Preparation Plan and Exam Strategy to Crack NMAT by Expert

NMAT by GMAC is a speed-based test wherein students need to be on their toes for complete 2 hours. Check out the preparation plan and exam strategy to crack NMAT by an expert.

The NMAT exam (officially known as NMAT by GMAC) is a management entrance test for admissions to some of the leading graduate business programmes in India. Test takers fill-up the NMAT by GMAC form for admissions to prestigious Narsee Monjee Institute of Management and Science (NMIMS) at Mumbai and Bangalore campuses and other renowned management colleges of India like ICFAI Business School (IBS), Alliance University to name a few. The test can be taken by a student maximum of three times within a test window of specified days. The candidates are given the option to choose an exam day according to their convenience and take the test on that particular day. 

NMAT by GMAC 2021 registrations are currently underway. The candidates can register till November 10 and schedule their exam till November 17. 

Also Read: NMAT 2021 dates, exam dates and registration schedule

The NMAT exam pattern is mostly standardized and therefore below mentioned table may be helpful to a student for preparation. 

NMAT by GMAC: Exam Pattern and Test Structure

Section	Subsection (Key Topics)	Number of Questions	Time (in minutes)
Language Skills	Vocabulary, English Grammar, Para Jumbles, and Reading Comprehensions	36	28
Quantitative skills	Quant, and Data Interpretation (DI)	36	52
Logical Reasoning	Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning	36	40
Total		108	R120

Also Read: How is NMAT different from CAT exam?

NMAT 2021 Preparation: Key Points

Here are some features of the NMAT exam that helps in the preparation phase:

NMAT is a speed-based test with no negative marking: The student must be advised that if he/she is not able to solve any question, he/she must randomly mark the option then and there instead of waiting for the last minute for this task.

Cut off as per the trend (208-210 marks): If 80-90 questions are attempted with a good amount of accuracy, then the student stands a very good chance of clearing the NMAT cutoff.

Also Read: Colleges accepting NMAT scores

Section Wise Approach to the NMAT Question Paper 

On the exam day, your approach should be to complete the test before time so as to be able to revise the answers. NMAT is a speed test so you need to be fast. to be on the safer side, target meeting sectional cutoffs.

Also Read: NMAT Cutoff

Language Skills

• Cutoff of Language Skills section of NMAT ranges from 50 to 55 marks
• Eight questions are asked in the RC section
• Even if one RC is taken care of in 5-6 minutes and 15 minutes are allocated to the rest of the verbal, this is a better division of time for verbal

Also Read: How to Prepare for NMAT 2021: Language Skills

Quantitative Skills (QA + DI)

• Cutoff of QA+DI section of NMAT exam ranges from 70-75 marks
• Fifteen minutes should be allocated for solving DI, 45 minutes for other quant questions
• P&C, Probability, Functions, Maxima/Minima questions find low relevance in NMAT by GMAC
• There are around 6 questions on Data Sufficiency, which are simple and can be acted upon in a fairly manageable way

Also Read: How to Prepare for NMAT 2021: Quantitative Skills

Logical Reasoning

• Cutoff of LR section of NMAT ranges from 60-65 marks
• Out of 12 questions, 7-8 from Verbal Logic are manageable
• There are around 4 sets for Arrangement and Puzzles with 4 questions each in the paper, out of which 2 generally are easily manageable
• The Mental Ability section, that is the remaining 12 questions, comprise of Alphabetical series, Decision making and Mathematical operations
• Sometimes this section may contain Data Structure also, which should not be long thought of, as such questions seem to be easily doable but consume a decent amount of time

Also Read: How to Prepare for NMAT 2021: Logical Reasoning

Shiksha has created a free NMAT mock test for candidates to practice and check their preparation level. Click on the link below, to start the test.

Section-wise NMAT Preparation

As discussed, NMAT comprises three sections, here is a section-wise preparation trick to score well in all three sections

Language Skills: In order to crack this section the student has to be thorough with vocabulary. Command on vocabulary shall provide the lead as one doesn’t waste a lot of time on these questions thinking. The time saved in vocabulary shall be used to solve the RC passages. With around 8 questions on Grammar, this is another area where the student has to be well prepared.

Quantitative Skills: With DI being difficult, most of the hope stays on quant. Good practice on easy to medium level quant questions shall suffice. The student should note that he/she has to solve and move to the next question quickly to avoid a shortage of time. Not getting stuck on a particular question is important. Data Sufficiency questions should be very well practised before NMAT by GMAC as they are regularly seen as 5 to 6 questions.

Logical Reasoning: The student must have solved multiple questions on arrangement and puzzles before taking NMAT by GMAC and should be quick at solving them. Fair knowledge on Statement Assumption/ Conclusion is required and one must be prepared to solve some syllogisms in this section.

In a nutshell, NMAT is a speed-based test wherein a student needs to be on his toes for complete two hours. Speedy solving of quant questions, knowledge of Data sufficiency, good command of vocabulary and sound practice on arrangement and puzzles is the key to crack the NMAT exam.

Read More:

• NMAT Preparation - Tips and Tricks
• NMAT Syllabus
• NMAT Question Papers

All the best!!

About the Author

Parasharan Chari is an alumnus of SPJIMR, Mumbai and is currently serving as the Chief Operating Officer at Endeavor Careers and is also associated with the design and development of its online testing portal www.CatGurus.com