How to get into Bocconi: an application guide for UK students
A Bocconi undergraduate application starts earlier than most UK families expect. The first session closes at the end of September in Year 13, and by then your student needs a strong test score and a school transcript. So we start planning with your family in the summer after Year 11.
Key takeaways
- Applications go through Bocconi's own portal, outside UCAS, currently in one of two sessions a year.
- School grades carry almost half the score, and for most students they come from Year 11 and Year 12.
- Bocconi treats its online test, the SAT and the ACT as equivalent and uses the highest score, without superscoring.
- First-year funding is need-based, and you apply once your student has an offer. Merit-based Excellence awards start from the second year.
Bocconi application at a glance
Why UK students choose Bocconi University in Milan
UK students come to Bocconi for economics, finance, management and law degrees taught in English in Milan. The selection rests on a test score and school grades, with no essay or interview. That gives your student clear targets, and we can plan Year 12 around them.
English-taught Bachelor of Science programmes include economics, finance, management, international politics and government, and management and computer science, alongside the Bachelor in Global Law. Some routes are taught in Italian, including the Business Administration bachelor (Economia aziendale) and the five-year Integrated Master of Science in Law. Management runs in both languages. If your student is fluent in Italian, the Italian-taught route makes sense. If not, we steer them to a degree taught in English.
When to apply to Bocconi: deadlines for 2027 entry
Applications open in two sessions a year, and your student's test timing decides which to apply in first. The school years below are for England and Wales, or the equivalent elsewhere in the UK.
How to apply to Bocconi: step by step
Step 1: Choose the degree
We help your student settle on the degree first, because it decides which selection they enter and which tests they can use. Law and Global Law belong to the Law School, which runs its own selection in the same sessions as the other degrees. For law, your student can also use the LSAT or the Law version of the Bocconi online test. Most of our students choose finance, management or economics.
Step 2: Decide the test route
Bocconi's online test and the SAT and ACT count equally, and whichever your student sits makes up 55% of the selection score. The online test lasts 75 minutes, with 50 SAT-style questions and negative marking. Our students mostly take the SAT, because they can use the same score for US and other applications. When time is tight, we sometimes add the Bocconi test. Your student can sit it at home.
Step 3: Prepare the school record
School grades carry 45% of the selection score, and your student earns them long before applying. Bocconi counts the two school years before the final one. For most students in England and Wales, those are Year 11 and Year 12. That means GCSE results, plus Year 12 end-of-year exams if the school puts them on the transcript. Predicted grades do not count. Some schools now have a policy on which grades they report, so we ask the school in Year 12 exactly what it will send.
Step 4: Apply in the right session
For the most competitive programmes, we suggest applying in the early session and, if needed, again in the winter session. Both sessions close at 3pm Italian time (2pm in the UK), so we set a submission date a few days ahead.
Step 5: Arrange the English evidence
To enrol on an English-taught degree, your student needs B2-level English evidence. Bocconi's list of accepted certificates includes IGCSE English First Language at grade C/6. We'll check whether your student's existing qualifications count, so there is still time to book a test if they need one.
Step 6: Results, enrolment and funding
Once an offer arrives, your student enrols and sends the English evidence, and you can apply for need-based funding. Expect Bocconi to ask for a hefty deposit very soon after the offer, to hold the place. If you are still waiting on other universities, we'll talk it through with you before you pay.
Bocconi acceptance rate and minimum scores
Bocconi won't consider an application with an SAT below 1040, or below 520 in either section. The ACT and online test minimums are in the at-a-glance table. In our experience, offers for the more sought-after programmes go to applicants well above that floor. For those, aim for at least 1500 on the SAT, with 9s and 8s at GCSE.
Bocconi University fees and scholarships
For new bachelor and law students starting in 2026-27, full tuition is €17,000 a year.
At entry, Bocconi4Access to Education gives need-based tuition waivers of 20, 40, 60, 80 or 100%, depending on your family's declared income and assets (the Italian ISEE measure). You apply after admission.
Bocconi's Excellence awards reward merit, but only from the second year, with a full waiver for the strongest continuing students. We would not plan around a merit award for the first year.
Mistakes to avoid in your Bocconi application
- Treating Year 11 and Year 12 as warm-up years. For most students, these are the two years Bocconi counts.
- Missing the early session. It closes a few weeks into Year 13, so don't leave the transcript request until September.
- Leaving submission to the final day. Both sessions close in the middle of a UK school day.
- Starting the SAT late. A student who decides on Bocconi in July may have only two SAT sittings left before the early session closes.
How Guidewell Global supports your Bocconi application
Students we have worked with have received offers from Bocconi. Most of our Bocconi families also look at IE and UK universities, and many at the US as well.
- Discover and define goals. Everything begins with a complimentary consultation about your student's goals and grades.
- Build a balanced shortlist. Together we choose the right Bocconi degree, and any IE, UK or US options to go with it.
- One master timeline. Your counsellor puts the sessions, test dates, transcript and English evidence on one plan.
- Every application, done properly. We help with the test route and the transcript, and set a submission date well ahead of the 2pm UK cut-off.
- Decisions and next steps. When results arrive, we guide you through the deposit and any funding application.
Bocconi University application questions, answered
Bocconi doesn't publish an acceptance rate, so any percentage you see quoted is an estimate. For the competitive programmes, we advise aiming for 1500 or more on the SAT, with 9s and 8s at GCSE.
Most of our students take the SAT for Bocconi. There is more practice material for it, and the same score works for US applications. A student already preparing for the SAT should keep going. Bocconi treats all three tests as equivalent and uses the highest score, so its online test is a handy back-up when time is tight.
Yes, Bocconi accepts A-levels and the IB. A-level applicants need at least three A-levels. Critical Thinking and General Studies do not count, and a BTEC cannot replace one. Scottish applicants need three Advanced Highers, or two Advanced Highers plus at least four Highers. IB applicants need the full Diploma. That means at least 24 points across six subjects, with 12 at Higher Level, plus passes in TOK, CAS and the Extended Essay. If your student has changed school system, we make sure they meet Bocconi's schooling-years rule.
Bocconi's early session for 2027 entry closed on 29 September 2026, and the winter session closes on 26 January 2027, both at 3pm Italian time.
Bocconi's full tuition is €17,000 a year for 2026-27 starters. First-year funding is need-based, through Bocconi4Access to Education. The merit-based Excellence awards start only from the second year, so we would not plan around merit funding at entry.
No. A Bocconi application doesn't use up a UCAS choice, because your student applies directly through Bocconi's own portal.
Plan your Bocconi application with us
Bocconi may be your student's only choice or one of several. Either way, we can help in London and online. Book a complimentary consultation and we'll talk through your student's grades and testing.
