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Admission procedure

How many pass the WU entrance exam? Figures 2019–2026

Registered, admitted, exam takers and study places for WISO, WiRe and BBE, year by year from WU’s own announcements.

By unipass editorial team, 8 min read

Last updated: 26 September 2026. Sources last checked on 26 September 2026.

To study Business, Economics and Social Sciences (WISO), Business Law (WiRe) or Business and Economics (BBE) at WU Vienna, you go through an admission procedure whenever more people register than there are places. This page collects what WU itself has published about demand, and shows which of its figures actually describes your odds.

How hard it is: in all three programmes far more people sit the exam than there are places, and in the English-taught BBE programme many times more. WU allocates places according to the ranking of results; it names no minimum score.1

You can prepare without a paid course: for WISO, WU publishes practice questions, the formula sheet and the reader for the economics part itself. How the WISO exam is structured and graded is explained in our guide to the WISO entrance test.2

Registered, admitted, sat the exam, places: WU's four figures

WU reports different figures each year, and they measure different things. Mix them and you get a rate that means nothing. The procedure has four counting points:

  • Registered: people who signed up in WU's registration tool within the deadline and paid the fee.
  • Admitted to the exam: people who then also completed the online self-assessment (OSA), WU's compulsory self-test.
  • Sat the exam: people who actually turned up on exam day.
  • Places: the study places WU fills each academic year, unchanged since 2019 at 2,703 for WISO, 870 for Business Law and 240 for BBE.

WU counts as admitted everyone who has completed "Stufe I des Aufnahmeverfahrens" (stage one of the procedure), the OSA. Its wording does not tell you the stage, though: the 2024 release calls the admitted people per programme "Registrierungen" (registrations).3

WISO 2026 shows how much the choice of figure changes the rate. Before the exam, WU reported around 6,370 people as "antrittsberechtigt" (entitled to sit the exam).4

On 30 June 2026, 5,356 actually sat it, just over a thousand fewer.1

With 2,703 places, that makes 42 places per 100 admitted and 50 per 100 who sat the exam. We calculated both from WU's figures. The second one is the one that matters for you: someone who does not turn up takes no place from anyone.

Places per hundred exam takers in the 2026 WU entrance exams

For 2026, WU published how many people actually sat the exam in all three programmes. For earlier years we found no such figure in its announcements.1

Admitted to the exam, exam takers and study places 2026WU entrance exams for WISO, Business Law and BBE
Three bars on one scale. WISO: around 6,370 admitted, 5,356 sat the exam, 2,703 study places, 50 places per 100 who sat. Business Law: just under 2,600 admitted, 2,260 sat the exam, 870 study places, 38 places per 100 who sat. BBE: almost 3,900 admitted, 2,872 sat the exam, 240 study places, 8 places per 100 who sat. Counted against those admitted it would be 42, 33 and 6.places per 100who satWISOaround 6,370 admitted2,703 places5,356 sat the exam50Business Lawjust under 2,600 admitted870 places2,260 sat the exam38BBEalmost 3,900 admitted240 places2,872 sat the exam8places per 100who satWISOaround 6,370 admitted2,703 places5,356 sat the exam50Business Lawjust under 2,600 admitted870 places2,260 sat the exam38BBEalmost 3,900 admitted240 places2,872 sat the exam8
Our calculation

Admitted: WU press release of June 2026, as "rund 6.370 antrittsberechtigt" (around 6,370 entitled to sit, WISO), "knapp 2.600" (just under 2,600, Business Law) and "fast 3.900" (almost 3,900, BBE). Exam takers: WU news of July 2026. Study places: WU’s pages on the procedures.

Places per 100 who sat: 2,703 / 5,356 ≈ 50, 870 / 2,260 ≈ 38, 240 / 2,872 ≈ 8. Per 100 admitted: 2,703 / 6,370 ≈ 42, 870 / 2,600 ≈ 33, 240 / 3,900 ≈ 6; the last two from WU’s rounded figures.

The rate is not a pass rate: places go by the ranking of the results.

Per 100 exam takers there were 50 places in WISO, 38 in Business Law and 8 in BBE. This is our calculation from places and exam takers, not a figure WU gives.

BBE shows how far apart the counting methods are. Before the exam, WU wrote that there were "rund 16 Bewerber*innen auf einen der 240 verfügbaren Studienplätze" (around 16 applicants per place). Counted against the people who actually sat the exam, it was around twelve.4

WU figures since 2019 by programme

Since 2019, according to WU, applications have risen by around 80 percent for WISO, around 130 percent for Business Law and around 260 percent for BBE, with the same number of places.1

The tables show, for each year, the figure WU published and WU's own word for it. "Not published" means WU's announcements for that year contain no figure for it. We do not estimate gaps.

Business, Economics and Social Sciences (WISO)

YearRegisteredAdmittedSat the examPlaces
201953,856 registrationsnot publishednot published2,703
202063,803 valid registrationsnot publishedno exam, essay and knowledge questions2,703
202173,916 valid registrationsnot publishedno exam, written assignment2,703
20228almost 4,000 valid registrationsnot publishednot published2,703
20239over 4,500 valid registrationsnot publishednot published2,703
20243not publishedjust under 5,000 registrationsnot published2,703
202510not publishedaround 6,000 admittednot published2,703
2026not publishedaround 6,370 entitled to sit45,35612,7032

Business Law (WiRe)

YearRegisteredAdmittedSat the examPlaces
201951,167 registerednot publishednot published870
202061,545 registerednot publishedno exam, essay870
202171,595 registerednot publishedno exam, essay870
20228not publishedalmost 1,500 entitled to sitnot published870
20239not publishedover 1,400 entitled to sitnot published870
20243not publishedmore than 1,900 registrationsnot published870
202510not publishedjust under 2,200 registrationsnot published870
2026not publishedjust under 2,600 wanting to sit42,260187011

Business and Economics (BBE)

YearRegisteredAdmittedSat the examPlaces
201951,362 registerednot publishednot published240
202061,922 applicationsnot publishednot published240
202172,068 applicationsnot publishednot published240
20228almost ten times the placesnot publishednot published240
20239almost 3,000 registerednot publishednot published240
20243not publishedaround 14 per placenot published240
202510not publishedover 3,700 able to sitnot published240
2026not publishedalmost 3,900 wanting to sit42,872124012

The column a figure goes in is decided by when the release came out. The 2019 to 2021 releases appeared while the OSA deadline was still running; their figures are registrations.5

The three 2024 figures add up to roughly the "über 10.000" (over 10,000) that WU reports as admitted in the same release.3

For 2025 they add up almost exactly to the "rund 12.000" (around 12,000) admitted people named in that year's release.10

For 2022 and 2023 it stays open. Those releases came out after the OSA deadline but give no admitted total, so their "gültige Anmeldungen" (valid registrations) stay under "Registered". And for BBE 2019, WU's look-back a year later gives 1,392 instead of 1,362; the table shows the figure from the year itself.6

How WU allocates places after the exam

You get a place if you rank high enough among everyone who sat the exam. After the 2026 exams WU wrote, for all three programmes: "Die Studienplätze werden anschließend entsprechend der Reihung vergeben" (the places are then allocated according to the ranking).1

The BBE page puts it most plainly: within ten days of the exam you learn whether you are "among the first 240 applicants".12

For WISO, too, you get your result by e-mail and in the registration tool within ten days of the exam.2

For WISO it is set out in WU's regulation on the admission procedure: "Pro Aufnahmetermin erhalten so viele Studienwerber*innen einen Studienplatz, bis die Anzahl der zu vergebenden Studienplätze gemäß § 2 ausgeschöpft ist" (places are given to applicants until the number of places is used up). How many points earn a place therefore depends on how everyone else does, and can shift from year to year.13

For Business Law, WU's procedure page gives the points per question and the weight of the two parts of the exam, but no minimum score.11

So "50 out of 100" is neither a pass rate nor your personal chance. How many points a place took in 2026, and how many places were taken up, is in none of the announcements we reviewed.

How the WISO exam at WU has changed format

Each year's figures belong to a different exam. In 2020 there was no WISO entrance exam because of the pandemic; applicants submitted an essay and answered open knowledge questions instead.6

In 2021 the exam was cancelled again and replaced by a written assignment.7

In 2022 and 2023 WISO used an online open-book exam. Applicants had four hours and could use aids such as internet sources or course materials.9

The 2022 regulation stated for that format: "Eine Reihung findet nicht statt" (there is no ranking). The 2022 figures therefore say nothing about how high you had to rank for a place.14

In 2024 the exam stayed online, according to WU "aufgrund der großen Teilnehmer*innenzahl" (because of the large number of candidates).3

From 2024 there was a ranking: the January 2024 regulation gave out places until they were used up, and spoke of applicants who may be "gleich gereiht" (ranked equal) on the last place.13

In 2025 the exam ran on the WISEflow platform with the camera on; anyone who switched it off during the exam was excluded.15

In 2026 WU moved back to an exam on site, "um faire Bedingungen und die Integrität der Prüfungen sicherzustellen" (to ensure fair conditions and the integrity of the exams). The 2026 exam-taker figures therefore belong to a different format from the figures for 2020 to 2025.16

What is known about the 2027 WU entrance exams

There are no figures for 2027 yet. On its procedure pages WU writes: "Informationen zum Aufnahmeverfahren 2027/28 werden Mitte November veröffentlicht" (information on the 2027/28 procedure will be published in mid-November). Demand only becomes visible once registration closes; in 2026 that was 19 May.2

Because places go by ranking, what counts is how many points you score relative to others. You can raise that score in four steps:

  1. In mid-November, read WU's information on 2027/28 and note the registration deadline, the OSA deadline and the exam date. The 2026 dates for all three programmes are on our entrance-test page.
  2. Work through WU's practice questions against the clock and note which area costs you the most points.
  3. Practise that area with questions in the exam format; for WISO that means graded with WU's partial-credit system. From March 2027 you can do this with unipass, with questions for every topic and full mock exams.
  4. Sit a full mock exam in real time and take your weakest area back to step 3.

Sources

  1. 1Über 10.000 Studieninteressierte bei WU-AufnahmeprüfungenWU Wien, News · document dated 2 July 2026 · checked on 26 September 2026
  2. 2Aufnahmeverfahren Bachelorstudium Wirtschafts- und SozialwissenschaftenWU Wien · undated page · checked on 26 September 2026
  3. 3Rekord bei Registrierungen für WU-Bachelorstudien: Aufnahmeprüfungen 2024 finden stattWU Wien, Presseaussendung · document dated 13 June 2024 · checked on 26 September 2026
  4. 4Fast 13.000 Bewerber*innen: erneut Rekord-Registrierungszahlen für WU-BachelorstudienWU Wien, Presseaussendung (APA-OTS) · document dated 2 June 2026 · checked on 26 September 2026
  5. 5Großes Interesse an WU-Studium: alle Aufnahmeverfahren gestartetWU Wien, Presseaussendung · document dated 16 May 2019 · checked on 26 September 2026
  6. 6Auch heuer extrem hohes Interesse an WU-Studium: alle Aufnahmeverfahren gestartetWU Wien, Presseaussendung · document dated 20 May 2020 · checked on 26 September 2026
  7. 7Ungebrochenes Interesse an WU-Bachelorstudium: alle Aufnahmeverfahren gestartetWU Wien, Presseaussendung (APA-OTS) · document dated 21 May 2021 · checked on 26 September 2026
  8. 8Interesse an WU-Bachelorstudium erneut sehr hochWU Wien, Presseaussendung · document dated 3 June 2022 · checked on 26 September 2026
  9. 9Ansturm auf WU-Bachelorstudium: Aufnahmeprüfungen 2023 finden stattWU Wien, Presseaussendung · document dated 5 June 2023 · checked on 26 September 2026
  10. 10Erneut Rekord-Registrierungszahlen für alle Bachelorstudien an der WUWU Wien, Presseaussendung · document dated 12 June 2025 · checked on 26 September 2026
  11. 11Aufnahmeverfahren Bachelorstudium WirtschaftsrechtWU Wien · undated page · checked on 26 September 2026
  12. 12Selection procedure, Bachelor’s Program in Business and EconomicsWU Vienna · undated page · checked on 26 September 2026
  13. 13Mitteilungsblatt der WU, 31. Jänner 2024, 19. Stück: Änderung der Verordnung zum Aufnahmeverfahren WISO (PDF)WU Wien, Mitteilungsblatt · document dated 31 January 2024 · checked on 26 September 2026
  14. 14Mitteilungsblatt der WU, 2. Februar 2022, 20. Stück: Änderung der Verordnung zum Aufnahmeverfahren WISO (PDF)WU Wien, Mitteilungsblatt · document dated 2 February 2022 · checked on 26 September 2026
  15. 15Leitfaden WISEflow, Aufnahmeprüfung WISO 2025/26 (PDF)WU Wien · document dated 28 March 2025 · checked on 26 September 2026
  16. 16Aufnahmeverfahren 2026 an der WU startenWU Wien, News · document dated 26 February 2026 · checked on 26 September 2026

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