TIL Polito 2027: How the Politecnico di Torino Engineering Test Works

"TIL Polito" is the name final-year students use when they search for the Politecnico di Torino test, and behind it lies a test with rules all of its own: it isn't CISIA's TOLC-I, you can't sit it from home like the Politecnico di Milano's TOL, and it has a threshold, the guarantee threshold, that changes the way you prepare for it. This guide lays out what you need to know for 2027/28, starting from the 2026/27 call for applications, the latest one published: structure, scoring, thresholds, dates, attempts, SAT. The 2027 dates will be set by the new call, and every rule should be checked again there: the reference page is the one on the Politecnico di Torino admission test.

What Is the TIL-I and Who Has to Take It?

The TIL-I, Test in Laib – Engineering, is the admission test for every Engineering degree course at the Politecnico di Torino and for the Professional Bachelor's degree in Industrial Manufacturing Technologies. The only alternative is a SAT score; CISIA's TOLC-I, which is valid at many other universities, isn't used in Turin.

The name comes from the LAIB, the university's computer labs: that's where you sit the test, on a computer, at the main campus in Turin or at the Mondovì campus, and there is no at-home version. The Politecnico uses the same format for Design (TIL-D) and Planning (TIL-P) too, with different tests; Architecture has its own TIL-A, with rules set by a ministerial decree.

The score is only valid for enrolment in the following academic year, which is why the call requires you to be in your final year of high school or to have your diploma already. So if you're in Year 12, you can't use the TIL-I yet: it's a clear difference from the Politecnico di Milano's TOL, which offers early admission to students in Year 12.

How Is the TIL-I Structured?

There are 42 questions in four sections, each with its own set time, for an hour and a half in total. Each question has five answers, only one of which is correct.

The test is individual and different for every candidate: the questions are drawn at random, with equivalent difficulty, and you can choose Italian or English. In the room, all you have are the blank sheets and the pen handed out by the invigilators. Calculators, phones, smartwatches, earphones and notes are banned, and a phone ringing during the test means disqualification.

If you have a certified specific learning disorder (SpLD) or disability, you're entitled to extra time, up to 30% or 50%, and to a non-programmable calculator: the documents must be uploaded to Apply@polito at least 15 days before the test.

How Is the TIL-I Scored?

Each correct answer is worth $+1$, each unanswered question $0$ and each wrong answer $-0.25$. The total is converted into a score out of 100, to two decimal places, and appears on screen at the end of the test: 42 net points equal 100/100.

The most useful way to read the thresholds is in net points out of 42: 30/100 is 12.6 points, 60/100 is 25.2. If you get 27 questions right, 7 wrong and leave 8 blank, this is where you end up:

That clears the guarantee threshold by a whisker. With 26 right and 4 wrong you get 25 points, which is 59.52: the same preparation, one question's difference, and your place is no longer guaranteed.

The penalty is scarier than it is costly. On average, guessing blindly among five answers neither gains nor loses you anything:

But if you can rule out even one, the sum turns positive ($\frac{1}{4} - \frac{3}{4} \cdot 0.25 \approx +0.06$), and with two ruled out it rises to about $+0.17$. Leaving a question blank only makes sense when you can't rule anything out.

Then there's a threshold that doesn't keep you out but follows you into your first year: if you get in with less than 30% of the points in the maths section, that is, less than 4.8 out of 16, you'll have Additional Academic Obligations (OFA) to make up.

What Score Do You Need to Get Into the Politecnico di Torino?

With 30/100 you get onto the ranking list; with 60/100 you have a guaranteed place on your first-choice course. Between 30 and 60, each course's ranking list decides, and it is worked through until the places run out. For Industrial Manufacturing Technologies, any score above zero is enough.

When you register, you list up to five Engineering courses, in order of preference, in the "Select your programme" section of Apply@polito. There is one ranking list per course, and it puts candidates in this order:

1. candidates who reached the guarantee threshold in the TIL-I;
2. candidates who submitted a valid SAT score;
3. all other TIL-I candidates with at least 30, by score.

If scores are tied, the maths section counts first, then reading comprehension and logic, then physics, then technical knowledge; if there's still a tie, the younger candidate goes ahead. In 2026/27 there were 5,177 places across 21 courses, and the largest were Mechanical Engineering (710), Computer Engineering (659) and Engineering and Management (515).

When Is the TIL-I Held? The Dates

The 2027 dates will be set by the new call. In 2026 there were five sessions, from 19 February to July, with registration open on Apply@polito from 27 January (from 12 May for the fifth session):

Registration for each date closes about a week beforehand, while seats in the room last. You book one date at a time: you can only book the next one after sitting the current one, and never for an earlier day. Your assigned lab appears on your Apply@polito personal page right after payment.

How Many Times Can You Take the TIL-I, and How Much Does It Cost?

Up to three times, once per session, and your best result counts. Each attempt costs €50, which is non-refundable, can't be moved to another date and can't be recovered by cancelling your registration, because once you've booked, you can't cancel. A test voided by the invigilators for breaking the rules still counts as an attempt.

With five sessions and three attempts, it pays to take the first one early. If you reach 60, you have your place straight away and can give the rest of your final year over to the Maturità; if you fall short, you know exactly which section to work on and you still have two chances left.

Can You Get Into the Politecnico di Torino With the SAT?

Yes. The SAT is accepted as an alternative to the TIL-I, with at least 650 in each of its two sections, but it doesn't give you the guarantee: in the ranking, SAT candidates come after those who scored 60 in the TIL-I and before the other TIL-I candidates.

For 2026/27, scores had to be uploaded to Apply@polito by 30 April, with the official report sent by the College Board to institution code 7679. Among SAT candidates, the total of the two sections counts; in a tie, maths comes first. The SAT makes most sense if you're already preparing for it for other universities, including abroad: one test, several applications. Our course for it is on the SAT preparation page.

What Topics Does the TIL-I Cover, and Where Can You Find Mock Tests?

The Politecnico publishes the detailed syllabus for each section in the Apply@polito guide, which you can see once you've registered, together with a practice test for the TIL-I and study materials to download. The foundations are what you study at high school: maths and physics, reading comprehension and logical reasoning, plus a section on technical knowledge.

Whatever mock tests you use, sit them with each section's time limit and with the penalty. A mock test without the −0.25 trains the wrong habit, which is answering everything; a mock test without a timer hides what is often the real problem: not how hard the questions are, but the bare two minutes you have for each one. On our Up to Admission platform, mock tests are timed section by section and include the penalty, and you go over every mistake with your tutor.

How Do You Prepare for the TIL-I?

The real work happens on three fronts. Maths, which accounts for 16 of the 42 questions and is the first tie-breaker. Pace, because each section has its own time limit and two minutes a question go by fast. And handling the penalty, which you only learn by doing mock tests: knowing when an answer is safe enough to give is a skill, not a matter of nerve.

You start with a full mock test, to see where you're starting from and how many points you are short of 60; then you work on the sections that are furthest off and come back to mock tests at regular intervals, until your score holds steady above the guarantee threshold. If you're aiming for the first session in February, you'd do well to start in the autumn.

If you want to do it with a dedicated tutor, in person in Milan, online or at home, there's our TIL-I preparation for the Politecnico di Torino. If you're also keeping your Milan options open, the TOLC-I, TOL and TIL-I Masterclass prepares you for all three tests together, in small groups, from October to February: on the 2026 calendar, that meant being ready in time for the second TIL-I session.

TIL-I, TOL and TOLC-I: What's the Difference?

They're three different tests, and they open different doors. The TIL-I is only valid for the Politecnico di Torino and is taken in person. The TOL is the Politecnico di Milano's test: 65 questions in 100 minutes, taken from home. The TOLC-I is CISIA's test, accepted by dozens of universities and, as an alternative to the TOL, by the Politecnico di Milano, but not by the one in Turin.

Maths, physics, logic and comprehension come up in all three, which is why anyone looking at both Politecnici prepares for them together: the core is shared; the rules and the strategy change. The comparison between the two Milan tests is in TOLC-I or TOL: How to Choose.

Where should you start? With a full mock test, timed and with the penalty: it tells you which section to work on and how far you are from 60. Tell us about your situation: from there we set up the plan, and you book your first lesson already knowing what to work on.

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