How hard is the OMPT? Pass rates, difficulty by module and common mistakes (2026)

The OMPT is hard for candidates who walk in cold and manageable for candidates who prepare. The test provider's own figure says it: students who worked through its learning materials scored 76% on average on their first attempt, students who did not scored 40%. Most programmes set the pass mark between 60% and 75%, so preparation is the whole difference.

Examify is an independent preparation provider and is not affiliated with the OMPT, SOWISO or any university.

The one official OMPT pass-rate figure

There is no published OMPT pass rate. What the test provider publishes on its practicing page is an average first-attempt score split by preparation: 76% for students who spent time with the learning materials, 40% for students who did not.

Read against the thresholds programmes use, 60% to 75%, that 36-point gap says more than a pass rate would. The unprepared average fails everywhere; the prepared average clears even the 75% bar at Maastricht's School of Business and Economics, with one point to spare. The figure says nothing about how many hours "prepared" means, which is what the next section is for. For what the test is and who asks for it, start with the complete OMPT guide.

OMPT difficulty by module

The table uses the official syllabus pages on omptest.org; "topics" is the number of learning units per module.

OMPT-A and OMPT-B are speed tests: many short questions at 2.3 minutes each, across school algebra, functions, logarithms and differentiation (OMPT-B adds trigonometry and integration). OMPT-D and OMPT-F are depth tests: 21 questions in 180 minutes, each chaining several topics, so an early slip costs the whole question. OMPT-E sits between them in pace, but five of its 12 chapters are statistics and probability. Chapter lists are on the syllabus overview.

Which OMPT module is the hardest?

OMPT-D, on every measure the provider publishes: the largest syllabus at 242 topics across 11 chapters, including trigonometry, geometry and integration, about 120 hours of suggested preparation, and a higher fee of €270 per attempt. The programmes that require it are quantitative ones, such as the econometrics bachelors at Erasmus School of Economics, which ask for more than 75%. The OMPT-D syllabus page lists all 11 chapters.

OMPT-E and OMPT-G share the 120-hour estimate for a different reason: their syllabuses are smaller, 161 and 119 topics, but roughly a quarter of OMPT-E is statistics and probability and OMPT-G adds physics and chemistry, which most applicants have never studied. The hours go into new material, not revision.

The lightest module is OMPT-C: 66 topics, 30 questions in 120 minutes, about 40 hours. OMPT-A, the module most economics and business programmes ask for, sits in the middle at 176 topics and about 80 hours, with pace as the main difficulty.

Where OMPT candidates lose points

Most lost points on the OMPT are format errors, not maths errors, and each has a fix that costs one practice session. The full list is in common mistakes on the OMPT; the five that decide difficulty are below.

1. Answer-input rules. Answers are checked by a computer-algebra system (Maxima) and then reviewed by a mathematician. The entry has to be mathematically correct and unambiguous: 3/2 is safe, 1.5 works only because it terminates, and 1,5 with a comma is not read as a number at all. Simplify, use the variable name in the question, keep exact forms unless a decimal is asked for.
2. No partial credit. A correct method with a wrong final answer earns nothing on that question. On a written exam a dropped minus sign costs one mark; on the OMPT it costs the question. Checking the final line is worth more than elegant working.
3. On-screen calculator only. Your own calculator is not allowed. The test rules permit 3 A4 sheets of scrap paper, 3 pencils and one eraser, no pens, and the proctor has you tear the sheets up on camera afterwards. Meeting the built-in calculator and equation editor for the first time on exam day costs the opening minutes.
4. Time per question. OMPT-A and OMPT-B give 2.3 minutes per question; OMPT-D and OMPT-F give 8.6. Practising OMPT-A at a relaxed pace leaves a third of the paper blank; practising OMPT-D at OMPT-A speed produces half-simplified answers. Set a halfway checkpoint: in OMPT-A you should be past question 26 at 60 minutes, in OMPT-E past question 20.
5. Statistics chapters in OMPT-E. Chapters 8 to 12 of the OMPT-E syllabus, descriptive statistics, probability, combinatorics, random variables and common probability distributions, hold 41 of the 161 topics. Candidates who prepare from OMPT-A material cover chapters 1 to 7 and sit the exam with a quarter of the syllabus unseen.

All five are fixed by one full mock in the real format, which is also why a mock and the real paper can feel different; mock vs real exam difficulty explains that gap.

How to find out how hard the OMPT is for you

The official study estimate assumes you relearn the whole syllabus. A timed diagnostic mock, taken before you open a chapter, replaces that with your own number in two to three hours.

1. Sit a full-length mock for your module under exam conditions: timer on, no notes, answers typed in the on-screen input, three sheets of paper on the desk. Examify's paid generation-1 mocks match the real question count and time limit; the provider's official mock does too.
2. Score it per chapter, not overall. A 55% on OMPT-A made of 90% on algebra and 20% on logarithms and differentiation is a very different workload from a flat 55% everywhere.
3. Add up the topic share of the chapters where you scored below about 70% and multiply the official hours by that share. Failing only differentiation and logarithms on OMPT-A, roughly 40 of the 176 topics, means 20 to 25 hours of work, not 80.
4. Study from the syllabus pages for your module, weakest chapter first.
5. Sit a second mock in the last week. If it lands 10 points or more above your programme's minimum, book; slots need 72 hours' notice and results take up to 8 business days.

Before the diagnostic, Examify's free OMPT practice test shows two of the harder generation-1 questions per module in the real answer box, with the solution after each. It is too short to estimate a score, but it teaches the input rules so the diagnostic measures your maths rather than your typing. Hours per week and deadline arithmetic are in how long OMPT preparation takes.

Passing scores are set by the programme

The OMPT has no pass mark of its own. Each university programme names the module it accepts, the minimum score and how many attempts it counts, and the minimums sit between 60% and 75%. Erasmus School of Economics asks IBEB applicants for 70% on OMPT-A or 60% on OMPT-B and looks at the first attempt only. Maastricht's School of Business and Economics asks for 75% on OMPT-A. Tilburg University caps attempts at two; most other programmes allow up to three.

So the answer differs per applicant: 72% passes IBEB and fails Maastricht SBE, and a 65% first attempt closes the IBEB route but can be retaken elsewhere. The OMPT passing scores hub collects the published minimum per programme and each university page links the source. Aim for the minimum plus about 10 points, because mock scores move between sittings and the real exam adds a proctor, an ID check and a room scan.

The OMPT is a school-level maths test with strict grading and a tight clock, and the 76% versus 40% gap shows that preparation fixes both. One diagnostic mock tells you how many hours you need; a second tells you when to book.