Six short aptitude tests that show you how you think, not just what you know. Your guidance counsellor assigns them, each one takes under ten minutes, and every result saves to your MyCareerVerse dashboard so you can build a picture of your strengths over time.
An aptitude test measures how quickly and accurately you can work with a particular kind of information: words, numbers, shapes, mechanical systems, or fine detail. It is not an exam and there is nothing to revise. Everyone has a different profile, and the point is to find out what yours looks like.
These tests are used far beyond school. Employers in Ireland and abroad use them for graduate programmes, apprenticeships and internships. The HPAT for medicine, the Garda entrance assessment, Defence Forces selection and many large graduate recruiters all include reasoning tests of this type. Trying them now, without any pressure, means the format will hold no surprises later.
More importantly for CAO decisions, a clear pattern across the six tests can point you towards course families where you are likely to thrive, and give you the confidence to back a choice you might otherwise have doubted.
Your guidance counsellor assigns these tests, and each one opens once it has been assigned to you. Your dashboard shows which ones are waiting for you. There is no right order: start with the one that sounds most like you, or the one you are least sure about. Your latest result is saved to your dashboard.
Work with percentages, ratios, tables and charts to find the answer. Tests how comfortably you handle numbers under a bit of time pressure. Relevant to business, finance, science, engineering and data courses.
Start testRead short passages and decide what follows from them. Measures how precisely you understand written information and spot what is and is not being said. Relevant to law, arts, journalism, teaching and psychology.
Start testSpot the rule behind a sequence of shapes and predict what comes next. A pure measure of logical thinking that does not depend on any subject you have studied. Relevant to computing, maths, engineering and design.
Start testRotate, fold and assemble objects in your head. Shows how well you visualise in three dimensions. Relevant to architecture, engineering, surgery, dentistry, product design and the trades.
Start testReason about gears, levers, pulleys and pressure using everyday physical intuition. Used heavily in apprenticeship selection. Relevant to engineering, aviation, construction, and electrical and mechanical trades.
Start testCompare names, numbers, codes and tables, and spot the one character out of place. Three practice questions first, then 24 timed questions. Relevant to accountancy, banking, pharmacy, laboratory work, quality control, legal and medical administration, logistics and aviation.
Start testRead realistic workplace and school scenarios and choose how you would respond. Measures judgement, teamwork and integrity rather than speed. Relevant to nursing, medicine, teaching, social care, business and the Gardaí. Open to every student whenever you like, with no need to wait for it to be assigned.
Start testFind ten quiet minutes. These tests are short, so a single interruption can skew the result.
Use a laptop or tablet where you can. The spatial and mechanical tests in particular are easier to see on a bigger screen.
Read the instructions on the first screen of each test. The format changes from one test to the next, and most lost marks come from misunderstanding the question type.
Keep moving. If a question is not coming, make your best choice and go on. Getting stuck costs more than one wrong answer. The Checking Test is the exception: wrong answers there lose a third of a mark, so press Skip rather than guessing.
Look at the pattern, not one score. Two or three strong areas together tell you far more than any single number.
A lower score is information, not a verdict. It often means you have not met that question type before, and practice moves it quickly.
Compare with your interests. Where an aptitude and a genuine interest overlap, you have found somewhere worth researching seriously on the CAO.
Bring the results to your guidance counsellor. They can read the profile alongside your subjects, grades and plans.
You worked accurately at pace. This is an area you can lean on, and it is worth noticing which courses and careers draw on it heavily.
You have the basics and would improve with familiarity. Most students land here on most tests, and practice with that kind of question usually moves the score.
This question type is new to you or you ran short of time. It does not rule anything out. If a course you love needs this skill, it is simply one to build.
The Checking Test is in its pilot stage, so its band is marked provisional for now. Once enough Irish students have taken it, your result will also say how you compare with them.
Your dashboard shows the tests your guidance counsellor has assigned to you. If Abstract Reasoning is one of them, it is a good first test: it is short, it depends on no school subject, and it gives you a feel for how the whole suite works. Situational Judgement you can try straight away.