Last Month Preparation Strategy to Crack CMAT 2025

Q: Is there any negative marking in CMAT?

Yes, there is a negative marking in CMAT exam. For each wrong answer, 1 mark will be deducted. For example, if a candidate attempts 18 questions from Logical Reasoning and gets 15 questions correct but 3 questions incorrect. Then the candidate's score for this section will be 15x4-3, i.e. 57. However, no marks will be deducted for unanswered questions. Thus, candidates must choose only those questions to solve which they are sure of solving accurately. It is anyway not possible to solve all 100 questions, so candidates must weigh their options viz. Strength and weak areas and then choose questions carefully. If candidates are not sure of answering a question correctly or it is taking too much time, then they should leave that questions and move to next as they also need to keep a tab on the time limit.

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Shiksha ExternalAuthors

Updated on Dec 24, 2024 16:09 IST

CMAT 2025 will be held on January 25, 2025. At this juncture, an absolute must for all the aspirants is to take CMAT mock tests regularly and seriously. Ideally, an aspirant should aim for at least 10 full-length mocks during the last month of CMAT preparation.

By Mikin Shah

Last month preparation strategy for CMAT 2025 - It is exactly one month to go for CMAT 2025 exam. The efforts put in during the last stages of preparation can play a decisive role in determining your CMAT 2025 result. So, what should be the focus areas in this last one month of CMAT exam preparation 2025. In the last one month of CMAT preparation, the focus should be solely on solving practice tests and sample questions. Enough practice of CMAT questions will prepare you to handle any type of question paper- easy, moderate or tough. You can use the experience of CAT, NMAT, XAT exams, that shall have appeared for before CMAT to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Apart from that, candidates need to focus on several other aspects of CMAT preparation 2025 in the last month. Read below.

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CMAT Mock Tests

At least 70,000 students across the country are expected to appear for CMAT 2025 which will be held in computer based test mode at various exam centres in 124 cities. At this juncture, an absolute must for all the aspirants is to take CMAT mock tests regularly and seriously. Ideally, an aspirant should aim for at least 10 full-length mocks during the last month of CMAT 2025 preparation. Considering that the exam is of three hours, one mock test and its analysis should make up one day’s work. I do not recommend taking CMAT mock test on a daily basis. Rather, it should be done on alternate days. The intervening days should be used to refresh some of the weaker areas.

CMAT_Mock_Test_1	CMAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions
CMAT_Mock_Test_2	CMAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions

Q: What is the latest CMAT exam pattern?

The latest CMAT exam pattern as prescribed by the National Testing Agency NTA is as follows: The question paper carries 100 question. The format of questions is multiple choice type where for each question, four options are given to choose the correct answer from. The 100 questions are divided equally between five sections, Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation, Language Comprehension, Logical Reasoning, General Awareness and Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Each of the five sections carry 20 questions. Earlier, there were only four sections in CMAT and each section has 25 questions. In 2021, Innovation and Entrepreneurship was added as the fifth section. The time limit for CMAT is 180 minutes without sectional time limit or break. As per the latest marking scheme, for every correct option 4 marks are awarded and for every incorrect option, one mark is deducted. There is no negative marking for unanswered questions.

Q: What is the section wise weightage in CMAT?

CMAT has five sections. Every section of the CMAT exam has 20 questions. Each question of the five sections carries four marks for correct answer and one mark is deducted for every incorrect answer. Therefore, the total marks of each section is 80 and the total marks of the CMAT exam is 400. The CMAT percentile is calculated on the basis of marks scored by candidates on 400. Given below is the sectional break up of CMAT exam: 1. Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation: 20 questions of 4 marks each 2. Logical Reasoning: 20 questions of 4 marks each 3. Language Comprehension: 20 questions of 4 marks each 4. General Awareness: 20 questions of 4 marks each 5. Innovation & Entrepreneurship: 20 questions of 4 marks each.

Q: Which is the lengthiest section in CMAT?

Since the Language Comprehension section of CMAT includes reading comprehension passages, it can be considered a lengthy section. However, there is a possibility of any other section to be lengthier. For example, Logical Reasoning questions or Data Interpretation questions can also be lengthy, due to multiple levels of calculations. The weightage of each section is same in CMAT I. e. 20 questions and 80 marks, so it doesn't really matter which section is lengthy as candidates have to meet sectional cut offs to be able to get a good overall score. It is not mandatory to solve all 100 questions in CMAT so candidates have the choice of dropping lengthy questions and solving easier questions. So, the best option is to skip the lengthy questions and solve other questions correctly. Doing so will ensure that the candidate doesn't fall short of time as well as good questions to solve.

Strength and Weaknesses

Any student who has taken up CMAT 2025 preparation seriously and has devoted the requisite time would definitely know the areas of strengths and weakness by now. Going into the final phases, the idea is to capitalise on your areas of strength while managing your weaknesses. This is especially true while attempting mock tests. The idea should be to first tackle the section which is your strength and then move to weaker areas. You must be absolutely clear in your mind about the sequence in which the sections are to be attempted. This sequence should be followed in each mock test and then at the real CMAT exam.

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Well Defined Routine

For the last few weeks, settling into a well defined routine is a must. Various activities such as CMAT mock tests, revisions, study-breaks and most importantly the sleep timings must follow a set pattern. The aspirants should devote at least one hour daily to reading a national newspaper. Apart from being recreational, this can be of great help in improving the comprehension skills as well as adding to the general awareness.

CMAT is About Aptitude Not Memory

It has been observed that some students tend to slog too hard during the last few weeks before the exams. This must be avoided at all costs as it is likely to hurt your performance. The idea is to just peak on the day of the exam. Too much work (anything more than six hours per day) in the last month can cause you to burn out before the exam day. Also, CMAT is about aptitude and not memory, so it makes no sense to cover every possible topic / detail / concept / formulae during the last few days. Moreover, most of the candidates have already spent more than 100 hours for preparation, so there is not much to add to the repertoire during the last few days.

Q: What is the CMAT marking scheme?

CMAT marking scheme is straightforward. If they can recall their attempts or have the answer key with them then they can calculate their CMAT raw score by adding and subtracting scores as per correct and incorrect attempts. Check CMAT marking scheme below: 1. For every correct attempt, 4 marks is awarded and for every incorrect answer, 1 mark is deducted. 2. For every unanswered question, the candidate will be marked zero. Given below is the process of calculating the CMAT score with the help of the CMAT answer key. Every section has 20 questions, so suppose in Quantitative Techniques section you got 14 questions right, 2 questions wrong and skipped 4 questions. So, your score will be 54 out of 80. Similarly, calculate the score of other sections. After the add all five to arrive as overall raw score. For example, you scored 54, 44, 75, 60 and 40 in five sections, then your sum total will be 203/400. You can read more about CMAT scoring process here: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/cmat-score-vs-percentile-how-to-calculate-blogId-19977 https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/what-is-cmat-score-normalization-process-blogId-53987.

Q: Is there any negative marking in CMAT?

Yes, there is a negative marking in CMAT exam. For each wrong answer, 1 mark will be deducted. For example, if a candidate attempts 18 questions from Logical Reasoning and gets 15 questions correct but 3 questions incorrect. Then the candidate's score for this section will be 15x4-3, i.e. 57. However, no marks will be deducted for unanswered questions.

Thus, candidates must choose only those questions to solve which they are sure of solving accurately. It is anyway not possible to solve all 100 questions, so candidates must weigh their options viz. Strength and weak areas and then choose questions carefully.

If candidates are not sure of answering a question correctly or it is taking too much time, then they should leave that questions and move to next as they also need to keep a tab on the time limit.

CMAT 2025: What to Do in the Last Few Days?

For the last few days before the CMAT 2025 exam, the following should be kept in mind:

It is alright to relax! You have done all the hard-work, and now is the time to harvest it.
DO NOT attempt too many mock tests in the final days before CMAT 2025 (Not more than two mock tests during the last four days).
Be very sure about the section-wise sequence of attempts. Maximise the attempts in your areas of strength.
Try to visit the CMAT test center one or two days before the actual exam as it will help you to avoid last minute hassle of connectivity, traffic, etc.
Get a good night’s sleep (at least seven hours) and spend time with family or friends on the day preceding the CMAT exam.

Last Words

Be very clear about the institutes you want to target and hence the CMAT score that you are trying to achieve. Attempt CMAT 2025 in a manner which best fits your strengths and weaknesses. Just stay confident and everything will fall in place. All the best!

About the Author

Mikin Shah is the Founder & Director a popular educational institute which specialises in MBA Entrance & MBA Tuitions.

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