Investment banking online tests, explained (2026/27 guide)

Most internship applications do not end at interview. They end quietly, a few days after you hit submit, in an online test you did not really prepare for. The good news: these tests are far more predictable than the people who fail them assume.

Every large bank, asset manager and hedge fund now screens early applicants with a battery of online assessments. They are cheap to run, they sift thousands of candidates fast, and they happen before a single human reads your CV properly. If you want a spring week or summer internship, clearing this stage is not optional, and it is very learnable.

This guide walks through every test type you are likely to meet, what each one actually measures, where it sits in the process, and how to prepare for it. No fluff.

The five tests you will actually see

1. Numerical reasoning

The one that scares people, usually without reason. You are given a table or a chart and a question, and a tight time limit per question (often under a minute). The maths itself is GCSE level: percentages, ratios, percentage change, currency conversions, reading the right cell. The difficulty is entirely speed and accuracy under pressure.

How to prepare: practise with a calculator and a timer, every time. Learn to spot the one number the question needs before you compute anything. The gap between a rejected score and a strong one is almost always pace, not ability, and pace comes only from reps.

2. Logical and diagrammatic reasoning

Sequences of shapes or patterns where you pick what comes next, or which rule is being applied. It measures pattern recognition and how quickly you can hold a rule in your head. Sometimes branded as inductive or abstract reasoning, but the format is the same.

How to prepare: there are a finite number of underlying rules (rotation, reflection, count, colour, position). Once you can name the rule quickly, the questions get much faster. Familiarity is most of the battle.

3. Situational judgement (SJT)

You are shown a realistic workplace scenario ("a client emails at 6pm asking for a revised model by 9am, and your manager is offline") and asked to rank or rate responses. There is no maths. It measures whether you would behave like someone the firm wants in the room.

How to prepare: read the firm's values and the behaviours it actually rewards (ownership, escalation done well, attention to detail, teamwork over heroics). The "right" answer is usually the professional, low-drama one that keeps the client informed and the work correct.

4. Game-based assessments

A set of short interactive games (balloon-pumping, memory, effort tasks) that build a profile of how you handle risk, attention and reward. There is no pass mark you can revise for in the usual sense, because they measure traits, not knowledge.

How to prepare: do a couple of practice runs so the mechanics do not surprise you, then play naturally and consistently. Trying to game them tends to produce an incoherent profile, which is worse than an honest one.

5. Recorded video interview

You answer a handful of questions to a webcam, on a timer, with no interviewer on the other end. Questions are usually competency ("tell me about a time you...") and commercial awareness ("what is a deal or market move you have followed recently?"). It is a filter before you ever speak to a person.

How to prepare: prepare four or five solid competency stories using the STAR structure (Situation, Task, Action, Result), and be able to talk for two minutes about one recent market story and why it matters. Record yourself once. The first take is always worse than you think, which is exactly why doing it in practice, not on the real thing, matters.

At a glance

Where these sit in the process

A typical order looks like this, though it varies by firm and by programme:

1. Online application and CV
2. Online tests (numerical, logical, sometimes SJT), often sent within days of applying
3. Game-based assessment and/or recorded video interview
4. Assessment centre or final round (case study, group exercise, interviews)

The exact sequence, and which tests a given firm uses, changes year to year and differs between spring weeks, summer internships and graduate schemes. Do not assume last year's process still holds. Check each firm's current, verified stages before you apply, so nothing catches you out.

How to actually prepare (the short version)

• Practise the format, timed. Untimed practice teaches you almost nothing, because time is the whole test. Always use a clock.
• Find your weak type and drill it. Most people are fine at one test type and weak at another. Spend your time on the weak one, not the comfortable one.
• Do the real thing in a quiet room. Full battery, calculator, phone away, no interruptions. Firms can see if you paused suspiciously.
• Do not leave it to the deadline. Tests usually arrive right after you apply, with a few days to complete. Apply early and you get a calmer run at them.
• Track which firm wants what, and when. A missed deadline is the most avoidable rejection there is.

Where AplyOne fits

This is exactly the problem AplyOne was built for. Inside, you get more than 11,000 practice questions across numerical, logical and diagrammatic reasoning, with a timer and a report that shows your strengths and the gaps to close, so you spend your prep where it counts. You also get every top UK firm's verified deadlines and full stage-by-stage process in one view, so you always know which test is coming next and by when. And short Know Your Firm videos walk you through a growing list of firms before you apply.

The online test is a filter. With the right practice, it becomes the easiest stage to clear, not the one that ends your year.

Back to the blog