If you are starting your NID DAT 2025 preparation now, you have come to the right place. Here we explain how you can start your preparation and ace the DAT Prelims exam in three months flat. Read on.
The National Institute of Design has released the exam schedule for NID DAT 2025.
The NID DAT 2025 (Prelims) exam will be conducted on January 5, 2025. This means you have around three months to prepare for the exam. Now, three months is not a lot of time to prepare for an entrance exam like NID DAT 2025. But the good thing is if you make the best use of the remaining time, and are smart enough in how you go about your preparation, it is very much possible to ace the NID DAT 2025 exam in three months.
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Note that the NID DAT 2025 (Prelims) exam will be conducted on January 5, 2025. The application form for the exam is currently open.
Q: Is the NID exam difficult?
NID evaluates aspirants based on their knowledge, creativity and aptitude for design. Experts share that NID is one of the most challenging design entrance exams conducted in the country. However, if prepared well, the difficulty level of NID Entrance Exam is medium. On of the main reasons why NID is such a competitive exam is there are very limited number of seats. For instance, there are only 425 seats available for the BDes programme through NID. In contrast, the NIFTs offer 2748 seats.
Q: Is the NID DAT exam very difficult to crack?
Q: What is the difficulty level of NID DAT?
The NID Entrance Exam is considered to be one of the toughest design entrance exam conducted in the country. In NID DAT, more weightage is given to subjective, drawing related questions. Thus, candidates need to be extremely creative and have a clear understanding of their concepts when appearing for the NID exam.
For preparing the final results for the B. Des program, the DAT Prelims will be allocated 40% weightage, while DAT Mains will be given 60%.
During the DAT Mains, which comprises a Studio Test, the candidate is tested hands-on and have to show their drawing abilities, creativity, innovativeness, and material-handling ability.
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How to prepare for NID DAT 2025 exam in three months
To prepare for the DAT Prelims exam in 3 months, follow the tips listed below.
- Follow the NID syllabus - The National Institute of Design doesn’t release any official syllabus. That being said, you can refer to the NID DAT syllabus here which has been crafted by considering previous years’ question papers. Questions in the NID DAT exam are likely to be similar to those given in the syllabus. Also, check the important topics, and the weightage they carry. Note that some topics will carry more weightage than others; you need to pay more attention to topics that carry maximum weightage. If you can complete the entire syllabus, you will be in a good position to ace the NID DAT 2025 exam.
- Consult the official exam pattern - The exam pattern for NID DAT 2025 will be outlined in the NID DAT 2025 admission handbooks. The DAT Prelims exam for the B.Des program will be of 3 hours duration and include textual and visual questions. There is no negative marking in NID DAT. By consulting the exam pattern, the candidate will be able to know about the types of questions asked, the difficulty level, the weightage of questions, the number of questions asked in every section, the mode of the exam, etc. So, the exam pattern will act as a guiding lamp that the candidate needs to strictly follow.
- Choose the best study material - The job well begun is half done. Here the adage applies to NID DAT 2025 study material. If you manage to get a solid and reliable collection of NID DAT books that covers the entire syllabus, you have in effect one leg inside the door. To get the other feet inside the door, all you have to do is master the topics given in these books. However, if the study material is of poor variety, your efforts won’t bear the desired results. Examples of poor quality NID DAT study material could be books with lots of errors, that use complex language to explain a concept when a simple one would suffice, etc.
- Make a study plan - Once you are clear about the syllabus and exam pattern, you need to draw a study plan. The plan should be such that it takes into account the entire syllabus, the difficulty level, the approximate time it will take to complete the syllabus, etc. Considering you have around three months to prepare for DAT Prelims, you will have to prepare in double-quick time. There will be not enough time for you to lose or waste on trivialities. You must be on your toes and be focused when you are studying. Of course, when you are not studying, you need to stay relaxed so that you don’t get stressed out. In your downtime, you mustn’t think too much about the exam or think too far ahead. Instead, stay in the moment and focus on the task at hand. Depending on how your study progresses, you may be required to make slight changes to the study plan from time to time. For instance, if a topic turns out to be more difficult than you anticipated, you will have to allocate more time by adjusting somewhere else.
- Solve sample papers - You need to download NID DAT sample papers and start solving them as soon as you can. Maybe you can complete a few topics and start working on the sample papers. By solving the NID sample papers you will get a clear idea as to where your progress stands. Sample papers will also help the candidate hone their problem-solving and time-management skills. These skills can’t be learned elsewhere, but only through rigorous practice aka by solving sample papers can you master them. So, download the sample papers or buy them from the market and practice as much as you can. Ideally, you must solve at least half a dozen sample papers to get decent practice. Along with sample papers, also solve previous years’ question papers, as they will give you an idea as to what questions are asked, topics covered, emerging trends, and much more.
- Take mock tests - You need to take the mock tests closer to the exam. The purpose of the mock tests is to get your mind and body accustomed to the exam environment. Also, the mocks will help you finetune your preparation and fix silly errors. The mocks will have the same types of questions as those asked in the NID DAT exam. So, you will have much to gain by taking the mock tests.
Best books for NID DAT 2025 preparation
Here is a list of books for NID DAT 2025 that you can use for exam preparation:
- Design Drawing – Francis D. K. Ching
- Origami Design Secrets: Mathematical Methods for an Ancient Art - Robert J. Lang for NID Preparation
- NIFT/NID/IIFT Entrance Exam Guide by RPH Editorial Board
- Arihant's Ultimate Guide for NIFT/NID/IIFT Entrance Exam
- NIFT/NID (Admission Test) Previous Years' Papers (Solved) by R Gupta
- NIFT/NID/IIFT Entrance Exam Guide by D Mittal
Last minute tips to prepare for NID DAT 2025
In the days leading up to the DAT Prelims exam, you need to remember the following points:
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- Don’t begin any new topic. This is because the last few days should be reserved for revision and solving sample papers. If you start a new topic now, it is only likely to bog you down.
- Keep healthy - The last thing you want is to fall sick on exam day. So, pay close attention to your health - sleep the full quota of hours, stay hydrated, and eat light, especially at night.
- Stay happy and avoid stress - If you stay on exam mode 24/7, you will only get burned out. So, when you are not studying for the exam, let your hair down, have some fun, have some light moments, or even watch a quick movie. It will make your life so much easier, and fun, and will also replenish you with energy.
Read more about NID DAT 2025 last minute preparation tips here.
Q: Is it possible to crack NID DAT 2025 without coaching?
It is not mandatory to take coaching to get a good rank in NID DAT 2025. It is because, the entrance exam will test the creative, drawing, and innovative skills of the candidate. Now, a coaching institute cannot exactly teach you to be creative or become innovative. Instead, with a little effort these skills can yourself learn these skills yourself. Also, a major thrust of the design aptitide test is to evaluate the drawing skills of the candidate. So, make it a point to work on your design skills, including learning how to draw line, shadow, figure, gesture, cartoon drawing, etc. When practicing drawing, also keep a tab on the drawing speed, as it will help you complete the paper in the allotted time.
Q: Do we need to join coaching to prepare for NIFT entrance exam?
Q: Can I prepare for NID DAT 2025 without solving sample papers?
NID DAT is one of the toughest entrance exams in the land. Also, given the large number of applicants, it is highely competitive.
So, to have a chance of scoring a good score in the exam and be in the contetion for a seat in one of the top NIDs, one needs to ensure their preparation is full proof.
Now unless you solve sample papers, there is no way to evaluate your preparedness for the exam. For instance, you may have completed the textual books and are confident about your ability to solve a proble. But what will you do if on exam do you find out that theoritical knowledge can take you only so far.
However, if instead you solve enough sample papers you will get battle ready.
Q: What is the difficulty level of NID DAT?
Q: How can I improve my sketching skills for NID DAT?
If you intend to get a good rank in NID DAT, you must be able to sketch quickly without compromising on the sketch quality. This means you must be able to able to conceive the idea as you sketch. Remember, when you are in the exam hall, time seems to just fly. So, it is vital that you are able to sketch uninhibited and fast, and with confidence. To improve your drawing skills, you can start by drawing tiny thumbnails first, then switching to the light hand and finishing with dry colours. You can use pencils, crayons, or even a pen to make the sketches.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 3 weeks ago
The reporting time for the DAT Prelims exam will be mentioned on the NID DAT 2025 admit card. Reach the exam center as per the reporting time. Note that latecomers will not be allowed inside the NID DAT 2025 exam center.
The gates at the exam center will close half an hour before the exam.
NID DAT 20
P
Beginner-Level 1
Answered 3 weeks ago
The National Institute of Design (NID) released the NID DAT 2025 admit card for DAT Prelims on December 24. The direct link to download the admit card is given on this page.
Note that admit cards will be issued only to successfully registered candidates.
To download the admit card, you need to log-in
M
Contributor-Level 10
At what time do I need to report for NID DAT 2025 exam?