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Vipra Shrivastava
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Updated on Sep 19, 2025 13:23 IST

MAT May 2025 PBT exam will be held on September 21 and you are all prepared for the exam day. So, what should one do as last minute preparation for MAT exam? Here are some key tips that aspirants must follow for last minute preparation for MAT 2025. Also know the MAT exam day strategy. MAT last minute tips

Last minute MAT preparation is all about making an exam strategy, i.e. how to utilize 2 hours in the best manner. To be able to optimise your performance, you need to utilise the last day before MAT 2025 exam in revision of important chapters and planning our a time management strategy. Don't attempt a MAT mock test or try to study a topic left untouched so far. Stay confident of your preparation. Take a look at a previous year's MAT question paper to know which type of questions to expect. 

MAT exam is conducted from 10 am to 12 pm, so you can wake up early in the morning and revise important concepts and formulae one last time. But as part of your last minute preparation for MAT exam 2025, you should mainly focus on devising an exam day strategy. Read below to know what to do. 

MAT 2025 Marking Scheme and Time Limit

The MAT 2025 question paper comprises five sections – Language Comprehension, Intelligence & Critical Reasoning, Data Analysis & Sufficiency, Mathematical Skills and Economic and Business Environment. Have a look at the MAT marking scheme and time-limit below:

  • The paper carries 150 multiple-choices based questions and each question carries 1 mark
  • Each section of the MAT question paper has 30 questions in MCQ format 
  • There is negative marking of 0.25 marks for wrong attempt
  • The exam duration is two hours. There is no sectional time-limit

Also Read:

8 Last Minute Tips for MAT Exam 2025

The key to perform well in MAT is to use the exam duration effectively and select the right questions to answer. Here are a few last minute MAT 2025 exam tips to follow:

1. Do not study a day before: Take a break from full-fledged study routine of 8 hours on the day before exam to keep your mind relaxed. You can revise important theorems and formulae before going to bed at night.

2. Revise GK: In the last few minutes before the exam what should you do? Check important Quantitative Aptitude formulae and check short notes that you made on General Awareness (Economic and Business Environment) and revise them.

3. Check MAT admit card and other documents: Check whether you have kept all the required documents before leaving for the MAT exam centre. Make sure you have kept two copies of MAT 2025 admit card and a photo ID. Do not forget to keep a blue or black ball-point pen for signing the attendance sheet.

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4. Time management: MAT doesn’t have sectional time-limit like CAT, so candidates need to be mindful of using 120 minutes judiciously. They should have a definite idea of how much time to spend on which section so that they are able to solve a good number of questions in all 5 sections. Keep Economic and Business Environment section as last priority as it is memory based and would require not more than 10 minutes.

5. Speed and accuracy: MAT is a speed-based test having 150 questions to be solved in 120 minutes. So, focus on the speed while solving the questions. If you get stuck on a question for more than a minute, leave it and move to next. You can always come back to it later if time permits. Solve GK questions at last as it is not considered for percentile creations so you need not worry about it.

6. Avoid negative marking: You don't have to solve all the questions in MAT exam. If you are not confident of solving a question accurately, then skip it. Remember, there is negative marking for wrong answers in MAT but not for unanswered questions. If you skip a question, you will be marked 0 for it. 

7. Don’t gamble: If out of the four options, you manage to zero-in on two possibly correct options out of which one could be definitely right, take a few seconds to analyse and choose the preferred option. Better still, leave the question if you are not totally convinced about your preferred option.

8. Stay away from stress: Be calm and confident during your MAT 2025 exam. Don’t take undue stress of tough questions. If you will take stress, you will be vulnerable to making silly mistakes even in easy questions. So be positive and tell yourself- “I can crack it”. 

Shiksha MAT Mock Test (Free)

Check below free MAT mock test by Shiksha to know your preparation level and for better exam day experience.

MAT_Mock_Test_1 MAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions
MAT_Mock_Test_2 MAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions

All the best!

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Q:   What are the items/documents to carry on the MAT exam day?
A:
On the MAT exam day, PBT and CBT candidates have to visit the examination centre well prepared. Apart from carrying two hard copies of the MAT admit card, they need to also carry a photo ID proof issued by the Government of India. The documents that are included in the list of approve IDs are: 1. Aadhaar Card 2. PAN Card 3. Voter ID Card 4. Passport 5. Driving License 6. University ID Candidates have to carry the original copy of any of these IDs to the exam centre for identification process. IBT mode candidates are also required to present any of these IDs for identification to remote proctored mode. Candidates belonging to PwD category have to carry PwD and scribe certificates too on the exam day. Any candidate suffering from any medical condition which requires them to eat or have medicine during the exam, has to carry a Certificate regarding the same issued by a competent authority. Apart from the documents, candidate are required to carry blue/black ball point pen for signing the attendance sheet and filling the OMR sheet (PBT mode). No other stationary item will be allowed inside the MAT exam centre.
Q:   How will I know about MAT GD/PI schedule?
A:
The MBA institute will send Group Discussion GD and Personal Interview . PI letter to each candidate who had selected the institute in MAT application form upon their selection based on MAT cut offs. The candidate should keep checking their email ID mentioned in MAT application form. The letters/emails have GD/PI dates, time and venue mentioned on it along with other details related to the GD/PI process. If a candidate wishes to apply at college other than the ones they had selected in the MAT form, then they should visit the website of their desired MBA college and check the application schedule. Once they will fill the application form, they will be informed about the GD/PI schedule via email. Candidates must keep handy the MAT admit card, MAT scorecard, academic certificates, passport size colored photographs, original and requisite fee amount for admission on the day of Group Discussion and Personal Interview.
Q:   Are MAT test cities same for CBT and PBT?
A:

MAT test cities are not same for CBT and PBT. Number of CBT test cities is more than PBT test cities. CBT and PBT test cities are listed below:

MAT PBT Test Cities:

Bengaluru, Bhilai, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Durgapur, Gandhinagar, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Haldwani, Hyderabad, Jabalpur, Jalandhar, Jodhpur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Kottayam, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangaluru, Mumbai, Nashik, Noida, Patna, Prayagraj, Raipur, Ranchi, Silchar, Siliguri, Surat, Tezpur, Thiruvananthapuram, Varanasi and Visakhapatnam

MAT CBT Test Cities:

Agra, Ahmedabad, Asansol, Bareilly, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Delhi, Ernakulam - Kochi, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Hubballi (Hubli), Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jammu, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Madurai, Meerut, Mumbai, Mysuru (Mysore), Nagpur, Noida, Patna, Pune, Raipur, Ranchi, Rourkela, Shillong, Shimla, Salem, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), Vellore and Vijayawada

Q:   Are MAT CBT and MAT PBT test cities same?
A:

No, MAT CBT and MAT PBT test cities are not same. Check the table below for cities in which MAT PBT and MAT CBT will be conducted.

MAT PBT Cities

Bengaluru

Guwahati

Nashik

Bhilai

Hyderabad

Noida

Bhagalpur

Jodhpur

Patna

Bhubaneshwar

Kanpur

Prayagraj

Chennai

Kolkata

Raipur

Coimbatore

Kottayam

Ranchi

Delhi

Lucknow

Surat

Durgapur

Madurai

Varanasi

Gandhinagar

Mangaluru

Visakhapatnam

Gurgaon

Mumbai

 

 

MAT CBT Cities

Agra

Gurugram

Mumbai

Ahmedabad

Guwahati

Mysore

Asansol

Hubbali

Nagpur

Bengaluru

Hyderabad

Noida

Bhopal

Indore

Patna

Bhubaneswar

Jaipur

Raipur

Chandigarh

Jammu

Ranchi

Chennai

Jamshedpur

Rourkela

Coimbatore

Kolkata

Thiruvananthapuram

Dehradun

Kozhikode

Thrissur

Delhi

Lucknow

Tiruchirappalli

Ernakulam- Kochi

Madurai

Vijaywada

Ghaziabad

Meerut

 

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Vipra Shrivastava
Senior Manager - Content
Vipra is a massive Breaking Bad fan. When not watching crime drama series, she spends time in updating the list of places she wants to visit and people she wants to meet, but she is happiest in the company of dogs. Read Full Bio
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Answered a week ago

Hi.

The expected MAT cutoff for admission to the PGDM programme at GIBS Business School Bangalore is generally around the 64 percentile.
 
Key Details on the MAT Cutoff
  • Minimum Requirement: A MAT score of at least the 64 percentile is the standard benchmark for general category candidates to be consider

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heena agrawal

Scholar-Level 17

Answered a week ago

Hi.

Yes

The institution offers a range of scholarships, and performance in entrance exams like MAT (and CAT, XAT, etc.) is a key criterion for determining the amount of the scholarship award. 
 
Scholarship Policy at GIBS
GIBS has a clear scholarship policy designed to reward academic excellence and stro

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heena agrawal

Scholar-Level 17

Answered a week ago

Hi.

GIBS Business School has consistent and moderate cutoff trends for CAT and MAT over recent years. The scores generally fall within a specific range, and the university emphasizes a holistic evaluation process rather than relying solely on the entrance exam percentile. 
 
Common CAT Cutoff Trends
  • Per

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h

heena agrawal

Scholar-Level 17

Answered a week ago

Hi.

GIBS Business School primarily uses a merit-based admission system that considers the applicant's overall profile, but it does offer specific considerations and seat allocation for reserved categories and management quota seats. 
 
Reservation Policy at GIBS
Unlike public institutions (like IIMs) th

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heena agrawal

Scholar-Level 17

Answered a week ago

GIBS Business School, therefore, accepts 'all national-level entrance examination' scores that include the major management exams like CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, GMAT, and in some cases State CET exams for admissions to PGDM and MBA programs. These scores will determine a candidate's eligibility for

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M

Mohammed Maqsood

Contributor-Level 7

Answered a week ago

Hi.

Admission to the MBA programme is based on merit in the qualifying exam and a valid score in any one of the accepted national or state-level management entrance exams. The university also conducts its own in-house entrance exam, the DPAT, as an alternative option. 
 
Accepted Entrance Exams for MBA

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heena agrawal

Scholar-Level 17

Answered a week ago

VIT Business School accepts MAT exam percentile for admission to MBA programme. The MAT Cutoff 2024 is 80 for students belonging to the General All India category. In 2023, the VIT Business School cutoff was 80, and in 2022, it was also the same, at 80.

This trend suggests that the MAT percentile has

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Neerja Rohatgi

Contributor-Level 9

Answered a week ago

GIBS Business School accepts scores from CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, GMAT, ATMA, and various State CETs for admission to its PGDM program.

These entrance exams serve as the primary eligibility criteria for candidates applying to GIBS. The institute evaluates applicants based on their test scores along with

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Mohammed Maqsood

Contributor-Level 7

Answered 3 weeks ago

You can get admission for an MBA in Chandigarh University without appearing for CAT or MAT exams. The university has its own entrance test named as CUCET ( Chandigarh University Common Entrance Test). The Cucet test is accepted for MBA admission. If you perform well and clear the CUCET entry test, n

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Shweta

Contributor-Level 8

Answered 3 weeks ago

The admission deadline for GITAM MBA through the MAT entrance exam is February 21, 2025, based on information from their admissions notice.

A

Amrita D jaiswal

Contributor-Level 8