Miller Analogies Test (MAT) Study Guide for 2023

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.

 

Coming soon! our team is currently working on an online, accurate Miller Analogies Test preparation. It will include practice tests designed to simulate the exact test format and question types you will see on your test. 
David, Miller Analogies Test expert at JobTestPrep
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What is the Miller Analogies Test?

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. 

 


Millers Analogies Test Sample

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:

Question #1

Group : (a. Regularity b.Folkway c. Education, d. Obsession) :: Person : Habit

Wrong

Correct!

Wrong

Wrong

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.

Question #2

Aquinas : Scholasticism :: (a. Becket, b. Machiavelli, c. Plato, d. Sartre) : Existentialism

Wrong

Wrong

Wrong

Correct!

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.

Question #3

Eros : Sore :: Loot : (a. Angry, b. Find, c. Lose, Tool)

Wrong

Wrong

Wrong

Correct!

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.

Question #4

Heat : Igneous :: (a.Liquid, b. Slate, c. Acid, d. Pressure) : Metamorphic

Wrong

Wrong

Correct!

Wrong

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. 


How to Study for Miller Analogies Test?


As you can see, Miller Analogy Questions rely on several capabilities:

  • Extensive knowledge: humanities, language, natural sciences, social sciences, mathematics, and general.
  • The ability to identify different kinds of word relationships: semantic, logical, classification, and association. 

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. 


Miller Analogies Test Scores

100 questions out of the 120 are used to calculate your score, while 20 are experimental and not considered in your scoring.

What is considered a good MAT Test score?

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. 

 


Institutes That Accept MAT Scores

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.

 

New York

Buffalo State College

College of New Rochelle

Hofstra University

State University of New York

Utica College

 

California

Brandman University

California State University

Chapman University

Humboldt State University

Pepperdine University-GSEP

University of California

University of La Verne

 

Texas

Abilene Christian University

Baylor University

Lamar University

Our Lady of The Lake University

Sam Houston State University

Southern Methodist University

St. Mary’s University

Stephen F. Austin State University

Tarleton State University

Texas A & M University

Texas Tech University

University of Houston

University of Texas

 

New Jersey

Rutgers University

Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

Rowan University

Seton Hall University

William Paterson University

 

North Carolina

Appalachian State University

East Carolina University

Elizabeth City State University

Fayetteville State University

Gardner-Webb University

North Carolina State University

Pfeiffer University

The University of North Carolina

Troy University

Western Carolina University

Wingate University

 

Georgia

Albany State University

Armstrong Atlantic State University

Berry College

Atlanta Metropolitan State College

Columbus State University

Georgia College & State University

Georgia Regents

Georgia Southern University

Georgia Southwestern State University

Georgia State University

Kennesaw State University

Mercer University

North Georgia College & State University

Piedmont College

Troy University

University of Georgia

University of West Georgia

Valdosta State University

 

Illinois

Bradley University

Northern Illinois University

Quincy University

Southern Illinois University

Trinity International University

University of Illinois at Chicago

Western Illinois University

 

Massachusetts

Fitchburg State University

Salem State College

University of Massachusetts

Westfield State University

 

Ohio

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland State University

Miami University

Ohio State University

Ohio University

University of Akron

University of Dayton

University of Mount Union

Wright State University

Xavier University

Youngstown State University

 

Pennsylvania

Alvernia University

Arcadia University

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

California University of Pennsylvania

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

Gannon University

Immaculata University

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

La Salle University

Mansfield University of Pennsylvania

Marywood University

Millersville University

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania

Slippery Rock University

Temple University

University of Pittsburgh

Westminster College

 

Michigan

Central Michigan University

Lake Superior State University

Michigan State University

Oakland University

Wayne State University