6 Preparation Tips for NIFT Situation Test 2025

The online application form for NIFT 2025 is OPEN with regular fees from November 22-January 6, 2025.

With late fees, applications will be accepted from Janaury 7-9, 2025.

The application will be available online at niftadmissions.in. The NTA will also release the detailed admission notification, including the eligibility criteria and information brochure.

Candidates who met the precribed eligibility criteria for their programme can fill out the NIFT 2025 application form before the last date.

Note that NIFT application form will be for admission to the B. Des, M.Des B.FTech M.FTech and MFM courses offered by participating colleges.

The written tests for the NIFT 2025 exam will be held on February 9, 2025. The detailed schedule has also been released.

The written tests will comprise a General Ability Test (GAT) and a Creative Ability Test (CAT). GAT is mandatory for all candidates, but CAT is only required for B. Des and M. Des candidates. 

The GAT test will be considered in a computer-based mode, whereas the CAT will be offline based. Note that scores of the written exams will be used to shortlist candidates for a Situation Test/ Personal Interview.

In case of the B. Des and B.FTech programmes, the candidates should be less than 24 years as on July 1 of the admission year. There is relaxation of 5 years for candidates belonging to SC, ST, and PwD categories. However, there is no age limit for applying to the postgraduate programmes at NIFT. When applying for admission to design courses at the NIFTs, the candidate must also carefully go through the academic requirements. Note that even if a candidate qualifies the NIFT Entrance Exam but doesn't meet the prescribed eligibility criteria, he or she will not be considered for admission.

The NIFT 2025 exam will be administered across 37 cities in the country. Note that each of these cities may have one or more exam centres. The candidate has to select their choice of exam city while filling out the NIFT 2025 application form.

List of NIFT 2025 exam cities

The NIFT exam is among the competitive and is also considered among the toughest. So, it is recommended that the candidate starts their exam preparation well in advance, say with around 1 years time in hand. Note that the NIFT exam has various components like written exam and Situation Test /Personal Interview. Candidates seeking admission to the B. Des and M.Des courses need to prepare for both the CAT and GAT. The CAT is a drawing-based exam, meaning the candidate will be evaluated on parameters like intuitive ability, power of observation in concept development, and design ability. Now unless the candidate is already well-versed, developing these skills will take time. So, it is prudent to start early. The same goes for the GAT.

Along with doing through the textbooks and solving problem Sets the candidate must also solve previous years question papers to prepare for NIFT 2025. One of the main benefits of solving sample papers is the candidate will get to know the difficulty level, types of questions asked, and marking scheme. Also, previous years papers are great tools to improve ones time-management and problem-solving skills. By analyzing the previous years question papers, the candidate may also figure out trends that are followed in drafting question. Further, note that there are some questions that may be repeated, with a slight change in the wording or concept. If the candidate solves previous years question papers, the candidate will be able to easily solve them.

The Creative Ability Test or CAT will evaluate the intuitive ability, power of observation in concept development, and design ability of the candidate. To prepare for CAT the candidate must develop their observation skills, learn the basics of geometrical shapes, understand conceptualization, learn product drawing and shading. Additionally, the candidate must also work on their line quality. For instance, the candidate needs to ensure there are no jittery or multiple lines. To imporve ones drawing skills, one may start with simple drawings, and then move on to complex shapes. Also, while shading is not so important for the exam, shading skills can definitely help the candidate get a positive nod from the evaluator.

During the Situation Test, the candidate will be provided with a set of materials. Using these materials the candidate will be required to make specific models. In this test, candidates are required to create a 3D model based on the question asked for which they are given 2 hours, within which, they need to conceptualize and complete the model. After completing the mode, the candidate will also have to draft a write-up, which is evaluated by the jury later. Note that besides material exploration & management skills, NIFT also lays great emphasis on time management skills and students are closely monitored on the fact that whether they have managed to complete the task at hand in two hours or not.