EY Assessment Test 2026: Format, Timing and Free Practice

The EY assessment test, often called the EY exam, has no single format: content and timing vary by country, service line and role, and EY states any time limit in your invitation. EY's UK students FAQ recommends finishing in one sitting.

This guide covers how to verify your format, the aptitude tests, free worked examples, situational judgement and strengths, the Job Simulation, logistics and rules, and a step-by-step prep plan.

What should you verify about the EY online assessment?

The EY online assessment, also called the EY exam or EY test, is an early, role- and country-dependent recruitment screen, so use the invitation and official local page to confirm which reasoning, situational, and job-simulation steps apply. EY's UK students FAQ says the time limit is stated in your invitation, recommends finishing in one sitting, and shows example questions before any timed section. When we checked on July 18, 2026, EY's US early-careers FAQ described a core skills assessment of about 20 minutes to be completed within 24 hours. EY has since taken that page down, so confirm the window in your own invitation. What this means for your prep: treat the invitation as the format contract, then use timed graph and exhibit reasoning drills only for the skills it names, not as an EY simulator.

What is the EY Maki assessment?

Maki is a hiring-assessment company, and EY does not name its assessment vendor on the pages we checked. Maki's own site describes an early-talent product that screens graduates, interns and apprentices on skills, plus a voice screening product that runs in 45+ languages (Maki early talent, checked November 4, 2026). We found no EY page or non-competitor public source that says EY uses Maki, so treat "EY Maki assessment" as a search phrase, not a confirmed format. What this means for your prep: read the provider name and instructions in your own invitation, then practice the task types it lists.

What is on the EY US skills assessment?

EY publishes no fixed US question list, and the official page that described the timing has been taken down. EY's US how we hire page, checked November 4, 2026, says candidates may be asked to complete a written assessment, online or at a testing center. It adds that the exact structure and content depend on the country, service line and role. EY's UK page lists the task types an EY online assessment may use: choosing an answer from several options, interpreting a table, chart or graph, dragging items into position, identifying a pattern or applying rules, and recording a video response (EY UK students FAQ, checked November 4, 2026). In July 2026 EY's US early-careers FAQ described a skills assessment of about 20 minutes due within 24 hours; that page now returns 404, so confirm timing in your invitation.

Road to Offer has no dedicated EY assessment runner; the worked examples below and the linked drills train individual skills named in your invitation.

Where the EY Online Assessment Sits in the Funnel

EY's recruiting sequence varies by route. Your process may include an online assessment, job simulation, assessment centre, or interviews in a different combination and order.

EY does not publish one cross-route screen-out rate or cut-off. Treat numerical accuracy, time management, situational judgement, and values alignment as separate preparation needs rather than assigning an unsupported probability to any stage.

Use your confirmed EY stages to divide your preparation plan between reasoning, judgement and any later interviews.

Prep plans for McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture, EY-Parthenon, Kearney, Oliver Wyman, Roland Berger, L.E.K., OC&C, Strategy&, Simon-Kucher, Arthur D. Little, Capital One and your target firm. Choose your firm in the plan builder.

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Learn the format

17 steps

• Learn how to caseGuided learning · 35 min
• The Case Interview MethodLesson · 8 min
• Profitability & Turnaround: AfrihealSkill drill · 5 min
• Profitability & Turnaround: Berty BankSkill drill · 5 min

The EY Aptitude Tests, Broken Down

Common prep formats include numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, situational judgement, job simulation, and strengths-based questions. The mix is not universal; match your practice to your invitation.

Numerical reasoning

Numerical questions can test data interpretation: read a table or chart, then calculate a percentage change, ratio, share, or forecast. Use the invitation's question count, timing, and calculator policy rather than assuming one vendor format applies.

Before doing the arithmetic, practise identifying the chart values that answer a numerical question.

Verbal reasoning

Verbal reasoning uses the True / False / Cannot Say format against short business passages. The trap is answering from real-world knowledge instead of the passage. If the text does not state or directly support the statement, the answer is Cannot Say, even when the statement is plausible.

Logical and inductive reasoning

Logical or inductive reasoning shows a sequence of shapes or figures and asks you to identify the underlying rule, then pick what comes next. It rewards abstract pattern recognition rather than knowledge. This is the same skill that shows up in consulting screens generally, so if you are also preparing for other firms, the reasoning carries across (see how a Big Four sibling structures it in the PwC assessment test guide).

Free EY online assessment practice: worked examples

Most competitor pages paywall their practice questions. Here is a labelled worked example for each EY test type so this page doubles as a quick rep.

Worked example: numerical (data table)

Prompt. A retail client reports revenue by region (in millions), 2024 then 2025: North 120 then 138, South 90 then 99, East 200 then 210, West 75 then 90. Which region had the highest year-over-year growth rate?

Working. Compute each growth rate. North: 18 / 120 = 15%. South: 9 / 90 = 10%. East: 10 / 200 = 5%. West: 15 / 75 = 20%.

Answer. West, at 20%. The trap is anchoring on absolute change (North grew by 18, the biggest raw jump) instead of the percentage the question asked for. Always re-read whether the question wants absolute or relative change.

Use Quick Math to practise dividing a revenue increase by its starting value, the step that puts West ahead of North in this example.

Worked example: verbal (True / False / Cannot Say)

Passage. "In 2025, EY's consulting division grew faster than its tax division. Both divisions hired graduates, though the firm did not disclose exact graduate numbers by division."

Statement. "EY hired more graduates into consulting than into tax in 2025."

Answer. Cannot Say. The passage confirms both divisions hired graduates but explicitly says the per-division numbers were not disclosed, so you cannot conclude which hired more. A statement that "consulting grew faster than tax" would be True, because the passage states it directly.

Worked example: logical (pattern sequence)

Prompt. A sequence of shapes: a triangle, then a square, then a pentagon, then a hexagon. Each shape is unshaded on odd positions and shaded on even positions. What is the fifth shape?

Working. Two rules run in parallel. Rule one: the number of sides increases by one each step (3, 4, 5, 6, so the next is 7). Rule two: shading alternates, and position five is odd, so it is unshaded.

Answer. An unshaded seven-sided shape (a heptagon). Inductive items almost always hide two simultaneous rules; isolate each one before predicting the next frame.

After separating the rules in the shape sequence, carry the same discipline into a chart: check its units and comparison groups before choosing a conclusion.

Worked example: situational judgement (ranked responses)

Scenario. You are on an EY audit team. The day before a client deadline, a teammate is clearly behind on their section and has not flagged it. What do you do?

• Most effective: Speak to the teammate directly, understand the blocker, and offer to take a defined piece of the work, then make sure the manager has visibility so the client commitment holds. (Shows teaming and integrity.)
• Reasonable: Flag the slippage to the manager early so the team can re-plan. (Protects the client, slightly weaker on teaming because you skipped the direct conversation.)
• Least effective: Say nothing because it is not your section, or quietly redo their work without telling anyone. (Fails both teaming and integrity, and creates risk.)

SJT items rarely have a single "correct" click. You are ranking responses, and the strongest ones combine doing the right thing for the client with collaborating openly rather than rescuing or blaming.

Situational Judgement, Strengths, and "What's Your Mindset"

Some EY routes include situational and strengths questions. If yours does, practice explaining how you would behave and what motivates you, within the format stated in the invitation.

The reliable way to answer is to map your responses to EY's five core values: integrity, respect, teaming, energy, and courage. That does not mean picking the answer that sounds most virtuous. It means picking the response you can defend with real evidence and that stays consistent across the whole questionnaire, because strengths assessments look for patterns, not single polished clicks.

Where the EY Job Simulation Fits

Some EY routes include an EY Job Simulation: one timed sitting of work-style scenarios that blends situational judgement, short reasoning tasks, and motivation questions, with sections such as Your Thinking, Solving Problems, and Why EY. Sections, timing, and sitting rules vary by route, so follow your current invitation. The dedicated EY Job Simulation guide covers the written-response method with three worked examples.

Rehearse spoken behavioral interview answers about teamwork and integrity for the later interview stage.

Rehearse the stories behind your EY answers

Your interviewer will ask:

“Tell me about a time you helped a teammate meet a difficult deadline.”

“Describe a time you raised a concern despite pressure to stay quiet.”

Practice behavioral answers

Logistics and Rules Candidates Get Wrong

Most avoidable failures here are administrative, not intellectual. EY's UK students FAQ is the clearest official source still online, and it settles several myths:

• The time limit is in your invitation. EY tells you any time limit in the invitation and again in the assessment instructions. On the US route, EY's FAQ said in July 2026 that the skills assessment must be finished within 24 hours of the email; that page has since been removed, so check your own invitation.
• Do it in one sitting. EY recommends one sitting for focus. Most untimed assessments let you return later if you are interrupted.
• You see examples first. Instructions and example questions appear before each timed section begins.
• EY shares the outcome. EY says it will share the outcome of your assessment after reviewing your responses. It does not promise a score or detailed feedback.
• Ask for adjustments before you start. Adjustments must be requested before you complete any assessment, and EY usually caps extra time at 25%. EY will not let you re-sit an assessment because adjustments were requested after you finished.

One more flag worth knowing: for certain routes MConsultingPrep reports a separate written or accounting test of around 60 multiple-choice questions plus one essay in 90 minutes. That is role-specific, so confirm against your own invitation rather than assuming every applicant faces it.

How to Prepare: A Step-by-Step Plan

You cannot cram judgement, but you can absolutely train the aptitude tests that do most of the screening out.

Use the invite-to-skill method: 1. confirm the route, 2. list the modules named in the invitation, 3. time one matching practice set, 4. review accuracy and judgement separately.

Turn these preparation steps into dated sessions in your prep plan, leaving time to review reasoning errors and rehearse your values stories separately.

Prep plans for McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture, EY-Parthenon, Kearney, Oliver Wyman, Roland Berger, L.E.K., OC&C, Strategy&, Simon-Kucher, Arthur D. Little, Capital One and your target firm. Choose your firm in the plan builder.

Turn this guide into a weekly plan

Choose your firm and interview date and get the weeks laid out, from the first lesson to the last case.

Build my prep plan

1

Learn the format

17 steps

• Learn how to caseGuided learning · 35 min
• The Case Interview MethodLesson · 8 min
• Profitability & Turnaround: AfrihealSkill drill · 5 min
• Profitability & Turnaround: Berty BankSkill drill · 5 min

Test-day tactics

On the day itself, set up a quiet space, a stable connection, and a single uninterrupted block so you can finish in one sitting. Do a quick computer and browser check before you open the unique link from your own invitation. Budget your time per question and do not stall on a hard numerical item; mark a best estimate and move on, because most aptitude tests do not penalize wrong answers, so a blank is the only guaranteed zero. Between sections, take three slow breaths and reset, since the verbal and inductive sections punish the rushed-momentum mistakes that carry over from a stressful numerical round.

What Comes After: The EY Experience Day

Later stages vary by route and may include an EY Experience Day, assessment centre, group exercise, case study, or interviews. Confirm the components, group size, and timing from your recruiter or invitation.

The case study is where consulting-style structuring shows up directly, and it is the one component you can practice like a real case interview. Lead with a clear structure, do the math out loud, and finish with a recommendation that names the action, the why, and the main risk.

If you are recruiting into EY's consulting or strategy side, the case bar rises, and our EY case interview guide walks through that format in detail.

Service-Line and Role Differences

EY hires across Consulting, Assurance, Tax, and Strategy and Transactions, and the assessment mix can differ across those routes.

• Consulting and Strategy. Expect the strongest emphasis on the case study and structured problem-solving at the assessment centre. The reasoning sections matter, but your case structure and synthesis become the differentiator. For the strategy arm specifically, the EY-Parthenon case interview guide covers the sharper, more strategy-led case bar.
• Assurance and Tax. These routes may add the role-specific written or accounting test (around 60 multiple-choice questions plus an essay in 90 minutes, per MConsultingPrep) and lean more on technical and behavioral fit than on consulting-style cases.
• Grad, intern, and experienced hire. Graduate and intern routes lean hardest on the standardized aptitude tests and the job simulation as a top-of-funnel filter. Experienced hires often face fewer standardized tests and more role-specific and interview-led assessment.

The constant across all of them is the early aptitude screen. Whatever service line you target, clearing the numerical, verbal, and inductive tests is the price of admission, and the values mapping is what carries you through the human stages.

If the current invitation names Job Simulation, use the EY Job Simulation preparation guide. It trains representative evidence-to-response skills while leaving current format, timing, provider, and recording rules to the official instructions.

Sources (checked June 26, 2026)

• Maki, early talent use case (checked November 4, 2026): https://www.makipeople.com/use-cases/early-talent
• EY official, UK students FAQs (checked November 4, 2026): https://www.ey.com/en_uk/careers/students/faqs
• EY official, US how we hire (checked November 4, 2026): https://www.ey.com/en_us/careers/how-we-hire
• EY official, US early careers assessment FAQ: checked July 18, 2026; the page now returns 404 and is no longer linked
• MyConsultingOffer, EY Online Assessment: https://www.myconsultingoffer.org/case-study-interview-prep/ey-online-assessment/
• MConsultingPrep, EY Online Assessment: https://mconsultingprep.com/ey-online-assessment
• Practice Aptitude Tests, EY assessments profile: https://www.practiceaptitudetests.com/top-employer-profiles/ernst-young-assessments/
• psychometric-success.com, EY assessment test types: https://psychometric-success.com/aptitude-tests/test-types/ey-assessment
• GraduatesFirst, EY assessment tests: https://www.graduatesfirst.com/ey-assessment-tests