NMIMS Management Aptitude Test (NMAT) is a gateway to a large number of reputed MBA

colleges across the country, including Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. It is an
online test, which is conducted in several Indian cities.

There are few special features, which make the NMAT different from other MBA entrance
exams. These are:

 It has a 75-day Testing Window in which the students can book a test slot.
 In a given year, students can take the exam thrice.
 There is no negative marking.
 Students can select the order in which they can attempt the sections.
 Each section is individually timed; candidates are not allowed to switch between various
sections of the exam.
From this year onwards other B-schools like, Alliance University,VIT University, Thapar School
of Management, ICFAI Business School (IBS) and Shoolini University will also accept NMAT
scores.

Following is the NMAT Exam Pattern:

S. no Section No. of Questions Time (in Minutes)

1 Language Skills 32 22
2 Quantitative Skills 48 60
3 Logical Reasoning 40 38
Total 120 120

A few important points students should note regarding the exam are:

 NMAT is a comparative exam and not self – performance oriented, i.e., it is important for
you to perform well relative to other candidates in each of the 3 sections of the test as the
score of each section and the overall score will be used to shortlist the candidate for the
second stage of the selection process as well as in the final ranking.
 Candidates will get admission if they meet the required standards of a two-stage selection
process. All eligible candidates are required to appear for the computer based NMAT to
 be conducted across the country. Short listed candidates will have to appear for group
discussion and personal interview, which will be held in Mumbai only.
 NMAT is a computer-delivered test where each candidate gets a randomly generated
exam from a pool of questions. The number of questions, difficulty levels and the time
limit for each of the sections is predetermined and, under normal administration
conditions, are the same regardless of when and where the test is administered. The test is
non-adaptive in which the computer will display questions one at a time.
 In NMAT, candidates can choose the order of three test sections. Each section has an
allotted section time and the candidate has to complete the section including answering
and reviewing the questions in the given section time limit.
 Each of the three sections have individual section timings and candidates are supposed to
answer and review the questions of a particular section within the allotted section time.
 In case a candidate completes the section before the section time gets over, the balance
time of the given section is not added to the next section(s). The next section has its own
time limits and needs to be completed in the allotted sectional time only.
 The NMAT is a computer-based test conducted over a period of 10 weeks.
 You can select your test date and slot based on choice and availability.
 Test Centers: The NMAT exam will be delivered at 27 centers in 18 cities throughout
India. Some cities will have multiple test centers to choose from. The NMAT is not
offered at any international location.

The Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) uses NMAT scores for
admission to its various MBA programmes offered in its Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru
campuses. The online NMAT is conducted in several Indian cities. Since the test pattern is
similar to those of other tests, the preparation plan for NMAT is also expected to be closely
parallel. In this exam, candidates have to attempt 120 questions in 120 minutes. It's a speed
driven exam. Therefore, candidates should be very thorough with the various concepts of Verbal,
Quant, DI and Reasoning.
The first step towards preparation of this exam is knowing the syllabus. The syllabus of NMAT
is as follows:

Verbal Ability

 Reading Comprehension
 Para jumbles
 Grammar
 Sentence Correction
 Antonyms & Synonyms
 Sentence Completion
 Analogies

Reasoning

The reasoning section in NMAT has questions from verbal reasoning as well as logical
reasoning. The verbal reasoning topics are:

 Critical Reasoning
 Assertions and Reasons
 Assumption Conclusions
 Courses of action
 Strong & Weak arguments
 The Logical reasoning topics are:
 Family Based Puzzles
 Seating Arrangements
 Circular Arrangements
 Coding / Decoding
 Input / Output
 Directions

Quantitative Skills:

 Profit and Loss

 Simple Interest & Compound Interest
  Ratio Proportions
 Time and Work
 Time Speed & Distance
 Number Systems
 Algebra
 Quadratic and Linear equations
 Geometry
 Trigonometry
 Probability, Permutation & Combination
 Mensuration
 Data Sufficiency

Data Interpretation

DI is a part of quantitative ability section. It involves, interpretation and analysis of data

represented through:

 Tables
 Line Charts
 Bar Graph
 Pie Charts
 Venn Diagrams
 Combination Graphs

Key Points –

 Speed based test with no negative marking

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 last minutes for this task

 Cutoff as per the trend – 208-210 marks

If 80-90 questions are attempted with good amount of accuracy, then student stands a very good
chance of clearing NMAT by GMAC cutoff

 Weightage of written test - 70%

So high in written test, high chance of converting NM call

 Choice of section start

Student must leverage this option with his/her strongest section

Section Wise Analysis -

Language skills

 Cutoff ranges from 50-55 marks

 8 questions from RCs

 Even if one RC is taken care off in 5-6 minutes and 15 minutes are allocated to rest of the part
of verbal, this is better division of time for verbal

Quantitative skills (QA + DI)

 Cutoff ranges from 70-75 marks

 15 minutes, at last, 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

Logical Reasoning

 Cutoff ranges from 60-65 marks

 Out of 12, 7-8 questions from Verbal Logic are manageable

 There are around 4 sets for Arrangement and Puzzles with 4 questions each in paper, out of
which 2 generally are easily manageable

 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 decent amount of time

Mantra of Successful Solving -

Language Skills: In order to crack this section the student has to be thorough with his
vocabulary. Command on vocabulary shall provide lead as one doesn’t waste a lot of time on
these questions thinking. The time saved in vocabulary shall be used to solve RC’s. With around
8 questions on Grammar, this is another area where 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, though. Student should note that he/she has
to solve and move to the next question quickly to avoid shortage of time. Not getting stuck on a
particular question is important. Data Sufficiency questions should be very well practiced before
NMAT by GMAC as they are regularly seen as 5 to 6 questions.

Logical Reasoning: 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 by GMAC is a speed based test wherein student needs to be on his toes for
complete 2 hours. Speedy solving of quant questions, knowledge of Data sufficiency, good
command on vocabulary and sound practice on arrangement and puzzles is the key to crack this
exam.

Once you are done with the first round that is the written test, the second round will include
Group Discussion and Personal Interview. At the starting of the process each candidate has to fill
the SOP form in which they have to answer questions like, why do you want to pursue MBA? Or
why do you want to pursue MBA from NMIMS? After this the rest of the process follows.

Group Discussion (Case Discussion)

In NMIMS, Group Discussions are conducted as a part of the second stage of the admission
process. The candidates are given 5 minutes to think before the discussion begins. The average
 duration of the GD is 15 -25 minutes. The group has 12 -15 participants. There are 3 panelists.
NMIMS GDs are unique in the sense that they are generally based on case-studies. The case
studies are generally related to situations in the professional world. In the last few years a few
topics related to which cases have been asked in this round are:

 Relevance of odd even scheme

 An antiques collector has a very important artifact which is believed to be bringing good luck to
a tribe in the Amazon. But there is no scientific proof. If you are the collector, would you give
the artifact back to the tribe?
 iPods have killed the music industry
 Sometimes less is better than more
 IPL has been reduced to a soap opera

Personal Interview

A Personal Interview is a great opportunity for candidates to show their skills and strengths. It's a
chance to show how they are a perfect fit for the particular institute or position. On the other
hand it gives the chance to the panelists to evaluate the personality of the candidate. In NMIMS
interview there are generally 3 panelists. The kind of questions and number of questions asked to
the candidates can vary from person to person but the personal interview is designed to know
about you, the panel checks how well you know yourself.

Typically, interview questions can be of different types, like personality based focus on the
strengths, weaknesses, achievements, failures and goals of an individual. Questions regarding
education focus on an individual's academic and extracurricular performance. There can also be
current affairs or career planning based questions. The panelists might also ask technical
questions related to your graduation subjects.

Following is the interview excerpt of our student:

Student Profile: BE-CSE-85.5%, 12th: 93.4%, 10th: 95%

Questions Asked - introduce yourself, What are your hobbies, which forms of dance do you like
(hobby mentioned), what community work have you done so far, challenges faced, Should
donation of organs after death be made compulsory, Who was the chief designer of Chandigarh,
Who is the CM of Haryana and Punjab, what is HDI, why NMIMS, Which specialization do you
want to opt for, why no work-ex.