Abhishek
Abhishek Dhawan
Assistant Manager – Editorial Content
Updated on Oct 28, 2025 22:27 IST

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

How to Score 240+ in NMAT - Section Wise Strategy

How to Score 240+ in NMAT: Graduate Management admission council conducts NMAT exam every year for MBA admission at some of the top b-schools in India. Some of the primary b-schools accepting NMAT scores include SVKMs NMIMS, TAPMI, KJ Somaiya, among others. Top colleges accepting NMAT scores typically close the admission process with the 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.

Table of content
  • 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

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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

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:

Q:   What is the marking scheme of NMAT exam?
A:

NMAT exam is an online MCQ based test conducted for MBA admission. Candidates need to choose one correct option among multiple answer options available in the NMAT exam. The marking scheme for NMAT exam is mentioned below:

  • 1 mark for each correct response
  • No negative marking is there for icnorrect responses
  • No negative marking prevails for the unattempted questions

Since there is no negative marking, candidates can rely on guess work for the questions where they do not know the answers.

While answering questions in the NMAT exam, a candidate receives a question based on his/her answer accuracy in the previous questions. The questions a candidate receives in the NMAT exam are tailored to their ability level; hence, a high-scoring candidate is typically presented with a more challenging set of questions compared to a low-scoring candidate. The scoring of the NMAT exam involves deriving the candidate's final ability estimate using the probabilistic model approach of modern test theory, which is then converted into a scaled score that ranges from 12 to 360.

Q:   Is there any sectional time limit at NMAT exam?
A:

Yes, questions under each section of NMAT exam are to be answered within a specified time limit. NMAT exam has three sections. The total time to answer all questions across sections in the NMAT exam is 120 minutes. The 120 minutes of NMAT exam is divided as mentioned below:

NMAT Section

NMAT Sectional Time Limit

Language Skills

28 minutes

Logical Reasoning

40 minutes

Quantitative Skills

52 minutes

Total

120 minutes

Candidates need to adhere to the time-limit as the responses marked within the specified time-frame will be submitted automatically once the time is over. 

Q:   Are all questions in NMAT exam similar in terms of marking scheme?
A:

Yes, all questions of NMAT exam have a similar marking scheme. Candidates attempting MCQs in NMAT will fetch 1 marks for each correct response. For incorrect response, candidates are not marked negatively or positively. Additionally, the candidates are not scored for any question which was left unattempted while taking the NMAT exam.

Questions across all three sections fetch equal marks if found correct or incorrect. Additionally, each section has equal weightage of questions. Therefore, no particular section in NMAT exam is termed important or less important. All three sections of NMAT exam have equal importance.

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.

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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.
Q:   Which is the most important section in NMAT exam?
A:

All sections of NMAT exam hold equal importance as the weighatge in terms of number of questions, and marks are similar across sections. Therefore, no particular section out of three sections hold additional importance. Candidates must prepare for all three sections based on the NMAT syllabus. However, candidates must work on theIr speed as the NMAT exam will have sectional weightage. Although all three sections have equal number of questions, each section has an unidentical time limit to answer these questions.

Q:   What is the NMAT scaled scores?
A:

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.

Q:   What is meant by scaled score in NMAT?
A:

NMAT scorecard issued inside the login dashboard indicates the adjusted raw marks of a candidate after considering the difference in the difficulty level for all candidates. Scaliong of NMAT scores ensures fairness while evaluating candidates getting different question while appearing for the NMAT exam. 

Before the scaling of scores, GMAC evaluates each candidate's performance based on the actual number of correct answers and incorrect responses by the candidates. NMAT reports the scaled score to candidates and institutions.

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.

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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About the Author
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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
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Answered 2 months ago

The NMAT logical reasoning syllabus covers a mix of analytical and critical thinking topics. Candidates must prepare for the following topics:

  • Coding and Decoding
  • Puzzles
  • Series
  • Arrangement
  • Multi-dimensional arrangements
  • Family Tree

In addition to the above topcis, questions from Numeric Grid, Syllogisms,

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