IMAT 2023 Analysis: What Changed?

IMAT 2023 Analysis: What Changed?

The IMAT 2023 was the first year that Cambridge was not responsible for writing the exam. Thankfully not much changed, but some things caused confusion on the test day that are good to know about for the IMAT 2024. To maximise your chances for the IMAT Test 2024, there are some important lessons and facts about the IMAT Test 2023 that you cannot miss out on. 

In this article, we will analyse the entry scores, the content of the exam, the layout of the exam and look at how things changed and what you need to know for 2024.

IMAT 2023 Paper Alterations

One thing that students reported was that during the test the IMAT test paper was not stapled, and that test takers received the exam as separate sheets of paper. While this has no impact on how the test works or the content, even a small change like this can be scary for students who have always practised with stapled papers.

Another complaint was the text font of the paper and overall design. Again, while it was essentially almost identical to previous test papers, small things like this can add to existing exam day stress. 

The lesson to learn from this for 2024 is to be prepared for unexpected layouts. While it may seem like an illogical fear, these small layout alterations can contribute to the feeling on the day that you are dealing with something unknown, and that you are not prepared for the test. This is illogical and something that you should mentally prepare for before the exam. You can do this by preparing for instance with unstapled sheets when doing past papers one day, and stapled sheets on another. This will give you experience with organising the paper on the day. Most importantly, you need to take some time before the exam to remind yourself that you are prepared and that things like font and paper designs are not relevant.

IMAT 2023 Past Paper

Here is a copy of the IMAT 2023. We recommend practising this paper under test conditions, ideally quite close to the IMAT 2024 date. 

IMAT 2023 Worked Solutions

We will soon publish the IMAT 2023 Worked Solutions on our dedicated page. Stay tuned!

IMAT 2023 Minimum Score EU

For EU candidates the minimum score for the IMAT 2023 was not a large deviation from previous years. If you scored 46.6 then you would have been eligible for any of the universities, as this is the current minimum score for the most competitive university as of writing this article. Note: the score may drop even more as the weekly rounds of admission continue. So far a 33.9 would get you admitted to Messina University, as mentioned this may also decrease over time. 

Overall, for EU candidates this is quite typical as compared to previous years. A good score to aim for is 50+ since this would get you in early for any of your choices. The high 40s also seem to be safe, but the 50s are a safer grade to aim for

IMAT 2023 Minimum Score Non-EU

For non-EUs, the cut-offs were devastatingly high for some universities, while quite low for others. The scary thing about being in the non-EU category is that the deviation in cutoffs between the most and least competitive universities can be very high, and you only get to choose 1 option!

For 2023, cutoffs ranged from 60.20 to 31.2. This is extremely frustrating for many, as it means that if you picked the most competitive university as a non-EU and scored 60.10, you would not gain admission whilst someone who scored 31.2 potentially would if they choose the least competitive university. This illustrates how important it is to choose your first choice university carefully as a non-EU!

2023 was the first time cut-offs reached the 60s in the IMAT. Medicine in Italy in English is becoming more well-known across the world, and this trend is likely to continue. As a non-EU, you should be aiming for 60+ in the IMAT 2023. If you do not think this is manageable, then consider choosing a southern university as your first choice

IMAT 2023 EU Ranking

Remember as an EU you can choose all the universities and thus stand a chance to be admitted to all of them. Thus you should make sure to order your preferences according to where you actually want to study. You do not need to take into account competitiveness in the same way a non-EU student does. 

Please note that as the rounds continue, the scores are likely to get lower, albeit not by much. 

IMAT 2023 Non-EU Ranking

The IMAT 2023 Non-EU cut-offs are listed below in order of most competitive to least competitive. Choose wisely for 2024 as a non-EU!

Note: Catania did not admit any non-EU students in 2023

When making a decision for your first choice university in 2024, do not just look at the score for 2023. The scores can change, especially so for universities with a low number of seats. 

IMAT 2023 Logical Reasoning

There were 5 logical reasoning questions in 2023, of which…

• 2 were critical thinking
  • 1 Strengthening and weakening question
  • 1 Drawing a conclusion question

• 3 were problem-solving

The difficulty of these questions was on average easier than in previous years. 

IMAT 2023 Reading Skills and Knowledge Acquired During Studies

There were 4 questions in this section, of which…

• 3 were general knowledge
  • 1 Literature question
  • 1 Italian Constitution question
  • 1 History question

• 1 was reading skills

General knowledge questions were very similar to past exams, although the question about literature was very specific. The Italian constitution question would have been easy to answer if you had used our dedicated lesson in the Reading Skills and Knowledge Acquired During Studies section. The question about history would have been answerable with some basic knowledge about Roman history, or basic knowledge about Latin. 

IMAT 2023 Biology

There were 23 biology questions in 2023, making it by far the most important section. There were…

• 4 Genetics questions
• 3 Cellular respiration questions
  • 1 also contained fermentation knowledge
• 2 Eukaryotic cells question
• 2 Central Dogma question
• 1 Enzyme question
• 1 Virus question
• 1 Endocrine System question
• 1 Homeostasis question
• 1 Evolution question
  • 1 included knowledge about mutations
• 1 Chemistry question 
  • This question was more appropriate as a chemistry section question but was nevertheless included in the biology section
• 1 Nervous system question
• 1 Photosynthesis question
• 1 Muscles question
• 1 Prokaryotic cells question
• 1 Biochemistry question
  • Specifically about nucleic acids
• 1 Cell size question

This was similar to other exams, with notably fewer questions on human anatomy. A large part of the biology section is all the various tissues and organ systems of the human body (endocrine, respiratory, renal etc). Despite being very large, it does not usually make up a proportional amount of questions in most IMAT tests. Make sure to remember this when studying biology.

IMAT 2023 Chemistry

There were 15 chemistry questions in the IMAT 2023, of which the following topics were assessed…

• 4 Acids and bases question
  • 1 also involved molecular geometry
• 2 Organic chemistry question
  • 1 was about functional groups
  • 1 was about isomers
• 1 Water properties question
• 1 Equilibrium question
• 1 Compounds and elements question
• 1 Periodic table question
• 1 Polarity question
• 1 Redox question
• 1 Stoichiometry question
• 1 Atomic structure question
• 1 Ideal gas laws question

Overall the chemistry section was quite similar to past exams. The most important topic was by far acids and bases, which made up 4 out of 15 questions!

IMAT 2023 Physics

There were 5 physics questions in the 2023 IMAT paper. 

• 1 Dynamics question
• 1 Ideal gas laws question
• 1 Thermodynamics question
• 1 Kinematics question
• 1 Electricity question

Overall, the difficulty was about the same as compared to other years.

IMAT 2023 Math

There were 7 math questions in the IMAT 2023. 

• 2 Inequalities question
• 1 Logarithms question
• 1 Ratios question
• 1 Probability question
• 1 Trigonometry question
• 1 Equation of a circle question
• 1 Powers and Radicals question

The math sections contained a mix of hard and easy questions. The biggest change from last year was the increase in the total number of questions. 

Many students are of the opinion that they need to study everything in the syllabus to have a chance in the IMAT, but this is not true. There are trends that repeat each year regarding what topics get asked about and which topics are left out, as well as patterns regarding the importance of some topics over others. By integrating these materials into one’s study practices, contenders can significantly bolster their confidence and increase their likelihood of achieving success. Whether you are a newcomer or a seasoned test-taker, delving deeper into these past IMAT Papers will help you identify what is important and what is not.