Appearing for NMAT exam this year? This article explains how to score 240+ in NMAT with a clear section-wise preparation strategy. Read on to know details on pattern, preparation tips, important topics from QA, LR, and LS, and some key strategies for a better score in NMAT.
How to Score 240+ in NMAT: Graduate Management admission council conducts NMAT exam every year for MBA admission at top b-schools in India. Primary b-schools accepting NMAT scores include SVKMs NMIMS, TAPMI, KJ Somaiya, among others. Top colleges accepting NMAT scores typically close admission process with cutoff score above 240 marks. In order to score above 240 marks in NMAT, candidates must have a good understanding of test structure, effective time management skills, and important topics for NMAT. Scroll down for insights on how to score 240+ in NMAT, along with the section wise NMAT preparation strategy.
- NMAT Exam Pattern
- NMAT Section-Wise Preparation Strategy for 240+ Marks
- NMAT Exam Day Tips for 240+ Score
- Scoring 240+ in NMAT: Common Mistakes to Avoid
NMAT Exam Pattern
NMAT is an adaptive test, where the difficulty level of the question changes with every answer marked by the candidate. Similar to other MBA entrance exams, NMAT comprises three sections, namely Quantitative Skills (QA), Logical Reasoning (LR), and Language Skills (LS). The table below mentions the NMAT exam pattern:
| NMAT Exam Pattern |
Details |
|---|---|
| Exam mode |
Online |
| Total questions |
108 |
| NMAT exam sections |
Language Skills, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Skills |
| Section-wise question weightage |
36 questions in each section |
| Duration of test |
120 minutes |
| NMAT score range |
36 - 360 |
| Sectional timelimit |
Language Skills: 28 minutes Logical Reasoning: 40 minutes Quantitative Skills: 52 minutes |
| Medium |
English |
Commonly asked questions
Yes, questions in each section of NMAT exam are to be answered within a specified time limit. Section wise time limit is as follows:
NMAT Section | NMAT Sectional Time Limit |
|---|---|
Language Skills | 28 minutes |
Logical Reasoning | 40 minutes |
Quantitative Skills | 52 minutes |
Total | 120 minutes |
Yes, all questions of NMAT exam have a similar marking scheme. NMAT exam score is scaled between 36 and 360. There is no negative marking in NMAT exam.
NMAT exam is conducted three times within a specified test window. Candidates can choose the preferred exam date from the available test window. Since the questions attempted by different candidates may have different difficulty level, GMAC scales the scores of each attempt to equalise the performance of all the candidates.
After the exam, the test forms are equated on a common scale to remove any kind of discrepancy in regards with the performance of candidate owing to different difficulty level of each NMAT question paper. All the students have then scored on an equated scale to avoid candidates benfitting from indifferent difficulty standards.
NMAT exam is designed with 108 questions to be answered within 120 minutes. Candidates can appear for NMAT in computer based test mode. 108 questions of NMAT exam is divided equally into three sections, namely Language Skills, Quantitative Skills, and Logical Reasoning.
NMAT Section-Wise Preparation Strategy for 240+ Marks
NMAT exam comprises three sections, including Language Skills, Quantitative Skills and Logical Reasoning. Candidates must devise a separate preparation plan for each section to secure 240+ marks in NMAT. Section-wise NMAT preparation strategy is mentioned below:
NMAT Quantitative Skills Tips for 240+ Marks
After analysing the preparation tips from the past toppers, here are the tips for Quantitative Skills section for 240+ marks in NMAT exam:
- Important Topics
- Arithmetic: Percentages, ratios, averages, allegations, Simple Interest, and Compound Interest.
- Algebra
- Modern Maths: Permutations, combinations, logarithms, and probability
- What to Expect: Sets from Data Sufficiency, and Data Interpretation are calculation-heavy. One might find two DI sets. One may or may not be required to solve all questions from the sets to score 240+ marks.
- How to Tackle Quant in NMAT for 240+ Score: Focus on speed for fast calculations. This helps candidates handle the lengthy questions from Quantitative Skills.
NMAT Logical Reasoning Preparation Tips for 240+ Marks
Candidates find the Logical Reasoning section in NMAT to be on the moderate difficulty level. Some of the key preparation tips of NMAT Logical Reasoning section for 240+ score is as follows:
- Important Topics:
- Decision Making
- Course of Action
- Assumptions and Conclusions
- Input-Output (questions might have two sets; one must not spend more than 4-5 minutes per set)
- Venn diagram-based questions
- What to Expect: Candidates have to answer all the questions within 40 minutes. Therefore, they must plan to solve all 36 questions from LR as soon as possible. The difficulty level is moderate for the LR section, however, most of the questions in the section are scoring.
NMAT Language Skills Preparation for 240+ Marks
The space below mentions the tips for answering questions from Language Skills section to score 240+ marks in NMAT exam:
- Important Topics:
- Vocabulary will be tested via questions from Synonyms, Antonyms, and Word Usage.
- Grammar is tested via fill in the blanks type questions with error detection.
- Parajumbles
- Sentence correction
- What to Expect: Candidates will find easier and straightforward questions in Reading Comprehensions. However, RCs require quick reading. The Language Skills section of NMAT exam is comparatively easier than other MBA exams.
- How to Tackle LS in NMAT for 240+ Marks: Since the section is easiest of all three, candidates must aim to maximise their score here to balance a possible dip of scores in the Quantitative Skills section.
NMAT Exam Day Tips for 240+ Score
Some of the key tips followed by the NMAT toppers to secure 240+ marks is mentioned below:
- Try to attempt all the questions, even if it requires guessing the answer.
- Do not spend more than 15-20 seconds on a question which appears unsolvable.
- Practise using official mock tests. This helps familiarise oneself with the question style and topics for the actual exam.
- While attempting consecutive questions, maintain accuracy as the adaptive nature of the test provides additional score for consistent correct responses.
- Use the exam’s easier sections to balance scores in more calculation-heavy sections.
Commonly asked questions
A total of 108 questions appear in NMAT exam. Each section of NMAT exam has 36 questions. All three sections have equal weightage in NMAT exam.
To score high in NMAT exam, a candidate must follow an approach to attempt the questions for which he/she knows the answer, and guess the question for which he/she doesn't know the answer. Since there is no negative marking, candidates must attempt all questions in NMAT exam. In the speed-based test, one must aim to answer the questions as soon as possible.
Coming to NMAT exam, a test taker has to answer each question keeping in mind the sectional time limit. Additionally, candidates get to choose the section chronology before the test starts. One can use their analysis from NMAT mock tests to devide a good exam day strategy. Speed and accuracy can also be improved by practising previous years papers and mock tests.
NMAT mock test and the actual exam are identical in terms of the exam structure and overall difficulty standards of the exam. The user interface of the NMAT mock test may vary across service providers. However, candidates practising using the official NMAT mock test will get taste of the actual exam user interface.
NMAT mock test released by GMAC is a simulation of the actual exam. Questions, pattern, syllabus, and test structure are similar to the actual exam. However, the score of the NMAT mock test will not affect the admission process at the NMAT participating colleges. Mock test only helps in practicing and revision of the questions.
The conducting body of NMAT, Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), releases the NMAT preparation material. Candidates can buy the NMAT prep material online from Amazon or Flipkart. The online purchase of the NMAT guidebook will provide access to 264 questions from the past exam session, along with 173 new questions in line with the difficulty standards. Candidates also get access to the answers and solutions for these questions. Additionally, candidates get access a total of 475 questions with answer keys and explanations.
Besides the questions from the official guidebook, candidates applying for NMAT get access to one practise paper with 108 questions. Additionally, candidates can purchase two NMAT practise papers designed by GMAC for exam preparation.
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Scoring 240+ in NMAT: Common Mistakes to Avoid
To score more than 240 marks in NMAT exam, candidates must avoid leaving any question unanswered. Additionally, one must not spend excessive time on lengthy questions, such as Input-Output sets, DI problems, etc.
Arithmetic questions dominate the Quant section of NMAT. Therefore, one must focus on the topics from Arithmetic while preparing to get a notch above other candidates. Besides Arithmetic questions, Modern Math topics also dominate the NMAT Quant section.
How to Score 240+ in NMAT?
Candidates must practice timed mock tests to increase their speed as well as accuracy. Practice official mock tests at least twice to familiarise with the difficulty level and type of questions. While appearing for mocks, candidates must target a sectional score of 72+ and a total score more than 240. Additionally, NMAT preparation must have a balance across all three sections instead of relying on one area as most of the NMAT participating colleges will have a sectional cutoff score.
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Abhishek Dhawan is a content writer and editor with 7+ years of experience in education journalism. He holds a BA degree from the University of Delhi. At Shiksha, Abhishek primarily covers MBA and BBA entrance
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