Practical EPSO reasoning test tips
Here's what actually matters in a reasoning exam. The good news? There's nothing to memorize
The eight tips
Start before you are invited
In CAST there is no timetable at all: you are invited at short notice, when a department shortlists your profile. In an open competition there is a timetable, and it is always shorter than it looks once you have counted the weekends you will actually use. Either way, an hour a week now beats a panicked weekend later.
Know which score is ranked and which is only a gate
This is the difference between competitions that most preparation ignores, and it changes where your hours should go.
In CAST and in the assistant competitions, all three reasoning tests are pass or fail. Clear 10 out of 20 on verbal and 10 out of 20 across numerical and abstract, and the marks are never used again. Practising your way from 14 to 18 on verbal buys you nothing but insurance.
In the AD5 competition, verbal reasoning is a gate and a ranked score, weighted more heavily than anything else in the competition, while numerical and abstract stay pass or fail. In a field of tens of thousands chasing a few hundred places, those extra verbal marks are a large part of where you finish. If you are sitting AD5, this is the single most useful thing on this page.
Find your weak spot first
Every competition that uses these tests has two separate pass marks: verbal on its own, and numerical plus abstract together. A great score on one cannot save the other.
Sit a full mock exam early, before you feel ready. It tells you which gate is at risk, so you know where to spend your time.
Read the explanations, even when you are right
With multiple options, you will get some right by luck. Those turn into wrong answers under time pressure. Always check why the right answer is right.
Slow first, timed later
Learn the question formats without a clock. Once they feel familiar, use timed mocks to practice your pace.
Learn the traps
Wrong answers follow patterns. Once you spot the trap, it stops working on you.
Verbal
Answers that exaggerate, confuse correlation with cause, or add facts the text never gave.
Numerical
The right math on the wrong row, percentages worked out from the wrong base, percentage points mixed up with percent.
Abstract
A rule stopped one step early, or a cycle that should have wrapped around.
Pace each test differently
| Test | Per question | What that buys you |
|---|---|---|
| Abstract | 1 minute | Stuck for 90 seconds? Guess and move on. |
| Numerical | 2 minutes | Time to calculate once, not twice. Estimate first to rule options out. |
| Verbal | about 1 min 45 | Read once, check one answer against the text. Re-reading eats your time. |
Answer everything
There is no negative marking. A blank and a wrong answer score the same, so never leave anything empty.
Skip this
- EU knowledge. There is no knowledge test in CAST. It will not come up.
- Memorizing questions. It only helps on that exact question, nowhere else.
- Answering hundreds of questions without review. Slow practice with explanations beats fast practice without them.
Put an hour in this week
Free, unlimited, and it tracks which question types you are weakest at, so you know where the next hour goes.