IMAT 2024 was actually easier compared to previous years, let’s say the easiest one since 2011 when the IMAT was established. Interestingly, there was one question that was completely wrong as a key piece of data was missing. And here is also a surprise: Italian students did not perform as well as expected.

Why? Because many of them had been preparing for the Italian entrance exam, which uses a specific database, and didn’t properly adapt their study approach for the English exam. This left them at a disadvantage compared to those who focused solely on the IMAT.

Difficulty of the Biology questions

Overall, the 23 biology questions were very easy. The topics with the most questions were cell organization, the Central Dogma of Biology, DNA translation and transcription, biomolecules and bioenergetics. There was also a lack of very important topics like anatomy, physiology, cell cycle and genetics exercises. The questions were almost definitions.

The most dominant chapter in the test was Cell Organization, with 8 questions of easy difficulty. The following most represented chapters were DNA transcription and translation (6 questions), and biomolecules, genetics and bioenergetics (3 questions). Regarding the complexity of the questions, the average difficulty was easy. There were no reasoning questions or Cambridge-style questions. Chapters on anatomy and physiology, cell cycle, evolution, taxonomy, biotechnology and genetic exercises were absent.

Thus, the 23 questions could have been tackled confidently, saving useful time on the more complex sections.

Difficulty of the Chemistry questions

The chemistry section was of medium difficulty. There were few factual questions, with most exercises requiring the almost direct application of key chemistry formulas. There was no prominent topic, but the entire syllabus was represented. Exercises on acids and bases and pH and neutralisation reappeared this year after being absent in 2023 exam.

There were two factual questions: one concerning the unit of pressure measurement and another on the definition of acids and bases, both of easy difficulty. There were only two stoichiometry questions. One was quite complex, as it required performing calculations to exclude each option, making it time consuming. The second required writing the combustion reaction and identifying the limiting reagent, with several calculations involved. Both were of medium difficulty. Two questions on aqueous solutions were also included. These were fairly simple and required only minor variations from direct formula application. The most significant portion of the section dealt with acids and bases, including theoretical questions based on the definitions of acids and bases and question on neutralization. The latter was one of the more complex questions, but was similar to a question of IMAT 2023. There were also two easy organic chemistry questions, although one required drawing all the molecules from the options. Overall, the chemistry section was not particularly challenging, as the questions were aligned with the syllabus as well as advanced knowledge was not required for the majority of questions. Some exercises were more time-consuming due to longer calculations.

Difficulty of the Mathematics and Physics questions

Overall, the maths and physics questions were balanced both in terms of difficulty and topics covered. The overall difficulty was medium, with mostly practical and application-based questions. The questions were equally divided, with 7 maths questions and 6 physics questions. Regarding math, the exercises covered almost all important topics of the syllabus.

They were mainly practical: 5 out of 7 questions required calculations, while the remaining two could be solved with theoretical reasoning. The overall difficulty appeared to be medium, as the problems did not require advanced skills and could be solved quickly.

In physics, there was an imbalance in the topics: half of the questions were related to electrostatics and electrodynamics, while the remaining three questions covered dynamics, thermodynamics and kinematics. The exercises were of medium difficulty, due to more specific knowledge required. The primary solution method was formula application, except for two questions that required reasoned responses. The knowledge and skills required for both subjects were well within the syllabus. Overall, the difficulty was medium.

Difficulty of Reading Comprehension and Acquired Knowledge

The two general culture questions were about history and English literature. The old Critical Thinking section, which used to include long and complex texts that heavily challenged students, has been replaced by a single reading comprehension question. There was also a grammar question about recognizing the passive form of the verb, which was easy to find. The overall difficulty of this section was medium to easy.

Difficulty of Logical Reasoning and Problem-Solving

The IMAT 2024 logic questions seem increasingly similar to the non-Cambridge questions of the Italian Medicine test. This section was similar to the Mathematical Logic section of the Italian test, with questions covering percentages, fractions and probability. Surprisingly, there was also a question on Necessary and Sufficient Conditions, which had never appeared before in IMAT tests. These questions were of medium to easy difficulty.