How to Prepare for NMAT and CAT Simultaneously?

Q: Can I get direct admission at IMT Ghaziabad?

Yes, aspirants can get direct admission at IMT Ghaziabad. Thus, candidates who do not get admission through the institute admission process can take admission. The direct admission is granted under the management quota. Aspirants are advised to reach out to the admission office for complete details regarding the same.

Q: How can I get admission to IIM Bangalore?

To get admission in IIM Bangalore, studnets are required to fulfil the admission criteria of the desired programme. have a bachelor's degree with a minimum of 50% or an equivalent CGPA (45% for candidates belonging to the SC/ST/PwD category). IIM Bangalore admission is completely entrance-based. Admission to the flagship course, i.e., the MBA of IIM Bangalore, is based on a valid score in the CAT exam, followed by a personal interview (PI) and written ability test (What) round. IIM Bangalore offers admission to Indian students via CAT and international students via GMAT/GRE. IIM Bangalore conducts the IIM-B tests for admission to Executive MBA (EPGP) and PhD courses.

Q: Can an average student get into an IIM?

The answer to this question of whether an average student can get into IIM can be both yes and no depending on the definition of an average student. Based on Academics (Class 10/ Class 12/ Graduation): While a student with average scores in Class 10, Class 12 and graduation with a good CAT score certainly has good chances of getting a call from IIM-A, chances are less for someone with an average CAT score. Based on student category (General or Reserved): While it is tough for a General category average student to grab a seat at IIM due to high score requirements, a reserved category student can get admission being at average scores as well. Based on past work experience, diversity and other factors: Gender and academic diversity is also a factor on which students are shortlisted at IIM. IIMs judge the past academic category based on the degree obtained by the students before MBA and then a weightage is allotted based on that. For Engineers, the percentage for scoring the highest marks is higher as compared with other streams Performance in selection rounds: Once you make it to the final selection rounds, i.e., AWT/PI process, it can be considered a fresh start. At this stage, students can forget their past average-ness but definitely require good grasp over the past subjects as academics-related questions are asked in the interview. Based on the above factors, it can be considered that while getting into top Management institutes, such as IIM is extremely tough, the past performance, CAT performance, student category and a lot of factors can be the reasons for a student to receive that final call.

Q: Is the CAT syllabus difficult?

Yes, CAT syllabus is difficult to crack if you do not have adequate time. There are three subjects in CAT- VARC, DILR and Quantitative Aptitude. Most of the candidates find RC passages tough to crack. In Quants, Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry pose significant challenge during preparation. In DILR, Reasoning questions often turnout to be tricky and confusion.

Q: Is CAT exam tough for an average student?

CAT is a speed based test which is designed to assess a candidate's analytical aptitude, logical reasoning skills, data interpretation and English comprehension. Now, it may sound tough, but these are the skills which we are taught in school so there is nothing new to learn. What is required is to learn these subjects at advanced level. If you are an average student but have studied Science or commerce in Class-12 and graduation, you will find a lot of familiar topics in Data Interpretation, Quantitative Aptitude and Logical Reasoning. All you will need is brush up the basics and practice the concepts on advance level problems. However, since the competition is so high in CAT and less than 95 percentile can break your dream of joining a top college like IIM, the preparation for CAT requires a lot of focus, dedication, discipline and diligence. If you can do that, despite being an average student, you can crack the CAT exam.

Q: What should be the last month preparation strategy for CAT?

In the last one month before the CAT exam, candidates must start focusing on the most important topics. These may include strong and weak areas. Practice sample questions from these topics and do not start any new topic. Here's what to do in the last month of CAT preparation: · Attempt CAT mock tests regularly and anaylse your performance. Spend time on filling the gaps. · Practice time management through time bound practice sessions and mock tests · Attend online study groups for problem solving and doubt clearing sessions. · Keep revising key concepts and formulas of CAT. Have a daily session of 2 hours for revision only. · Solve previous years' question papers to understand the trends of past years and work on topics that appear most frequently. · Attempt official IIM CAT mock test to know the expected CAT 2025 exam pattern · Focus on your health. It is very important to stay healthy in this phase so that your study time is not affected. Sleep well and take breaks from study to indulge in a hobby or a recreational activity to relax.

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Abhishek Dhawan

Assistant Manager – Editorial Content

Updated on Aug 20, 2025 19:08 IST

NMAT and CAT registrations start in the second quarter of the year. Candidates can follow a plan to prepare for NMAT and CAT together.

NMAT and CAT Preparation Simultaneously: IIM Kozhikode will conduct CAT 2025 on November 30. Whereas, NMAT 2025 will be conducted from November 5 to December 19. Candidates aspiring for both entrance exams can prepare for both CAT and NMAT together. NMAT and CAT are among India's most sought-after MBA entrance exams. NMAT and CAT share topics in all three sections. Additionally, NMAT and CAT have an identical exam duration of 120 minutes.

CAT is tough compared to NMAT; therefore, candidates preparing to ace CAT 2025 can easily get a good score in NMAT 2025. However, the art of getting a good score in CAT and NMAT can be tricky in terms of taking the exam. Candidates can take NMAT thrice during the testing window. Whereas, candidates get only one attempt for CAT. Scroll down to know more details on how to prepare for CAT and NMAT simultaneously.

Reasons to Prepare for NMAT & CAT Together

Preparing for two competitive exams can be tough considering the planning required to devise a common preparation strategy.

Keeping the difficulties aside, candidates can take both NMAT and CAT in one admission session for the following advantages:

Q: Is the CAT syllabus difficult?

Q: Is CAT exam tough for an average student?

Q: What should be the last month preparation strategy for CAT?

Additional Admission Opportunities: Nearly 64 institutes offer admissions across India and abroad based on NMAT scores. Additionally, more than 1500 colleges, including IIMs, offer MBA admission based on CAT. With both CAT and NMAT scores, candidates raise their chances of admission.
Decline in Stress with a Backup Plan: Candidates appearing for two MBA entrance exams will reduce performance anxiety which could, in turn, boost their confidence. This is due to a stable backup plan.
Identical Syllabus Requires Minimal Effort: Syllabus for NMAT and CAT are similar on most fronts leading to no extra effort for NMAT. The VARC section from the CAT exam is identical to the Language Skills section from NMAT. DILR from CAT has identical questions to the Logical Reasoning of NMAT. Similarly, QA from CAT has identical questions as in the Quantitative Skills section of NMAT.

CAT Section-Wise Preparation	NMAT Section-Wise Preparation
CAT Preparation Plan for VARC	How to Prepare for NMAT Language Skills
CAT Preparation Plan for QA	How to Prepare for NMAT Quantitative Skills
CAT Preparation Plan for DILR	How to Prepare for NMAT Logical Reasoning

Prepare for NMAT and CAT Simultaneously

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Candidates can take the first attempt of NMAT 2025 on November 5. Candidates will be able to schedule the second attempt of NMAT 2025 after the exam date of the first attempt. However, there should be a gap of 15 days between two attempts.

How Should I Schedule NMAT 2025?

With CAT 2025 being conducted on November 30, candidates can schedule their first attempt on November 5 and keep the remaining month to prepare for CAT 2025. Candidates can take the second and third attempt of NMAT after taking CAT.

Planning NMAT Exam Dates Strategically

Exam and Attempts	Exam Dates for Best Shot at NMAT and CAT
NMAT First Attempt	On 05-Nov-2025
CAT	30-Nov-2025
NMAT Second Attempt	Anytime after CAT 2025
NMAT Third Attempt	Until 19-Dec-2025

Tips to Prepare for NMAT and CAT

Candidates aspiring for admission based on NMAT or CAT, must follow the below mentioned preparation tips:

Make a study plan by laying out unique and common topics from the CAT and NMAT syllabus.
Firstly focus on obtaining the conceptual knowledge from topics under QA and VARC.
Prepare short notes for all the topics that can help in the last-minute preparation for CAT and NMAT.
Plan out all topics from the NMAT syllabus and CAT syllabus in a single prep strategy. This would help avoid duplicacy while studying.
Attempt mock tests, and practise previous year’s question papers of NMAT and CAT to get aware of the test patterns of both exams.
NMAT is a speed-based test; therefore, solving questions within a limited time can help candidates prepare better.
Solving previous year’s question papers and mock tests can help candidates exponentially.
Consider attempting mock tests of other MBA entrance exams to get a hold of all types of question papers.

Q: Can I get direct admission at IMT Ghaziabad?

Q: How can I get admission to IIM Bangalore?

Q: Can an average student get into an IIM?

Besides NMAT and CAT, candidates can also appear for MAT, XAT, CMAT, SNAP, among other exams. Almost all MBA entrance exams have a common syllabus with slight changes in the difficulty level.

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About the Author

Abhishek Dhawan

Assistant Manager – Editorial Content

With a creative soul, Abhishek is inclined towards anything in the creative space be it drawing, painting, craft, or writing. He has been working in the ed-tech industry since he started his career. Besides creative Read Full Bio