Updated on Sep 1, 2021 19:28 IST
Find out what students had to say about the test pattern and difficulty level of NID DAT Prelims 2018. Also, go through the subjective questions asked in BDes and MDes question paper.

NID DAT 2018 Student Feedback

NID DAT (Prelims) 2018 was conducted today, January 7 across 23 test cities in the country. Admission process conducted by National Institute of Design (NID) comprises of two stages which are NID DAT (Prelims) and NID DAT (Mains). Thus, any candidates who is seeking admission in BDes, MDes or GDPD course offered at NID need to first clear NID DAT (Prelims) which is a written entrance test and thereafter appear for a Studio Test and Interview round which forms a part of NID DAT (Mains). After clearing all these admission stages candidates are eligible to secure admission in colleges that accept NID Entrance Exam scores.

NID Entrance Exam 2018 was of three hours duration and was held from 10 am to 1 pm today. The test pattern of NID DAT (Prelims) is such that candidates need to attempt objective as well as subjective questions of 100 marks weightage.

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Shiksha spoke to students after NID DAT 2018 was conducted and most of the students who took NID exam for BDes exam shared that the test was lengthy and a bit difficult than past years’ papers. Similar was the reaction given by MDes aspirants who also shared that NID DAT Prelims 2018 was average to difficult with respect to the standard of questions asked in the paper.

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The marking scheme for NID Entrance Exam 2018 was as shared by National Institute of Design authorities. In the paper, the MCQs section was of 70 marks weightage whereas the subjective questions amounted to 30 marks weightage.

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NID DAT Prelims 2018 Student Reaction for BDes Exam Paper

Ishika who had taken a year off to appear for NID’s BDes exam shared that overall the MCQs section was not very difficult but the drawing questions were a bit tricky. She was quoted as saying, “Section 1 was pretty good but Section 2 was tricky especially for students like me who were prepared for more creative type questions like poster making and designing questions. So, I was not really expecting the type of questions asked. Thus, the paper really caught me a little off-guard but I managed it pretty well”.Comparing NID DAT Prelims 2018 for BDes admission with last year’s paper, Ishika shared that, “I didn’t really go through past years’ questions but I think this year’s subjective questions were tougher than previous years’ papers”.

Navneet who wants to secure admission at NID Ahmedabad shared that his paper was average. He further said, “I cannot really say if I will clear the paper as the competition is high in NID. But yes, overall my paper was average and I hope that is the case with others as well”. He shared that in the MCQs section questions asked were mostly GK based and other questions in this sections were from Visual Spatial Ability, Logical Reasoning and there were 3 Passages in the test.

“The MCQs section was easy, it was not that difficult”, shared Sneha Bhanot. She also elaborated by saying that the MCQ section did not have too many questions from GK but it had questions from topics such as Visual Spatial Ability and Maths. Sneha also revealed that there were 3 passages in the exam which were not very difficult and so were easy marks to score.

Talking about her experience of giving NID Entrance Exam 2018, Mrinal, a BDes aspirant shared that, “The exam was fine, for me, Section A (the theory part) was pretty good but Section B with the drawing part was lengthy and I couldn’t complete my paper on time”. She also shared that the drawing questions were not direct and one had to really think about how to draw the questions asked as there was no one right way to draw it. Elaborating further she said, “In the MCQs section, questions were asked on Visual Spatial Ability, Mental Ability, General Knowledge (like History, Civics) and there were some Maths questions too.

Other aspirants also shared same views, Faid Khurram felt that the paper was lengthy, he revealed that, “the paper was very good but I think I could have done more in the drawing section but I was limited by time. But overall it was quite good. I could attempt the theory questions easily. For me the MCQs section was easier but my friends found the MCQs section to be tough. I would rate the difficulty level of the section to be 7/10. The subjective questions were a little unexpected so I would say that they were a bit hard. I knew how to attempt the subjective questions but they were a little different from what I expected”. Talking about the type of questions asked in the paper he shared, “In MCQs section, questions were asked on Visual Spatial Ability like count the number of triangles and some symmetry questions were also asked. Apart from these questions, pictures were given and we had to mention the appropriate words with them like different pictures of a fork or shoe were given and we had to give words to them, so it was about how you interpret the whole thing. Even Maths and GK questions were asked. But maximum questions in the MCQ section were on Visual Spatial Ability, Mental Ability, Maths and English”.

Karan Deshmukh felt that overall the paper was good "the aptitude section was not difficult but time was not sufficient for the drawing section". He also shared that the questions asked in the drawing section were quite difficult to understand and so was time consuming. 

“My paper went really well”, shared, Vipul Kumar who completed his paper within the stipulated time duration as given for NID Entrance Exam 2018. He further revealed that as per him nothing in the paper was difficult but one could say that the passage part was a bit tricky.

Extremely happy with her paper, Anushka Jain a student of Vidya Niketan shared that, “My paper went really well, I found it relatively easy to what I was expecting. I kind of browsed through past years’ question papers and this year the paper was a little more generic as compared to the other papers. I felt that the earlier papers were a little more creative and required little more thinking to do and this year the paper was generic”.

Unlike other aspirants Anushka felt that the subjective questions were not that difficult and only tested an aspirant’s language skills and understanding ability. Regarding the same she was quoted as saying, “In the subjective questions if your language skills are well-developed then it is easy to catch on a few things but if they are not then probably the questions asked in the paper could confuse you a little. I completed the subjective questions within an hour. I am from ICSE (board) background so I am well versed with my language skills so this section was not a problem for me. Apart from that, a lot of random facts were asked and if you are not someone who is enthusiastic in making and going through facts and figures then you would find the paper tough”. She also went on to share that the paper had questions like “who is a descendent of Tyrannosaurus. I had read about this at some of time so I knew the answer but someone who is not aware of this would not know the answer”.

Giving a comparative analysis of NID exam, Simran Sachdev said, “NID exam had a similar pattern to that of previous year. This time there were two comprehensions and the one given for a 2 marker was a bit long. Apart from that, the questions asked in creative ability section about rescuing people from balcony on which people are stuck in a fire checked one's practical thinking and one’s ability to solve day to day level problems” She also shared that the difficulty level of the paper “was the same as it has been in the previous 2016 and 2017 papers”.

Subjective Questions asked in NID DAT Prelims 2018 for BDes Admissions

Question No.

Question

No of Marks

1

A silhouette of 3 objects was given and students had to draw them with shadows in different textures and shade it accordingly as per the material mentioned like glass, paper and wood.

10

2

A scene of a building that has caught fire near the ground floor stairs was given. The building has a middle aged mother with two children of 4 year and 7 years who are stuck on the first floor balcony. Students had to draw two scenarios to show their rescue with the help of a ladder, a rope and a scooter.

14

3

An 18 your boy has planted a pea plant and a corn plant together and the next day he sees something that he thinks he is imagining and students had to draw what he saw.

6

Total Marks

30

 

NID DAT Prelims 2018 Student Reaction for MDes Exam Paper

Students shared that in NID DAT Prelims 2018 for MDes course the test paper comprised of 59 questions in the MCQs section which were of 70 marks followed by 3 questions in the subjective section which were of 30 marks.

Vipul who took the exam for MDes admission at NID was quoted as saying, “My paper was not good. It can be because I did not prepare that well. I had seen previous years’ papers and they consisted of questions that tested one’s creativity level but this year the questions were vague”. Confirming the same, Raghav who took NID DAT 2018 exam for MDes course shared, “the question paper wasn’t as smooth as it was last year”. He further said, “you couldn’t really clarify the questions and we had really odd questions but the drawing part was pretty easy it wasn’t that difficult it was simple actually”.

Talking about the type of questions asked in the exam, Raghav revealed, “The first 18 questions in the MCQ section were on GK and then 2-3 comprehension questions were there and then some Visual Spatial Ability Questions, Mental Ability Questions, Analytical Questions and some puzzles”. He also shared the difficulty level of the questions asked by saying, “GK was ok not really difficult. It was more about your general understanding of what all is happening around you. Analytical Reasoning questions were average the Logical Reasoning questions were hard especially the number series questions and the puzzles were fine”.

Along same lines, Radhika shared that as per her the MCQ questions asked in NID DAT 2018 were moderate to hard with respect to the difficulty level whereas the drawing based subjective questions were easy. She also gave a comparative analysis of this year’s paper with that of last year by saying, “Last year the paper was easier than this year as direct questions were asked and last year more number of questions were asked with less weightage whereas this year less number of questions were asked with more weightage”. So, as per her this year NID DAT Prelims 2018 for MDes admissions was more challenging.

Subjective Questions asked in NID DAT Prelims 2018 for MDes Admissions

Question No.

Question

No of Marks

1

Write a story based on 5 given objects and state one scene that you liked.

8

2

Draw three objects that can be held or used using only your thumb and index finger.

10

3

A description of a Steel Tube manufacturing company was given and students had to create 4 innovative products from the leftover steel rods with the specified diameters

12

Total Marks

30

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Answered a week ago

If there were any clashes of the interview dates with the college/ university exam, then candidates could inform the NID before February 23, 2026. Candidates needed to attach a copy of the timetable attested by the principal and a letter from the principal confirming that the examination dates clash

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NID will not release any Answer Key for B.Des or M.Des programme. It opens a rechecking window with the result. 

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Answered a week ago

Yes, NID has a rechecking Window for the NID Result. This window will check whether all answers are checked or not, and whether the total is correct.

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Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a week ago

NID will release the result for B.Des on April 07, 2026. The result be released on the website of NID.

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Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a week ago

NID Studio Test for M.Des carries 40% of wieghtage and Interview carries 60% wieghtage. More emphasis is given on the interview by NID.

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Sayeba Naushad

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Answered a week ago

No, there is no negative marking in the NID Studio Test. Candidates will be evaluated based on their thinking and creative skills. Studio Test will carry 40% of the total Marks for the NID Mains Exam.

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Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a week ago

Yes, NID Studio Exam is a bit tough because it will check your creativity and imagination. You can learn some formulas here and apply them to get the answer. The main objective is to evaluate technical skills and critical thinking skills. So, it is said to be a bit tough.

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Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a week ago

It is not at all necessary to take coaching to get a good rank in NID Entrance Exam. It is because the entrance exam will test creative, drawing, and innovative skills of the candidate. Now, a coaching institute can't teach you to be creative or become innovative. But you can take coaching classes f

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Sayeba Naushad

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National Institute of Design (NID) will release the NID DAT 2026 admission cut-off for the B.Des and M.Des programmes at the time of seat allotment, around May-June 2026. The cut-off will be released as the rank and score of the last candidate admitted to the M.Des program. 

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NID DAT, along with NIFT and UCEED are among the most competitive national-level entrance exams in the country. The fact that there are only 425 seats for the B. Des and 347 seats for the M.Des programme makes it very competitive. But that being said, if the candidate prepares well and with the corr

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