Citadel Online Assessment 2028: Wonderlic, FCAT & Coding Test

Got your Citadel test link? Try the Wonderlic and the FCAT below in the real format, then read how each one works, how long you get, the coding test for software and what comes after.

Intervyo's Citadel cognitive test: the instructions screen before the clock starts, giving the number of questions, the time limit, how Previous and Next work and what happens at zero, with a blue Start button. — The Wonderlic gives you 50 questions on one 12-minute clock, and Wonderlic does not expect you to finish.

Key facts

Which tests: The Associate Program (investing) sends the Wonderlic cognitive test, and in the full-time 2027 process the FCAT modeling test with it. Software applicants get a HackerRank coding test.^13,14,17,18
Wonderlic: Multiple-choice questions on simple math, logic, word meaning, spatial reasoning and patterns, on one 12-minute clock, getting harder as you go. The summer 2027 internship email listed a 15-minute online assessment.^5,6,15,12
FCAT: Build and link an income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement in a web spreadsheet, on one clock. In the full-time 2027 process it came with the Wonderlic and ran 45 minutes.^13,14,16
Time to finish: In the full-time 2027 process the Wonderlic and FCAT links came straight after applying for some and a few days later for others, with one week to finish both.¹³
Finishing: Wonderlic does not expect you to answer all 50 in 12 minutes. Its scoring weights each question by difficulty and accounts for guessing, so blind guesses are unlikely to help: if you think you know the answer, mark your best choice and move on.^5,6,7
Calculator and Excel: The Wonderlic allows no calculator, dictionary or other resources. The FCAT runs in its own web spreadsheet: most Excel shortcuts do not work and not every Excel formula is available.^6,7,13,16
Software: Two coding problems, medium to hard. Hidden test cases check edge cases and speed, and the timer keeps running if you lose your connection.^18,9,10
Passing: Wonderlic sets no universal pass mark: the employer compares your result with what predicts success in the role. In the full-time 2027 process, an FCAT whose balance sheet did not fully balance still went through to the next round.^8,13

Citadel Securities, the market maker, is a separate firm with its own page. This page covers Citadel's tests for the Associate Program and software; quant research and trading tests are not covered here.^4,11

Try the games

Citadel online assessment0 of 2 done

Citadel's two tests as the app builds them, in the order Citadel sends them: the cognitive assessment at the real pace, then the FCAT modeling test in the app's spreadsheet. Each opens in its own window, with a report at the end.

Cognitive assessment

Word problems, logic, dates, analogies and shapes on one clock. Move back and change answers until it runs out.

10 questions · 2:24

FCAT modeling test

A three-statement model in a web spreadsheet: build it from the actuals and the assumptions, then type the figures it asks for.

4 outputs · 16:22

What the Citadel online assessment looks like

The invite
For the Associate Program the tests come after you apply. In the full-time 2027 process the links came straight after applying for some and a few days later for others, and a referred applicant who had a business development call first got them as soon as they applied. There was one week to finish both. The summer 2027 internship email listed a 15-minute online assessment before the recruiter interview.^13,12
The Wonderlic
Fifty multiple-choice questions on one 12-minute clock: dates, analogies and opposites, number series, short word problems, logic statements, charts and shapes. They get harder as you go. No calculator, dictionary or other resources. Wonderlic does not expect you to finish, weights each question by its difficulty and accounts for guessing, and advises against skipping around: if you think you know the answer, mark your best choice and move on.^5,6,7,15
The FCAT
One model, not a list of questions. You build the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement so they tie, in a web spreadsheet on one clock (45 minutes in the full-time 2027 process). Most Excel shortcuts do not work and the formula conventions differ from Excel's. Expect a segment-by-segment revenue build, then ratio work and a simple valuation at the end that count toward the full score. No camera is needed.^13,14,16
The coding test for software
Software applicants get a HackerRank test: two problems, medium to hard. Run Code checks your code on your own input; hidden test cases check edge cases and performance. The timer keeps running if you go offline, and you can log back in while time is left.^18,9,10
After the tests
In the full-time 2027 process a 45-minute business development round came next, then interviews with investment professionals; for summer 2027 a Zoom interview with a recruiter followed the test. Software moves to a 45-minute video round on coding and your reasons for Citadel.^13,14,12,4

How to spend the clock on the FCAT

Read the assumptions About 4 min: Find each driver, the forecast years and the ratio definitions before you type anything.
Revenue and income statement About 12 min: The segment revenue build, costs, interest and tax, copied across the years.
Working capital and cash flow About 12 min: Receivables, inventory and payables, capex and depreciation, then cash flow.
Balance sheet and check About 9 min: Link cash and equity, then make the check row read zero in every year.
Ratios and valuation About 8 min: Ratios on the sheet's definitions, then the simple valuation.

The split is Intervyo's advice, not Citadel's. It follows the order the model ties in, and leaves time for the balance check, the ratios and the valuation that count toward the full score.^13,16

Before you start the tests

Plan both Associate Program tests well inside the week, one slot each, with time to rest between them.
Wonderlic: pen and paper, no calculator, and 12 minutes with no interruptions.
Try Wonderlic's free timed practice questions to feel the pace of about 14 seconds a question.
FCAT: a laptop with a full keyboard and a mouse, and an hour clear.
Build a three-statement model from a blank sheet in under 40 minutes, without keyboard shortcuts.
Know your ratios, and read each definition on the sheet before you use it.
Software: timed medium and hard coding problems in the language you will use.
A stable connection: the clock keeps running if you drop.

The sections, one by one

Wonderlic says its cognitive test covers simple math, basic logic, language comprehension, spatial reasoning and pattern identification, and gets harder as it goes. The FCAT is one model with its own outputs: the statements, then ratios and a value.^5,6,13,16

Dates: Pick the earliest or latest of five dates that differ by a digit.
Analogies and opposites: Complete a word pair, or find the word opposite in meaning.
Number series: Find the next number in a sequence.
Word problems: Short math on prices, rates and shares, without a calculator.
Logic and shapes: Decide whether a conclusion follows, or work out which shape fits.
Three-statement model (FCAT): Forecast revenue, costs, working capital and cash so the balance sheet balances.
Ratios and valuation (FCAT): Ratios on the sheet's own definitions, then a simple value.

Here is each test as it appears in Intervyo: the Wonderlic, one question to a screen under one 12-minute clock with Previous and Next, and the FCAT, a web spreadsheet with tabs for the assumptions and each statement under one clock (45 minutes, as in the full-time 2027 process), with your answers typed in a panel beside it. The FCAT's layout is Intervyo's own setting; its task, clock and web spreadsheet follow the accounts of people who sat it. Each block says what the test is checking and how to do it well.^5,6,13,16

1.Wonderlic cognitive test50 questions, 12 minutes

Intervyo's Citadel cognitive test part-way through: a figure series under a thin blue rule with the question number and the countdown clock at the top, five answer figures in a row with one chosen, and Previous and Next at the foot.

Fifty multiple-choice questions on one 12-minute clock, one to a screen: dates, analogies and opposites, number series, short word problems, logic statements and shape questions. They get harder as you go, and there is no calculator, dictionary or other help.^5,6,7,8

What it measures: How quickly you take in new information and reason through it: simple math, basic logic, language comprehension, spatial reasoning and spotting patterns.

How to answer it well

1Bank time on the quick types. Dates, opposites and analogies take seconds, so answer them at once.
2Keep to about 14 seconds a question. If a word problem needs more than a line of working, mark your best choice and go on.
3Read every word of the question. Many mistakes come from misreading: earliest for latest, or opposite for closest.
4Do the sums in your head or on paper. There is no calculator, and only a few questions need real arithmetic.
5Do not plan a second pass. Wonderlic advises against skipping around, and many people never reach question 50.

2.FCAT modeling test45 min (full-time 2027)

Intervyo's Citadel FCAT practice: a web spreadsheet open on the income statement tab with the first forecast year part-built and its formula in the bar, tabs for the assumptions and each statement, and the question panel with an answer box on the right.

One model rather than a list of questions. You build the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement so they tie, in a web spreadsheet on one clock (45 minutes in the full-time 2027 process). Most Excel shortcuts do not work, not every Excel formula is available, and the conventions differ from Excel's. Expect a segment-by-segment revenue build, then ratio work and a simple valuation that count toward the full score. No camera is needed.^13,14,16,12

What it measures: Whether you can build a model that ties under a clock: revenue drivers, costs, working capital, a cash flow that feeds the balance sheet and a balance sheet that balances, then ratios and a value on the stated definitions.

How to answer it well

1Build in order: revenue, costs, the income statement, working capital, cash flow, then the balance sheet. A model that ties with rough lines beats a detailed one that does not balance.
2Leave time to balance. A balance sheet still out when the clock ends costs marks even when everything else is right.
3Read each ratio's definition before you use it. One ratio wanted a point-in-time denominator where many people would use an average.
4Type a formula once and copy it across the years rather than keying each cell.
5Practice in a plain web spreadsheet without shortcuts, so slow navigation does not eat the clock.

Best guessSummer 2028 internship applicants may get the Wonderlic alone: the summer 2027 internship email listed one 15-minute online assessment, and both dated FCAT accounts come from the full-time process. Prepare for the FCAT anyway.

Example questions and how to answer them

Dates"Which of the following is the latest date? (a) Mar 4, 1968 (b) Mar 14, 1986 (c) Feb 28, 1986 (d) Mar 9, 1986 (e) Dec 31, 1968"⁶

1Check the question word first: latest or earliest.
2Compare the years and cross out every option in the wrong one.
3Among what is left, compare the months, then the days.
4Watch for swapped digits: 1968 and 1986 look alike at speed.

Tip: Written by Intervyo in Wonderlic's date format. Not a Citadel item. These should take under 10 seconds, which buys time for the word problems.