TOLD practice test, the Politecnico di Milano Design test.
Italian+ English sectionThe questions are in Italian, as in the real exam; the English section is in English.
Structure, timings, weights and thresholds of the TOLD, the test the Politecnico di Milano uses to admit students to the School of Design degrees: six separately timed areas, a weighted final score out of 100 and minimum numbers of correct answers per section. It is not a TOLC: it is the Politecnico own test. The practice test is taken in Italian, like the Italian-language version of the real one; it computes the weighted score for you and shows the thresholds of the call. The correct answer to every question and your weak topics arrive by email for free; with an account you see them straight away here, together with the score, which is already on the page for everyone. The guided step-by-step solution unlocks with your first lesson.
Structure reconstructed from the 2026/27 call for the Design degree of the Politecnico di Milano. We have not read any public TOLD paper: the questions are original, written on the contents listed in the call, and their level is calibrated on the 30/100 threshold, not on real papers.
Independent practice test, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Politecnico di Milano. Geometry uses figures: on a small screen, zoom in or rotate your phone.
| Section | Questions | Minutes | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geometry and representation | 12 | 20 | ×1.5 |
| Logic | 6 | 10 | ×1.5 |
| Verbal comprehension | 6 | 10 | ×1.5 |
| History of design and art | 12 | 10 | ×1.5 |
| General knowledge | 24 | 20 | ×1.5 |
| English language | 30 | 15 | ×1/3 |
90 questions in total · 85 minutes across six separately timed sections, no going back · 5 options per question. Scoring: +1 correct · −0.25 wrong · 0 blank, in every section. Original questions in the style of the test, not the real ones. Each section draws from a pool much larger than needed, so two attempts in a row do not look alike.
Scoring, minimums and thresholds
- Section score: +1 per correct answer, −0.25 per wrong one, 0 per blank. The total is then weighted: 1.5 × (geometry + logic + comprehension + history + general knowledge) + 1/3 × English. Maximum 100 in the Italian version.
- Threshold on the weighted total: 30/100 for the EU-quota ranking (20/100 for the reserved quota). It is a filter: the ranking decides.
- Minimum correct answers per section: geometry 2, logic 1, verbal comprehension 1, history 2, general knowledge 5. No admission minimum for English.
- English: at least 24 correct answers out of 30 satisfy the English-language requirement. It is a different rule from the minimums: the practice test shows it in the same panel, but it is not a minimum for entering the ranking.
- Tie-break, in order: geometry, verbal comprehension, history of design and art, logic, general knowledge, English.
- The English version of the test (60 questions in 70 minutes, only for the English-taught degree, without the English-language section) is described in the call but is not simulated here.
Read the TOLD guide: structure, weighted score and how to prepare
Two worked examples from the test
Quale evento è considerato l'inizio simbolico della Rivoluzione francese?
Solution
Il 14 luglio 1789 il popolo parigino prese la fortezza-prigione della Bastiglia, simbolo dell'assolutismo. Le altre date sono successive: la Repubblica è del 1792, l'esecuzione del re del 1793, il colpo di Stato di Napoleone del 1799, il Congresso di Vienna del 1815.
Un cubo viene tagliato con un piano. Quale tra le seguenti figure NON può essere in alcun caso la sezione ottenuta?
Solution
Il cubo ha sei facce e la sezione ha al più un lato per ciascuna faccia che il piano attraversa: non può quindi avere più di sei lati, e l'ettagono è impossibile. Le altre figure si ottengono davvero: il triangolo equilatero tagliando un vertice, il rettangolo con un piano per due spigoli opposti, il pentagono con un piano inclinato che incontra cinque facce, l'esagono regolare con il piano per i punti medi di sei spigoli.
In the online practice test you will find 88 more questions like these; the correct answer to every question arrives by email.
Frequently asked questions.
What is the TOLD?
It is the Design Test, the exam the Politecnico di Milano uses to admit students to the School of Design degrees. It runs in a computer lab, has five-option questions and a score that is not the sum of the answers but a sum weighted by section. It is not a TOLC and it is not run by CISIA. Dates, seats and requirements are set by the Politecnico call: always check that.
How is the test built?
In the Italian version: 90 questions in 85 minutes, in six separately timed areas. Geometry and representation (12 questions, 20 minutes), Logic (6, 10 minutes), Verbal comprehension (6, 10 minutes), History of design and art (12, 10 minutes), General knowledge (24, 20 minutes), English language (30, 15 minutes). Source: the 2026/27 call for the Design degree, read on 29 October 2026.
How is the score computed?
Each section is worth +1 per correct answer, −0.25 per wrong one, 0 per blank. The total is 1.5 × (geometry + logic + comprehension + history + general knowledge) + 1/3 × English: with everything correct it is 100. A correct answer outside English is therefore worth four and a half English ones. The practice test computes this score for you and also shows the per-section minimums.
What thresholds are there?
For the 2026/27 call, Italian version: 30/100 on the weighted total for the EU quota (20/100 for the reserved quota), and a minimum number of correct answers per section: geometry 2, logic 1, verbal comprehension 1, history 2, general knowledge 5. They are thresholds for entering the ranking, not a pass mark: the other candidates scores count too. The call states that missing a minimum in even one section excludes the candidate from the ranking.
How hard is it?
We have not read any public TOLD paper, so we cannot tell you how hard a real question is. The 30/100 threshold and the low minimums point to a light entry filter with a competitive ranking; the questions in this practice test are original and calibrated on that reading, not on official papers.
When is the TOLD held?
In the 2026/27 call the test windows were 1 March to 11 April and 12 April to 31 May 2026 for the Italian version, 14 March to 14 May 2026 for the English one. They are past windows: for 2027/28 no dates were published as of 29 October 2026. Re-read the new call as soon as it is out.
What do I see at the end of the practice test?
The correct answer to every question and your weak topics arrive by email for free; with an account you see them straight away here, together with the score, which is already on the page for everyone. The guided step-by-step solution unlocks with your first lesson.
Want a plan tailored to Design?
The practice test shows where you lose points; in lessons we work exactly there, starting from geometry, which weighs a lot and is the first tie-breaker. Start from the free introductory call to see how to split your hours between geometry, logic and general knowledge.