The Ministry of University and Research has announced the window periods in which the TOLCs, the computer-based tests for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine, will take place. For the next academic year, two attempts will be available, in April and July. But fourth graders will be able to try up to four times to apply for the year 2024/25
Continuity with the Draghi government. At least as regards the limited number of highly sought-after degree courses such as Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine. The new Executive does not abolish programmed access and confirms the reform of the entrance exams for medical area degrees; one of the last official acts launched by the former Minister of University and Research, Maria Cristina Messa. The Ministry has in fact formalized, with an ad hoc decree, also the dates of the quizzes. The plural is a must, because from now on students will have more than one attempt to try to enter university. For the 2023-2024 academic year, the first window will be open between 13 and 22 April 2023, the second between 15 and 25 July 2023. A clear change compared to what happened in recent decades, when aspiring whites” were forced to play it all in one day, at the beginning of September.
Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary medicine entrance test, one attempt per “window”
However, as Skuola.net underlines, who carried out a general survey of the new legislation, the philosophy of the single test will in a certain sense remain. Because in each session, those who want to attempt access to one of the three degree courses can enroll in only one test, based on the calendar established by the university they wish to go to to complete the questionnaire. Subsequently, if one chooses to take the test in both windows, the better score of the two can be used for enrolment. Indicating, in order of preference, the locations for which you intend to compete, which remain independent from the one where the test was carried out.
The ranking will remain national: it will be published on 5 September
Candidates, after taking at least one test, will then have to request access to the national ranking in order to compete for one of the available places. They will be able to enter the application with their own options from 31 July 2023 until 24 August 2023, at 3.00 pm, through the CINECA portal.
The publication of the ranking, always national, will instead take place on 5 September 2023. However, earlier than in previous years. A choice that has the aim of promoting the scrolling of the national ranking as soon as possible and allowing the correct start of the 2023-2024 academic year. While the available places, as always, will be announced with a subsequent decree.
TOLC, the Cisia test: how the structure of the test changes
But there is another novelty. Starting next year, the tests will no longer be carried out with the traditional “pen and paper” method but will be administered by computer, based on the new standardized models TOLC-MED (for Medicine and Dentistry) and TOLC-VET (for Veterinary), close relatives of those TOLCs (CISIA Online Tests) with which the Interuniversity Consortium for Integrated Access Systems has been supporting for years the selection of those universities that offer degree courses with a limited “local” number, for example in the faculties of Engineering or of Sciences.
As a result, the structure of the tests will also change. We will go from 60 to 50 questions, with a reduced duration from 100 to 90 minutes. The characterizing subjects, however, remain the same as always: Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics; to which must be added a section of logical reasoning and general culture (reading skills and knowledge acquired in studies). The real difference, from a practical point of view, concerns the timing of the various parts of the questionnaire. Each area will have its own time limit: Biology, 15 questions in 25 minutes; Chemistry and physics, 15 questions in 25 minutes; Mathematics and reasoning, 13 questions in 25 minutes; Reading comprehension and knowledge acquired in studies, 7 questions in 15 minutes.
Girls and boys will be able to register for the TOLCs via the CISIA web platform
(www.cisiaonline.it). With the universities that will have to communicate the dates for carrying out their textbooks in such a way as to allow bookings starting at least from the thirtieth day before the start of the delivery period. With the reservation that will be allowed until the tenth day before the start of each delivery period.
Two attempts a year, up to four total for each candidate. From 2024 the TOLCs will be held in February and April
But that’s not all. The system illustrated so far, in fact, is only a kind of transitional discipline. Because the breadth of the reform will only show itself starting from the following year. There is another small revolution introduced by the new entry tests. In fact, students in the upper fourth year may also be able to try them. Who, as early as the April window, will be able to take the quizzes, making their score count for the purposes of the ranking for the 2024/2025 academic year.
With the system which, when fully operational, provides for the possibility of carrying out up to four tests – two in the upper quarter and two in the fifth – then choosing the most favorable one. In this regard, the Ministry has already communicated the 2024 test period, which will change slightly, further anticipating the dates: the first session will be in February, the second in April.
In this way, at least in this area of specialization, the world of public universities is getting closer and closer to that of “private”. For some time now, in fact, the latter have been selecting their members through standardized tests (such as the TOLC), having the quizzes carried out in the very first months of the year.