SET 2025 Question Paper, Previous Year Papers (2024-21): PDF Download

Students aspiring to take admission to the UG programmes at Symbiosis International University (SIU), SET exam is a crucial step. Achieveing success in the SET exam requires a thorough preparation and avoiding common pitfalls. The commong mistakes to avoid in the SET exam include:

• Poor Time Management
• Neglecting Planning
• Procrastination
• Lack of Conceptual Clarity
• Overlooking Sectional Preparation 
• Ignoring Previous Years' SET Question Papers

Solving the SET question paper is very important from preparation point of view. Since SET is a speed based test where candidates have to read long passages, tables and charts, do multiple calculations and solve tricky puzzles, one needs to have prior practice of the same. The SET mock tests serve this purpose. However, to know what type of passages and puzzles are there in the SET exam, you need to solve previous years' question papers. Some of the benefits of solving previous years' SET question paper are:

1. With the help of previous year's SET question paper, you can understand the latest SET exam pattern and marking scheme
2. Practicing SET question papers improves speed and accuracy in solving the questions
3. Practicing SET question papers improves time management skills as you would get to know which type of questions take how much time.
4. When you practice SET question papers, you gain confidence that you can solve all types of SET questions. This confidence helps in performing better in the exam.

To understand the exam pattern and SET question paper, SET mock test is conducted before the SET exam. The mock test will be available on the SET official website at least two days before the exam date. Candidates must know that it is mandatory for the registered candidates planning to appear for the SET exam to take the SET mock test. To know how to appear for the SET mock test follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Visit the official website of SET
2. In the topmost bar, click on Mock Test button
3. Candidates will be redirected to a new webpage
4. Login using the email ID and password which the candidates used to register themselves for the SET exam
5. After login, candidates will be redirected to a new window where they will have a set of instructions that they need to follow
6. Click on the tab indicating Mock Test after reading the instructions carefully and take the test.

Some of the ways to avoid common mistakes in the SET exam are:

1. Students should try to develop a strategic approach by allocating specific time slots to each section during the SET preparation and give priority to the easier questions.
2. Students should not underestimate SET mock tests. Students should take regular mock tests as they stimulate actual exam environment and help them familiarize with exam pattern, type of questions, etc. 
3. Relying solely on rote learning and ignoring the conceptual clarity can hinder your performance in the SET exam. Students should ensure they have a strong understanding of the fundamental concepts in Mathematics and English. 
4. Do not overlook sectional preparation. Students should focus on identifying their strengths and weaknesses in each section and allocate enough study time accordingly to achieve a balanced preparation. 

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

No, the SET exam will be conducted in a single shift. SET exam is usually conducted in a single shift for one hour, i. e. from 9 AM to 10 AM. The exam was, however, is conducted on two days. 

However, in 2020, the SET exam was conducted in the remote-proctored mode in order to follow the social distancing guidelines for COVID-19, and the students had the option to choose the exam slot according to their preference and convenience. SET exam pattern was also changed after 2020. 

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:

Section	Total Marks	Good Score
General English	16	12-14
Quantitative Aptitude	16	10-12
General Awareness	16	11-12
Analytical and Logical Reasoning	12	9-10

Candidates can only attempt the SET exam twice on the given test dates. The SET exam 2026 is expected to be conducted on two dates, likely in the first and second week of May 2026. The SET exam 2026 will likely be conducted on two days (one session each day).

Candidates can mention their number of attempts while filling the SET application form. However, they have to pay the application fee per session. Thus, candidates who are sure of making multiple attempts only they should apply for multiple sessions as the fee amount is non-refundable.  The scores of best attempt will be taken into consideration for shortlisting of candidates for WAT/GD/PI/Studio Test.

Candidates can take multiple attempts as the difficulty level of each session may vary. 

No, the SET exam does not have negative markings. Each question in the SET exam carries one mark and if the answer is incorrect no marks will be awarded for that particular question. This means that if the candidate has four incorrect answers, then four marks will be deducted from the SET overall score. If the candidate marks more than one answer for a particular question, the answer will be considered incorrect. To avoid maximum marks deduction, students must attempt the easier question first and then move on to the more difficult ones in that particular section. If the candidate is unsure about a particular question, they can also skip the question. No marks will be deducted or awarded for unanswered questions. 

SET syllabus includes all the important topics of subjects that are relevant for business and general aptitude. For the SET exam, candidates have to study, English Quantitative Aptitude General Knowledge and Analytical Reasoning. Given below are the key topics included in the SET syllabus: - The General English section of the SET exam syllabus includes various topics of Grammar, Word Meaning, Vocabulary, Para jumbles, Fill in the Blanks, Sentence Completion, Synonyms and Antonyms, Reading Comprehension, etc. - The Quantitative Aptitude section of the SET syllabus includes all the topics of Mathematics from Class 9 to 10 such as Arithmetic, Geometry, Algebra Trigonometry Modern Math, Number Systems and Mensuration. - The General Knowledge section of the SET exam syllabus includes topics on Current Affairs politics, sports Science, people and personalities, global news, awards and accolades, etc. - The Analytical and Logical Reasoning syllabus of SET exam includes topics that require analytical interpretation of data presented in the form of Puzzles, Pie Charts, Venn Diagrams, Tables and Bar Graphs.

The SET exam is held for only one hour or 60 minutes. There is only one slot for the SET exam. SET exam does not have any sectional time limit as well. However, the candidates need to solve the question paper in 60 minutes and this means that the candidates will have approximately one minute to solve each question. Candidates must take care of saving their answers at every step as the moment 60 minutes will get over, the screen will automatically end the test. The SET exam is conducted in the afternoon shift, I. e. from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Also, there is no provision for changing the exam slot. Candidates must make sure that they reach the SET exam centre by 10:30 AM in order to complete the frisking formalities at the entry GATE. Candidates will not be allowed to enter the exam centre beyond 11:15 AM.

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.

Yes, IPMAT books can be used for the SET exam preparation as both are BBA entrance exams. Candidates can use the same books for preparing for topics such as Quantitative Aptitude and General English. However, the difficulty level of the SET exam is much easier as compared to that of the IPMAT exam. To prepare for other sections of the SET exam such as Analytical and Logical Reasoning and General Knowledge, candidates should refer to the subject-specific preparation books. 

To prepare well of the SET exam, candidates must also solve previous years' question papers and sample papers in order to know the important topics in the exam, structure, weightage of the topics, etc.