How to Prepare for the IMAT Exam in 3–6 Months: A Step-by-Step Plan

If you want to study Medicine in Italy in English, the IMAT exam is still your main gateway.

The good news? You don’t need years to prepare.
With a focused 3–6 month IMAT study plan, you can go from “I sort of remember high-school Biology” to “I know exactly what to do on test day”.

In this guide we’ll break down:

how the IMAT exam is structured (so you don’t study blindly),
how to decide between 3 months vs 6 months of prep,
what to do week by week,
and how to balance Biology, Chemistry, Physics/Maths, Logic and Reading & GK without burning out.

If you want a deeper technical overview of the exam itself, you can always open a separate tab with a complete IMAT exam guide and come back here for the study plan.

1. First, know what the IMAT exam is actually testing

IMAT is a 100-minute, 60-question, multiple-choice exam in English.
The questions are divided into five areas:

Reading Skills & General Knowledge
Logical Reasoning & Problem Solving
Biology
Chemistry
Physics & Mathematics

Traditionally, the weight is heavily tilted towards Biology and Chemistry, but Logic and Physics/Maths can easily decide your final ranking if you ignore them.

Scoring uses negative marking:

Correct answer → +1.5
Wrong answer → –0.4
Blank → 0

This means that strategy matters: sometimes not answering is better than random guessing.

Before you think about “how many hours per week”, you need one thing clear in your head:

“I am preparing for a 60-question, 100-minute, penalty-for-mistakes exam in English that tests reasoning plus high-school science.”

If you can’t say that sentence out loud yet, read the official structure and your IMAT exam guide once more.

2. Decide: do you need 3 months or 6 months?

You probably need around 3 months if:

You’re in the last year of a strong science high school or IB with HL Biology and Chemistry.
You’ve recently studied Physics and Maths and feel reasonably comfortable.
Your English reading speed is good.

You probably need closer to 6 months if:

You’re coming from a non-science background (e.g. humanities, languages, economics)
Or you studied science years ago and feel rusty.
Physics/Maths feels like a black box.
You want to aim for top universities and not just “any place”.

If you’re unsure, assume 6 months. Almost nobody regrets starting early.

3. Step 0: Take a diagnostic IMAT-style test

Before you open a textbook, do this:

Take one full IMAT past paper or high-quality simulation.
Mimic exam conditions:
- 60 questions, 100 minutes
- No calculator
- Quiet room, phone off
Mark it using the real scoring:
- +1.5, –0.4, 0

Then write down:

Total score
Score by section (R&GK, Logic, Bio, Chem, Phys/Maths)
How you felt (time pressure, panic, guesswork, etc.)

This gives you your baseline. From now on, your plan is:

Fix the weakest sections without letting the strong ones disappear.

4. The general structure of a good IMAT preparation

Whether you have 3 or 6 months, you’ll pass through two phases:

Foundation Phase – build and repair your scientific knowledge
Exam Phase – heavy on past papers, timing, and strategy

For a 6-month plan:

Months 1–3 → Foundation-heavy
Months 4–6 → Exam-heavy

For a 3-month plan:

Weeks 1–4 → Compressed Foundation
Weeks 5–12 → Exam-heavy

Let’s look at each phase.

5. Foundation Phase: fixing the science and the basics

Your weekly structure (Foundation Phase)

Aim for 5–6 study days per week, with at least 1 rest day. For example:

2 sessions/week – Biology
2 sessions/week – Chemistry
1 session/week – Physics & Maths
Short, regular blocks – Logic + Reading & GK

Each session can be 1.5–2 hours focused on one main topic.

Biology

Focus on:

Cell structure & function, membranes, organelles
DNA, RNA, replication, transcription, translation
Genetics: Mendelian, basic non-Mendelian, pedigrees
Enzymes, metabolism, cellular respiration, photosynthesis
Human physiology: nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, excretory, immune systems
Basic ecology & population biology

Goal of this phase: when you see a Bio question, you recognise the topic and you’re not afraid of the vocabulary.

Chemistry

Focus on:

Atomic structure, periodic table trends
Chemical bonds (ionic, covalent, metallic, hydrogen, intermolecular forces)
Stoichiometry: moles, molarity, limiting reagents
Gases & gas laws
Solutions, solubility, concentration
Acids, bases, pH, buffers
Basic organic: functional groups, simple reactions

Goal: you can set up equations, work with moles, and interpret formulae quickly.

Physics & Mathematics

Here you want functional competence, not Olympiad level.

Physics:

Kinematics: velocity, acceleration, basic graphs
Newton’s laws, forces, weight, friction
Work, energy, power
Basic fluids (pressure)
Temperature, heat, simple thermodynamics
Simple electricity: voltage, current, resistance, Ohm’s law

Maths:

Fractions, percentages, ratios
Powers, roots, logarithms (basics)
Linear equations, simultaneous equations
Proportionality, simple functions
Basic probability and statistics

Logic & Reading & GK

IMAT logic is often about:

Arguments: premises vs conclusions
Assumptions, strengthen/weaken questions
Patterns, sequences, simple combinatorics
Short problem-solving questions

Reading & GK:

Short texts where you must extract information quickly.
Some general culture questions: science history, basic humanities, politics, etc. (You can’t study all of GK, but you can practise reading.)

In the Foundation Phase, do small sets of 5–10 logic questions 3–4 times a week, and occasionally read an article (science news, medicine, ethics) and summarise it in 3 lines.

6. Exam Phase: timing, past papers, and strategy

Once your basics are no longer a disaster, shift to an exam-first approach.

Weekly structure (Exam Phase)

For a 6-month plan (last 3 months):

1 full IMAT paper or high-quality simulation / week
2–3 review sessions focusing on mistakes
Targeted theory revision based on what keeps going wrong

For a 3-month plan (weeks 5–12):

Start with half papers, move quickly to 1 full paper/week.
Use remaining time to repair weak topics.

After each mock:

Mark it with real scoring.
Log:
- Total score
- Section scores
- Number of blanks vs wrong answers
Categorise mistakes:
- “Didn’t know the content” (needs theory revision)
- “Knew it but misread / rushed” (needs technique)
- “Guessed / ran out of time” (needs pacing work)

Strategy elements you must train

Time management: 100 minutes for 60 questions ≈ 1 min 40 sec per question.
Order of attack:
- Many students start with Biology & Chemistry, then Physics/Maths, and do Logic/GK either first (fresh) or last (when they’re low on mental energy).
Use of skips:
- With negative marking, it’s often better to skip or mark for review than to randomly guess.
Educated guessing:
- Eliminate obviously wrong options to raise your odds when you have to guess.

7. A concrete 3-month IMAT study plan (example)

Weeks 1–2

2× Bio sessions (cell, DNA, basics of genetics)
2× Chem sessions (atoms, periodic table, mole concept)
1× Phys/Maths session (units, kinematics, simple algebra)
3× short logic sets (5–10 questions each)
1× diagnostic or half-length IMAT simulation

Weeks 3–4

Bio: physiology (cardio, respiratory, nervous, endocrine)
Chem: bonding, simple reactions, acids/bases, pH
Phys/Maths: Newton’s laws, work & energy, proportion, percentages
One timed section per week (e.g. Bio only, or Chem only)

Weeks 5–8

1 full IMAT-style mock every 2 weeks
Remaining time:
- fix weak topics (e.g. stoichiometry, genetics)
- daily short logic practice
- timed mini-sets for Physics/Maths

Weeks 9–12

1 full mock per week
Very targeted theory revision only where mistake patterns repeat
Simulate exam timing and environment as realistically as possible
Last week: 1–2 light mocks, lots of review, no heavy new topics

8. A concrete 6-month IMAT study plan (high-level)

Months 1–2 – Heavy Foundation

Bio: go through the full high-school syllabus systematically
Chem: same, including plenty of stoichiometry practice
Phys/Maths: build from “I remember nothing” to “I can solve standard exercises”
Logic: regular short sets
One half-length simulation at the end of Month 2

Month 3 – Consolidation

Mix of content and shorter timed sets
First full IMAT simulation at end of Month 3
Adjust your weekly focus based on that simulation

Months 4–5 – Exam Phase

1 full mock every 1–2 weeks
Detailed correction and classification of every mistake
Deeper practice in your weakest sections
At least one day per week where you ONLY do timed questions

Month 6 – Refinement

1 full mock per week
Light theory review (no brand-new topics unless absolutely necessary)
Focus on:
- pacing,
- exam confidence,
- avoiding “stupid” mistakes you already know about.

9. Common IMAT preparation mistakes (and how to avoid them)

“I’ll do content now, past papers at the end”… and then there’s no time.
→ Start doing some timed questions by Week 2–3, even if you feel unprepared.
Ignoring Physics & Maths entirely.
→ You don’t need perfection, but a handful of extra points here can move you up hundreds of places in the ranking.
Treating Logic as pure luck.
→ Logic can be trained. Learn basic argument structures and question types.
Never simulating the full 100 minutes.
→ The mental fatigue is real. At least 4–5 full mocks before the real exam.
Randomly guessing everything at the end.
→ With negative marking, sometimes the best move is to leave a question blank.

10. Studying alone vs structured IMAT course

You can prepare for IMAT on your own, especially if you’re disciplined and used to independent study.

You might prefer a structured IMAT preparation course, though, if:

you want a clear weekly plan without designing it yourself,
you’d like live explanations of Biology, Chemistry and Physics/Maths tailored to IMAT level,
you value feedback on your mock results and exam strategy,
you don’t want to be the only one in your life who cares about this exam.

That’s exactly why we created an IMAT preparation course in English at polimitestprep: dedicated group lessons, step-by-step content review, and full mock support.

Whether you join a course or not, the key is the same:

Start early enough, respect the exam format, and make every week count.

Final thought

The IMAT exam can look intimidating from the outside: international competition, negative marking, only one session per year.

But when you break it into a 3–6 month plan, it becomes a series of simple steps:

understand the format,
fix the biggest gaps in your science,
practise the exact style of questions,
and repeat until exam day feels familiar instead of terrifying.

If you commit to that process, you’re no longer “hoping to get lucky with IMAT”.
You’re systematically increasing your chances of sitting in an Italian lecture theatre next autumn, wearing a stethoscope instead of just dreaming about it.

Do you need professional support for IMAT?

polimitestprep is here for you! After successfully helping 75 students to enrol into the architecture programs of both Polimi and Polito, we have started courses also on the IMAT! If you would like to prepare for IMAT following a solid study with polimitestprep, sign up here!

Check the IMAT course calendar here.

Thinking about participating? Find more information about the IMAT Courses here.