Preparation for the Bocconi graduate test should follow the official three-area structure and mixed 75-minute format. Start with Bocconi's sample and online simulation, then diagnose accuracy, timing and penalty exposure in verbal reasoning, data insight and quantitative reasoning. Bocconi states that there is no official preparation textbook.
The decision behind the test
A useful plan separates skill building from test execution. Reading comprehension needs precise evidence retrieval; critical reasoning needs argument structure; numerical critical reasoning needs careful use of charts and tables; data sufficiency needs a different decision process from solving for a value; quantitative reasoning needs reliable basic mathematics. Mixed practice then trains the rapid switch between these modes.
Current official position
Bocconi provides a downloadable sample, an online simulation and references a practice app. The live test contains 50 questions in 75 minutes with negative scoring. Because the questions are mixed, a preparation course organized only as long subject blocks is incomplete unless it later adds mixed timed sessions.
Our recommended next steps
First take an untimed diagnostic and label every question type. Spend two weeks building methods in weak subtypes, then introduce 25- and 50-question mixed sets. Record time, confidence, result and penalty. Use full simulations to test pacing and stopping rules. Review each wrong answer and each costly correct answer that took too long.
Mistakes we recommend avoiding
Do not use undergraduate-focused materials with a different section distribution. Avoid claims that a commercial mock exactly reproduces the live exam. Finally, do not chase only a score above 15; that number is an eligibility floor, while admission remains competitive and multifactorial.
What happens after the test?
Once an official result is available, compare area scores and the balance of wrong versus omitted answers. If time and the three-attempt limit allow, schedule a later attempt only with a concrete improvement plan. Submit the desired valid reference number by the application deadline and continue work on dossier and motivation.
Let the error log choose the next study block
After each mixed set, classify losses by reasoning area and by cause. A missed passage inference requires different work from slow percentage arithmetic or a mistaken data-sufficiency decision. Record time, confidence and penalty beside the cause, then choose the next exercise from the largest preventable pattern. This keeps revision tied to observable performance rather than to whichever chapter feels most familiar.
Set a review date before the application deadline when you will decide whether the current attempt is ready. By that point, full 75-minute rehearsals should show stable methods, controlled omissions and fewer unsupported guesses. If the pattern is still volatile, adjust the session date only within the published booking and application limits. Protect enough time for the report and dossier; test practice should not displace motivation, grades or required documents that also affect selection.
Diagnose decisions, not just topics
A useful first session is a mixed diagnostic taken without a target score. Mark every item with four pieces of information: task family, time used, confidence before submission and reason for the outcome. The final field is the most revealing. “Careless” hides the cause; “compared percentages with different bases” or “treated a necessary condition as sufficient” tells you what to change. Include slow correct answers, because an answer that consumes four minutes can damage later performance even when it earns a point.
Sort the record into method gaps, knowledge gaps and execution failures. A method gap calls for a repeatable procedure. A knowledge gap may require a short review of mathematics or argument terminology. An execution failure often needs a physical habit: writing the unit beside a value, paraphrasing the conclusion, or checking what the question asks before choosing an option. This creates a syllabus based on observed needs rather than on chapters in a commercial book.
Training the three reasoning areas
Verbal work should alternate between comprehension and argument. For a passage question, locate the smallest piece of text that supports or contradicts the statement. For critical reasoning, separate evidence, conclusion and assumption. Resist adding plausible outside facts; the task is to reason from what is supplied. Review wrong options too, explaining why their wording overreaches, reverses a relationship or answers a different question.
Data insight needs two distinct routines. Numerical critical reasoning begins with the display: title, axes, units, period and denominator. Estimate the direction and approximate size before doing exact arithmetic. Data sufficiency asks whether the statements permit a unique answer, not necessarily what that answer is. Test each statement alone before combining them, and use simple counterexamples to show when information is insufficient.
Quantitative reasoning rewards clean setup. Refresh ratios, percentages, equations, powers, geometry and common algebraic transformations only to the level required by the official scope and sample. In review, keep the original reasoning visible instead of replacing it with a polished solution. The difference between the two reveals which step failed under pressure.
From drills to a mixed 75-minute performance
Spend the early phase on short sets that isolate one decision. Once accuracy stabilises, mix two families and impose generous time limits. Then introduce 25-question blocks before moving to full 50-question simulations. This progression prevents the timer from disguising weak methods while still training the rapid switches demanded by the live mixed order.
Create pacing checkpoints from your own data. Ninety seconds per question is only the overall average. Reading, chart interpretation and calculation do not have equal costs. A better plan identifies a maximum time for an item that is not progressing and reserves a final margin for unanswered items or review. Practise leaving a question deliberately; otherwise the first planned omission on test day will feel like failure and may disturb the next several answers.
Penalty exposure belongs in every debrief. Record which wrong responses were informed attempts and which were unsupported guesses. Because wrong answers can lose 0.25 or 0.33 while omissions receive zero, you need a decision rule that reflects what the current item displays. Avoid both extremes: answering everything blindly and omitting every imperfect answer. Elimination, remaining time and penalty together should drive the choice.
A six-week example that can be shortened
In week one, complete the official sample and establish the error taxonomy. Weeks two and three focus on the weakest procedures with untimed and lightly timed exercises. Week four introduces mixed half-length sets and deliberate transitions. Week five contains full simulations followed by repair sessions. In the final week, reduce volume, repeat the technical setup and preserve sleep and concentration.
If only three weeks remain, keep the sequence but compress the volume: diagnostic, targeted repair, mixed rehearsal. Do not skip the diagnostic or the full run. With more than six weeks, add spaced repetition and fresh material rather than repeating the same questions until their answers are memorised. Bocconi states that there is no official preparation textbook, so use its sample and simulation to anchor scope and treat every third-party resource as practice, not as a representation of secure live content.
Decide whether a retake is worth the calendar cost
International graduate applicants may have up to three attempts in the academic year, subject to the published spacing and deadline rules. That allowance does not make three attempts automatically sensible. Before booking again, ask whether the report identifies a repairable weakness and whether sufficient preparation time remains. Also consider the application deadline and the approximate reporting delay. A later date that leaves no administrative buffer can turn a modest score improvement into a late application.
Remember that 15 out of 50 is the published floor for consideration, not an admission threshold. Set preparation goals from your programme choice, overall profile and observed performance rather than from a bare minimum. Continue drafting motivation and checking the dossier while studying; selection is broader than the test.
What happens next after the test?
When the report appears in the webtesting account, save it and inspect the subject-area scores, omissions and penalties. If you will use this attempt, copy its ten-character reference number into the admission application exactly and verify the saved field. If you will retake, preserve the first report and write the reason for the new attempt in one sentence. That sentence should name a measurable change, such as fewer unsupported verbal guesses or faster data-sufficiency decisions.
Once the chosen reference is submitted, preparation should stop and application control should take over. Confirm that GPA information, documents, motivation and programme preferences are complete for the round. Monitor official communications for the selection result. If admitted, follow the offer and enrolment instructions on their own deadlines. A disciplined finish prevents months of preparation from being weakened by a missing reference or an incomplete dossier.
Relevant preparation
Preparation for Bocconi Master Programs
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Bocconi application guide
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Open application guideBocconi uses different admission-test formats. Before purchasing, check on the product page whether the material matches the test required for your chosen programme.
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