The IMAT has 60 multiple-choice questions with five options each. You get +1.5 for a correct answer, −0.4 for a wrong answer and 0 for a blank, so the top score is 90. As a guess, a question is only worth answering if your chance of being right is above about 21%. A blind guess among five options is 20%, which is just under that line. Once you can rule out one option, it moves above it.
If you are asking how is the IMAT scored, you are asking the right question early. Many students spend months on content and only look at the marking scheme the week before the exam. Understanding IMAT scoring takes ten minutes and changes how you treat every question you are unsure about. This guide explains the rules, gives you a small calculator, walks through three examples, and shows the simple maths behind guessing.
The IMAT marking scheme in one minute
The IMAT is a paper-based test in English, designed by Cambridge Assessment. You have 100 minutes to answer 60 multiple-choice questions. Each question has five options and only one is correct. The IMAT marking scheme is:
- Correct answer: +1.5 points
- Wrong answer: −0.4 points
- No answer (blank): 0 points
Sixty questions at 1.5 points each gives a maximum of 90. This is why you often see IMAT results written as a score “out of 90” rather than a percentage.
This is what people mean by IMAT negative marking. A wrong answer does not just fail to earn points; it removes some. But the penalty is much smaller than the reward, and that gap is the whole story of the guessing question below.
IMAT score calculator
Type how many questions you got right and how many you got wrong. Blanks are worked out for you. This is a quick check; for a fuller tool, use our IMAT score calculator page.
Correct plus wrong cannot be more than 60, so the tool adjusts values that do not make sense. It is an arithmetic helper only, not a prediction of any official result.
Three worked examples
Here are three sample answer sheets and what they score. The first two use the same correct answers and show what the wrong answers cost.
| Example | Correct | Wrong | Blank | Calculation | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 40 | 10 | 10 | 60 − 4 | 56 |
| B | 40 | 0 | 20 | 60 − 0 | 60 |
| C | 50 | 10 | 0 | 75 − 4 | 71 |
Compare A and B. Both have 40 correct answers. In A, ten other questions were answered wrongly and cost 4 points in total, so the score is 56. In B, those ten were left blank and the score is 60. That does not mean you should leave questions blank. It means each wrong answer has a real price, so the question is always whether a guess is worth that price. Example C shows the other side: answering everything with a decent hit rate can still land well, even with some wrong answers.
The break-even rule for guessing
Here is the idea in plain words. A correct answer gains 1.5. A wrong answer loses 0.4. So one right answer pays for nearly four wrong ones (1.5 divided by 0.4 is 3.75). You do not need to be right most of the time for a guess to make sense. You only need to be right often enough to cover the losses.
In maths, a guess is worth it when P × 1.5 is bigger than (1 − P) × 0.4, where P is your chance of being correct. Solving that gives P greater than about 21% (exactly 0.4 ÷ 1.9, or roughly 21.05%).
What this looks like over 100 similar guesses
Imagine making 100 guesses that all have the same chance of being right. This is an illustration of averages, not a prediction for your exam.
| Situation | Chance per guess | Expected right / wrong | Net points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blind guess, 5 options | 20% | 20 / 80 | 30 − 32 = −2 |
| One option ruled out (4 left) | 25% | 25 / 75 | 37.5 − 30 = +7.5 |
| Two options ruled out (3 left) | about 33% | about 33 / 67 | about +23 |
A pure blind guess is very slightly negative: you lose about 0.02 points per question on average. Remove even one option you are confident is wrong, and the average turns positive. This is arithmetic, and it holds only if your elimination is honest. If you cross out an option because of a hunch you cannot explain, the 25% figure is not real.
Remember too that averages need many tries. On a single question, a good guess can still be wrong. The rule helps you decide in general; it does not remove luck.
Practical rules for using this on exam day
- Do not leave a question blank just because you feel unsure. Feeling unsure is not the same as having a 20% chance. If you can remove one or two options, answering is the better bet on average.
- Do not fill in answers with no thought at all. A pure random guess is not a good trade, and it also wastes the chance to think.
- Keep your elimination reasons concrete. You should be able to say, even briefly, why an option is wrong.
- Train this habit before the exam. Sit timed papers in our free IMAT simulator or work through the IMAT practice sets, then check how your “eliminated and guessed” answers actually turned out. Your own record is more useful than any general rule.
What your score means (and what it does not)
A raw score out of 90 is only one part of the picture. What counts for a seat is where you rank against other applicants and how many places a university offers. Cut-offs change from year to year and from round to round, so use our guide to IMAT cut-off scores by university for context, and always check the official rankings on Universitaly.
The weight of each subject also matters when you plan study time. Sources disagree on the exact split of the 60 questions between logical reasoning, general knowledge and reading, biology, chemistry, and maths and physics. Biology and chemistry carry the most weight, but the exact numbers can change by year. Confirm them in the official annex of the current ministerial decree. Our IMAT syllabus by section lists the topics, and the IMAT study plan shows how to spread your time.
As always, check the official call and Universitaly for the final rules of the year you apply in. Nothing on this page guarantees any result or admission.
Key takeaways
- IMAT scoring: +1.5 correct, −0.4 wrong, 0 blank, maximum 90.
- One correct answer cancels out about 3.75 wrong ones.
- A guess breaks even at about 21% chance of being right.
- A blind guess among 5 options (20%) is slightly negative; eliminating one option (25%) is positive.
- Only count an option as eliminated if you have a real reason.
- Practise this under timed conditions and review how your guesses performed.
Frequently asked questions
How is the IMAT scored?
Each correct answer gives 1.5 points, each wrong answer takes away 0.4 points, and a blank gives 0. With 60 questions, the maximum score is 90.
Is there negative marking on the IMAT?
Yes. A wrong answer costs 0.4 points. A blank costs nothing. The penalty is smaller than the 1.5-point reward for a correct answer.
Should I guess on the IMAT?
It depends on your chance of being right. A guess is worth it on average when that chance is above about 21%. A blind guess among five options is 20%, which is slightly negative, but ruling out even one option raises it to 25%, which is positive.
What is the highest possible IMAT score?
The highest possible score is 90, which means answering all 60 questions correctly at 1.5 points each.
Can an IMAT score be negative?
In theory, yes. If wrong answers cost more than correct answers earn, the total falls below zero. For example, 0 correct and 60 wrong would give −24 by the arithmetic. Real results will depend on the official scoring, so check the current call.
Want help building your IMAT plan?
Talk to our team in a free consultation about your starting point and timeline. If you prefer structured teaching, see the IMAT course, which combines live and recorded classes.
Sources & official links
- Universitaly – registration, rankings and official notices
- Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) – ministerial decrees and annexes
- Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing – test information
