OMPT-B guide (2026): syllabus, difficulty, universities, pass marks and price

OMPT-B is the online maths placement test for programmes with a calculus-heavy first year: 64 questions in 150 minutes, drawn from 10 chapters and 226 topics, including trigonometry and integration. Econometrics and data science bachelors at VU Amsterdam, Groningen and Maastricht ask for it. An attempt costs €240 and the test provider suggests about 100 hours of preparation.

OMPT-B exam format

OMPT-B gives you about 2.3 minutes per question, the same pace as OMPT-A with twelve more questions and half an hour more time. The exam runs in a browser, live-proctored via ProctorU, with an on-screen equation editor and calculator. Only the final answer is graded.

At 2.3 minutes per question you cannot rederive a trigonometric identity or an integration rule mid-exam; you have to know them. Checkpoint: question 32 at the 75-minute mark. If a question has taken twice the average, enter your best answer and move on, because an empty box scores the same as a wrong one.

OMPT-B syllabus: the 10 chapters

The official OMPT-B syllabus lists 226 topics in 10 chapters. The first eight are the OMPT-A chapters; the last two make OMPT-B a different exam.

1. Numbers: fractions, exponents and roots, worked exactly and without your own calculator.
2. Algebra: expanding, factorising and simplifying expressions, including algebraic fractions.
3. Linear formulas and equations: straight lines and solving linear equations.
4. Systems of linear equations: solving two or more linear equations together.
5. Quadratic equations: solving, factorising and completing the square.
6. Functions: domain, range, composition, inverses and transformations of graphs.
7. Exponential functions and logarithms: exponential growth, log rules and solving exponential equations.
8. Differentiation: derivative rules, the chain rule and using derivatives for optimisation.
9. Trigonometry: the unit circle, trigonometric functions and solving trigonometric equations.
10. Integration: antiderivatives and definite integrals.

Examify's OMPT-B syllabus page groups the topics by chapter. Anything outside these 10 chapters, statistics for instance, is not on this paper.

Which universities require OMPT-B

Fourteen programmes in our university list name OMPT-B, alone or as one of two accepted modules. Twelve are below; Maastricht's Business Analytics and Business Engineering share the Econometrics row's rule.

Dutch econometrics bachelors ask for OMPT-B at 60%, and several programmes abroad accept it alongside OMPT-D. Two rules deserve a second look: Erasmus IBEB counts only your first attempt, and University College Fryslân rejects a 0% score on any subsection, so skipping a chapter is not an option there. The full list with source links is on the universities page; score bars per programme are on OMPT passing scores.

OMPT-B pass marks

OMPT-B pass marks in the programmes we track run from 50% to 70%. Arcada asks for 50% and Vilnius University for 55%. The 60% band is the largest: VU Amsterdam, Groningen, University College Fryslân, Erasmus IBEB and LUT all sit there. Chulalongkorn asks for 65% and Amsterdam University College for 70%.

The minimum is not the score to aim for. Mock scores move 5 to 10 points between sittings, and the real exam adds a proctor and a room scan. Plan for 10 to 15 points above the minimum on your last mock: a 60% threshold means a 70 to 75% mock. If no minimum is published, plan for 75%.

How hard is OMPT-B

OMPT-B is harder than OMPT-A and easier than OMPT-D. Against OMPT-A it adds roughly 50 topics in two chapters, trigonometry and integration, and stretches the suggested preparation from about 80 to about 100 hours at the same 2.3 minutes per question. OMPT-D is a different kind of exam: 21 questions in 180 minutes, 8.6 minutes each, 242 topics, about 120 hours, with multi-step questions. OMPT-B questions are short and single-concept, so the difficulty sits in breadth and speed rather than depth.

The biggest predictor of your result is preparation, not the module. The test provider reports that students who worked through its learning materials scored 76% on average on their first attempt; students who did not scored 40%. For IBEB applicants weighing OMPT-B at 60% against OMPT-A at 70%, the lower threshold only pays off if you already know trigonometry and integration from school. The wider comparison is in how hard is the OMPT.

Example OMPT-B question with worked solution

This is Examify's own question in the style of the Integration chapter, not a past paper.

Evaluate ∫₀² (3x² − 2x) dx.

1. Find an antiderivative term by term: ∫3x² dx = x³ and ∫2x dx = x², so F(x) = x³ − x².
2. Substitute the upper limit: F(2) = 8 − 4 = 4.
3. Substitute the lower limit F(0) = 0 and subtract: 4 − 0.

Answer: 4.

On the real exam you type 4 into the answer box and nothing else. The grader only sees the final answer, so a slip in step 2 costs the full point even if the antiderivative was right.

How to prepare for OMPT-B

The official 100 hours assume you need to relearn most of the 226 topics. A diagnostic mock tells you whether that is true.

1. Sit a full-length OMPT-B mock before you study: 64 questions, 150 minutes, on-screen calculator only. Examify's free OMPT practice test shows the answer format with two of the harder questions; for the diagnostic use the full generation-1 OMPT-B mock or the provider's own. Score it per chapter.
2. Spend the first weeks on chapters 1 to 8, the OMPT-A part of the syllabus, roughly 176 of the 226 topics. About 60 hours if you are starting from scratch.
3. Give trigonometry and integration their own block of about 40 hours. These two chapters are the reason the module exists and the most common gap for students from an economics-track school course. Work through them with the OMPT-B syllabus page and the official topic list.
4. Take a second and third full-length mock under exam conditions. Keep an error log by chapter and return to the two weakest chapters between mocks.
5. Book the real slot only when your last mock sits 10 to 15 points above the programme minimum. Results take up to 8 business days, so the test date has to sit at least two weeks before the admission deadline.

For a week-by-week calendar, see how long OMPT preparation takes. If the exam is close, improve your OMPT score in 30 days adapts its plan to OMPT-B.

OMPT-B cost

An OMPT-B attempt costs €240, the same as OMPT-A, C, E and G; OMPT-D and F cost €270. Every attempt is bought separately, so a retake is another €240 and three attempts cost €720. Short-notice booking, under 72 hours, carries an extra fee. Most programmes accept up to three attempts, but Erasmus IBEB counts only the first and University College Fryslân allows two, so check the programme page before treating the first booking as a practice run.

Examify's mock exams start from €39.99, with the same question count and time limit as the real module and a worked solution for every question. Examify is independent, not affiliated with the OMPT, SOWISO or any university. The full cost picture is in how much does the OMPT cost.