Is NMAT easy? All you need to know about NMAT Difficulty level

Every year, MBA aspirants prepare vigorously to give multiple exams so that they get to land the college of their dreams. While most of these exams are of a pretty high difficulty level, everyone is looking out for that one exam that might be easier than the rest. You might have read on the internet that NMAT is one such ‘easy’ exam, but is it so? Keep reading to find out the actual NMAT exam difficulty level.

This article will help you plan your NMAT preparation accordingly.

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What is NMAT all about?

Let’s first have an overview of NMAT :

• The examination mode is online.
• There are a total of three sections, with no negative marking for wrong answers
• There is a total of 108 questions, that need to be attempted in 120 minutes.
• You need to clear the sectional cut-offs and the overall cut-off to qualify for the CDPI round.

Click here to kick start your NMAT preparation with the help of NMIMS Alumni and NMAT Toppers

Some other important aspects of NMAT:

• You can give a total of 3 attempts, with a 75-day window in between any two exams ( take note that for every attempt you will have to pay the exam fees again, but not the college fees).
• Only the first attempt would be considered by NMIMS.
• You are free to choose the order of the sections before the start of the exam.
• You can also schedule your own time and place for taking the examination (subject to availability).

Also: Click here to take the Free NMAT mock test

What are the three sections covered in NMAT? The three main sections in NMAT are:

You can read our article on the ‘NMAT  preparation strategy’ for comprehensive detail on each section and the strategy to ace them.

Also read: NMAT  preparation strategy

So, what is the actual NMAT difficulty level?

As compared to CAT, XAT, and other such MBA exams, NMAT is easier; but it is not the easiest to crack. The reason being: time!

NMAT is essentially a time-based test, and you have to be very quick in attempting the maximum number of correct questions, if not all. Let’s look at some of the essential points in detail:

Speed:

The most important factor for NMAT is nothing but speed. With 120 minutes in hand to solve 108 questions, you can estimate how quickly you have to attempt them. In addition to this, the time allocated for each section is different. Especially if you notice for Language skills, you have only 28 minutes for 36 questions, which means less than ¾ of a minute to solve each question! Hence, you have to be very quick to ensure that you don’t miss any questions.

It is really necessary to be good at mental calculations so that you save time and attempt as many questions as possible. The questions are simple but since you have only 30 to 45 seconds for each question, candidates with faster calculating abilities do better in the examination. The key to cracking this section is getting your basics right in the first place. Your basics should be so strong that you figure out instantly, how to solve the question without having to ponder upon it.

Attempt rate:

Compared to other exams, you should aim to solve every question as there is no negative marking. Practice getting the basic attempt rate that is needed to clear the cut-offs, both section-wise as well as overall. Out of the 108 questions, you can easily solve 80-85 questions, and the rest can be marked through techniques like the elimination of the least favorable options. But make sure at the last 1 minute you mark the answer for every question! Also, you can refer to our article on the NMAT preparation strategy over here, which explains this in detail.

 Time management:

Along with the lack of time, most of the sums that come in NMAT are quite calculation intensive. Also, no online calculator is provided in NMAT. This means you have to learn shortcuts and formulas to run through all questions. How you manage time is very important for each section. Target your strengths first and solve all the easy ones, don’t let any question take up more than a minute. Time runs out way too quickly during NMAT, hence practice with a lot of mocks and that’s the only way you can learn to efficiently manage your time.

Click here to take the NMAT mock test by NMIMS alumni

 Section-wise difficulty level:

• Language skills: Difficulty level is easy to moderate– Synonyms  & Antonyms can give a hard time here, and managing to attempt RCs is also a task. Most aspirants run out of time here and lose marks unnecessarily. Practice solving this section within 28 minutes, ensure that you solve RCs at the very least, and ensure that you attempt at least one RC.

• Quantitative Skills: The difficulty level of Quants is easy. You can most definitely target all questions in Q; be well versed with all formulas, and know the necessary using shortcuts and tricks. Know all squares, square roots, tables, etc. Make sure that you practice a lot of mental calculations so that you don’t waste time, and you can core easily in this section. Since DI is also included in this section and most of the sums are pretty lengthy and time-consuming, mental and quick calculations would come in handy. We suggest you learn some Vedic maths also which will help you tremendously!

• Logical Reasoning: The difficulty level of the question in the LR section is usually easy-moderate. This is a scoring section and is often neglected by most students. Try to follow a solid strategy while solving the question. Try to identify the easier ones first, and don’t spend more than a minute on any question.

Also, watch this video to know you can save time in Data interpretation and Quants.

How is the NMAT difficulty level compared to other exams?

NMAT vs CAT:

If you are prepping for CAT, NMAT will be a cakewalk for you.  All sections in CAT have a far greater difficulty level than NMAT. Luckily the topics are the same for both, hence if you can handle CAT questions, you can easily solve NMAT. But you should note that the styles of solving both papers are very different. CAT is not time-based, it relies on an intelligent and careful selection of questions and then answering them, because of the new marking scheme. This is completely the opposite of NMAT. So no one who scores high in CAT needs to score high in NMAT or vice versa. Try to follow the strategy that suits each of them.

Another benefit of NMAT over CAT is that you can choose the sequence of the sections before the start of the exam, which is not possible in CAT (fixed pattern VARC - LRDI - QA). You can play to your advantage here. Although you must know that the CAT syllabus and NMAT syllabus are a little different for the logical reasoning section.

NMAT vs XAT:

The pattern and focus of XAT are pretty different from NMAT. Almost all sections in XAT are of moderate to high difficulty level. XAT has an additional section based on Decision making which is also of a high difficulty level. It also has a GK section that is not included in NMAT. Not to forget, the negative marking in XAT where 1/4^th of the marks get deducted. Overall, the NMAT difficulty level is way less than XAT.  But again, even though NMAT is easier than XAT, the strategies to solve both these papers differ vastly, and aspirants need to take care of this while attempting these exams.

NMAT vs SNAP:

NMAT and SNAP have quite similar difficulty levels. They do have some differences such as the GK section in SNAP and the 1/4^th negative marking. Yet, both are speed-based tests that require you to be very quick in attempting the maximum number of questions to score more. Also, the difficulty levels of the questions are more or less the same i.e. easy to moderate level. A person who is willing to give NMAT won’t have a problem with giving Snap either, the same shortcuts and tricks would be useful for both exams. Talking about the portion, the snap syllabus and NMAT syllabus are almost the same.

The Verdict:

NMAT is an easy paper, compared to the rest. Yet, it is very competitive as almost everyone who gives NMAT wants to get into just one college i.e. NMIMS. So, it's not enough to just cross the NMAT cut-off, you have to strive to get as high as possible (Target 245). With the right basics, good speed, accuracy, and presence of mind, you can easily crack this exam. Attempt multiple mocks and keep practicing and most importantly, stay calm and attempt your paper. Don’t panic. You will easily get through it.  

Happy Learning!

Also read: 10 tips to crack NMAT

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