Cattolica · Scoring and ranking

How the Cattolica Medicine test is scored and ranked

Checked against the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore's official pages on 27 October 2026. The 2027/28 call for the English-taught Medicine and Surgery has been out since 14 October 2026; the 2027/28 call for the Italian-taught Medicina e chirurgia was not yet published on 27 October 2026.

Key figures

right, wrong, blank, in every subject
+1 / −0.25 / 0
minimum score to be admissible
20 / 65
EU and non-EU places, ranked separately
40 + 70
reserve questions, counted only to replace a cancelled one
7

Every one of the 65 questions on Cattolica's Medicine and Surgery test is worth the same: one point for a right answer, a quarter of a point off for a wrong one, nothing for a blank. Below 20 out of 65 no place is possible; above it, what counts is your position on your own list, EU or non-EU. This page explains the marking, the minimums, the extra-learning obligations (OFA) and how the ranking is built and then moves.

In short

  • The maximum is 65. Each subject's questions carry the same weight: a logic question counts as much as a chemistry question.
  • You need at least 20 points out of 65 to be admissible. A score below that is excluded whatever the ranking.
  • Admitted students who answered too few biology, chemistry, physics or mathematics questions correctly get OFA, extra-learning obligations to clear in the first year.
  • The EU and non-EU lists are ranked by score. Ties go to the higher logical reasoning score first, and as a last resort to the younger candidate.

How each answer is marked

The 2027/28 call (Art. 4) sets one scale for the whole test. An example: 45 right, 12 wrong and 8 blank give 45 × 1 − 12 × 0.25 + 8 × 0 = 45 − 3 = 42 out of 65.

SituationWhat it is worth
Correct answer+1 point
Wrong answer−0.25 points
No answer0 points
Question marked for review when the test closesCounted as your confirmed answer
Reserve question (7, one per subject, in 7 extra minutes)Nothing, unless a question in that subject is cancelled; it then replaces it

IvyTest's arithmetic, not Cattolica's: with five options, a blind guess is worth 0.2 × 1 − 0.8 × 0.25 = 0 on average. Ruling out one option makes it worth +0.0625, ruling out two +0.17.

The minimum score and the OFA thresholds

The call sets one admissibility floor, 20 points out of 65, and separate subject thresholds that decide not whether you are admitted but whether you start with obligations. An admitted student who answered fewer than 20% of a subject's questions correctly gets OFA in that subject.

SubjectQuestionsOFA if fewer correct than
Biology184
Chemistry122
Physics41
Mathematics41

OFA are cleared in the first year by attending Cattolica's intensive courses and passing their multiple-choice test; until then second-year exams cannot be taken. A candidate whose diploma from another EU country follows a single year of school there needs at least 30 out of 65 and no OFA at all.

How the ranking is built, and how it moves

  • There are two lists: 40 places for EU citizens and equivalents, 70 for non-EU citizens living abroad. The ministry's decree on places for 2027/28 can still change the numbers.
  • Each list is ordered by score. On a tie, the higher score in logical reasoning wins, then biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, general culture and ethics and religious culture, then the younger candidate.
  • The lists show anonymous codes, not names: the EU list from 7 April 2027, the non-EU list from 14 April. Those within their list's places are the winners.
  • A winner keeps the place by paying €4,000 by 23 April 2027. Places not paid for, or given up later, go to the next positions on the same list through numbered notices, until the Faculty closes the lists.

Medicina e chirurgia in Italian: the same scale, a bigger list

The Italian-taught test uses the same marking (+1, −0.25, 0) and the same 20-out-of-65 minimum. The differences are in the ranking: in 2026/27 candidates could sit two rounds and the better score counted, and one registration covered both Medicina e chirurgia and MedTec, with the two lists in the same order.

Medicina e chirurgia, 2026/27Figure
Places488 (480 in the call, raised by D.R. 2710 of 25 August 2026)
Candidates ranked4,945, of whom 4,250 scored 20 or more
Score at position 48845.75
Last offer read (Notice No. 16, 8 October 2026)Position 643, 44.00

Read from Cattolica's final ranking and notices on 27 October 2026. The 2026/27 call's OFA paragraph counts physics and mathematics questions differently from its own Art. 6, so its subject thresholds are not given here; check the 2027/28 call when it is published.

Questions

What is the minimum score for the Cattolica Medicine test?

20 points out of 65. Below that a candidate cannot be admitted, whatever their position on the list. Being above it does not guarantee a place: that depends on your rank among the 40 EU or 70 non-EU places.

Is there negative marking on the Cattolica test?

Yes: a wrong answer costs 0.25 points, a correct one earns 1 and a blank earns 0. By IvyTest's arithmetic, a blind guess among five options is worth nothing on average, and becomes worth taking once you can rule out an option.

What are OFA at Cattolica?

Obblighi formativi aggiuntivi, extra-learning obligations. An admitted student who answers fewer than 4 of 18 biology, 2 of 12 chemistry, 1 of 4 physics or 1 of 4 mathematics questions correctly must attend Cattolica's courses and pass their test in the first year, or cannot sit second-year exams.

What score do you need to get into Cattolica Medicine?

Cattolica publishes no target, only the 20-point minimum, the final rankings and the notices that move them. How far the 2026/27 lists went is on IvyTest's cut-off research page; the level changes with each year's paper and candidates.

Official sources

Every figure on this page was read on the source itself on the date above. (27 October 2026)

Practise in the real format

A free practice paper in the 2027/28 format: 65 five-option questions (20 logical reasoning, 18 biology, 12 chemistry, 4 physics, 4 mathematics, 2 general culture, 5 ethics and religious culture), in English like the real test, with every answer explained and a PDF to download. Written by IvyTest, not an official Cattolica paper.

Try the free practice paperSee Cattolica preparation

The Cattolica Medicine Test, one question at a time

Also on IvyTest