What is the OMPT? Complete guide to the Online Mathematics Placement Test (2026)

The OMPT, short for Online Mathematics Placement Test, is a live-proctored online maths exam that universities in the Netherlands and seven other countries accept as proof of mathematics proficiency for bachelor applicants. It has seven modules (OMPT-A to OMPT-G), costs €240 or €270 per attempt, is taken from home via ProctorU and returns a percentage score within 8 business days.

This guide covers what the test is, who asks for it, how the seven modules differ, what it costs, how to book it, what score you need and how to prepare. Examify is an independent preparation provider and is not affiliated with the OMPT, SOWISO or any university.

What is the OMPT?

The OMPT is a placement test, not a school exam. A university that admits students from dozens of school systems cannot compare a Turkish Lise diploma, an IB certificate and a Dutch HAVO transcript on maths content alone, so it asks applicants whose diploma does not meet its maths requirement to sit one shared test instead. The test provider runs it at omptest.org; the university only reads the score.

Four features define the exam. It is online: you sit it on your own computer, watched by a live proctor through ProctorU, with an ID check and a room scan before the clock starts. It is modular: there are seven versions with different syllabi, and the programme tells you which one to sit. It is graded on the final answer: a computer-algebra system (Maxima) checks each answer and a mathematician reviews the entries, so a right method with a wrong or ambiguous final answer earns nothing on that question. And it is scored as a percentage, which each programme compares with its own minimum.

Most programmes treat the score as an admission requirement: reach the minimum and the maths condition is met. A few use it to decide whether you need a preparatory maths course first. In both cases the module and the threshold come from the programme's admission page, not from the test provider.

Which universities use the OMPT?

Examify's universities list tracks 31 institutions with a published, per-programme OMPT requirement: 14 in the Netherlands, 3 in Belgium, 5 in Lithuania, 3 in Finland, 2 in Norway, 2 in Portugal, 1 in Denmark and 1 in Thailand. Every entry links to the university's own admission page.

In the Netherlands the list includes Erasmus University Rotterdam, University of Amsterdam, VU Amsterdam, Tilburg University, Maastricht University, Utrecht University, University of Groningen, Radboud University and Leiden University, plus the university colleges in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Fryslân. Outside the Netherlands the best-known names are KU Leuven and the University of Antwerp in Belgium, NHH and BI in Norway, LUT University in Finland and Vilnius University in Lithuania.

Three patterns hold across the list:

• Economics and business bachelors mostly ask for OMPT-A. Erasmus IBEB (70%), Utrecht (75%), KU Leuven Business Administration (75%) and Tilburg (70%, maximum 2 attempts) are examples.
• Econometrics, engineering and computer science programmes ask for OMPT-D: Erasmus Econometrics (above 75%), Leiden (60%), Groningen (65%), KU Leuven Business Engineering (60%).
• Programmes with a statistics track ask for OMPT-E (VU Amsterdam Psychology at 60%, Amsterdam University College at 70%), and science tracks such as LUT's Chemical and Process Engineering ask for OMPT-G.

The requirement is always programme-specific: Erasmus asks for OMPT-A at 70% in one faculty and OMPT-D at above 75% in another. The full partner list collects every published module and threshold in one place.

The 7 OMPT modules compared

The seven modules are seven different exams that share a name and a format. The figures below come from the official syllabus pages on omptest.org and from the programme data on Examify's university pages.

Two modules are asked for far more often than the rest: OMPT-A for economics and business, OMPT-D for anything quantitative. If a programme accepts two modules, such as Erasmus IBEB (OMPT-A at 70% or OMPT-B at 60%) or VU Economics (OMPT-A at 65% or OMPT-F at 60%), the lower percentage sits on the module with more material, so the easier-looking threshold is rarely the easier route. The chapter lists for every module are on the syllabus overview.

How hard is the OMPT?

The best public measure of difficulty is the test provider's own figure: students who worked through the learning materials scored 76% on average on their first attempt, and students who did not scored 40% (omptest.org, Practicing). Since most programmes set their minimum between 60% and 75%, the unprepared average fails nearly everywhere and the prepared average passes nearly everywhere.

Pace also differs by module more than most candidates expect.

OMPT-A and OMPT-B are speed tests: 52 or 64 short questions at about 2.3 minutes each, where a slow algebra step costs more than a missing topic. OMPT-D and OMPT-F are the opposite: 21 questions in 3 hours, each one chaining several topics. OMPT-E sits in between, and roughly a quarter of its 161 topics are statistics that most applicants have never studied.

The grading rule adds a layer that has nothing to do with maths: 3/2 is safe, 1,5 with a comma is not a number, and a rounded 1.33 for 4/3 is wrong. The answer input guide covers the editor keys.

What does the OMPT cost?

One attempt costs €240 for OMPT-A, OMPT-B, OMPT-C, OMPT-E and OMPT-G, and €270 for OMPT-D and OMPT-F, according to the official pricing page. Every attempt is bought separately, so a second attempt costs the full fee again and three attempts at OMPT-D cost €810.

The provider sells optional add-ons on top of the attempt fee:

• Practice material access, around €95
• Official mock test, roughly €90 (€110 for OMPT-D and OMPT-F)
• Fast grading, about €120 per attempt, which returns results within 4 business days instead of 8
• Bundles of test, practice and mock, from roughly €385 up to €599 with fast grading for OMPT-D and OMPT-F

Scheduling has its own fees: booking inside the 72-hour window triggers a late-scheduling surcharge, and rescheduling or cancelling an existing slot costs a €50 administration fee unless requested early enough. The full cost breakdown lists every line item; the cheapest OMPT is the one you pass on the first try.

How to book and take the OMPT

Booking runs through the test provider's site in a fixed sequence:

1. Confirm the module and the minimum score on your programme's admission page. The test provider does not check this for you.
2. Create an account at omptest.org, buy the attempt for that module and book a ProctorU slot at least 72 hours in advance. Slots run year-round, so there are no fixed sitting dates.
3. Prepare the room: a government-issued photo ID in the Latin alphabet, a webcam that can show the door behind you and a bare desk. Up to 3 blank A4 sheets, 3 pencils and one eraser are allowed; pens and your own calculator are not, only the on-screen OMPT calculator.
4. On the day, the proctor runs the ID check and the room scan before the timer starts. At the end you tear up the scrap paper on camera.
5. Results and the digital certificate arrive within 8 business days, counted from the day after the test, so 10 to 12 calendar days in practice. You upload the certificate to the university yourself.

The last safe test date is therefore about two weeks before your application deadline for a single attempt, and about 5.5 weeks before it if you want one retake in reserve. The proctoring procedure and the technical requirements are covered step by step in the proctoring rules post.

OMPT passing scores

There is no OMPT pass mark. The test returns a percentage and each programme decides what it accepts, and most published minimums fall between 60% and 75%. The full table of thresholds, with the attempt rule per programme, is on the OMPT passing scores page.

Three examples show the spread. Erasmus School of Economics asks for 70% on OMPT-A (or 60% on OMPT-B) for IBEB and counts only the first attempt, which turns a €240 exam into a single shot. Utrecht University asks for 75% on OMPT-A. Radboud University accepts 55% on OMPT-D for Mathematics, Computing Science and Molecular Life Sciences, the lowest published threshold among the large Dutch universities.

Because the real exam adds a proctor, a timer and strict answer grading, aim 10 to 15 points above your programme's minimum on your last mock. A 70% threshold means an 80% to 85% mock score before you book. If the programme page publishes no minimum, plan for 75% and ask admissions.

How to prepare for the OMPT

The provider's own study estimates run from about 40 hours for OMPT-C to about 120 hours for OMPT-D, OMPT-E and OMPT-G. Those figures assume you relearn the entire syllabus; a diagnostic mock usually cuts them by half or more.

1. Start with a full-length timed mock before you study anything. Score it per chapter, not just overall. Someone who fails only differentiation and logarithms on OMPT-A (roughly 40 of the 176 topics) needs 20 to 25 hours, not 80. Examify's free OMPT practice test shows two of the harder questions per module in the real answer box, which is the place to learn the input format before the diagnostic; the full mocks match the real question count and time limit.
2. Study from the official topic list for your module, weakest chapter first. Points are usually lost in Functions, Differentiation and, for OMPT-E, the statistics chapters, not in the opening Numbers and Algebra chapters. The chapter breakdowns are on the OMPT-A, OMPT-D and OMPT-E syllabus pages.
3. Practise in the answer format from the first week. Enter exact, simplified answers with a dot for decimals and the variable name the question uses.
4. Time every set from the second week at your module's pace: 2.3 minutes per question for OMPT-A, under 9 for OMPT-D.
5. Sit a second full mock in the last week and book the real exam only when it lands 10 to 15 points above your threshold.

A week-by-week version of this plan is in improve your OMPT score in 30 days, and the hours-per-week arithmetic for a 4-, 6- or 8-week schedule is in how long OMPT preparation takes. Requirements change between intakes, so confirm the module, the minimum and the attempt rule on your programme's page before you spend an attempt.