Every year students come to me and say the same thing: “I heard the Bocconi test is a bit like the SAT”. It isn’t wrong as a starting point, but it isn’t enough to prepare properly. The “Bocconi online test” has a precise structure, a scoring system with penalties that differ from section to section, and — something almost nobody really considers — it accounts for only 55% of the final ranking. The rest comes from your school record.
In this post I put together what I see working when I prepare students aiming at Bocconi: how the test is built, how the score is put together, where marks are lost through distraction rather than ignorance, and a realistic plan depending on the session you choose.
If you want to jump straight to how I follow you in lessons, see the Bocconi test preparation page — here instead you will find the complete guide.
Before reading all the rest, a practical tip: get a concrete idea of where you stand with the free Bocconi test mock exam that I built with the real structure — 75 minutes, the same four sections, critical thinking with the three options True/False/Cannot be determined, and solutions explained step by step. It tells you in half an hour what you would otherwise find out after weeks of studying blind.
How the Bocconi online test is built
The test (in the version for the economics and management courses, the ones I work on most) is online, lasts 75 minutes in total with no clock per section — you manage the time across the four parts yourself — and is made up of 50 questions:
| Section | No. of questions | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Maths | 24 | algebra, functions, geometry, probability |
| Reading comprehension | 11 | analytical reading, inferences, argument structure |
| Numerical reasoning | 6 | data sufficiency, estimation, relations between quantities |
| Critical thinking | 9 | evaluating arguments, True/False/Cannot be determined |
Note the proportion straight away: almost half the test (24 questions out of 50) is maths. Those who arrive thinking “it’s a language and reasoning test” often underestimate how much it matters to be able to solve an algebra or analytic geometry problem quickly.
One important thing to clarify because it causes confusion: there is no separate English section. You choose the language in which to take the test (Italian or English); the English required for courses taught in English is certified separately, at a minimum level of B2, not inside this test. If you have read elsewhere that Bocconi has a “SAT-style test in English with a verbal section”, that is a simplification that confuses the online test with other international admission tests — it is not the structure of this test.
A mandatory caveat, which I repeat because it matters more than it seems: dates, admission quotas and details of the structure may change from one year to the next. What you read here is the most up-to-date picture I have, but always refer to the official call on unibocconi.it before building your preparation around a specific number.
How the scoring works (and why omissions really count)
The scoring system is what decides whether the test works for you or against you:
- Correct answer: +1
- Omitted answer: 0
- Wrong answer: −0.2
- Exception — Critical thinking: here there are only three options (True / False / Cannot be determined), so the penalty for an error rises to −0.33, because with three options guessing at random is easier than with four or five.
The minimum technical threshold for the test to be considered valid is 17 points out of 50. If you are aiming at the Artificial Intelligence, Management and Analytics programme (or in any case at a programme with an enhanced maths requirement), you also need a minimum of 11/24 in the maths section alone — a detail that many discover late and that is worth checking from the first day of preparation.
Why do omissions count so much? Do the sums: if you are not sure and guess on 4 maths questions (4 options), on average you get one right (+1) and three wrong (−0.6): net gain +0.4, still positive but small and risky. On critical thinking, with 3 options and a higher penalty, the calculation changes: a random guess has an expected value close to zero or slightly negative. The practical rule I give my students: guess only if you have eliminated with certainty at least one option out of three in critical thinking, or two out of four/five in the other sections. Below that threshold, leave it blank. It is not cowardice, it is the mathematics of expected score.
The weight of the school record: the test is not everything
Here comes the point that really shifts many students’ strategies: the final ranking is 55% test + 45% school record. The record is built on your grades in Year 3 and Year 4 of high school, looking at the core subjects (Italian, English, Maths, History) plus two other subjects of your choice.
What does this mean in practice? That a student with a solid report card in Years 3 and 4 already holds almost half the ranking before even opening the test. And it also means that a student who had a couple of weak years in the three-year final stretch has to compensate with a test score higher than the average — possible, but to be planned, not discovered in October.
For anyone reading this post in their second or third year of high school: the most useful thing you can do today is not studying for a test you will take in the future, it is bringing home good grades in Years 3 and 4, because that part of the ranking can no longer be recovered afterwards.
The four sections, one by one
Maths (24 questions)
The programme covers algebra, functions (powers, logarithms, exponentials), plane and analytic geometry, trigonometry, sets, probability, descriptive statistics and combinatorics — essentially the programme of a well-run science high school, with no derivatives or integrals. The difficulty is not so much in the individual topics as in speed: with 24 questions in a 75-minute test shared with three other sections, you don’t have time to redo calculations twice. I work a lot on mental arithmetic and algebraic shortcuts even before the theory, because often the theory is already there — what is missing is fluency.
Reading comprehension (11 questions)
Passages from current affairs or popular science followed by questions on the main idea, inferences, and the argument structure of the text. It is not a test of knowledge, it is a test of careful reading under time pressure. The classic mistake is reading the passage once and answering “from memory”: better to read attentively the first time, then go back to the exact point in the text for each question that requires it.
Numerical reasoning (6 questions)
There are few of them but they are dense: data sufficiency questions (do you have enough information to answer, yes or no?) and estimation. They train well with a few repeated exercises, because the format is learned quickly — the risk is underestimating them because “there are only 6” and never practising them.
Critical thinking (9 questions)
The most treacherous section because of the penalty system we saw above. It presents you with an argument (often a short text with a thesis and some premises) and asks you to evaluate a related statement: is it True, False, or Cannot be determined from the information given? The third option is the one students underestimate most: it doesn’t mean “I don’t know”, it means “the text does not provide enough data to establish it with certainty”, and it is often the correct answer even when it “seems” that only a small logical step is missing.
The typical mistakes I see
- Underestimating maths thinking “it’s a logic test”. It is the opposite: almost half the questions are pure maths. Those who arrive without having revised functions and analytic geometry lose here, not in the reasoning.
- Guessing in critical thinking as you do in the other sections. The higher penalty (−0.33 on 3 options) changes the calculation. See above for the practical rule on eliminating options.
- Confusing “Cannot be determined” with “I didn’t understand the text”. They are different things: the first is a legitimate and often correct answer, the second is a comprehension problem to be solved with other training.
- Studying for the test and ignoring the school record. With a weight of 45%, grades in Years 3 and 4 are not a side detail.
- Arriving at the test without ever having managed 75 minutes across 4 mixed sections. The technical difficulty of individual questions is manageable; the real challenge is allocating time between very different sections without a per-section timer to guide you.
Realistic timing: Early or Winter?
The main sessions are Early (in September, also open to those still in the fourth year of high school), Winter and Spring. About 90-95% of places are assigned between Early and Winter, so if you are aiming at Bocconi it is worth focusing on one of these two, leaving Spring as a safety net. You can retake the test up to a maximum of 4 times a year (€60 per attempt, plus a €100 application fee), and the best score counts.
If you are aiming at Early (September): preparation should start by the summer. With 2-3 months of targeted work, 1-2 lessons a week plus independent practice, you arrive ready. Those still in the fourth year who want to try Early have an extra advantage: they can retake the test in Winter or Spring of the following year if the first attempt isn’t enough.
If you are aiming at Winter: you have a few more months, but that doesn’t mean you can put it off. The record for the fourth year is already “closing” in the meantime — one more reason not to neglect your grades while studying for the test. A plan of 3-4 months with timed mock exams in the last 4-6 weeks remains the right measure here too.
In both cases, the first diagnostic attempt is gold: it tells you exactly where you are losing points before you waste weeks studying things you already know.
Which test for which university
A recap of the map of tests for economics, because this is where there is most confusion:
- Bocconi → the Bocconi online test (this guide) (or SAT/ACT as an alternative) — free mock exam
- Cattolica → TIEC, its own proprietary test: the TOLC-E is not needed — free mock exam
- LUISS → LUISS test (or SAT/ACT/IB for direct admission) — free mock exam
- State universities (Statale, Bicocca, Bologna, Padova…) → TOLC-E from CISIA (the Italian consortium that runs the TOLC tests): the comparison with Bocconi is in this guide
How we work in lessons
I always start from an initial mock exam — the same Bocconi test mock exam that I linked at the beginning — to see where you really stand, not where you think you stand. From there I build a plan that alternates:
- Targeted revision of maths on the weak topics that emerge from the diagnosis (often analytic geometry and probability are the most fragile points).
- Batches of numerical reasoning and critical thinking questions, with particular attention to handling the three options True/False/Cannot be determined.
- Fast, targeted reading techniques for reading comprehension.
- Complete timed mock exams every 2-3 weeks, with error analysis — it is not enough to know “how many” you got wrong, you need to know “why”.
If you have already taken, or are also considering, the TOLC-E as an alternative or parallel route, I wrote a detailed comparison in Bocconi test or TOLC-E: which to prepare for — useful above all if you haven’t yet decided which test to concentrate on. The maths section, with eight worked questions, has a post of its own: Maths for the Bocconi test: topics and exercises. For psychology or political science courses the tests are different, with dedicated guides: TOLC-PSI and TOLC-SPS.
If you want to understand where to start — how many hours you really need, which sections to focus on, whether it makes sense to aim at Early or wait for Winter — the quickest route is a free introductory call. We look at your situation together and I tell you honestly the most realistic plan, without selling you anything you don’t need.
