Students’ Speak: Last-minute MAT tips before you enter exam hall

By: Tanvir Singh

If you spend too much time in solving questions from your favourite section, you will miss out on other easy questions which could be done in less time. You should learn to let go.

Management Aptitude Test (MAT) is one of those exams which could be aced with constant efforts. Unlike CAT, MAT is purely a time management ball game altogether. Questions asked are easier to attempt and it checks your fundamental understanding of the topic rather than long and tedious calculations.

Here are some of the last-minute tips to ace MAT:

1. Stay focused: Go through your notes once before entering the exam hall and beware of your surroundings. Most importantly, do not carry any baggage on your brain, especially if your result in other exams were not as expected. A focused and calm mind is all you need to crack this one. There are many questions in the Logical reasoning section which only require a twist of your mental nerves in MAT.
2. Time management: Ideally, you should take four minutes to scan through the paper and get yourself zoned into war mode. This is your warm-up time. Once you start attempting the paper, remember how much time you have to allocate to each question.
3. Don’t over commit to one question/section: It often happens in the exam hall that students cling onto their favourite section of mathematics questions, for example, let us say geometry. If you spend too much time in solving all geometry question, you will miss out on other easy question which could be done in less time. You should learn to let go. If a question is too time-consuming, simply leave it, try others first.
4. Notes: Most of us find it too tedious to make notes while studying or even while practising, but over time I have realised that there is nothing better than a handful of real-time notes. They help you remember not just concepts but also the mistakes that you did while attempting those questions. Borrowing your friend’s notes does not always help.
5. Understand first and then start: Always be on your toes, up and ready before you start attempting any section. Read the instructions very carefully; knowing a concept is easy but applying it to a question requires your analytical skills as well.
6. Practice, practice, and practice: MAT covers five sections. Out of these, four requires you to practice, not just in the exam hall.

About the Author:

Tanvir Singh is pursuing MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Visakhapatnam. He is majoring in marketing with a minor in strategy. At present, he is the senior coordinator of Media Cell and Public Relations club at IIMV. His interests range from football to corporate business competitions. He has also been recognised as the best intern of the year during his summer internship period