Anisha has done MBA in Marketing from NMIMS And Executive Management(PMNO) from Harvard Business School. She has been instrumental in growing CATKing Digital with her experience with Marico and Henkel in the past.
NMIMS is one of the highest and finest B-Schools in India through NMAT with excellent placement records. The alumni of this institute are successful and have achieved the highest positions in their respective firms. it's the type of culture that NMIMS holds alongside the academic records that make it an ideal institute to reinforce your potential.
NMAT by GMAC is a national-level MBA entrance exam for admission to renowned management colleges such as Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Alliance University, SRM University, BML Munjal University, VIT University, ICFAI Business School (IBS) and Ansal University.
A computer-based test, NMAT by GMAC is conducted by Pearson VUE at 35 locations across India, and the aspirants have the right to choose their own exam venue/date/time as per convenience. It is accepted as an admissions criterion by the leading management institutions in India.
NMAT new exam pattern summary:
NMAT is a 2 hours (120 minutes) computer-based examination in which candidates have to answer 108 questions. Questions are from all three sections mentioned above.Read more for a detailed sectional analysis.
i) Language Skills ii) Quantitative Skills iii) Logical Reasoning
| Section | No. of Questions | Score Range | Allotted Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Language Skills | 36 | 12-120 | 28 minutes |
| Quantitative Skills | 36 | 12-120 | 52 minutes |
| Logical Reasoning | 36 | 12-120 | 40 minutes |
| Total | 108 | 36-360 | 120 |
NMAT Fees and Details:
| NMAT Registration Types | Varying Amount |
| Test Registration (regular fee) | Rs 2,800 + applicable taxes |
| Retake exam fee | Rs 2,800 + applicable taxes |
| Reschedule | Rs 1200 + applicable taxes |
| Request for sending NMAT Scores to B-schools other than the first five | Rs 300 per B-school + applicable taxes |
What was your strategy for NMAT that helped you score 240 marks in NMAT?
The best way to get the best out of NMAT is to focus on your strengths. NMAT as compared to CAT and other exams gives you a lot of options. It lets you take 3 attempts. Apart from that you also have the liberty to choose the sequence of the sections, as to which section you want to attempt first.
NMAT is a speed-based test so you need to be very fast with the approach. You should be focused - what are your strengths and weaknesses. So that is exactly what I did. I focused on my strengths and attempted those questions first.
As you said that you focused on your strengths, what was your strongest section?
As a typical engineer, my strongest area was quants. I tried to maximize that. When I wrote NMAT in 2018 the time for quants was 60 mins and 48 questions were to be attempted. Quants had the maximum weightage. But in the new NMAT paper pattern quants have equal weightage as others.
What was your approach in choosing the sections?
I chose quants as my first section. I didn't want to burden myself with questions that I am not able t solve. As quants were my strongest area, I was able to attempt the maximum number of questions in the given time frame. Next, I attempted Verbal and then the LR section.
While giving mocks I tried permutations and combinations of various sections. After 5 to 6 mocks using the same strategy and sequence I was able to fix a combination for myself that was best suited for me and ended up scoring well. After fixing the sequence of sections I focused on making it better.
What was your preparation strategy for NMAT?
I started my preparation for NMAT in January 2018. Initially, I hung out in clearing my doubts and learning the fundamentals. I maintained a timetable where I set daily targets for myself. These small milestones are important if want to achieve a bigger target.
Once my doubts were cleared and my basics were strong, I started with the mock tests. I made sure that every day I spend a minimum of three hours solving problems. For cracking NMAT with an honest score an individual must increase his speed of solving problems and this was my basic strategy.
How did you prepare for all the sections?
- To prepare for language skills it's necessary to read a lot of books and consider increasing your vocabulary.
- For Quantitative Skills, it's important to clear the fundamentals thoroughly and then practice problem-solving. QS requires time management and accuracy, so one must get used to problem-solving at a quick speed.
- For Logical Reasoning practice is extremely important, you want to practice and solve a lot of problems because the questions are easy but are considerably time-consuming.
How did you manage to prepare for CAT and NMAT simultaneously?
CAT and NMAT both differ when it comes to speed and the way of approaching questions. You need to have a lot of speed and the nack for solving the questions faster. In CAT if you get stuck on some question you can stay for some seconds and try for that question but NMAT does not give you that amount of time space.
Since NMAT is the first exam, I was already preparing for it with the mindset that I have to solve the questions quickly. This approach helped me a lot with my CAT exam. It helped me get through the easy questions quickly and I had more time to attempt the difficult questions.
What was some time Management formula while taking the particular NMAT paper?
- NMAT has 108 questions and 120 minutes to answer the whole paper. There are 3 sections and every section has a while duration allotted thereto.
- In NMAT 2018 (according to the old paper pattern), Language skills had 32 questions and 22 minutes to unravel. It had 2 reading comprehension and other questions like jumbled paragraphs, analogies, synonyms, mark the error, and fill in the blanks. So for this section time management and daily reading practice are important.
- Quantitative skills had 48 questions and an hour. Data Sufficiency and Data Interpretation are the foremost important a part of this section. All you would like is Accuracy and practice to crack this section of the exam.
- Logical Reasoning had 40 questions and 38 minutes. during this section Verbal Reasoning, deciding, Arrangements, Series, Numerical Grid, and genealogy are the topics to specialize in. This section is extremely time-consuming which may be solved by managing time and attempting easy questions first.
What did you do that helped you stay relaxed?
My recreational activities included listening to music, gardening, pursuing my hobbies like quilting, sketching, watching movies, and other creative work where I can take my mind off my studies. I really like watching movies that are entertaining, inspirational, and hold some meaning and my favourite is the Pursuit of Happyness. For each student, recreational activities are important to recharge her mind and obtainable to study again.
What suggestions would you like to give to students appearing for NMAT?
I scored 213 on my first attempt, 227 on the second attempt, and 240 on my third attempt. I gave around 25 locks for NMAT. It helped me keep a track of my progress. It was through the mocks and the realization of my weaknesses again and again and working on them.
I emphasized a lot of mocks and focused on my speed. I made sure that it keeps improving. I gave a mock for 2 hours and gave 3 hours for a thorough analysis. I made notes on which section I was not good at. I worked and focused on that particular section for some days before giving the next mock.
This is the strategy I would recommend to everyone. It's easy to crack the NMAT exam or any other exam if you follow a planned strategy. For achieving an excellent score in NMAT attempt to increase your speed and accuracy and learn time management.
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