My NMAT 2023 Experience

On By PSIn NMAT

Hi! I hope all of you are doing well and your test preparation is on track. In this article, I will share a detailed analysis of NMAT 2023 and my review of the official mock 1.

I’ve been taking the NMAT every year as a mentor to analyze it, look at it critically, and provide quality insights to the student community. This is how I’ve fared in my past attempts:

YearScoreMy Review
2023290 (QS 89, LS 100, LR 101)Link
2022284 (QS 84, LS 101, LR 99)Link
2021281 (QS 93, LS 102, LR 86)Link
2020291 (QS 100, LS 98, LR 93)Link
2019 (Non-adaptive, old format)270 (QS 96, LS 84, LR 90)Link

I don’t prepare for the test because my score doesn’t matter. 2020 was the only time I prepared for the test by taking mocks; you can read the 2020 review to learn more about it. I make it a point to take the Official Mock 1 a few days before my NMAT to get used to the format. So, let’s start with the analysis of the NMAT Official Mock 1.

I took the Official Mock 1 on 8th October. I maintained the section order as – QS, LR, LS. This order has worked nicely for me in my past attempts, and any experimentation is unnecessary. While taking the mock, I felt good about my QS performance. After seeing the result, I realized that I had made two ridiculous errors in the process. LR has been my nemesis, especially the critical reasoning part of it. Though I finished the section before time, I guess I could have done better. LS was a breeze, except for vocabulary questions. You either know it or don’t, so there’s no point in spending too much time on it. I was happy with the overall attempt, and the score boosted my confidence.

SectionTime per questionAccuracyScaled ScoreRemarks on the difficulty and composition
QS1 min 16 sec34 / 36102Slightly easier compared to the actual NMAT. 3 DI sets – actual test had 2 DI sets
LR1 min 3 sec27 / 3689Similar. There was 1 Sequential Output set. The actual test had 2 sets. There were 2 sets of arrangements – both with a lot of information. The actual test had only 1.
LS36 sec33 / 36114Similar. There were 3 RCs. The actual test had 2 RCs.
Overall–94 / 108305

Overall, the official mock 1 is a good indicator of where you stand. You need to use this test to understand the gaps in your preparation and strategy and work on the areas of improvement.

10th October morning:
I woke up after sleeping for nearly 8 hours. Nutrition and sleep are super crucial when it comes to test performance. I had a light breakfast and was ready to face the NMAT. For some random reason, this was the song of the day. I was humming it every few minutes from the time I woke up.

NMAT 2023 review:
I reached the venue at 11:15 a.m. for my noon slot. I had also appeared for the test at the same venue last year, so there was no hassle in locating it. The official asked us for identity proof, the confirmation letter, and the admit card. Everyone got two rough sheets and a pen. Surprisingly, there was a packet containing disposable earplugs. I tried using them for the first five minutes of the test but didn’t feel comfortable, so I removed them. At 11:55 a.m., we started the login process. Entered the NMAT by GMAC ID, the password provided by the official, and I was on the launch screen.

I started with the Quantitative Skills section. I felt in control during the first few questions, but a few lengthy ones stumped me. I tried to maintain a 13-minutes-9-questions pace, but I struggled with it. I went slowly in the first 15-20 minutes but later paced myself. I completed the section with 30 seconds to go. I was unhappy with the overall performance and knew the score would be lower than what I had on the official mock. I did intelligent guesswork for two questions – one on logarithms and one on progressions because they were intense. DI, though calculation intensive, was doable, and if one had persevered, one would have been rewarded handsomely with all correct.

The next section for me was Logical Reasoning. Most of my initial questions were CR, and I deliberately went slow. Luckily, there was one easy arrangement set, and I got all the questions correct. The first set of sequential output was also straightforward, but the second set was a disaster. I could not crack it and guessed everything. The logical puzzles got done quickly, too. The problem with verbal reasoning is the accuracy estimation. I couldn’t gauge how I had performed (anyway, there is no way to figure that out), but overall, the difficulty was similar to official mock 1. When I finished, I still had two minutes to go on the timer. I had water and closed my eyes for a minute.

And then I started my final section – Language Skills. In the past, I have done well on this section despite not mugging up words. As a student, I had done that and I have relied majorly on the same base all these years. Compared to last year, the only thing I changed this year was the amount of reading I’ve done. It helps across the sections. If you read faster, you can read a quant, or LR set more quickly, saving crucial time. LS didn’t offer any surprises. Mentally, I was prepared for three RCs and was relieved to see only two RCs on the test. RCs were about 4-5 paragraphs but dense. Some paragraph jumbles consumed more time than others, but one could have answered everything correctly with a careful approach. I felt content with my attempt except for analogies and vocab. There’s no point complaining, though.

I submitted the test with a few seconds remaining on the timer. By the end of it, I was super exhausted. I saw my score on the screen: QS 89, LS 336, LR 101, Overall 526. The technical glitch in the LS score was completely unexpected. It’s pretty surprising that a national an international test conducted by an international body is administered without a quality check. If the official mock algorithm worked fine, there should not have been any error in the score reporting of the actual test. I hope they will rectify the issue and re-release the scorecard. I will update the post with my scorecard once I get it. 😀 Till then,

हर डर का हटा दे कोहरा, ताक़त का तू बन मोहरा
हर लक्ष्य को भेद के दिखला दे, अर्जुन की कहानी दोहरा
मरहम हो हराम तेरा, और ज़ख्म इनाम तेरा
भीगा हो जो तेरे पसीने में, वही जीत का हो चेहरा

Amitabh Bhattacharya, Brothers Anthem

Edit 1: Updated Scorecard is now available in the student dashboard. Here is my final NMAT 2023 scorecard.

To estimate cutoffs better, we need inputs from you. Please share your NMAT scorecard through this form. Your data will remain safe with us 🙂

I will end the post with my best wishes to you! Please feel free to ask any questions regarding the NMAT. I hope you have found this post helpful. Please share it with your friends and subscribe to the blog and IMS YouTube channel.

69 thoughts on “My NMAT 2023 Experience”

  1. mohit's avatar mohit

    sir what number of question should i get correct to get 250+ score in nmat
    i have my nmat on 14 october
    it will be helpful if i get reply before 14 october

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    1. PS's avatar PS

      Hi Mohit. There isn’t a specific number. You will have to target at least 22-23+ questions in each of the sections to be in a good position. Also, the score is a function of how many questions you get correct and what’s the difficulty level of the questions answered.

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  2. Naman's avatar Naman

    I had given two of the NMAT IMS Mocks and scored in 230s. I found that the DI sets are way too calculation intensive and both times I spent a good amount of time on them. Can you give some idea if I should be attempting them or just make random guesses?

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    1. PS's avatar PS

      Hi! Rarely you’ll find super irritating DI sets on the NMAT. Last year, I had a terrible DI set on the actual test and had to random mark nearly everything. This time, both the sets were doable. Regarding the IMS mocks, I will try my best to do a set within 6-7 minutes. If I don’t see any progress in about 5 minutes, it may be the right time to guess things and move on.

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  3. Adhith murali's avatar Adhith murali

    What is the ideal score you should get in the official mock 1 paper of GMAC that we get for free? Is the difficulty level almost same as that of the mock?

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    1. PS's avatar PS

      Hi. +/- 15-20 of your target score. It may happen that someone scores more in the actual test compared to the official mock. The score may also go down the way it happened for me. It’s commonly seen at high scores. North of 300 in the official mock 1 typically comes down in the actual. I’ve anyway done the detailed comparison between the official mock difficulty and the actual test difficulty. Go through the table please.

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    1. PS's avatar PS

      Hi. Too early to comment. The data that we have received (IMS students) so far has average scores as follows: QA – 70, LS – 83, LR – 77, Overall – 231.

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  6. swatisingh22's avatar swatisingh22

    Hi, I gave the official NMAT mock and scored 231, I purchased the other two mocks and got a similar score. I have my NMAT on 2 Nov, should I consider that my official NMAT exam score would be somewhat similar to the mocks?
    Also, analyzing my mocks I have observed that time pressure in QA and LR has resulted in low scores in these sections, what can I do to overcome this?

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    1. PS's avatar PS

      Hi. Don’t think too much about the final score 🙂 231 in the official mock is good and a little bit push from you during the test should help. Regarding QA and LR, the key is to pace yourself properly and ensure that you complete the section.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  7. Sachin Shah's avatar Sachin Shah

    Hello sir,

    I have noticed that my NMAT admit card shows the year 2023-24 but my score card shows the year 2022-23. Is this also an error or something that needs to be rectified?

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  10. Harshal's avatar Harshal

    Hello Sir,
    The snapshots you have shared in that all your RC questions are correct. What is your strategy for attempting RC? I have given IMS nmat mock. RC was long 7-8 para so I just marked the random ans and moved forward.

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    Reply
    1. PS's avatar PS

      Hi Harshal. I generally go super quick on the vocabulary and grammar based questions. That allows me to spend some more time on the RCs, if required. I read the RCs for meaning – reading as if I going to explain it to someone in the next 5 minutes and try to make a mental image of what’s happening. This particular mock, I felt the RCs were pretty straightforward so that also must have helped. Regarding IMS mocks, you may see some of the RCs to be difficult. Try the official mock once which is closer to what you can get on the actual test.

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    1. PS's avatar PS

      As early as possible. The official mock allows a retake and it has a different set of questions. Take official mock 1 on 5th and official mock retake on 11th/12th

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      1. esha's avatar esha

        Thank you sir,
        In case we have any unattempted questions left with very less time, do you suggest that we make calculated guesses and complete the paper somehow, or leave them unattempted?

        Like

  15. Geet's avatar Geet

    Hi sir, I got a score of 244 with 90 in LS, 88 in LR and 66 in QS, what are the chances to get into NMIMS Mumbai given the score in quants. Has the average score shifted down this year for quants?

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  19. Himanshu's avatar Himanshu

    Sir I’ve got a 242 overall in NMAT . LS 89 , LR 82 , QA 71 . Will the sectionals and Overall be sufficient for Mumbai Core and other NMIMS Mumbai Campus programs ?

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      2. Himanshu's avatar Himanshu

        Hello Sir , this is in response to the previous chats we had on this blogpost . NMAT(242)

        I want to know if NMIMS MBA core , MBA DT , MBA HR , MBA BA , And MBA Bangalore , have an overall Single selection/interview process ? or should I expect different Interviews for each of the programs that I have applied for ?

        One last query , When will the Interviews happen tentatively ?

        Thank you

        Like

      1. Rahul Sharma's avatar Rahul Sharma

        Hello Sir Hope you receive this message.
        I wanted the suggestion to which colleges should I look for, especially the target is Mumbai only.

        I scored 211 in NMAT With

        QS – 66
        LR – 71
        LS – 74

        Is this score will be enough to get a decent college, as KJSOM Exepected cut off is also a bit higher in addition to my score, so should I apply in it or go further with CET and Other’s instead of wasting money in college applications. What would be your suggestion?

        Expecting some guidance,
        Thankyou.

        Like

      2. PS's avatar PS

        KJ accepts only the first attempt of the test so 211 won’t suffice there. Can try with CMAT scores. Definitely consider taking CMAT and CET.

        Like

  22. aainanarang's avatar aainanarang

    Hi Sir, I scored 237 with sectionals QS(71), LS(89) and LR(77). I am quite worried about the QS sectional since I target NMIMS Mumbai. But talking to fellow aspirants I realised that QS was a little difficult. Will I get through the sectionals for MBA core?

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    1. PS's avatar PS

      Looking at the last year, 76 should suffice. We have seen slight upward movement in LR scores compared to last year so we will have to wait for the official cutoff release.

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  25. Rahul Sharma's avatar Rahul Sharma

    Hello Sir Hope you receive this message.

    I wanted the suggestion to
    which colleges should I look for, especially the target is Mumbai only.

    I scored 211 in NMAT With,

    QS-66
    LR-71
    LS-74

    Is this score will be enough to get a decent college, as KJSOM Exepected cut off is also a bit higher in addition to my score, so should I apply in it or go further with CET and Other’s instead of wasting money in college applications. What
    would be your suggestion?

    Expecting some guidance,
    Thankyou.

    Like

    Reply
  26. aasthaamishraa's avatar aasthaamishraa

    hi sir, i scored 219 in NMAT (LS-82, LR-72, QA-65) Is there any chances for calls from TAPMI and KJSOM? or Shall i consider SDA, FLAME and XIMB HR.

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  30. Himanshu's avatar Himanshu

    Hello sir,

    I’ve been selected for SDA Bocconi, and after applying the tuition waiver my fee is 14 Lakhs for 2 yrs. (Plus 7 lakhs Milan trimester personal expenses approx).

    I have high chances of converting TAPMI, NMIMS Bangalore, NMIMS HR , KJ Som and GIM(Finance) calls. These 5 have similar Fees as per my knowledge. The results for these colleges will not be out soon enough. But, I’m in a dilemma since I have to make a decision about SDA Bocconi as to should I freeze my seat or not.

    Please suggest what I should do if possible… I’m looking for a college according to ROI and placements.

    Also please comment on whether the regular MBA/PGDM and IMB degree at have any major differences or not .

    Thank you.

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