This post has been updated for the 2024-2025 test.

Applying to Esade in Spain for university but didn’t do well on the SAT? Then you may want to take the Esade Admission Test.

What?!? No SAT?

Before you jump at the chance NOT to take the SAT, let’s break down the Esade Admission Test and why you may want to take it, even if you took the SAT.

What is the Esade Admission Test?

The Esade Admission Test is a 3-hour test specifically designed for students applying to specific programs at Esade:

• Business Administration
• Law (Spanish only)
• Law + Global Governance, Economics & Legal Order (Spanish only)
• Business Administration and Law (Spanish only)
• Global Governance, Economics & Legal Order
• Transformational Leadership and Social Impact
• Business Administration & Bachelor in Artificial Intelligence for Business

Depending on the major you want, the test will be slightly different. We’ll cover the most common sections so you know what to expect. However, all of the tests are in two main parts.

Part 1: The Multiple Choice Test

This test changes depending on the major. It’s all multiple-choice (ABCD), but not always with 4 answer choices. This section will take 90 to 100 minutes depending on the length of the individual sections.

Again, depending on your major, you will have three of the following sections in the Multiple Choice Test:

• Sufficiency of information (30 minutes): To assess your ability to interpret texts fluently, correctly apply the mental processes associated with the categorization of verbal concepts and information, correctly detail the main, supporting, and/or complementary ideas to draw correct conclusions from a written text.
• Numerical analysis (35 minutes): To assess your ability to carry out operations with numbers, figures, and/or arithmetical signs and choose the correct answer quickly and precisely from a series of results.
• Logical reasoning (35 minutes): To assess your ability to identify logical criteria applied to sequences.
• Verbal ability or applied verbal comprehension (35 minutes): To evaluate your ability to understand and critically evaluate written information, and extrapolate the results to spoken language.

Part 2: The English Level Test

This test is pretty much standard across all the majors. If you have prepared for the SAT or IELTS, you’re basically ready to take the English Level Test. There are two tasks to complete in 85 to 90 minutes:

• Written assessment (25 minutes): Assesses skills in terms of writing, reasoning, use of language, structuring of arguments, spelling, and grammar.
• Multiple choice questions (60 minutes)

Yes, the written assessment is an essay…

And you only have 25 minutes to write it.

Fortunately, after you write the essay, you will have it easy with the multiple-choice questions. Well, mostly. The questions tend to be easy fill-in-the-blank, but there are a bunch of them…

About 100…

And you do have to read the entire sentence to know what the correct answer is. That’s the challenge!

Can you prepare for the Esade Admission Test?

Absolutely!

Despite what is written on Esade’s website, you can prepare for the test and we have seen students increase the number of correct answers with practice.

Even just knowing the actual format of the test increases your score.

We firmly believe that you can prepare for EVERY test…and should.

Our homeboy Benjamin Franklin once said (or wrote):

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

So, here’s how we prepare students for the Esade Admission Test.

How to Prepare for the Esade Admission Test

1. Become familiar with the format of the test.

Each major has a slightly different test. Once you know the major for which you are applying, download the specific test guide with examples.

But first, read the general guidance here. We have cut out the programs that are only offered in Spanish.

• Business Administration
• Global Governance, Economics & Legal Order
• Transformational Leadership and Social Impact
• Business Administration & Bachelor in Artificial Intelligence for Business

2. Use SAT reading and math strategies for the Sufficiency of Information section.

Once you actually start looking at each test section in the PDF guidance provided, you’ll see some examples of the Sufficiency of Information section. There are reading questions and math questions.

For reading questions, use your SAT reading strategies. You’ll have to read the passage quickly and carefully, then use process of elimination (POE) to eliminate the incorrect answers.

The questions will increase in difficulty as you move through the sections.

That means…it gets harder as you go!

But…

Don’t make the classic test taker mistake of speeding through the easy questions. Take your time on the easy questions so that you get them correct. You need them to build your score because…

Incorrect answers cost you 0.25 points.

For math questions, we hope you are up to date on your algebra! If you have prepared for the SAT, you will be ready for the Esade Admission Test math questions. If not, email us for help.

3. Do this practice for the Verbal Reasoning section.

The verbal reasoning part of the Esade Admission Test is more like a logic puzzle. Think true, false, not enough information. It’s important to be careful with these questions because each incorrect answer costs you 0.5 points.

We’ve used these before with students and seen improvement:

• Verbal reasoning practice 1
• Verbal reasoning practice 2
• Practice 3
• Practice 4

If you want something else to practice, try logic puzzles! You can think about them and work them out. It uses the same skills as the Verbal Reasoning section.

Lots of Logic Puzzles

4. Practice for the Logical Reasoning section!

Everyone will tell you that the Logical Reasoning section can’t be prepared for. They are ABSOLUTELY wrong. We have worked with students for a mere 30 minutes and seen their accuracy skyrocket on these types of questions.

Why?

We retune your brain.

Ok not literally…but the process does happen.

The last time you saw anything about geometric or number patterns and sequences was in primary school. You have been seeing them since then, but they have not been explicitly addressed. Once you start this practice, you will wake up your baby brain and force it to actually identify the patterns again. While this process works better with a tutor, you can still do it alone. Here’s the practice you need (do all the easy, then medium, then difficult):

• Logical reasoning practice 1
• Logical reasoning practice 2
• Practice 3 (easy)
• Practice 4 (medium)
• Logical reasoning practice 5 (difficult)
• Logical reasoning practice 6 (easy)
• Practice 7 (medium)
• Practice 8 (difficult)
• Logical reasoning practice 9

5. Get good at head math for the Numerical Calculation section.

This section is ALL about head math. Here’s a sample of the instructions:

This test consists of a series of numerical problems, which require rapid, precise calculations. You cannot use calculators or make any type of notes during the test.

It’s been a long time since you did any kind of quick calculations. In fact, many of our students don’t even remember their multiplication tables. But…

You need to know them!

The best way to recall these facts quickly is to download and play Quick Brain. It’s an app that will test your addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in a different way. You can download it from the App Store and Google Play, so you’ll get tons of practice.

Download Quick Brain

Once you’ve done a lot of practice, try these sets:

• Numerical calculation practice 1
• Numerical calculation practice 2
• Practice 3
• Practice 4
• Numerical calculation practice 5

6. Know this structure for the English Placement Test essay.

If you have prepped for the SAT, then you will probably do pretty well on the multiple-choice part of the English test. It is essentially a very stripped-down English grammar and diction test. It will be pretty easy after studying for the SAT writing section.

However…

What won’t be easy is the timing. You have 60 minutes for 100 questions. So you have to complete each question in a little over 30 seconds.

Don’t freak out! If you focus, read carefully once, and look at the answer choices, you will finish this part with extra time. The part of the test where an extra five minutes would be helpful?

The essay!

Twenty-five minutes is a very short amount of time to write a full essay. You have to go in with a game plan. Don’t worry…here’s one you can use.

Essay timing

• 2 minutes = outline. It is very obvious when students don’t outline their essays first, so don’t skip this step.
• 20 minutes = write. As fast as you can using the structure we will give you below.
• 3 minutes = edit. Again, it’s obvious when people don’t edit their essays. Even a couple of minutes of rereading what you wrote will improve your writing. More importantly, if you save time for editing, you won’t be slow writing by trying to edit as you go.

Essay Structure

Introduction

• Hook or opener = quote, short story, or something interesting to start the essay. Worst case scenario, state the opposing viewpoint as “Some people believe…However, (your opinion).”
• Thesis = one sentence that is a direct answer to the question. Resist the urge to start with I think, In my opinion, or I believe.
• Preview your reasons = answer why to the thesis in one or two sentences. If you have jotted down an outline, you already know this part.

Body paragraph

• Point = topic sentence that is your first reason. Should also be a direct answer to the question and support your thesis.
• Example = give a concrete example or short story to illustrate your point. Think in terms of who, what, and where. Choose examples from history, current events, science, or whatever you know.
• Explanation = offer more discussion on the example answering the question why or how and how this relates to your point.
• Link = mention the thesis again and connect this point to it.

Body paragraph

• Point = same as above but with your second reason.
• Example = new example
• Explanation = same as above
• Link = same as above

Conclusion

• Restate thesis
• Restate reasons or examples
• Closer = leave the reader with a broader or forward-looking idea

Only 4 paragraphs?

Yes! You only have 25 minutes to write the best masterpiece you can so less will have to be more.

Should you take the Esade Admission Test or SAT?

This is the magic question. It’s not really. You should take both.

Preparing for the SAT will make you sharp for the Sufficiency of Information, Numerical Calculation, and English Placement sections of the Esade test. This advanced preparation drastically cuts down the amount of time needed to prepare for the Esade test.

More importantly, the Esade Admission Test is only good for Esade. If you are applying to other universities (which you should be), they will not accept the Esade Test. Therefore, you will probably have to take the SAT anyway.

So then why bother with the Esade test?

It’s a great backup in case the SAT doesn’t go how you want. Here’s what Esade says about their SAT requirements:

“We do not require a minimum test score. The test scores will be considered along with your whole academic record and personal achievements. However, as guidance, we can mention that the average result that we accept from the SAT exam is 1320 (1350 in 2025) points.”

Less than 1300 on the SAT? Take the Esade test as well. We can prepare you for BOTH exams.