How to Prepare for SET 2026 General English Section

SET is a national-level entrance exam conducted for admission to various undergraduate courses. SET 2026 will be conducted in the computer-based test mode. The difficulty level of the SET exam is usually easy to moderate. But, a few questions might trick your mind and can be time-consuming.

General Knowledge and Analytical and Logical Reasoning are easier than the Quantitative Aptitude section. In 2025, according to the students who appeared for the SET session 1 exam, the SET exam was moderate. The General English section was the easiest of all four sections. The Quantitative Aptitude section was the toughest, and the other two sections were moderate to easy. The overall difficulty level of the SET question paper was moderate. Students who appeared for the SET 2025 session 2 exam said that the overall difficulty level was easy. Again, the General English section was the easiest. In this session, the Analytical and Logical Reasoning section was also easy to moderate. The Quant section was easy to moderate, and the General Knowledge section was difficult.

To crack SET exam in first attempt, students should have a preparation plan for 3 to 6 months bifurcated according to topics, strengths and knowledge of students. Students should consistently practice to fetch good SET scores. 

Yes, 36 is a good score in SET exam. General category usually faces a competitive SET cut off. The SET 2026 cut off will likely be between 34 to 42 marks. 

Previously, the SET exam had 150 questions. They were reduced to 60 multiple-choice questions in the year 2021, and the duration of the exam was also reduced  proportionally. Check out the table below to know what can be considered a good score in SET exam according to the previous years' analysis:

SET is conducted for BBA admissions at Symbiosis International University. SET is considered easy to moderate in terms of the difficulty. 

Aspirants should start preparing for the SET exam at least six months before the test date. SET preparation requires planning thus one must start early. They can also join coaching institutes for focused preparation. Starting early will also help you assess that whether you need to join a coaching institute or not. Divide your preparation into three phases - 1. Covering the syllabus 2. Practicing mock tests, sample questions and 3. Revision.

The SET syllabus includes the following topics:

General English: Parajumbles, Sentence Completion, Grammar, Comprehension Passages, Synonyms and Antonyms, etc.

Logical Reasoning: Tables, Graphs, Pie Charts, Blood Relation, Seating Arrangement, Strong and Weak Arguments, and Syllogism

Quantitative Aptitude: Geometry, Algebra Number System Arithmetic, Mensuration etc.

General Awareness: Companies and Founders, Awards, Books and Authors, Sports, Politics, Current Affairs, etc.

You can read the following SET books for exam preparation:

• A New Approach to Reasoning by BS Sijawali
• Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
• Multi-Dimensional Reasoning by Mishra Kumar and Dr Lal
• Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
• High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren & Martin
• How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma
• Class 9 and Class 10 NCERT Mathematics books
• Quantitative Aptitude by R. S Aggarwal
• Manorama Year Book

SET is a speed-based test that assess a candidate's analytical aptitude, logical reasoning skills, Quantitative Aptitude and English comprehension. Students should have a strong base on concepts and solve PYQPs and mock tests to fetch good score. Historically, the SET exam is much easier than other BBA entrance exams.

1. Understand the pattern of the question paper for your subject.
2. Examine previous year's questions to determine the requirements of each section.
3. SET question papers mostly consist of four sections, including English Quant, GK, and Reasoning.
4. Collect study material accordingly to study each concept in detail.
5. Make a proper study plan as per the time available and strengths in each section.
6. Take brief notes on important topics to aid in revision.
7. Practice as much as you can via sample papers to prepare well for SET exam day.

SET merit list will be prepared by each pariticpating institute based on the score obtained in the SET exam. 

In 2026, SET will be conducted in two phase, i.e. Test 01 and Test 02. According to the previous year SET analysis and student's reactions, the difficult level of the exam is easy to moderate in both sessions. A good score in SET BBA exam can be subjective, but if we look at the analysis, then the following can be termed as a good score in SET:

The QA section of the SET exam can be prepared with practice and revision. Students can start their QA preparation by understanding the concepts, syllabus and learning formulas and theorems. Regularly practicing mathematical problems after memorizing the formulas will help the SET aspirants to crack the QA section of SET exam. The more they practice, the better their chances of getting a good score in this section. Topics such as number system, algebra, mensuration, geometry, profit and loss, ratio and proportion, probability, are some of the important topics for the Quant syllabus. 

SET results are announced within a week of the SET exam. Once the results are announced, students can start preparing for the SET counselling rounds and apply to the college's websites. If the candidate meets the SET cutoff of the participating institute they will be called for the WAT/PI rounds. For the preparation of these rounds, students should focus on improving communication skills, current affairs awareness, general knowledge, etc.