CMAT 2025: Last Minute Tips and Exam Strategy
Common Management Admission Test 2026 ( CMAT )
Exam On - 25 Jan '26
CMAT 2025 exam is a speed based test and a lot depends how you handle the pressure on exam day. It is critical to use all of 180 minutes judiciously so that you make maximum correct attempts for an optimum performance.
CMAT 2025 exam will be held on January 25, 2025 and it is time now for the final preparation. You need to be thorough with the CMAT dos and don'ts for exam day because at times not big but small mistakes that cost a lot. CMAT experts recommend that you should not study too much just before the exam. The important thing to do is free your mind from stress. Take a break so that you can perform with a relaxed mind in the CMAT exam. However, do not ignore the last few tasks. There are few things that can help candidates perform better in CMAT exam 2025. Take a look at some CMAT last minute tips below.
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1. Revise from short notes
Do not overload your brain before the CMAT exam with heavy notes. Do not start studying a new topic or try new questions at this time. Revise concepts, theorems, formulae, shortcuts and tricks from your notes prepared earlier. Assimilate all you have studied in last few months of CMAT preparation 2025.
Also Read: How to Prepare for CMAT 2025
Yes, there is a negative marking in CMAT exam. For each wrong answer, 1 mark will be deducted. However, no marks will be deducted for unanswered questions.
2. Accuracy and time management
You have to keep a tab on the time while solving the CMAT exam paper. There are 100 questions in CMAT, to be attempted in 180 minutes. Even though, you don't have to solve all the questions, maintain a fair ratio of correct attempts in all the sections of CMAT exam to ensure good sectional as well as overall scores. A judicious approach towards the CMAT question paper and a perfect exam strategy can help accomplish the goal. For example, the GK section is memory based and 8-10 correct attempts will be enough so you will not need more than 10 minutes to solve it. Keep an eye on the onscreen timer.
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3. Learn from your mistakes
Those who are appearing for the first time in CMAT, must take a look at their performance in CMAT mock tests. Make sure not to repeat the mistakes of mock tests in the exam. Aspirants appearing in CMAT for the second time must recollect all the mistakes made earlier and make sure not to make the same errors this time. This is the chance to improve the score for admission to the desired B-school. Attempt a CMAT mock test at the same time as your CMAT 2025 slot to get an experience of working on a rigorous test which includes diverse subjects.
Check out free CMAT mock test by Shiksha
| CMAT_Mock_Test_1 | CMAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions |
| CMAT_Mock_Test_2 | CMAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions |
4. Set a defined strategy
Do not get caught up in 'how to do it'. You must have a clear vision on how to attempt CMAT 2025 question paper. Finalise an exam strategy. Attempt your exam with that strategy. Focus on the questions you can solve with maximum accuracy. Do not spend too much time on questions that don't come to you naturally or select questions from your strong areas to solve. Focus on achieving sectional cut offs first and then capitalise on it if time permits. Also, save some time for revision before submitting the test.
There was no surprise element in CMAT 2025 exam. The question paper was structured as per the exam pattern announced by the NTA. There were five sections and each section had 20 questions. The questions asked also belonged to the syllabus. No question was erroneous or from outside the CMAT syllabus.
CMAT expert Mikin Shah suggests “have a clearly defined strategy and sequence of attempts. My recommendation is to go for GK, Verbal, Maths and Reasoning. The General Knowledge (GK) section can easily be tackled in 10 minutes and the Verbal section can be allotted a time of about 40 minutes. This would leave the candidates with two hours to solve the Maths and Reasoning sections.”
5. Do not mug up for GK
Mugging up facts, dates and names for General knowledge section a day before the exam is of no use. You won’t be able to retain the information for long. It’s better to revise notes made on static GK and current affairs.
6. Have a fair idea of number of attempts for each section
It is important for you to have a fair idea of number of minimum questions to be attempted in each section of CMAT. You have to devote a specific amount of time to each section to score well in the exam. CMAT 2024 will have 20 questions each in all five sections so the target should be 15-17 correct attempts. Practice: CMAT Question Papers of Previous Years
7. Sort everything well in advance
Surely, you don't want to commit any blunder on the CMAT exam day. Nothing can be worst than reaching your CMAT exam centre late. The entry gates will close 30 minutes before commencement of the exam. You will not get the entry if the gates have been closed already. Arrange transportation well in advance before the exam day. You can also visit the test centre a day before to see the location. Remember to get a print out of your CMAT 2025 admit card before the exam day. Also, remember to carry a photo ID such as Aadhaar Card, Passport, Voter ID, Driving License, Ration Card, PAN Card, etc.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 22 hours ago
Hi.
For PGDM and MBA admissions at GIBS Business School, Bangalore, the following entrance exams are accepted:
Accepted Entrance Exams
| Exam | Type / Level |
|---|---|
| CAT – Common Admission Test | National-level MBA entrance exam |
| XAT – Xavier Aptitude Test | National-level MBA entrance exam |
| MAT – Management Aptitude Test | National-level MBA entrance exam |
| CMAT – Common Management Admission Test | National-level MBA entrance exam |
| GMAT – Graduate Management Admission Test | International / National-level MBA entrance exam |
| ATMA – AIMS Test for Management Admissions | National-level MBA entrance exam |
| State CET (e.g., Karnataka PGCET) | State-level MBA entrance exam for Karnataka candidates |
h
Scholar-Level 17
Answered 23 hours ago
Hi.
GIBS considers any one valid score from these exams for shortlisting candidates.
Some exams (like CAT, XAT, CMAT) are preferred for national-level merit-based selection, but State CET scores are also accepted for Karnataka domicile candidates.
Along with the entrance score, academics, work experien
h
Scholar-Level 17
Answered 4 days ago
Marvadi University's MBA Programme involves a total course fee of approximately Rs. 2.5 Lacs over the duration of your two years. The fee for first-year students is approximately Rs. 1.3 lakh. While hostel fees are different depending on whether you're male or female, they are billed separately. Mar
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
GGSIPU CMAT cutoff 2026 is expected to be around in the range of 95 to 99 percentile according to the previous years cutoff data. For admission to the MBA programmes at GGSIPU, candidates are expected to appear for the CMAT exam and clear the selection round of their chosen college. For more details
N
Contributor-Level 10
Sectional weightage of CMAT is same. Since the Language Comprehension section of CMAT includes reading comprehension passages, it can be considered a lengthy section. However, any other section can also be lengthier due to nature of the questions.