Hi! I am posting on the blog after a long time. I hope you are safe and the preparation is on track. The 2020-21 test season has begun and some of you have already appeared for the NMAT and will be taking CAT on the coming Sunday. I recently appeared for the NMAT and as there is no detailed account of the test available on the web, I thought of penning it down. Here is my straight-from-the-heart debrief of this year’s NMAT attempt.
Backstory: I had scored a 270 on the NMAT last year which was possibly the highest score ever in its present format (as some of you might be aware, NMIMS used to conduct NMAT earlier which became NMAT by GMAC in 2015). Why possibly? Because NMAT scores aren’t published anywhere so there could be people who scored higher but never shared their score publicly. I had shared my experience in a Quora post wherein I had mentioned that I had framed my strategy after a single official mock and hadn’t done any specific prep.
This year, I wanted to take it on the first day itself as the pattern had changed but as I wasn’t sure of the COVID situation, I booked an online proctored attempt from home. The first day of the test itself, I got to know that my record was broken with a Mind = Blown score of 278. Later, there were reports of students getting 274 and that made me a little nervous about my attempt.
I’ve always maintained this philosophy that if I don’t do reasonably well in a test, I won’t find it comfortable to mentor students for that specific test. We definitely have nothing to prove but we don’t want to be obsolete either. Do read this post where Shashank also resonates with the same thing and has shared his take on consistent topnotch performance. As we don’t prepare for tests the way aspirants do, we sometimes do well and sometimes don’t. We rarely take mocks and even when we do, it’s for analysis videos or live practice with students. So when my record was broken, I decided to take things a little seriously and did the unimaginable: I signed up for official NMAT paid mocks and decided to take at least a few IMS + official mocks.
The first IMS mock that I took, I got a score of 290. But not sure if it counts as I had reviewed the LR section of it and I knew all the questions. With a few days to go for the test, I took the official mock 1 and scored a 317. I don’t know how the NMAT scaling works (I still don’t know) but the score told me two things: (1) I have the potential to do well and (2) if the difficulty of the actual test is similar, I will do well. As you’re allowed to take the test again and you get a different set of questions, I took the second attempt at the official mock and luckily the score came down to 286. If I had scored higher, I would not have taken another mock. Anyway, to cut the long story short, this is how I did on the mocks:
I kept an IMS mock for the end because our tests are slightly difficult. The mock exercise made me understand what the students go through. It’s difficult to take mocks again and again and experience sadness, frustration, boredom, disappointment, stress, and anxiety. But putting in regular practice is the most important thing because you can’t get better at test taking overnight. Thanks to this experiment, my empathy quotient has improved and let me put it out there: If you’re reading this and have taken a lot of mocks (considering all entrance tests) this season, you have my respect. Coming back to the story, the last two official mocks showed a 290 and 291 and the IMS test showed a 252. I was all set to take the test and secretly hoped to crack it.
Test day: I got up at 8 am for my test at 12. As I had scheduled an online proctored attempt and was experiencing an actual test from home for the first time, the first thing that I checked was if my internet connection was fine. The previous day, my connection wasn’t functional for an hour or so and I was afraid that a similar episode during the test would pretty much destroy whatever ambitions I had. My recommendation to candidates is to go for an attempt at the test venue (if it is safe) simply because then you don’t have to constantly worry about internet connection.
I could barely eat and told my family that I wasn’t confident enough. The thought of a score in the 270 range kept bothering me. Not that it’s not a great score but I kept thinking whether a 5/10 point improvement will feel anything special or will do justice to the small effort that I had put in. The stress was too much to handle so I meditated for half an hour (trust me, it helps). I had recurring flashes of Feliks Zemdegs at the 2013 Rubik’s Cube Championship video which I’ve seen countless times and it helped me calm a bit. I was ready.
Test experience: With about 15 minutes to go for the test time, I started the sign in process. The proctor was pretty helpful and she guided me through the whole thing. I was at my desk with ID proof, admit card, two A4 size sheets, pencils, and my laptop with inbuilt webcam. please note that you have to give a 360 degree view of the room to the proctor and show them area under the desk.
After all the setup was done, I started the test at about 12:10. My personal preference for section order is QA-LR-LS because I can manage verbal even when I am tired but I start making silly mistakes in QA if there is too much mental fatigue.
Quantitative Skills:
My first quant question went wrong. I didn’t read the question carefully, spent nearly 1.5 minutes on it, marked something in a hurry, and I realized that it was wrong. Nevertheless, there was no point crying over it and I started focusing on the task at hand: Read-solve-repeat. The quant was pretty straightforward and didn’t vary much from what you typically experience in the mocks. The first DI set was a line graph (easy affair) and the second DI set was a table with 4 columns and 7 rows (moderate). The third set, however, was remarkably painful. It could have also been because of the way I had responded to earlier questions but the set looked similar to this:
I had saved enough time for such eventualities by solving the first half quickly. On one of the questions from this set, I took a half chance because the clock was ticking and completing the section was more important than solving that specific question. By the time I was done, I had 4/5 minutes to go on the timer and felt pretty good about the overall attempt. I later realised the mistake that I had made in that first probability question. Didn’t pay attention to the ‘2-digit number’ part of the question 🤦 and kept hitting the wrong answer.
Logical Reasoning:
Most of my mock performances had a low accuracy on the CR/Deduction part of the section (refer the screenshot below from one of the mocks) and I decided to cross-check all the options properly before marking. The extra cautious strategy slowed me down significantly and I had to be really fast with other question types. What stumped me was two sets of input output questions (apparently if you start doing well, you get two sets but it doesn’t happen to everyone so it’s just a conjecture) but I was able to solve both of them nicely.
There was an arrangement question with very little information and it had several possibilities. In the interest of time, I didn’t write down all the possibilities in the beginning and went question by question. Again, I had to take a call on one of the questions whether to solve or random mark. I narrowed down to two options and marked one of them. Overall, I found it pretty lengthy and with about a minute to go, I completed the section.
Language Skills:
I had done quite well in the mocks and I was getting a fairly consistent accuracy across the areas that are tested by NMAT (refer the screenshot below from one of the mocks). During the test, I found some of the parajumbles tricky. The RCs were pretty lengthy but the questions weren’t that difficult to solve. I was able to arrive at the right answer in most of the cases. Analogy questions had a few close options and at a couple of places, I wasn’t sure of my answer. Time management becomes extremely important in this section. Though the questions on prepositions or analogy can be answered quickly, others consume more time and one has to strike a balance to finish the paper.
The end result:
I had a look at my score and quickly memorized it. I informed Shashank and some of my colleagues at IMS. The official scorecard mail arrived within half an hour and the scorecard showed:
My two cents:
- Analyze your mocks well and search for gaps. If a particular question has gone wrong, the reason behind it is of prime importance
- When people say that they can’t do DI, I ask them a random question: what’s 29*7 or what’s percentage equivalence of 1/16. If the foundation is shaky, the building isn’t going to be strong
- Practice intelligent guessing and understand whether it makes sense to take risks or not
- The good thing about NMAT is that it sticks to the structure. You won’t find random surprises on the actual test if you’ve taken mocks. The question could be difficult but it’s never out of the world
- 2 A4 size sheets should be enough for the entire test. My strategy here was to keep 1 sheet for QA and the other for LR + LS
- Don’t waste too much time sharpening one specific area beyond what’s required. Rather, increase your exposure in other areas so that you will be able to solve more questions on the actual test
- I am not an expert on the Language Skills section. Practice speed reading and skimming techniques to get better. For CAT RCs, we employ a different strategy, for NMAT kind of RCs, the strategy should be different
- Make better decisions. Don’t fall in love with a question. Mark something and move on if you think it will be too time consuming
- Don’t limit yourself by your mock scores. At the same time, don’t get overconfident by your official mock scores
- Experiment with the section order in the initial few mocks. Once you find what works for you, stick to it and take it to perfection
After the initial excitement, I returned to my normal self where I thought of the questions that I had missed, googled the words that I wasn’t aware of. I still feel that I could have done better and on a good day, the scorecard would have showed a 300+ but I also know that it:
Someone asked me if I will take the test again this season if my 291 gets beaten. The answer is No. Because it doesn’t matter. The mock tests and the actual test shattered my own notions about what I could and could not do and that matters for far more than a particular score. I hope the post motivates a few people to aim higher and do better in life. Thanks for reading! I wish you guys all the best for the test season ahead. May things work out for everyone soon!
I would love to hear from you! Keep visiting this space for more articles and if you have any article suggestions or queries, please leave them in the comments. Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog. Share this with your friends and co-aspirants. Happy prepping! 🙂
Cracking MBA CET 
sir my score is 247 (qa-78,lr-83,ls-86). what is your advise?
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Hi! Nice score. Our estimate is that the overall cutoff should hover around 240 with 75-80 sectional cutoffs for QA and LR and LS to be in the 80-85 range. Let’s wait for 1/2 weeks and observe the trends. Your LR and LS looks pretty clear but not sure about QA at this stage. All the best!
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Is the time after cat exam sufficient to prep for NMAT considering that my nmat is on 22 Dec ?
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Hi Chirag,
There is considerable overlap between the content of the two tests. The time post CAT should be sufficient for preparation in my view. Plan to take more mocks and strategize based on your score. All the best!
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Prasad Sir OP!🔝
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Thank you, Soham! 🙂
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Thank you Sir for putting down your experience and your take on NMAT strategies. This was very helpful.
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Thanks for the feedback, Nikita. All the best to you!
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Hi
My score is 256 (QA-72, LR-84, VA-100) in my second attempt.
Should I give a third attempt to improve QA score so that I am sure of clearing sectional cutoff for QA?
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Hi. Great overall score. What was the score in the first attempt? LR and VA look sorted but QA seems to be on the lower side. Aim for 80+ at least.
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First attempt was 247 (QA-57, LR-87, VA-103).
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Alright! I think work on your QA and give it a shot. In any case, your scores are decent to get a call but all hinges on QA score. So better to be safe and take an attempt to push QA up.
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Hi sir
thank you for the insights. I scored 210 (qa 70, eng – 77, lr – 63) in my first IMS mock non adaptive. What would be my focus areas and study plan after CAT exam as i plan to attempt nmat on 22 dec
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Hi Isha. 210 in IMS mock is a good score to begin with. Taking a couple of mocks more will help you understand areas where you need to work. If I am planning to take two attempts, I will take 60% of available mocks prior to my first attempt and the remaining before my second attempt. Study wise, both IMS material and official guide can be solved.
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Keep raising the bar, sir.! Lots of love 🙂
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Thanks a lot, Shivam! 🙂
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Thank you, Sir, for this post.
My score in NMAT is 234 (QA-74, LR-79, LS-81). In which section(areas) should I focus more in order to comfortably clear the cutoffs in my next attempt?
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Hi AT! I would say QA and LS. LR cutoff should get cleared at 79. Most of the students do well on LS and that pushes LS cutoff upwards so you need to take it further upwards and it also helps you get a high overall score!
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Hi Sir, what about a 266 (QA- 85 LS- 95 LR-86). Should I give another attempt
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Hi Ruchita! Looks neat. Super score in LS and QA-LR is balanced as well. Don’t need a retake at that score.
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Sir I have registered a score of 251.
QA-76 LR-87 VA-88, is there a possibility that my QA sectional score or the overall score might hinder the chances of NMIMS mumbai call?
Thanks in advance!
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HI Draxler! Impressive overall score but I am a little worried about QA. Wait for a few days to see how students are performing on QA and we can decide whether to take it again or not. If you must take a retake, it is only to improve your QA score. Overall is sorted.
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Sir, I scored 260 (qa-83,va-87,lr-90) . Should I go for retake?
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Hi Soumya! Looks safe to me. Don’t think a retake is required.
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Hello Sir,
Thank You for penning down your experience.
I have my attempt scheduled for 2nd December.
What should I do after attempting CAT on 29th so that my NMAT doesn’t get affected?
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Hi Nitish! As you have pretty limited time post CAT, I suggest taking 2/3 mocks, including an official one. It will give you a good idea of how to strategize for NMAT. You’re already used to test taking “duration”, you now have to adapt to the “format” of NMAT.
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Hello Sir, thank you for the advice, I gave IMS NMAT 2 (Adaptive) today and scored 203 (QS-77, LS-61, LR-65). I’ll be giving more mocks now. Any advice with regard to my mock score, as in what change should I bring to my prep. I have my exam on 2nd December.
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Hi Nitish, considering you have your test tomorrow (I am replying on Dec 1), play your natural game. The score looks balanced and will be great if you can push everything by 10-15 points. No specific suggestions for tomorrow apart from what I’ve covered in the post. Good luck!
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Hello Sir, really sorry to pester you again and again 😅.
I had my exam today and registered a score of just 233 (QA-68, LS-91, LR-74). I am planning to give a retake, probably in the month of January (because of my college exams in December).
How should I prepare for the exam, considering I have applied for XAT too.
I don’t know what went wrong Sir, I scored 258 in the Official Mock (1st attempt – QA-83, LR-76, LS-99). Kindly help me out Sir.
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Official mock is misleading, esp. the first one. It seems pretty easy as most of the students I’ve spoken to have reported similar situation (high score in official mock, low in the actual).
Good score in LS but both QA and LR need to improve significantly. You will need more timed practice of these two sections. XAT prep can continue to run in tandem (mocks + past papers should be sufficient).
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Sir my score overall-257; QA-82; LR-83; LS-92. Is it safe or do I need to retake?
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Hi Chinmay! Looks pretty good. Balanced sectionals and the overall is mighty! Don’t think you need a retake. All the best!
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I have my first attempt on 23 Dec.
Sir, would please throw some light upon preparation of VA.
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Hi Aayush! As mentioned in the post, NMAT doesn’t deviate from the structure. In the VARC section, RC questions are generally fact based with a few author will agree/disagree or inference based questions. Reading the RC quickly is the key to get through these questions and use option elimination wisely. Prepositions is the easiest part of the section and can be mastered easily by going through rules. Grammatical error falls in the same difficulty level and you will have to get grammar rules sorted. The difficult part of the section is vocab based analogies. You will find similar questions in the official guide. All the best!
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Overall-235(QA-73,LS-85,LR-77).Had given it last year and could not convert NM-Mumbai at 213.Looking for scheduling a reattempt as this year the cut-off will definitely go higher.Any specific suggestions for improving on QA and LR would be helpful.
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Hi Akash! Both QA and LR needs to be pushed up. The overall seems to be on the lower side considering the scores this time. If you haven’t solved OG, that’s one thing that you can try + IMS mocks + official mocks. For practice, relevant question types from GMAT OG can also be solved.
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Thank you sir for such a detailed blog. Its really helpful and keeps motivating at every bit of it. U are really a good writer too!!
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Hi Sambhaji! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
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Hi Sir,
Till yesterday my focus was on CAT, and unfortunately had a very miserable CAT Day yesterday. Now I need to start fresh on NMAT with no idea of pattern or syllabus or any, I had my 1st attempt scheduled on 17th Dec and I will give one more attempt in Jan too. My request to you w’d be as a newbie to NMAT where to start, reference materials, what to concentrate on individual sections. How to crack this as I had ruined my CAT.. Waiting for your inputs..
Thanks in advance..!
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Hi Arjun,
As you have prepared for CAT, picking up NMAT content shouldn’t be that difficult. Take a mock as the first step so that you understand the kind of questions and pattern. IMS module 5 + ADMAT workshops + Official guide + IMS mocks + official mocks pretty much covers all that you need. First step, take a mock and let me know your score. Can guide in a better manner from there.
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Hi Prasad Sir,
Many Thanks for your detailed response.. Below are my experiences with my 1st mock in NMAT as per your suggestion.
I just browse through pattern that there would be 3 sections but not aware of what question types and models would be coming in, scored 180 (QA-69, LR – 48, LS – 63) in 1st Mock without any prep. But my 1st encounter after giving 25 CAT mocks goes as follows..
1. Completely Stumped by series of 7-8 DS questions in Quant
2. Understand that LR was little painful, after 4 straight correct answers, received a high level huge arrangement set and was not sure whether to go for it (looks tempting for CAT student) but definitely can’t be solved within 3-4 mins, and then it followed by another medium Circular Arrangement, Input/Output (completely clueless), Syllogisms etc.. and I understood that this definitely need decent practise.
3. LS – was better than LR, but still many of sentence corrections, Vocab, Grammar rules were to be learnt, also got stuck in RC and missed attempting last 3 ques in LS
Please advise me as per above inputs, and also how to take quick judgement calls whether to go or leave such heavy LR sets or lengthy RC’s going forward..
Thank you Sir..!
-Arjun
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Hi Arjun! Glad that someone pointed out how difficult it is to get through a speed based test such as NMAT. Similar to any other tests, here also you have to take a lot of decisions, but you can’t correct any decision once you’ve made it.
If someone takes a mock without exposure to these specific question types, the score is bound to be on the lower side. In terms of making quick decisions, I generally check how I am doing on the time management front. So in VA for example, I need to hit about 12 attempts every 9 minutes. As long as I am doing okay on that, I can afford to spend time on something which is lengthy in between. but if I see myself running behind, then I can’t do so. Also, it depends on familiarity of the question. If I’ve done something similar in the past, I don’t mind spending additional time even if it’s lengthy because I know how to do it.
Prepare a little bit and take a mock again. The result will be different.
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Hello Sr,
Thank you for penning down your experience, really insightful
I got 232 (QA-65 , VA-86 , LR- 81 ), and now I am planning to give my second attempt in mid December and wanted to know what I should do to increase my scores, especially in Quant
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Hi Tanya! Thanks for the feedback. Good show in VA and LR but QA definitely needs to go up. I will spend a lot of time analyzing how to solve a particular question. Think about where can you reduce the time. When to solve, when to skip, when to approximate. All these are important decisions. Solve the OG in addition to IMS material.
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Hi sir ,I got 247 (QA-81,LS-83,LR-83) ,should I go for retake?
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Hi Pradeep! Looks neat to me. Don’t think a retake is required at this score. Sectionals look balanced and overall 245+ is a good position to be in.
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Sir, I scored 252 (QA-81,VA-95,LR-76). Should I go for retake?
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Hi Vandana. Fantastic overall score but I am not sure about your LR performance. Can consider a retake to push it beyond 80.
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Hello Sir,
Wanted to confirm are there any windows like last year? If yes should we not appear around the end of the window?
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Hi Aman. No. The window system doesn’t exist anymore. You can appear at any point of time and the score shouldn’t really be influenced by the window. Even last year, the whole window-based-difficulty was just a theory and there wasn’t any strong evidence to prove it. I suggest taking the first attempt as early as possible so that you can plan for the second/third in case you have to.
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Hi,
How can i access the ADMAT workshops?
Can you please provide the pathway, thank you!
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Hi Abhishek! Please get in touch with the centre at which you have enrolled. They will be able to help you out because the workshop delivery is a region specific thing.
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Hello Sir,
Thanks for the article. I have given IMS NMAT 2 adaptive mock and managed to score 199(QA-71, LS-66, LR-62). I have prepared for the cat exam and I think I have to adapt to the NMAT structure and speed. For LR(which is quite different from cat) can you suggest some tips to improve? My attempt is scheduled on the 7th of this month, so can you help me how to get NMAT sorted(mostly LR and LS)? and which topics should I consider seriously in LR and LS.
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Thanks Vishnu! IMS mocks are on the higher difficulty side so you’re bound to score on the lower side. If you went through the mock scores that I’ve posted, I could score just about 250 in the mock but the actual score turned out to be higher. Considering the limited time available, I suggest working on the following:
1. LR – critical reasoning, input output, logical puzzles
2. LS – error identification, prepositions
You would have prepared for the rest during your CAT prep anyway. Speed is extremely important so you also need to decide what to solve and what to mark and move on, if it’s time consuming.
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Hi, I’m completely new to this process of MBA and I’m aiming for Xavier, Bhubaneswar – XSOS.
So.. Recently I’ve enrolled into NMAT but due to some issues I kept my slot on December 6th will be giving 2nd try in January. The thing is I haven’t prepared for any other MBA Exams before. I am just following NMAT resources and bought the Official guide and gave my 1st Free Mock test and scored 134 and now i have no clue where to start and how to prepare? Pls help
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Hi! 134 in the first official mock is on the lower side and you will have to put in significant amount of effort to take this to a decent level. As you have the official guide, start solving questions from there and also aim for revising the OG at least once to get thorough. You will need more mock practice so you can enroll for the IMS test series or online course. So, OG + IMS mocks + material + official mocks should be sufficient.
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Hi Sir,
I gave my first NMAT mock today (NMAT 101) and scored 233 ( QA – 90, LS – 63, LR – 80). How can I improve my LS scores in the upcoming days?
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Hi Shubham! Good score in QA and LR. Analyze what’s pulling you down in LS. Is it grammar, prepositions, analogies, or RC based questions. Once you figure out what it is, practice more questions of that area. Error identification and prepositions are pretty easy to master in short span of time. Even RC, for that matter. Analysis + working on specific area should help!
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Hi Sir! Thank you for your guidance.
I gave my NMAT today and scored a total of 251.
LS-86
LR-81
QS-84
I hope this is a safe score and another retake isn’t required.
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Hi Shubham! That’s a great score and well balanced too. I don’t see the need to go for another attempt. If 250 doesn’t suffice, what will 😂!
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Hello Sir,
Thanks for such a great insights. After CAT i am preparing for both SNAP and NMAT and i have selected close dates for both of these exams. where should i focus more ?
as i have done my CAT preparation intensely
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Thanks Kalpesh! You can technically focus on both without hampering your prep in any way. Both have the same sections but they differ vastly in kind of questions and strategy. If your CAT prep was sorted, you can rely purely on mocks to prepare for these two exams, Check how many mocks you want to take before each of the tests and create a plan for yourself.
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Hello Sir, took my first attempt next day of the CAT due to unavailability of slots. I scored 235 (QA-68, LR-85, LS-82). I am giving 2nd attempt in the last week of Dec. Please suggest me a benchmark score to evaluate my performance in mocks before taking my final exam
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Hi! LR and LS looks good to me. Can look at pushing LS a little more. QA is definitely the section where you need to work. Suggest solving NMAT OG in addition to IMS material. In IMS mocks, I would say a 20-30 point lower score than target should be good enough. So if I am targeting 250, my IMS mock score should be 220-230. All the best!
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Hello Sir, I scored 199 in IMS NMAT adaptive 2 (QA-71 LS-66 LR-62). My exam is scheduled on Nov 7th. Can you please suggest some tips to ace LS and LR(priority as LR is different from the cat)? And please explain how to get used to NMAT speed solving
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Hi Vishnu! As IMS mocks are on the difficult side, you’re possibly not going to see your dream score in IMS mocks. Try to score as high as possible, but don’t get demotivated by low scores in IMS mocks. LR contains a lot of CR so that’s the first thing that I will work on. Post that, sequential output questions and logical puzzles.
There is no one fixed way to increase your speed. Some of the techniques that might help are: (1) timing yourself for everything that you solve to get average time spent (2) While analyzing, search for various ways of answering the same question, for example: options. (3) Speed reading exercises to improve concentration
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Hello SIr. Hope you are having good health.
I recently gave non-adaptive NMAT 101 & 102 mocks with an overall score of 234 ( QS – 80, LS – 87, LR – 67 ) and 226 ( QS – 90, LS – 73, LR – 63 ) respectively.
Sir, could you please help me understand, as to how is the following performance and what score should I target to get a call from NMIMS-Mumbai.
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Hi Varun! This score in the IMS mocks is pretty good. Take the official mock 1 and its retake. Let’s see how you perform on those. Work on your LR as the sectional score is looking low. Rest looks good to me.
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Hello sir,
I had cleared the cutoff in 2018 but I was just over the mark (210). Since nmims has 70% weightage to nmat score, I presume my score was the reason to not get my desired course.
What score range do you think will be equivalent to 99 or more percentile in NMAT this year that I can work for in my next attempt?
My first attempt score- overall 252; QA- 72, LR-84, LS- 96.
Thanks.
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Hi Himanshu! Written score definitely has the max weightage but that need not be the only reason why people get a reject. I had a student a couple of years back who got rejected at 226 (in the earlier score format when 210 was the cutoff). Looking at your score, I will definitely aim for 260+ in the next attempt and try for ~80 in QA. All the best!
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Hi sir
there is lot of uncertainty regarding the cut offs for NMIMS mumbai. Some are saying to aim for 260+. sir could you please suggest a safe score range with the sectionals?
thank you.
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Hi Isha! 260 looks extremely high. I don’t think it will go so high. I’ve checked various prep forums and haven’t seen a lot of people above 260. Considering most of the students have seen a 20-30 point improvement in their last year NMAT attempt, the cutoffs can go up by 20-30 points = 230-240 which seems reasonable to me. Sectionals is where it becomes a problem because earlier the sectionals have been in the QS 60-65, LS 55-60, LR 60-65. This year, most of the students have done well in LS. So my estimates would be 75 for each Quant and LR and 80 for VARC but this can also be 70 in each section and 75 for VARC. The more balanced and high your score is, the better. So if any section is less than 75 for you, I suggest a retake, just to be safe.
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hi sir, I took my NMAT 1 adaptive and scored 208. (qa 68, ls 69 and lr 71). how is this performance in terms of actual NMAT as I have my exam on 22 dec.
How to maximize the current scores?
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Hi Isha! IMS mocks are slightly difficult so your score will be on the lower side. Take the official mock as well and see how you perform on it. Still have time for your test and your score can definitely be pushed up.
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Hi Sir,
Can you recommend specific quant areas to focus on, like arithmetic or algebra or modern maths. Considering I just need to have a fresh start in this area.and I’m super weak in this section.So I would just prefer to learn and cover only specific areas.
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Hi Vasu. Focus on Numbers, Arithmetic, Algebra, Logarithms, P&C Probability… This year, they haven’t asked questions from Geometry and TSD. Needless to say, DI requires a strong hold on percentages, averages, and ratios. That pretty much covers NMAT for you.
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Hi Sir,
I took the NMAT yesterday and scored 239(QS:68 ; LS:92 ; LR:79). I am planning for a retake in Jan. Please suggest a safe target score to get a NM Mumbai call and how to increase my speed in solving Quant as I feel because of low solving speed i was not able to score good in quant?
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Hi Pratyush! The quant score definitely needs improvement. The aim should be to take it beyond 80. We are estimating the cutoff to be around 240, so a safe overall to target will be 250+
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Hello Sir. Hope you are in good health.
Sir I gave NMAT 101 & 102 Non Adaptive Mocks and scored 234, 226 respectively with ( QA = 90, LS = 77 , LR = 67 ) and
( QA = 87, LS = 71 , LR = 68 ).
Sir could you please guide as to what is the benchmark score to get NMIMS and how are these mock scores
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Hi Varun! The scores are looking good to me. Take the official test as well and see how you perform, QA is looking good but both LR and LS need improvement. Start working on these specific areas. Aim for 240 in IMS mocks with balanced sectionals. All the best!
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Hello Sir, Hope you are in good health.
Sir I recently gave IMS NMAT Mocks ( Non-Adaptive ) 101 & 102 with scores 234 ( QS- 80, LS-87, LR- 67 ) and 226 ( QS-90, LS- 73, LR- 63 ) respectively.
Sir could you please comment on the performance and as to what score should I target to secure a seat at NMIMS.
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Hi Siddharth! Good score in QS. Any particular reason why the score fluctuated so much in LS? LR looks on the lower side and needs to be pushed up. Practice from OG or CAT module 5 and take more LR tests in the remaining time. Looking good otherwise!
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Hi Sir,
Thank you for penning down your experience and strategy.
I wrote a couple of NMAT IMS mocks today and ended up scoring 236 in non adaptive (QA-80 LS-83 LR-73) and 243 in the adaptive pattern (QA-84 LS-82 LR-77).
My exam is on the 28th of Dec. What would you suggest I do to increase my scores and where can I get the extra practice from?
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Hi Ashita! That’s a neat score in the mocks and fairly consistent sectionals as well. but you should work a little bit on LS and LR and try to push them more. QA 80+ is pretty safe. NMAT OG + Paid official mocks + IMS mocks should be sufficient I think.
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Hi Sir,
I recently gave the NMAT 101 (adaptive) and scored 239 (LS-87, Q-85, LR- 67). I want to push my LR score higher, however I find the decision making and guess the next number in the series type of questions a little difficult. Could you kindly give me some tips?
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Hi Sharvari! 239 is a good score in the IMS mock. But yes, LR needs improvement. Go through IMS CAT module 5 which covers additional tests and solve specific areas. Solve OG if you have and practice CR more as it covers significant chunk of LR. You don’t get too many series questions on the actual test as such. but CR + Sequential Output + Arrangement/logic puzzles will cover most of the section.
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Hi Sir, I got a 250(QA-74, LR-86,LS-90) in my 1st attempt. Is it enough? I know I can do better. Should I go fot a second attempt?
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Hi Umarta! That’s impressive. But I think QA can be pushed up. Go for another attempt and try to take QA beyond 80 which will ensure a call. All the best!
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hi sir, I have scored 25 in my SNAP 101 mock test. I have work ex of 17 months.
Could you please suggest the colleges I should apply to ?
I will appear only once in first week of Jan.
Looking forward to your reply.
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Hi Isha. 25/60 indicates that your attempts are on the lower side and you need to attempt more. That’s true for pretty much all the speed based tests where higher speed leads to higher attempts and higher potential score. College wise, SIBM Pune, SCMHRD, SIBM Bengaluru, and SIIB are the best options. Rest you can decide on the basis of your career aspirations.
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hi sir , I just gave my NMAT and got a 222 ( 62- QA, 82- LS, 78- LR ). what should I focus on for the next attempt? also, what score do you think would be safe so that I won’t have to give the third attempt.
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Hi Esha! QA looks on the lower side and you definitely need to work a lot on it. Can try pushing your LR up as well. Aim should be to take the overall beyond 240. All the best!
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Hi sir I took the NMAT test today and got 232(Quant-79, LS-76 and LR-77.Do I need to go for a second attempt in order to get into NMIMS?
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Hi Akhil! The good thing about your score is the balance but it might just be a little short of the overall cutoff. I suggest going for a retake and pushing everything beyond 80 and overall beyond 240. All the best!
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Good Evening Sir,
Sir I find the online (non-adaptive) nmat series quite easy compared to adaptive nmat series.
in non-adaptive, I am able to score around 250 but in adaptive my score plummets to near 210.
This terrifies me. What should I do Sir??
My NMAT is on 7th Dec(from home).
Please help!!
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Hi Tushar! The non-adaptive one has questions in the increasing order of difficulty. So it may be the case that you’re hitting more questions correct in non-adaptive. That’s okay. I suggest taking the official mock and its retake to see where you stand on the GMAC algorithm. All the best!
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Okay sir I’ll take its retake(1st attempt score of official mock-227)..
Thank you.
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That’s good. Take care of your sectionals. All the best!
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Hello sir. Hope you’re doing well. I’ve gave 4 IMS Adaptive mocks(1, 2, 3, 4) and scored in the region of 208-217, whereas in the official test (1st attempt), I scored 253 (QA-71, LS-93, LR-89). Clearly I’m weak in QA, and don’t think a 71 score will suffice with the sectional cutoffs expected to go much higher. Which QA topics should I focus upon, except DI? Thank you.
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Hi Nikhil! The IMS mock scores will be on the lower side. Don’t worry about it. The official mock first attempt is a little misleading as most of the people get an inflated score in it. A retake of the official mock is where the real deal is. and yes, QA looks low. Try to push it beyond 80. Focus on Numbers, Arithmetic except TSD, Linear and Quadratic equations, P&C, probability, logarithms, etc. Standard quant basically. Look at the distribution of questions in official mocks and plan your effort accordingly. All the best! 🙂
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Hello sir I have scored 248
LS-88
QA-79
LR-81
Should I plan for a retake?
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Hi Abhishek! Looking at the scores that I’ve seen so far, this looks good. Unless you want to go for a retake to push it further up 😎
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Sir I’m able to score around 218 marks in the NMAT adaptive tests of IMS, my attempt for NMAT is on 22nd Dec, will I be able to get 240+ ? if I keep giving and analyzing the mocks. I’ll give the official mock a few days later. Also Sir can you do a NMAT mock live solving just to see how you manage time and everything, I get a lot of help from watching how a test taker attempts who scores high scores. Suneet Sir did a live solving in DI and it helped me take more better attempts in DILR for CAT… Please sir????
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Hi Ananya! The score in IMS mocks looks good. Just make sure that the sectional split is fair and it’s not too lopsided. If it is heavily leaning towards a certain section, figure out how to increase the other two section. I will check if we can plan for a live mock solving exercise though not sure if it can be done prior to 22nd. All the best for your attempt!
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Hi Sir,
I had my NMAT test today and I have scored 227(Quant-62, LR-82, LS-83). As its quite low in Quant I am thinking of a retake, but I had a doubt like where can I find the exact procedure to fill retake form and does nmat consider best score of the 2 test given?? Also,could you please suggest how I can improve my Quant section?
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Hi Aishwarya! You should go for a retake considering your quant score.
The retake registration process can be found on the NMAT official website: https://www.nmat.org/register-schedule/
Your best score out of the two or three attempts that you take will be considered for selection.
Work on the NMAT specific content (Arithmetic except TSD, Numbers, P&C Probability, Algebra) and track your attempts v/s score. Ensure that you get used to completing the paper within time. Avoid going too fast or too slow. All the best!
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Hi sir, I took the NMAT on 2nd Dec and got 258(QA-86, LS-86 and LR-86).Do I need to go for a second attempt in order to get into NMIMS Mumbai?
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Hi Abhishek! That’s a brilliant score. Sorted throughout! Don’t have to go for a retake. All the best for the rest of the season 🖖
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Hello Sir,
I took my first attempt of NMAT and scored 262 (QA-77, LS-93 and LR-92).
Should I go for 2nd attempt considering my QA score, may be, is on borderline?
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Hi Jay. I think most of the people would suggest *not* taking another shot because of high overall. I suggest waiting for a few days and observing how others are doing on QA. What I’ve observed is that most of the students are struggling to cross 75 and that could be the approximate cutoff. But yes, there is some element of uncertainty. Wait for a couple of days, follow this PG thread (https://www.pagalguy.com/discussions/official-nmat-by-gmac-discussion-thread-4677841368121344) if it’s not giving you sleepless nights and then decide. Keep it up and all the best!
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Understood and appreciated
Thank you sir!
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Greetings sir.
Hope you are doing well. I took my first attempt at NMAT today. My overall score is 250 with a split in 78/80/92 across QA/LR/LS respectively. Any idea on the expected cut off for QA this year sir?
P.S – For NMIMS Mumbai
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Hi Aswin,
250 and the score distribution looks neat. QA I guess should get through as well considering most of the people struggle with QA. In the earlier format, QA cutoff used to be around 65 when the overall cutoff used to be around 210. Considering the overall increase in the score reporting this year, I guess a 75 looks like a good QA cutoff. Fingers crossed.
If it’s not a lot of effort to go for a retake for you, I suggest that you take it in January and see if you can push both the quant and the overall upwards. NMIMS has a high weightage for written score in its selection process. So the higher your score, the better is your chance.
Hope this helps! All the best!
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Hello Sir,
Gave my first attempt today.
Scored -246(QA – 72, LR-86, VA-88)
Please provide your insights on the score above.
QA looks a little bit on the downside, isn’t it?
I’m, struggling with Modern Maths and DI. Any advice on how I should approach these 2?
Also, I’m a part of the IMS(CMAT-SNAP-NMAT) current batch as well.
Is it possible to have a “Meet a mentor session with you”?
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Hi Shivam! NMAT Modern Math is pretty limited in scope so I suggest having a look at the NMAT OG or the GMAT OG for PnC/Probability questions in addition to IMS material. Have a look at this post: https://crackingcet.com/2020/01/28/quant-di-speed-fundamentals/
Get in touch with the centre at which you’ve enrolled if you want to reach out. Not sure if I will be able to do a mentor session immediately but can definitely connect on message/mail. All the best!
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Hello sir,
I took my first NMAT attempt today and scored 246 ( Qa – 80 LR – 82 and LS – 84).
Do I need to take another attempt or are the scores sufficient to clear the sectional and overall cutoffs?
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Hi Hardik! That’s a good score but looking at how people have started performing on the test now, you may want to go for a retake just to see if you can push it up. Otherwise, good overall score with balanced sectionals! All the best for the season ahead!
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Hello Sir,
I have scored 251: QA:73, LS:90, LR:88. Is it a safe score to get a call from NMIM Mumbai or should I take another test? A little worried about my quant score. Please let me know.
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Hi Sristi! Go for a retake. The overall is great but looks like the QA cutoff will go higher than 73. All the best!
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