Time-tested strategies to score 99 percentile in NMAT

NMAT is yet another entrance test conducted by GMAC whose score is accepted by some of the renowned business schools in the country. NMAT is a kind of flexible exam which has no negative marking scheme, unlike CAT or other B-school entrances, however, it has planned sectionals and a ratio of one minute per question on an average which makes it tough. Regardless of the difficulty level of the questions, you are required to read the question, comprehend it, perform the rough work, do the calculations, find the correct answer at that moment.

This time constraint can be a bit of a problem for the new aspirants, however, by following the correct strategy one can easily score 99 percentile in NMAT. Here are some quick tips.

Language Skills

In this segment, the main challenge is to read faster than you typically do. Most of us do not comprehend things if we read at a blinding speed but you have to get accustomed to it. 32 questions in 22 minutes would be difficult and to solve two 500-word Reading Comprehension passages (with 4 questions each) would consume a majority of your time. It is advisable to focus around vocabulary based questions (synonyms, antonyms, fill up the blanks or cloze passages, etc.) and simple grammatical questions which will take lesser time. Your preparation should be centred around understanding common English word roots, basic grammatical principles of parallelism and subject-verb agreement and rules of articulation while reading comprehension passages.

Quantitative Skills

Arithmetic, linear equations and numbers would be critical themes here. There were a couple of questions that are formula-based, particularly from coordinate geometry and numbers thus regardless of whether you have a complete understanding or not, in any event, recall the formulas that might help you to solve it.

The data interpretation sets are by and large moderately troublesome and will be valuable after you have reached the cut-off score. It will be wise to finish with the quantitative part before you hop to the data interpretation segment.

Reasoning Skills

Arrangements and input-output questions can be truly daunting unless we find the answer quickly within the time-frame. We can opt for leaving this in order to save time. Instead, trying solving more of Coding decoding, almost all of the series based questions, verbal logic (assumptions, inferences, conclusions) would be ones that will boost your score to increase your score.

Strategies for successfully cracking the test

NMAT is one such exam which comes laden with certain privileges like-

Flexible Window

Candidates can take NMAT between 4th October and 17th December ‘18. In a day students can choose the time slot and center according to their convenience. This in itself can ease a lot of tensions which an aspirant might be in prior to taking the online test.

Multiple Attempts

If we compare other entrance exams centered around B-schools, you can only take the exam once in a year, however, the situation is quite different in case of NMAT. You can take the exam thrice with the time frame as stated above. The best of the three scores will be taken into consideration. If one is not satisfied with the first attempt, a student can delve in further polishing their knowledge for an additional number of days and then take the examination again.

Choosing the section

If you are someone who faces fatigue issues, keep your best section for the end. This will keep your energy level balanced throughout the test. You should avoid taking reasoning right at the beginning unless you are exceptionally good at it as it would include a lot of surprise elements which might throw you off guard. You can opt for either way- QS-LR-LS or LS-LR-QS. Moreover, being a time-bound paper, it will keep you fairly engaged with no room for relaxation.

Achieving the Target Score

Commonly, anything over 205 ought to be the absolute minimum target. To place it in setting, if one has attempted nearly the whole paper truly (leaving aside questions from a DI set which was too long and a few logic-based questions; you can expect to get around 24-25 correct answers in LS) which would be(89) + LS (75) + LR (85).

There is no set parameter that exists to pinpoint what score would be the best as it would totally rely upon your execution in contrast with the performance of your slot mates and participants from other slots collectively. According to the common knowledge, a 75-65-70 split should be the ideal score. However, it is subject to changes, and one should focus more on giving their best rather than worrying about the score.

Famous B-schools like Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Indian School of Business (IBS), School of Business, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, SDA Bocconi Asia Center, etc. are the colleges that accept NMAT score.