The NMAT is one of the most popular MBA entrance exams in the country. The exam delivery is scheduled from Thursday, October 14, 2021 to Monday, December 27, 2021. Candidates can schedule their test date any day in this period. If you don’t perform well at NMAT 2021, you have a chance to retake NMAT at a later date. But cracking the exam in one go will require a robust NMAT Strategy. Here in this article, we are sharing NMAT tips prepared by our experts and will cover how to prepare for NMAT in 3 months. So, read along and check out the perfect strategy to crack NMAT 2021.
NMAT 2021 Important Dates
| Event | Start Date | End Date |
| Registration – Early | Tuesday, August 03, 2021 | Wednesday, November 10, 2021 |
| Late Registration | Thursday, November 11, 2021 | Monday, November 15, 2021 |
| Scheduling | Tuesday, August 03, 2021 | Wednesday, November 17, 2021 |
| Re-scheduling | Tuesday, August 03, 2021 | Friday, December 24, 2021 |
| Exam Delivery | Thursday, October 14, 2021 | Monday, December 27, 2021 |
| Registration – Retake | Friday, October 15, 2021 | Friday, December 24, 2021 |
| Retake Scheduling | Friday, October 15, 2021 | Friday, December 24, 2021 |
NMAT Exam Pattern 2021
Before we discuss how to prepare for NMAT let us have a look at the exam pattern. The NMAT 2021 exam pattern is different from the last year. The following table shows the exact pattern:-
| Section | Number of Questions | Time (in Minutes) |
|---|---|---|
| Language Skills | 36 | 28 |
| Quantitative Skills | 36 | 40 |
| Logical Reasoning | 36 | 52 |
| Total | 108 | 120 |
Please Note:
- the test is in adaptive format
- sectional timings are present
- one cannot go back to it to answer or attempt any question
- one cannot move to the next question without attempting the current question.
Here is why you should take a mock test right now?
1. The NMAT allows you to choose the order of attempt. Hence, make sure you attempt your strongest section first, even while attempting mock tests. This will help build your confidence for the remainder of the test. It is recommended to attempt the more demanding section in the middle as concentration levels tend to peak at that time.
2. With 108 questions to be solved in 120 minutes, NMAT is a test of speed. The number of questions you need to attempt cannot be pre-determined as it is a function of the level of difficulty. Just keep a fine balance accuracy and speed.
Click to know the detailed NMAT 2021 syllabus here
How To Crack NMAT in 3 Months?
1. Begin your preparation with a diagnostic mock test
This is, in fact, one of the most crucial steps of preparation, which sadly is missed by most aspirants. It is based on one simple logic: You need to know where you currently are in order to be able to chart out a way to get to the place where you want to be.
Many people are scared of taking mocks before preparation, however, this is an important step and should not be missed. Here’s how it helps:
With the introduction of the New pattern in NMAT this year, it is highly important to get an insight into the latest exam pattern. This will definitely be helpful for a better strategy and planning for your exam preparation. Also, when you take a diagnostic mock and spend time analyzing, it will give you a reality check. You begin to develop an understanding of which are the areas you may be good at and find easy to prepare and which topics are troublemakers. This goes a long way in helping you plan a preparation strategy. Also, once you’ve seen your scores, you will have a rough idea of how much effort you must put in, in order to achieve the desired results.
2. Clear your basics and establish a stronghold
Quant:
- You will get 36 questions in the Quantitative Skills section to be completed in 40 minutes; which is approximate ~1 minute per question.
- The four important areas in this section are – Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, and Modern Math.
- Begin with the basics and ensure concept clarity on fundamental properties, formulae and number operations, such as odd and even, prime numbers, LCM and HCF, etc. before graduating to advanced concepts.
- Practice DI sets across various concepts like table, line, bar, pie, caselets, etc.
- As we mentioned before, NMAT is essentially a speed test and thus having a good mental calculation ability has to be given importance. Familiarity with multiplication tables, squares, cubes, common fractions and their percentage equivalents is desired.
- Solve a lot of NMAT quant questions.
Reasoning :
- You will get 36 questions in the Logical Reasoning section to be attempted in 52 minutes, giving you about 1.5 minutes per question.
- The two important areas here will be- Verbal and analytical reasoning.
- Critical reasoning is a major section in reasoning. Practice a lot of questions on different topics to master this section.
- While preparing for this section, remember never to assume or use any information that is not provided in the question.
- Develop a knack for identifying the questions to be done and the ones to leave. We can’t stress the importance of strong basics for the same.
- Understand that logical reasoning skills cannot be developed overnight. The only way to succeed in this section is to practice different question types from varied sources.
- The more you practice, the better you get!
Language Skills:
- There are 36 questions in the language skills section, which must be attempted in 28 minutes. Also, out of these will be 10-12 questions based on vocabulary, which can easily be attempted in 10-20 seconds.
- The sure-shot way of excelling in this section is to develop an extensive reading habit. This helps you improve both your vocabulary as well as comprehension. Pay special attention to the editorial section in newspapers.
Attempt 20+ Reading Comprehension
How To Increase Scores In Reading Comprehension
- Reference to an authentic ‘wordlist’, giving the meaning and usage of words, will be conducive to handling questions on synonyms, antonyms, and analogies, which are popularly tested in this section.
Click to increase your score in Vocabulary
3. Take topic tests of varying difficulty levels
Taking tests is an indispensable part of preparing for any competitive exam and things are no different for the NMAT. You must develop a habit of test-taking and regularly attempt topic tests and full-length mock tests throughout your preparation phase. While you’re in the initial stages of your preparation, we recommend the following two types of tests. Also, make sure you take full-length mock tests every once in a while.
a) Take Practice Tests:
These topic-wise tests have varying difficulty levels, i.e.: Level 1 (easy), Level 2 (medium), Level 3 (hard). When attempted in that order, these tests are designed to help you establish strong basics.
Click here to test your score in Critical Reasoning
b) Take Custom Tests
Custom tests are a great way for you to work on your weaknesses. Here’s how you can make the most out these tests:
- Step 1: Take a full NMAT mock test.
- Step 2: Perform a thorough analysis of test, i.e. understand your weaknesses.
- Step 3: Create a custom test which includes your weak areas
- Step 4: You can also use these tests to improve your speed by modifying the number of questions and the duration of the test.
- Step 5: This way you can also vary the difficulty level of the test. So, as you move forward with your preparation you can set tougher tests for yourself.
4. Take mock tests extensively and improving on exam taking strategy
Devote the last stage of your preparation, which is the time when your exam date is close, take full length mocks extensively, and spend a good amount of time analyzing those.
NMAT vs CAT
Here is a comparative study of NMAT va CAT.
NMAT vs CAT : Exam Pattern and Test Structure
While CAT is conducted only once a year and NMAT is conducted in an 88-day test window and aspirants can attempt the exam thrice. In the year 2020, NMAT was conducted in two phases, in 88-days and seven-day window respectively.
NMAT vs CAT : Marking scheme
There is no negative marking in NMAT while CAT has negative marking for MCQs. There is no negative marking policy only for non-MCQs in CAT. The table below shows the marking scheme of both the exams.
| Section | CAT | NMAT |
|---|---|---|
| VARC | 8 (Non- MCQs), no negative marking 18 (MCQs), negative marking Total Questions – 26 | 36 MCQs (No negative marking) |
| DI / LR | 10 (MCQs and Non-MCQs) 14 (MCQs and Non-MCQs) Total Questions – 24 | 36 MCQs (No negative marking) |
| QA | MCQs – 18, Non -MCQs – 8 Total Questions -26 | 36 MCQs (No negative marking) |
NMAT vs CAT : Sectional Time Limit
Sectional timing in CAT is 40 minutes while it in the case of NMAT each section has a different time limits.
| Section | CAT | NMAT |
|---|---|---|
| QA | 40 minutes | 52 minutes |
| LR | 40 minutes | 40 minutes |
| VA | 40 minutes | 28 minutes |
| Total | 120 minutes | 120 minutes |
Aspirants should start preparing for NMAT without delays and get an advantage of starting early. Prepare a study plan to identify your strong and weak areas.
NMAT Preparation Material
Apart from NMAT Mock Tests, NMAT Study Material are the best preparation materials for the exam. NMAT 2021 preparation materials are readily available in the market and contains relevant and related problem and solutions. Pearson NMAT books are considered to be the favourites among aspirants preparing for NMAT due to their authors being recent toppers of the exam. Pearson NMAT books along with other NMAT books help aspirant build a systematic and disciplined preparation strategy for exams as well.
NMAT Books
NMAT 2021 Syllabus can be easily covered using these books on different sections. It is on the aspirants to shortlist books based on their requirements. We are sharing a list of best NMAT preparation books for different sections below.
NMAT Preparation Books — Language Skills
Some of the best books for NMAT 2021 Language Skills are as follows
| Book | Author / Publisher |
| SSC Chapterwise Solved Papers English Language | Arihant Publications |
| Descriptive English For Competitive Examinations | B.K. Publication |
| Objective General English | S. P. Bakshi |
| Descriptive English For Competitive Examinations | S.J. Thakur and S.K. Rout |
| English Language Comprehension Skills | Sachchida Nand Jha |
| Objective General English 10,000 plus Questions | R.S. Aggarwal & Vikas Aggarwal |
NMAT Preparation Books — Quantitative Skills
Some of the best books that can be referred to for NMAT 2021 Quantitative Skills are as follows. These books are aspirant favourites while solving NMAT quant questions.
| Book | Author / Publisher |
| Quantitative Aptitude for MBA Entrance Examinations | Abhijit Guha |
| Quantitative Aptitude for CAT | Arun Sharma |
| Quantitative Aptitude Numerical Ability (Fully Solved) 7000+ Objective Question | Pratiyogita Kiran & KICX Think Tank of Kiran Prakashan |
| Mathematics for MBA | R.S. Aggarwal |
| Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT | Sarvesh K. Verma |
| How to Become a Human Calculator? With the Magic of Vedic Maths | Aditi Singhal |
NMAT Preparation Books — Logical Reasoning
Take a look at some of the best books for NMAT 2021 Logical Reasoning
| Book | Author / Publisher |
| A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning | R.S Aggarwal |
| Logical and Analytical Reasoning | Ashok Gupta |
| Non-Verbal Reasoning | R.S. Aggarwal |
| How to Prepare for Logical Reasoning for CAT | Arun Sharma |
| Logical Reasoning | Arihant Publication |
Based on the analysis, refine your NMAT test-taking strategy and test that in the next mock test you take. This way, by the time your exam is due, you will have a foolproof exam strategy and NMAT Tips that works wonders for you! So this was all from our side on how to prepare for NMAT. Hope this helps.
All the best!!
Further Readings
- NMAT’21 Pattern : Why to Practice Adaptive NMAT Mocks Only
- NMAT Preparation Strategy | Comprehensive Guide to 250+ Score
- NMAT Syllabus 2021 – Section-wise List of Topics
- NMAT Exam Pattern Changes – Adaptive Test Format | Full Details
- How To Prepare For NMAT In 3 Months?
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