How to prepare for the Bocconi Online Test: a week-by-week plan

What the plan has to prepare you for

These are Bocconi's published rules, and every step below follows from them.

• 50 questions in 75 minutes, one block, no break: 90 seconds per question on average.
• No calculator, and only two blank A4 sheets for working.
• Three questions per screen, no way back. Once you press Next, that screen is gone.
• Negative marking: +1 correct, 0 blank, −0.2 wrong (−0.33 on three-option critical-thinking questions).
• Up to four attempts per test type in an academic year, never on the same day or on consecutive days, at €60 each. The admissions portal uses your highest result.
• For entry in 2027-28 the remaining sessions are Winter (25 November 2026 – 26 January 2027) and, for Italian applicants only, Spring (8–27 April 2027).

The standard test is Mathematics 24, Reading comprehension 11, Numerical reasoning 6 and Critical thinking 9. The Law test is Mathematics 5, Reading comprehension 11, Numerical reasoning 6, Logic and critical thinking 18 and Verbal reasoning 10.

An eight-week plan (our advice)

Everything from here on is our advice, not a Bocconi rule. Eight weeks of four or five short sessions a week suits most applicants; compress it if your test date is closer.

Weeks	Focus	What to do
1	Find your gaps	One short diagnostic across all areas. List the three topics where you lost most marks.
2–4	Fix the biggest gaps	Untimed topic practice on those topics, about 10 questions a session. Read every explanation, including for the questions you got right. No calculator, ever.
5	Widen	Mixed practice across all areas, so weaker topics come back while stronger ones stay sharp. Retry the questions you missed in weeks 2–4.
6	Add the clock	Your first timed 50-question set under the real rules. Afterwards, check where the time went and which wrong answers were guesses.
7	Rehearse	A second timed set, then Bocconi's own free online simulation, to practise in the real interface.
8	Taper	Short reviews of your mistake notebook. No new topics. Check your equipment and room against Bocconi's rules of conduct.

Three habits to build along the way

1. A blank-or-guess rule. Guess when you can rule out at least one option; otherwise leave it blank. Decide this before test day, so you do not spend time on it during the test. The arithmetic behind the rule.
2. Screen discipline. Answer the three questions on a screen before moving on, because you cannot come back. In practice, stop flagging questions "for later".
3. Hand arithmetic. Mathematics and numerical reasoning have to be done on paper. Practise fractions, percentages and rough estimates by hand from the first week.

If you have three weeks

Week 1: a diagnostic, then topic practice on your two weakest areas. Week 2: mixed practice and one timed set. Week 3: Bocconi's simulation, a second timed set, then review only.

Booking and retakes

Because the portal keeps your highest result, an early first attempt in a session leaves room for another if it goes badly. Attempts cannot be on the same day or on consecutive days, and each costs €60. Bocconi also lists periods when the testing platform is closed, so check its test page before you plan a date.

What no plan can tell you

Bocconi publishes one threshold, 17 out of 50, below which you are not considered, and no admission cut-off: places go by ranking, with the test counting 55% and your school grades 45%. Any "target score" you read elsewhere is an estimate, not a rule.

Where to practise

On our Bocconi Online Test preparation page you can start with a free test, then follow this plan with topic practice, timed sets, a mistake notebook and a study plan that schedules sessions toward your test date.