What is the IMAT?
Sixty questions, 100 minutes, in English, once a year.
The IMAT is the entrance exam for English-taught Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine at Italian public universities. Past a minimum score, what matters is your place in the ranking: everyone is ordered by score and places are given from the top down.
We both sat this exam and finished in Europe's top 50. Everything below is what we wish someone had told us before we started.
The format
60 questions in 100 minutes
23
Biology
15
Chemistry
13
Physics and Maths
5
Logic
4
Reading and general knowledge
That's 100 seconds per question, and the clock is the same whether a question is easy or hard.
Careful with older guides. This format has been in place since IMAT 2023. Some sites still publish the old split.
The Italian reform
Does the Italian reform affect you? No.
Italy changed how it admits students to Italian-language medicine: the entrance test was replaced by a filter semester, the semestre filtro. English-taught courses are not affected (DM 1005/2026, d.lgs. 71/2025). The IMAT still applies and is still the way in.
If you've read that Italy scrapped its medical entrance exam, that's true, just not about the exam you're sitting.
Who can sit it
EU and non-EU candidates are ranked differently
EU candidates need at least 20 points to enter the ranking, then compete for places in order of score.
Non-EU applicants living abroad are ranked separately for each university, so the university you choose is a strategic decision, not just a preference.
Your score is valid for one admissions cycle only. You can't carry it into the next year.
Registration
Through Universitaly
In 2026 the registration window ran from 26 August to 9 September and the fee was about €130.
Dates and fee are set again each year, so check Universitaly for the 2027 window before you plan around it.
Where to start
Don't leave Physics and Maths until last
Biology is the biggest section and it's where everyone starts, which is sensible. The problem is that Biology always has one more topic, so people reach Physics a few weeks before the exam.
That's the section where borderline candidates lose the most, and the one that improves slowest when it's rushed.