Guide | Notes on applying for Engineering at Politecnico di Milano
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These notes are for students attending an Italian secondary school who are thinking of applying for an Engineering bachelor’s degree at Politecnico di Milano. They concern the 2026 TOL entrance test. They do not cover the separate admissions quota for non-EU applicants residing abroad, and they cannot replace the university’s call for admissions. For new information and precise eligibility requirements, always consult the Bando on the university website.
You can start considering the entrance test in your fourth or fifth year of secondary school. The two years, however, lead to rather different admissions procedures.
In the fourth year, you take the early test, where the main issue is reaching a threshold. Under the 2026 rules, a score that rounds to at least 75 gives access to early enrolment the following year in Italian-taught Engineering programmes, without taking another test to compete in the ordinary rankings. You still need to graduate and complete enrolment on time: passing the test does not settle everything by itself.
In the fifth year, admission depends on ranking. A score of 30 is needed to enter the relevant rankings, and programmes allocate places according to scores, preferences and availability. A higher score generally gives you more choice.
For the 2026 early test, fourth-year students can try once in each of two windows, March–May and June–July, with the better score retained. The standard test for fifth-year students has different windows. When registering, check whether you need TEST ANTICIPATO or TEST STANDARD rather than copying someone else’s dates.
Personally, I would recommend trying in the fourth year. If you pass then, you can spend your final school year concentrating on the school-leaving examination instead of worrying about university applications at the same time. If you do not pass, you can try again in the fifth year. It is simply another chance to learn from the experience.
The TOL has four sections: English; reasoning, mathematics and statistics; verbal comprehension; and physics. Every question has five possible answers, only one of them correct. The emphasis is more on understanding the material than on spending a great deal of time on complicated calculations.
The sections do not carry equal weight. A correct answer earns one raw point, a wrong answer loses 0.25, and an unanswered question earns zero. The section totals are then multiplied by their weights: one third for English, 2.6 for reasoning, mathematics and statistics, 3 for verbal comprehension, and 2 for physics. There is therefore no single deduction from the final score that applies to every wrong answer regardless of section. If I have no idea how to answer, I prefer to leave the question and spend the time on something I can solve. The university explains the calculation on its TOL score page.
English lasts 15 minutes. I found it relatively approachable, provided the basics of grammar are secure. Even with a sufficient overall score, you may still be assigned an English OFA—an additional educational obligation—if you do not meet the language requirement. Cambridge’s 『English Grammar in Use』 is my recommendation for strengthening the foundations; it is more than enough for this part.
Reasoning, mathematics and statistics lasts 65 minutes. It mostly covers material from the first four years of secondary school, without limits or calculus. The exact syllabus is on the university website. I recommend Alpha Test practice books: although a particular volume may not be written specifically for the Polimi TOL, they offer plenty of questions in a fairly similar format.
If time is short, start with the university’s published mathematics exercises. The official materials include worked answers, but I would still learn the material properly before using them seriously. Once you have seen a solution, that question can no longer tell you quite as much about what you can solve on your own.
Verbal comprehension lasts 10 minutes and mostly reflects your ability to understand Italian. I have no special preparation method to suggest. Try the exercises on the website to see where you stand; there is not much more I can add.
Physics also lasts 10 minutes. There is considerable overlap with Chinese secondary-school physics; understanding the concepts matters, alongside some basic calculations. The website has physics exercises as well. After working through the practice material, use the official mock-test resources to check your preparation as a whole.
Finally, a few notes on the format. This is the remote TOL, taken from home. You need a computer and a smartphone. Windows and Mac are both possible, but the system must meet that year’s requirements, and the required software must be installed beforehand. For versions and installation steps, the official documentation is more reliable than a list copied here.
Prepare two completely blank sheets of paper and a pen. Your identity document must match the one uploaded when you registered. Nobody else may be in the room, and the computer and phone must be positioned as instructed. The invigilator will check these things.
Before the real test, do the TOL Demo. The university recommends this too. It is mainly a chance to become familiar with the interface and check your equipment and connection, so you do not first encounter problems on the day itself.
The test link appears in your personal account on the day of the examination. Do not wait until the scheduled start to log in. Follow the notification, enter the platform and designated meeting early, and allow time for identity and room checks. The exact arrival time and meeting instructions are those in the remote-test guide for your session.
The examination begins after those checks are complete. Each section has its own time limit. Finishing one early does not let you carry the unused time into the next, so it is worth practising with the same separate limits.
The process itself is not very complicated. Becoming familiar with it beforehand just leaves fewer unrelated things to worry about. These are personal notes, so when you actually apply, read the 2026 Engineering call for admissions and the latest notices in your account again.