How to Prepare for SET Quantitative Skills Section?

SET is a speed-based test which is designed to assess a candidate's analytical aptitude, logical reasoning skills, Quantitative Aptitude and English comprehension. It may sound tough, but these are the skills which we are taught in school so there is nothing new to learn. What is required is to brush on these subjects and topics. All you will need is to brush up on the basics and practice the concepts on advance level problems. Students should solve previous years question papers, attempt an ample number of mock tests and be consistent to score well in the SET exam. Having said that, the preparation for the SET exam requires focus, dedication, discipline and diligence. If you can do that, despite being an average student, you can crack the SET exam. SET is one of the easiest BBA entrance exams and a good preparation strategy can help you crack the SET exam with a good score. Generally, the toughest section of the SET question paper is Quantitative Aptitude. But with daily practice and focusing on understanding the fundamentals, this section of the SET exam can be handled easily.

SET is a national-level entrance exam conducted for admission to various undergraduate courses. SET 2025 will be conducted in the computer-based test mode. The difficulty level of the SET exam is usually easy to moderate. But, a few questions might trick your mind and can be time-consuming. General Knowledge and Analytical and Logical Reasoning are easier than the Quantitative Aptitude section. In 2024, according to the students who appeared for the SET session 1 exam, the SET exam was moderate. The General English section was the easiest of all the four sections. The Quantitative Aptitude section was the toughest and the other two sections were moderate to easy. The overall difficulty level of the SET question paper was moderate. Students who appeared for the SET 2024 session 2 exam said that the overall difficulty level was easy. Again, the General English section was the easiest. In this session, the Analytical and Logical Reasoning section was also easy to moderate. The Quant section was easy to moderate and the General Knowledge section was difficult.

Previously, the SET exam had 150 questions. They were reduced to 60 multiple-choice questions in the year 2021, and the duration of the exam was also reduced  proportionally. Check out the table below to know what can be considered a good score in SET exam according to the previous years' analysis:

If you have a good study plan, you can study independently at home for the SET exam. This exam is conducted only once a year and is relatively easier than other BBA entrance exams. The following is advice from professionals on how to create a SET study plan: 

1. Using the SET syllabus as a guide, make a list of the subjects that the study materials must cover.
2. Plan your study time on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis according to the time available.
3. Analyze previous SET tests to note important topics.
4. You can find a mentor to assist you or join any online study group.
5. To enable thorough planning, assign a time limit to each section.
6. Start reading newspaper and magazine editorials to gain a command of the verbal skill section.
7. For the quantitative section, read the basic concepts and formulas from school textbooks.
8. Examine your progress through mock tests on a monthly basis.
9. Keep analyzing and improving your score over time until test day.
10. Set your score to meet the cutoff for the college to which you want to apply.

Aspirants should start preparing for the SET exam at least six months before the test date. SET preparation requires planning thus one must start early. They can also join coaching institutes for focused preparation. Starting early will also help you assess that whether you need to join a coaching institute or not. Divide your preparation into three phases - 1. Covering the syllabus 2. Practicing mock tests, sample questions and 3. Revision.

The SET syllabus includes the following topics:

General English: Parajumbles, Sentence Completion, Grammar, Comprehension Passages, Synonyms and Antonyms, etc.

Logical Reasoning: Tables, Graphs, Pie Charts, Blood Relation, Seating Arrangement, Strong and Weak Arguments, and Syllogism

Quantitative Aptitude: Geometry, Algebra Number System Arithmetic, Mensuration etc.

General Awareness: Companies and Founders, Awards, Books and Authors, Sports, Politics, Current Affairs, etc.

You can read the following SET books for exam preparation:

• A New Approach to Reasoning by BS Sijawali
• Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
• Multi-Dimensional Reasoning by Mishra Kumar and Dr Lal
• Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
• High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren & Martin
• How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma
• Class 9 and Class 10 NCERT Mathematics books
• Quantitative Aptitude by R. S Aggarwal
• Manorama Year Book