The winter session is for final-year students who have seen their first report cards, understood that Bocconi is really the goal, and want a second chance after the Early session, or are only starting now. The problem is always the same: there are many dates, they blur together, and a calendar mistake costs more than a maths mistake.
Below you will find dates and rules as I read them on the official website on 22 October 2026 (sources at the bottom), the structure of the test and a realistic work plan. For the detailed study method there is already the practical guide to the Bocconi test; here I focus on the winter session.
The dates to note (2027/28 admission)
The online test can be booked from 13 July 2026 to 20 April 2027 for Italian candidates, at least 48 hours ahead and subject to availability. There are three selection sessions and you apply separately for each:
- Early Session: applications 2 to 29 September 2026, last test date 24 September 2026;
- Winter Session: applications 25 November 2026 to 26 January 2027, last test date 21 January 2027;
- Spring Session: applications 8 to 27 April 2027, last test date 22 April 2027.
All deadlines are at 15:00 Italian time and, according to the official page, they are strict: you can only change your application until the session you applied to closes. Winter Session results are indicated for mid-March 2027.
One point causes confusion: taking the test does not register you for the session. The test gives you a score that you can obtain whenever you like within the booking window; the application is a separate step in which you choose which score to submit. For the Winter session you should therefore have at least one score in hand by 21 January, then apply by 26 January.
Platform opening dates, closures and the rules for international candidates change: check the official call before you book.
How the test is built
The standard Bocconi online test has 50 multiple-choice questions and lasts 75 minutes, designed along the lines of the SAT. Questions are distributed randomly by difficulty and topic. The composition:
| Section | Questions |
|---|---|
| Maths | 24 |
| Reading comprehension | 11 passages |
| Numerical reasoning | 6 |
| Critical thinking | 9 |
Applicants to a law-area programme take a dedicated version (Law) with a different composition: fewer maths questions, more logic and verbal reasoning. Check which version your programme requires.
Time is a single pool for the whole test: there is no timer per section, so you decide how long to give each part and which questions to leave blank.
Scoring, and why leaving blanks matters
According to the official page: correct answer +1, omitted 0, wrong -0.2; in three-option critical-thinking questions a mistake costs -0.33. To be considered you need a total score of at least 17 after penalties, and for the artificial intelligence programme a minimum in the maths part is also required (11 out of 24 in the edition described on the site).
This changes your strategy. If you answer at random with probability of being right, the expected gain is positive only when
In practice: if you can eliminate enough options to bring your chance of being right above about one in six, answering pays; if you are guessing among all options, it does not. For three-option questions with the 0.33 penalty the threshold rises to about one in four. It is a habit you can train: in mock exams, label each question «sure», «eliminated some» or «random guess» and check how many points you lost or gained in each category.
Attempts and costs (from the official site)
The page indicates four attempts per test type per academic year, never on the same day or on consecutive days. With several scores, the portal automatically uses the best one. The official site lists a fee for each test attempt and a participation fee for each admission application: amounts and any refund conditions are on the official call, so check them there before paying.
How to use the weeks you have
If it is late October and you are aiming for the Winter session, you have about three full months before the last test date. A plan that usually works:
- Week 1: diagnosis. Take the free Bocconi test mock exam under real conditions, 75 minutes without interruption, and note per section how many questions you left blank and how many you got wrong.
- Weeks 2-6: maths. It is almost half the test. Review algebra, functions, analytic geometry, trigonometry, probability and statistics and work on the mistakes from the diagnosis; the guide to maths topics and exercises tells you what comes up.
- Weeks 4-8: the sections that look easy. Reading comprehension and critical thinking are lost through haste, not ignorance: train them against the clock, one passage a day.
- Last three weeks: full mock exams a few days apart, with time management as the goal. Book your first attempt with a margin: if it goes badly, attempts remain before 21 January.
If you want me to build the plan around your level, we do it after a first introductory call: you can book it here. And if you are not sure Bocconi is the right test, the comparison with the TOLC-E helps you decide.
Sources
Data read on the official Bocconi University pages on 22 October 2026: the Admission to bachelor’s programmes page (sessions, application windows, last test dates) and the Bocconi online test page (structure, scoring, attempts). The call may be updated: whatever is not covered here, such as how the test is weighted in the ranking, must be read directly in the call.
