NIFT Entrance Test 2026 General Ability Test (GAT) Preparation Tips
National Institute of Fashion Technology Entrance Exam 2025 ( NIFT Entrance Exam )
By Dr Anup
NIFT GAT comprises of MCQs in Quantitative Analysis, Logical Reasoning, Verbal Ability and General Awareness. Go through NIFT prep tips and find out what to expect in GAT 2026.
The NTA will conduct the NIFT Entrance Exam 2026 in the second week of February, 2026. The NIFT exam will be conducted in TWO stages. The 1st stage includes the written exams - The General Ability Test (GAT) and the Creative Ability Test (CAT). The GAT is common for all the courses, meaning that irrespective of which program you select for admission, you need to take the GAT.
Meanwhile, only B.Des and M.Des candidates need to take the CAT. The GAT exam will be conducted in a computer-based mode and could be a scoring option if the candidate prepares well. In this article, we will be talking about what to expect in the GAT (General Aptitude Test) of NIFT. This test comprises MCQs in Quantitative Analysis, Logical Reasoning, Verbal Ability & General Awareness. Note that B.Des candidates who qualify in the written exam need to appear in a Situation Test. Meanwhile, PG candidates need to appear in a Personal Interview.
General Ability Test (GAT) Preparation Tips for NIFT Entrance Test 2026
Here are some useful tips to prepare for the GAT paper.
Essentials:
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Verbal Aptitude and Reading Comprehension:
NIFT Chennai is a renowned institute for fashion education, and admission to this institution is highly competitive. Aspiring students need to meet the eligibility criteria and pass the selection process to secure admission. The NIFT entrance exam is the first step towards admission, and it comprises two tests, namely, the Creative Ability Test (CAT) and the General Ability Test (GAT). After qualifying for these tests, students need to go through the GD & PI rounds, where their overall personality, communication skills, and aptitude are evaluated. Therefore, aspirants need to prepare well and showcase their talent to secure admission to NIFT Chennai.
The exam tests the all-around performance of the student, so the students should be voracious readers of newspapers and Magazines. This improves their ability in Communication Skills, Reading Comprehension and most importantly General Awareness. A habit of reading will abreast the student with vocabulary, sentence formation, usage of prepositions and other grammatical rules. This will also improve their reading speed along with comprehension techniques. With proper guidance, they should be able to understand the techniques to comprehend.
Quantitative Ability:
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On the other hand, Quantitative Aptitude requires practice to the core. Any standard book or apt coaching should be sufficient to understand the basics of Quantitative Ability. However, after that, the student is required to practice the questions within a specified time limit. Some standard books for the practice of Quantitative Analysis may include Objective Quantitative Ability by RS Aggarwal and Quicker Maths by M Tyra.
Logical reasoning:
Logical Reasoning is one section where the students are required to apply their understanding and application of mind. It tests the basic application of ideas. At the outset, the student should go through the topics that form part of the NIFT entrance exam, and then they should practice. The book by Dr RS Aggarwal for Verbal and Non-Verbal reasoning will be a good source for the students for practice.
General Tips:
One of the top universities for BDes and MFM programs is NIFT Kangra.
1. To be admitted to NIFT Kangra, candidates must take the NIFT Entrance Exam.
2. Applicants need to meet the requirements for the course to which they have applied.
3. Based on their performance in the entrance, candidates are invited to the interview rounds.
4. Following that, applicants need to register for counseling at NIFT Kangra.
The following is the procedure for applying to courses at NIFT Kangra:
Step 1: Go to NIFT's official website.
Step 2: To gain admission to the 2025–2026 session, open the most recent application form.
Step 3: Complete the entrance exam application form, which is necessary to be admitted to the BDes, MDes, or the MFM program.
Step 4: Pay the fee for the application.
The application process to apply for courses at NIFT Shillong are as follows:
Step 1: Visit the official website of NIFT.
Step 2: Open the latest application form for admission to the 2025-26 session.
Step 3: Fill out the application form for the entrance test, which is required for admission to the BDes or MFM course.
Step 4: Pay the application form fee.
Admission to NIFT Kangra is entrance based for the UG and PG programmes.
NIFT Kangra admits students on the basis of entrance and other admission rounds.
Step 1: Applicants must first pass the "written test," also referred to as the NIFT entrance exam.
Stage 2: Candidates who made it through the first round take the situation test. The overall outcomes of both phases are examined in order to make the choice.
The NIFT entrance exam, sometimes referred to as the "written test," is the first requirement for candidates seeking a master's degree or a UG degree. Successful applicants undergo in-person interviews following the screening process. Candidates are selected by summing up their performances in various rounds.
Nothing is better than the practice of Mock Tests and the past years' NIFT question papers. During the last week of examination, the students should take as many tests as possible to acclimate themselves to the examination conditions. Regular reading of newspapers, magazines and articles should be in the curriculum of the student.
Read More:
| Tips to prepare for NIFT Creative Ability Test | |
Dr Anup has been a facilitator in various areas of test prep for the last 18 years. His expertise has been utilized by various colleges and institutes in Delhi/NCR. He has been instrumental in guiding students for Aptitude Training for various programmes in Delhi, Gwalior, Agra, Mathura, and Jhansi. He has been associated as an Aptitude Trainer for AFA since 2008 for all its Delhi branches. He offers guidance with regard to the preparation of the Test Series for NIFT and editing the content for the AFA webpage - www.afaindia.com.
Sayeba is an editorial professional with over 5 years of experience in content creation, editing and proofreading. She holds a master's degree in commerce, which has helped her develop a strong attention to detail a... Read Full Bio
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
The NIFTEE written exam 2026 will be conducted in computer-bassed mode, while the sketching-based CAT paper will be held in offline mode.
S
Contributor-Level 8
Answered Yesterday
The NIFT 2026 admit card will be available for download in the first week of February 2026. Candidates who have successfully registered for the exam can download the admit card from the NIFT admission portal.
S
Contributor-Level 8
Answered Yesterday
Unless you have finished the NIFT 2026 syllabus and solved the sample papers, it is a safe bet not to start with any new chapters or topics, simply because there is not so much time left and revision needs to be the priority.
S
Contributor-Level 8
Answered Yesterday
Yes, it is very important to solve NIFT sample papers to gauge one's exam readiness. In addition, sample papers will help the candidate rectify silly mistakes, learn time management, and learn how to use various concepts to solve problems.
S
Contributor-Level 8
Answered Yesterday
The NIFT 2026 Entrance Exam Stage 1 is expected to be conducted in the second week of February 2026. The exact dates will be out on the NTA NIFT official website.
S
Contributor-Level 8
Answered Yesterday
The table below shows the top government Fashion Design colleges in India accepting NIFT entrance exams along with their tuition fees and their India Today ranking 2024:
Public/Government Colleges | Tuition Fee | India Today 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| NIFT Delhi Admission | INR 12.34 lakh | 1 |
| NIFT Bangalore Admission | INR 12.34 lakh | 3 |
| NIFT Hyderabad Admission | INR 12.34 lakh | 4 |
| NIFT Gandhinagar Admission | INR 12.34 lakh | 6 |
| NIFT Kolkata Admission | INR 12.34 lakh | 7 |
| NIFT Patna Admission | INR 12.34 lakh | 8 |
| NIFT Bhubaneswar Admission | INR 9.26 lakh | 13 |
Disclaimer: This information is sourced from official website/ counselling body and may vary.
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
According to India Today ranking 2024, NIFT Delhi emerged to be as the No. 1 ranked Fashion Design colleges in India accepting NIFT exam secured 1st position followed by other colleges like NIFT Mumbai and NIFT Bangalore.
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
NIFT Bangalore inducts students to its BDes programme via the NIFT Entrance Exam. For admission to the 2025 batch, this test was conducted by NTA on Feb 9, 2025. Moreover, NTA has also released the entrance exam results. Students who took the exam can check their results and download their scorecar
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
According to some candidates, the NIFT entrance test is challenging but not impossible to crack. You'll need to dedicatedly prepare for a few months to get your hands on the quantitative aptitude and reasoning abilities section.
L
Contributor-Level 8
Answered 2 weeks ago
In an ideal situation, one year is a good enough time to cover the entire NIFT syllabus, solve sample papers, and take mock tests. But considering there is only 6 months or so left for the NIFT exam, the candidate can still prepare for the exam in that period. But for that to happen, the candidate n
S
Contributor-Level 8
The allotment of seats will be based on:
NIFT 2025 seat allotment process will be conducted in four regular and one spot rounds.
The 1st round of seat allotment will be declared around the 3rd week of June 2025. .
The counseling registration will be conducted in May 2025.