How to prepare for NMAT NMAT full form Narsee Monjee Management Aptitude Test is an entrance exam held for admission into all the MBA courses offered by NMIMS Mumbai and PGDM courses in NMIMS Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Apart from NMIMS, several other colleges have collaborated and are offering admission through NMAT. It is a computer-based exam and is thought to a little easier than CAT. A candidate can appear for the exam for a total 3 times out of which consist of First attempt and the other two are termed as retakes. There needs to be a gap of 15 days between 2 takes of NMAT. It is recommended to appear for another time if the previous attempt was not up to the level.

New NMAT Exam Pattern

NMAT is an online-based exam and gives each candidate a randomly generated test paper. So, each test taker is ensured to have a different paper than others. All the things in the paper are taken care of and ensured their standard of the paper is maintained. The paper pattern of NMAT has changed drastically and is now quite similar to the GMAT pattern.

The NMAT exam has now become an adaptive test. This means that questions will appear for you from the pool of questions based on the difficulty level of questions that you are comfortable with. Earlier it used to have 120 number of questions to be attempted in 120 minutes. But now as per the new paper pattern, there are 108 questions to be attempted in 120 minutes. The weightage of questions used to be different, a quant section having the highest number of questions. But in the new pattern, the number of questions is the same. The level of difficulty is definitely expected to increase as there is a decrease in the number of questions. You cannot leave or skip any topic as there is sectional cut off for each section that is to be met.

NMAT Preparation Strategy

Quantitative Skills

There are 48 questions of this in NMAT and 60 minutes which brings down to 1.25 minutes per question in this section. There are 4 main important areas in this section – Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, and Modern maths. Join any coaching institute or get hands on the material provided by them. This would ensure the basics cleared very well.  Books like Arun Sharma, Old papers of NMAT available online, Arihant book by Sarvesh would be a good option for preparing. Also, some coaching centers have an extensive schedule for NMAT mock test. Registering for them would be of a lot of help. This would give an idea about the test patterns and how to manage time for the exam.

Logical Reasoning

There are 40 questions of this in NMAT and 38 minutes which give a time of 1 minute for a question. This section consists of verbal and analytical. Verbal is more time consuming than Analytical. For verbal section books like RS Aggarwal can help a lot apart from the material provided by coaching classes. In this section, you need to develop an understanding of how much time a question will take to attempt it. Attempting easy questions first and harder ones for end ensures the positive point for questions know and not attempting them for harder ones. Devote more time and start preparing early.

Language Skills

There are 32 questions of this in NMAT and 22 minutes which gives only 40 seconds for each question to attempt. This section will test you in several areas like vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension. To improve on vocabulary and comprehension, refer to the editorial section of the newspaper. This will improve your reading skills as well as it comprises of good vocabulary content. There are various apps online that help in preparing for vocabulary and their test help learn faster. Also, books like Wren and Martin and Verbal Ability by Arun Sharma can be of great help. So in the NMAT test, you get options on the sequence of the section in order of your preference of attempting. So, start with your strength in each section and overall to ensure maximum questions are into your hand. The advice is to prepare accordingly and take the NMAT challenge!!!

 Also read: Top Institutes Accepting NMAT Scores

NMAT Exam Syllabus

Syllabus for NMAT needs one to cover three sections. NMAT by GMAC syllabus consists of following subjects: Verbal Ability, Data Analysis & Sufficiency, Mathematical Skills, Intelligence & Critical Reasoning. The detailed syllabus for NMAT exam:

• Coding & Decoding
• Series
• Strong Arguments and Weak Arguments
• Multi-dimensional arrangements
• Puzzles
• Arrangement
• Input & Output
• Family tree
• Numeric grid
• Critical Reasoning
• Calendars
• Syllogisms
• Statement Conclusions
• Course of Action
• Blood Relations

• Linear Equation
• Quadratic Equation
• Trigonometry
• Line graph
• Arithmetic
• Bar graph
• Tables
• Mixed Graphs
• Pie chart
• 2D and 3 D Geometry, and Statistic
• Mensuration
• Modern Math
• Number Systems
• Percentage
• Ratio/Proportion
• Profit and Loss
• Averages
• Time-Speed-Distance
• Work and Time
• Mixture & Solution
• Alligations
• Simple Interest
• Compound interest
• Mensuration
• Probability
• Permutations and Combinations
• Coordinate Geometry

Language Skills

• Reading Comprehension
• Language usage and their rules
• Synonyms
• Anonyms
• Syntax, and correct grammar
• Fill in the blanks
• Para Jumble
• Para Completion
• Idioms
• Vocabulary

Some of the other NMAT Exam Details

• Candidates have the opportunity to choose 5 college/institute while filling the application form to send their NMAT scores.
• NMAT Exam Pattern consists of 120 multiple choice questions to be attempted in 2 hours. A limited amount of time will be allotted for attempting each section.
• The question paper will comprise questions from Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, and English Language.
• GMAC has released a list of more than 35 Business schools accepting NMAT Scores. After the declaration of result in the first week of January institutes will release NMAT Cutoff individually.
• Aspirant Friendly Exam: NMAT is considered to be the most aspirant friendly than any other national level MBA entrance exam in the country. The reason behind this status is the liberty to reschedule and retake NMAT by GMAC 2020.

• Option to Retake NMAT: Test takers have an option of appearing more than once. This means a candidate will have up to three maximum attempts, including ‘no shows’.
• Rescheduling of Exam Date: An option to reschedule the test no later than 72 hours prior to the scheduled test to a different date, time or test center is also provided. The change can be made as per the availability.
• 75 days’ Exam window: The long test window provides the test takers with the convenience of choosing an appropriate exam date for NMAT 2020. Information about the availability of the seats at various NMAT by GMAC test centers will be mentioned with each of the slots.

• 7 Programs inclusive in Registration Fee: NMATby GMAC offers to send candidates’ scores up to 7 programs available from the combination, within the registration fee. The programs can be chosen before or after the scheduled appointment. Candidates will have to pay the requisite amount of fee if they wish to send their scores to other programs as well.
• Equated NMAT Results: NMAT scores will be declared in a span of 4-5 weeks from the test delivery. These shall be equated to bring about parity and fairness and will keep test-takers informed in a timely manner.

I hope you found this article helpful. All the Best!!