IE University Admission Test 2026: What It Is, Where You Sit It, and How to Prepare
In a nutshell: if you are applying to a Bachelor at IE University, the test you take is the IE University Admission Test. It assesses verbal, logical and numerical reasoning, you sit it in Spanish or English at the Segovia campus, the Madrid campus or one of 25 IE offices worldwide, and IE says no advance study is required. The ieGAT is a different test, used for IE’s master’s programs. You can submit SAT, ACT or LNAT scores instead.
First, the confusion worth clearing up
A lot of what is written online about applying to IE University as a school leaver describes the ieGAT. That is the wrong test. The ieGAT (IE Global Admission Test) belongs to IE’s master’s programs. Undergraduate candidates take the IE University Admission Test, and IE publishes no duration, no scoring curve and no minimum score for it.
IE is also direct about preparation courses for the ieGAT: it states that there are no authorised or official centres to prepare you for it, and that any website claiming to offer ieGAT preparation is not affiliated with IE University. We do not sell ieGAT preparation, and you should be wary of anyone who does.
What the IE University Admission Test assesses
The test measures the verbal, logical and numerical abilities you have built up inside and outside the classroom. It centres on your ability to reason rather than on recall of specific material, which is why IE says you do not have to study for it beforehand to pass it successfully.
Where and how you take it
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Language | Spanish or English, depending on the language you will study your program in |
| Where | The Segovia campus, the Madrid campus, or any of the 25 IE offices around the world |
| Duration | Not published by IE |
| Minimum score | Not published by IE |
| Who is exempt | Visiting students are not required to take it |
| Booking | Through the admissions test calendar on ie.edu |
| Prerequisite | Paying the 150 EUR admission fee, which is what grants the right to sit the test |
If neither Madrid nor Segovia is practical for you and you are unsure which office is nearest, IE’s admissions department will tell you.
SAT, ACT and LNAT: the alternatives IE accepts
| Test | IE minimum | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SAT | 1200 | IE institution code 6293. Admitted students sit at 1270 (25th percentile) to 1460 (75th). |
| ACT | 24 | IE institution code 5360. |
| LNAT | 22 | For the Bachelor of Laws. IE has been an LNAT Consortium member since 2010. |
| Cambridge Assessment (CAS) | Accepted | Ask the examining body to send your results to IE. |
Taking the SAT or ACT makes sense if you are applying to universities beyond IE as well. If IE is your only target, the IE University Admission Test is the simpler route.
English proficiency, separately
The admission test is not an English test. If you are not a native speaker and did not study in an Anglophone system throughout, or for at least the last two years of high school, IE will want a certificate: TOEFL 100 (105 recommended), IELTS 7 (7.5 recommended), Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) or C2 Proficiency (CPE), or Duolingo 130. Certificates are valid for two years from the exam date.
Be careful with numbers you find elsewhere. IE publishes a lower set of thresholds for master’s programs taught fully in Spanish, and those are frequently mistaken for the undergraduate requirements. The figures above are the undergraduate ones.
How to prepare, honestly
IE’s own position is that no advance study is needed, and that is close to true: a reasoning test is hard to cram for. What does help is removing surprise. Sit a few verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning practice sets so the question formats are familiar, practise reading data tables and charts quickly, and get used to moving on from a question rather than getting stuck on it.
Then stop. The marginal hour is worth far more on your personal statement, your interview preparation and your choice of program than on another reasoning drill. Those are the parts of the application where the Admissions Committee is actually forming a view of you.
The rest of the application
The test is one step of five. For the full picture, including required documents, the online assessment, the interview, fees and the academic entry requirements for your school system, see our IE University application guide 2026.
Need help with your IE application?
Your Dream School works with you on the parts of an IE application that actually move the decision: program choice and strategy, the personal statement, interview preparation, and familiarisation with the admission test format. Our consultants know what the Admissions Committee looks for.
Author: Adam Girsault, Founder of Your Dream School. Last updated: August 2026. Test details verified against ie.edu.