Miller Analogies Test (MAT) Study Guide for 2026
The Miller Analogies Test (MAT) is a popular assessment used mostly to get into graduate schools. It includes 120 computerized analogy questions that may seem simple at first, but actually require A LOT of general and academic knowledge, as well as sharp thinking skills.
Trying different types of MAT analogy questions will give you an idea of the level of knowledge required to correctly solve these challenging questions. The following preparation guide will get you familiar with different MAT Test analogies, the knowledge they require, and how to solve them.
The Miller Analogies test (MAT) is used for graduate school admission in hundreds of institutes in the United States, and for getting into high IQ societies. You can only take the MAT test assessment once a year, in designated Pearson assessment centers.
The Miller Analogies is a verbal test containing 120 multiple-choice questions you must answer within 60 minutes. All questions are sophisticated analogies that assess analytical and critical thinking. Unlike most analogy tests, the MAT test not only requires identifying relationships between words but also heavily relies on previous knowledge from various fields (scientific, historic, general, and more) to do so.
In each analogy, you are given 3 terms. The relationship between the terms could be between any 2 pairs of terms.
For example, the second and fourth terms:
Top: Bottom :: High : Low
Or the third and fourth terms:
Switch : Electricity :: Valve : Pipe
Try 4 different types of MAT practice questions:
Group : (a. Regularity b.Folkway c. Education, d. Obsession) :: Person : Habit
Explanation:
A habit is a practice, or a custom, followed by an individual person. Similarly, the definition of a folkway is a custom or tradition shared by a group.
Here, a close distractor is c- education- if you define a habit as something a person acquires, then education might seem fit. In this case, we would want to come up with a more precise definition: education is deliberately acquired by individuals in a group, and not by a group, unlike a habit that is acquired by an individual person, typically unconsciously.
This is a typical analogy that relies on a semantic relationship between each of the two terms. Meaning, you can use one of the words to define the other word.
Aquinas : Scholasticism :: (a. Becket, b. Machiavelli, c. Plato, d. Sartre) : Existentialism
Explanation:
Thomas Aquinas was a key figure in the philosophical movement of Scholasticism (in medieval Europe). Similarly, Jean-Paul Sarte was a key figure in the philosophy of existentialism, a modern philosophical movement.
Finding the relationship between each two words on MAT Questions such as these requires knowing prominent philosophical and scientific figures.
Eros : Sore :: Loot : (a. Angry, b. Find, c. Lose, Tool)
Explanation:
Looking at the words Eros and Sore- Eros is the word Sore spelled backward. Similarly, loot is the word tool spelled backward.
On this kind of MAT Questions, thinking about the semantic relationship between the words will not work. Here you have to think about the terms like logic riddles and analyze the logic in this sequence to find the relationship between the words.
Heat : Igneous :: (a.Liquid, b. Slate, c. Acid, d. Pressure) : Metamorphic
Explanation:
Both Igneous and Metamorphic refer to types of rocks. Since the word heat does not have a similar relationship with any of the possible answers, let’s look at the relationship between the first two words. Heat contributes to the formation of igneous rocks, just as pressure contributes to the formation of metamorphic rocks.
MAT questions like this require Geological/ Scientific knowledge about natural processes.
As you can see, Miller Analogy Questions rely on several capabilities:
The best way to practice these questions is by practicing diverse, challenging questions just like those on the actual test. This will allow you to effectively learn the required knowledge while working on the ability to find different types of relationships between words.
Coming soon!
Our team of psychometric experts is currently working on an online, accurate MAT Test preparation. It will include practice tests designed to simulate the exact test format and question types you will see on your test.
If you have any questions about your Miller Analogies test please feel free to contact us and we will do our best to help within 24 hours.
100 questions out of the 120 are used to calculate your score, while 20 are experimental and not considered in your scoring.
Scoring on the MAT Test ranges between 200-600 (scaled scores. The median MAT score is 400, with a standard deviation of 25 points, so any score above 425 is considered high. Scores are also given to candidates as percentiles (1-99), so you can see where your score is located compared to other candidates.
Keep in mind that each graduate school and program has a different cutoff score, so to find the score that's best for you check the requirements of the particular programs relevant for you.
Some programs from the same institute may accept MAT scores while others don't. So, if you are interested in one of the following institutes, it is recommended to go to their official site and check your specific program.
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