Blog & Guides
Last updated: September 2026
Everything we know about the Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT) and the Universal Cognitive Aptitude Test (UCAT) — format explainers, score analysis, and employer-specific assessment guides. No fluff, no $99 prep packages.
Start here
New to the test you've been invited to take? Begin with these three.
CCAT Practice Test
The real 50-question, 15-minute format with a free timed practice test.
CCATWhat is the CCAT?
What the test measures, who uses it, and how it's scored.
CCAT · StrategyCCAT Strategy Guide
Pacing, time management, and question-type tactics for 15 minutes.
Scores
What your raw score means, and what employers actually consider "good".
CCAT Score Guide
Raw scores, percentiles, and the cutoffs employers use.
CCAT · ScoresCCAT Scores & Percentiles
Percentile chart broken down by job role.
UCAT · ScoresUCAT Scores & Percentiles
How the UCAT is scored, what your report shows, and what employers look for.
UCAT
Criteria's non-verbal sibling of the CCAT: 40 questions in 20 minutes.
Criteria UCAT Test
The language-independent test: four subtests, no verbal questions — and how to tell which test you were invited to take.
UCAT · StrategyUCAT Strategy Guide
Pacing and tactics for the 40-in-20 format.
Employer-specific guides
What the CCAT (and UCAT) looks like inside 25 specific companies — invites, cutoffs, and role tracks.
Companies That Use the CCAT
The full 2026 employer list, cutoff bands, and how to confirm your invite.
EmployerShopify
What to expect from Shopify's assessment process and how the CCAT fits in.
EmployerVertafore
A first-hand breakdown of the assessment invite: personality profile + CCAT.
EmployerPrivate Equity Portfolio Companies
Why Vista, Thoma Bravo, KKR, and Insight standardize the CCAT across portfolios.
EmployerCrossover
The Crossover cognitive assessment and its strict score requirements.
EmployerFinastra
The consulting-track CCAT at the fintech giant.
EmployerTIBCO
The tiered sales screen at the enterprise data company.
EmployerPowerSchool
Education software, two formats (CCAT & UCAT), and what each means.
EmployerCvent
The event-management leader and its sales-track screen.
EmployerApptio
Inside sales at the tech-business-management pioneer (now IBM).
EmployerJAMF
The Apple device-management leader and its ops/sales screen.
EmployerDatto
eCommerce consultant, inside sales, and marketing screens at the backup/DR firm.
EmployerLogicMonitor
Business analyst and data engineer screens at the monitoring firm.
EmployerEAB
Internship and analyst screens at the education-consulting firm.
EmployerCAI (Computer Aid)
IT, managerial, sales, and service roles at the direct adopter.
EmployerDrift
SDR and revenue-track screens at the conversational-marketing pioneer.
EmployerMediaocean
The ad-operations platform and its go-to-market screen.
EmployerGranicus
Govtech's standardized cognitive screen.
EmployerMarketo
The Vista-era screen and what the Adobe acquisition changed.
EmployerWrike
The screen at the project-management leader (Vista era to Citrix).
EmployerGainsight
CSM and services screens at the customer-success category creator.
EmployerPluralsight
Sales and analytics screens at the skills platform.
EmployerPing Identity
Identity security through two PE playbooks (Vista, then Thoma Bravo).
EmployerQuick Base
Sales and operations screens at the low-code platform.
EmployerSolera
Vehicle claims and automotive data screens at the Vista-owned platform.
EmployerGreenway Health
Implementation and services screens at the EHR vendor.
Ready to practice?
Take the free timed practice test — real format, real pacing, instant results.
Take the free testWhy we built this
TestPrep.me started when our founder was preparing for the CCAT as part of a Shopify application. Every practice site he could find charged $79-$100+ for a prep package. We built the affordable alternative: realistic, timed practice tests with detailed explanations — free to start, and a fraction of the price to continue.