task looks like, how the options are laid out, how many questions hang off a single passage, and how g.a.s.t.'s own solutions reason toward an answer.
• They don't tell you how hard your paper will be, or which disciplines it will pull from.

The practical move is to treat comfort with the samples as a floor rather than a ceiling. Once the format is second nature, re-solving sample questions you've already worked through tells you almost nothing new — remaining time is better spent on subject matter outside your own field and on working against the real clock. See how the module is paced for the timing you're practising against, and free practice questions for fresh material in the same format.

A practical order to work through this in

1. Watch the general overview video first to understand the on-screen interface before anything else.
2. Watch each subtest's walkthrough video as you get to it, rather than all at once — the format details stick better next to the material they apply to.
3. Work through the General Academic Module PDF's sample passages, since this is the module that determines your actual result for APS purposes.
4. Try timed practice questions last, once you're familiar with the format, so your practice results reflect your actual reasoning speed rather than confusion about how to answer.

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. See dMAT vs TestAS if you're unsure which one you actually need.

For a refresher on what each section actually covers before you dive into practice materials, see the syllabus breakdown. Ready to actually try questions rather than just read about them? See free mock test practice for every subtest.

Should I re-read my undergraduate textbooks to prepare for the dMAT?

No — that's the one thing g.a.s.t.'s own materials suggest isn't useful prep. The General Academic Module tests whether you can apply reasoning to unfamiliar material, not recall facts from your degree, so time is better spent on the official sample questions and interface walkthroughs.

Is there official dMAT coaching available?

g.a.s.t. does not run a paid coaching programme for the dMAT. Its official preparation resources are the sample tasks, tutorial videos and demo formats published on d-mat.de — see this page for the direct links. If you're weighing third-party options, best dMAT prep platforms compares live-class and self-paced providers on price, format and access.

How should I actually use the prep time before test day?

Work through the General Academic Module PDF and all five walkthrough videos first, since no further explanation of task types is given once the exam starts. Then use free practice questions to get comfortable with the on-screen format under real time pressure.

Are the dMAT sample questions the same difficulty as the real exam?

Not necessarily. g.a.s.t. states the sample questions are meant to show possible topics and question types, and that their difficulty may differ from the actual test. Use them to learn the format, not to judge how ready you are.