IBSAT Preparation 2025: Check Toppers Tips, Strategy & Guide

Registration - 1 Jul '25 - 23 Dec '25

Updated on Apr 2, 2025 15:15 IST

By Shruti Garg, Assistant Manager- Editorial

IBSAT 2025 test takers need to prepare well for the exam. Being nervous during the exam is natural, but in order to give one's best on test day, it is advisable to devise an effective IBSAT preparation plan. Tackling the exam fear will largely determine the success quotient, and it is important to keep a positive frame of mind throughout your preparation cycle.

Read below some useful IBSAT preparation tips and see how you can materialise them to score high and get admission to your dream college. One big relief is that there is no negative marking in IBSAT 2025. Therefore, this gives all the test takers the much-needed leverage to attempt as many questions as possible within two hours.

Q: How do I prepare for the IBSAT exam?

The IBSAT exam is conducted for admission to management courses at the ICFAI Business School. To prepare for this exam, the following expert suggestions will be helpful: 1. Understand the syllabus and exam pattern of the IBSAT exam. 2. Devise a study plan as per the exam date and available time to study. 3. Six months are sufficient to prepare for the IBSAT therefore, utilize this time properly. 4. Complete all topics from the IBSAT syllabus four months before the actual exam. 5. Select study material carefully; for the Reading Comprehension section, Business Communication by Clark and Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis are sufficient, along with the newspaper. 6. You can study Quantitative Aptitude topics from Arun Sharma or RS Agrawal. Try to note down formulas separately to revise regularly ahead of the exam. 7. For the Verbal Ability section, the English Proficiency Test from IMS India would be sufficient. You can select other books as well, as per your requirements. 8. Nishit Sinha's Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning will be helpful in the DI section, along with a section-wise mock test. 9. In addition to the mock test, solve the previous year's IBSAT question papers two months before the exam. 10. You can refer to online IBSAT preparation guides and videos to prepare well for topics in which you are scoring lower. Be confident in your preparation to do well on exam day.

Q: Is the IBSAT exam difficult?

As per the analysis of previous year's papers, the IBSAT exam is of moderate level. It is relatively easier than other management exams like the CAT MAT or CMAT. There are a total of 140 questions, divided into four sections. Each of these questions carries one mark. Since there is no negative marking, the IBSAT is relatively less challenging than an exam like the IIFT. Also, the Verbal Ability section dominates the question paper with 50 questions of moderate difficulty. This makes the IBSAT paper easier to score with just six months of preparation. The quantitative and reasoning questions can be difficult sometimes, but these tough questions can be balanced out by easy questions in the same section. However, the cutoff is higher due to competition because only 10 IB schools accept IBSAT scores.

Q: Which are the best books to refer for IBSAT exam preparation?

IBSAT is not at all a difficult paper, your chance of selection depends on the number of questions you attempt. With IBSAT, you might be preparing for other exams too, like CAT, XAT, MAT, etc. So, there is no need to buy any specific book to crack IBSAT exam. Rather, I would say it is the easiest way to get into a B-School. Though you can find a number of books online and offline, whatever may seem fit to you, to prepare for quant, LR, DI, Verbal, etc. for cracking an entrance for B-School the most preferred book which people generally recommend is of Arun Sharma, which comes individually for each subject or one can buy a set of all four books, in addition to that to improve English you can also go for "word power made easy" which will improve your vocabulary for sure. Try to solve sample paper booklet it will definitely help you a lot.

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Table of content

How to Prepare for IBSAT 2025
IBSAT Preparation in Six Months
IBSAT Preparation in One Month
IBSAT Preparation in Three Months
IBSAT last-minute preparation tips
IBSAT 2025 Exam Day Preparation
Books for IBSAT Preparation
FAQs Related to IBSAT Preparation

How to Prepare for IBSAT 2025

Devise a strategy and stick to it. The planning consists of:

IBSAT 2025 Exam Pattern: Highlights

Exam Structure	Details on IBSAT 2024
Exam mode	Home-proctored test mode
Time alloted	120 minutes
Number of questions	140 MCQs
Total marks	140
Number of sections	four sections
Marking scheme	One mark for each correct answer No negative marking

IBSAT Marking Scheme

Check the table below to know the marking breakup of the IBSAT question paper.

Section name	Total Questions	Marks
Verbal Ability	50	50
Reading Comprehension	30	30
Quantitative Aptitude	30	30
Data Adequacy/Sufficiency and Data Interpretation	30	30

IBSAT 2025 Syllabus

The IBSAT syllabus 2025 comprises multiple-choice questions (MCQs) in the English language and consists of the below-mentioned topics:

Verbal Ability: English Grammar, Sentence formation, Vocabulary usage, Idioms, Phrases, One-word substitution, Jumbled paragraphs, and others
Reading Comprehension: 4 passages
Quantitative Ability: Arithmetic, Numbers system, Algebra, and others
Data Interpretation and Sufficiency: Data Interpretation, Data comparison, Data trends, and Data sufficiency

Also read: Preparation strategy for IBSAT exam

VARC Questions with Answers for Practice

Quantitative Aptitude Questions with Answers for Practice

DILR Questions with Answers for Practice

Commonly asked questions

Q: Which is the easiest of MBA entrance exams in India out of these: NMAT, MAT, CAT, IIFT, SNAP, CMAT, IBSAT, XAT?

Syllabus of all MBA entrance examinations such as CAT, XAT, MAT, NMAT, SNAP, CMAT, IIFT etc is similar with only minor differences. Toughness of examination is based on ratio of seats virus number of candidates appearing in MBA Entrance examination. CAT is the toughest because its score is used by legacy IIMs which are the best B-Schools in India. In India, based on MBA aspirants feedback, CMAT is the easiest MBA entrance examination. Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) is a national level entrance examination conducted by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) every year as per the directions of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India. The CMAT is a three hour computer based online test which is conducted in a single session to evaluate the candidates’ ability across various segments like Quantitative Technique, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension and General Awareness. There is no fixed syllabus of CMAT examination. CMAT syllabus revolves around Basic Mathematics (mostly arithmetic from standard 1 to 10), Reasoning and Reading Comprehension.

Q: If I am preparing for CAT, do I need to prepare separately for IBSAT?

If you are preparing for CAT exam then you don't need to prepare separately for IBSAT exam. The reason behind this is the topics which are asked in CAT exam are the same topics that are asked in IBSAT exam. So, both exams are almost same but the thing differs is difficulty level. CAT is tougher as compared to IBSAT. So, try to prepare for CAT exam because this can help you score good marks in IBSAT. IBSAT exam includes Reading Comprehension, Verbal Ability (VA), Quantitative Aptitude (QA) and Data Interpretation (DA). Whereas, CAT exam includes Verbal Ability (VA), Reading Comprehension (RC), Data Interpretation (DI), Logical Reasoning (LR) and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). So, both the exams are having similar content. Preparing for CAT exam can cover the IBSAT exam syllabus too and this can help a candidate in every aspect.

Explore subject-wise topics asked in IBSAT

Select your preferred subject

Quant

VARC

DILR

IBSAT Preparation in Six Months

Six months is a good time to prepare for the IBSAT 2024 exam. Ensure that you utilise the six-month time on following a smart exam preparation strategy. Divide the six months plan into three phases:

Phase 1: Complete all topics from the IBSAT syllabus

Phase 2: Practice IBSAT Mock Tests and Sample Papers

Phase 3: Revise Already Covered Topics

In the first phase, allot three months to cover the syllabus. Be thorough with all the topics from Reading Comprehension, Verbal Ability, Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation and Adequacy of IBSAT question paper. Allot more time to cover all the topics from each section without a miss. Do not move to new topics without completing one topic. Also, do not touch upon all the topics at one time. This can leave one in a confused state.

In the second phase, allot two months to solving IBSAT question papers and attempting IBSAT sectional mock tests. This will help to build analytical skills, improve competency to answer questions from Verbal ability sections, level up skills of mental calculation to solve problems from Quantitative Aptitude, and learn time management. Attempt not less than 30 mock tests and sample papers in this period. Analyze the performance after each mock test and check self-progress levels from time to time.

In the third phase, allot the last month to revision of the already completed topics from the IBSAT syllabus. Revise all the chapters, concepts, formulae and theorems repeatedly to fully prepare for the exam day.

Also read: IBSAT 6 months preparation strategy

IBSAT Preparation in One Month

IBSAT preparation in one month period is all about being precise and sticking to the goals. Check out the checklist of preparation plans below:

Review the syllabus and shortlist topics
Read topics to dig out important points
Allot 2 hours' time per day for revision
Attempt mocks & learn time management
Focus on the areas of strengths

Also read: How to prepare for IBSAT in one month?

Try this IBSAT Mock Test to get an idea about the type of questions that will be asked, the exam pattern and the marking scheme. After taking the test, you can immediately check your score. You can also download the Question Paper along with answers and their explanations for Free. Click below to start the free online test now.

Free IBSAT Mock Test

IBSAT Preparation in Three Months

Can candidates crack IBSAT in a short span of three months? Well, this may seem to be a herculean task but if candidates put to use some smart work, it is possible. So, what should the right strategy crack the IBSAT 2024 exam? Read it below :

Make your fundamentals strong and updated
Apart from the books for IBSAT preparation, refer to online IBSAT preparation guides
Take IBSAT mock test, measure your feeble areas and work on them
Answer previous year's IBSAT question papers
Be a regular on any online study group for IBSAT preparation

Also read: IBSAT 2024 preparation in three months

IBSAT last-minute preparation tips

The last-minute preparation for the IBSAT exam is equally important as is the month-long preparation. To make it effective follow the checklist mentioned below:

Understand the IBSAT pattern and test structure
Know the topic-wise weightage of marks
Revise the broad topics
Time your revision method in the learning process
Review the notes created by you
Maintain a positive frame of mind

Also read: More last-minute preparation tips for IBSAT

Commonly asked questions

Q: How to avoid common mistakes in IBSAT?

Here are some of the common mistakes which can be avoided by aspirants while preparing for IBSAT exam. Check the tips to avoid the common mistakes below: 1. Not solving enough mock papers To get a proper understanding of the format, time management and to be able to solve questions accurately one must take as many mocks. Solving and practicing individual questions is a lot different to attempting a full mock test. While taking mocks aspirants can realize mismanagement of time, silly errors which do not get highlighted otherwise. 2. Ignoring past years' sample papers Even if there are major changes in exam pattern, candidates should not ignore past year sample papers. They are a great source to practice section-wise questions. Moreover, there are chances of questions getting repeated after 3 to 4 years. 3. Not focusing on error analysis Analyzing mistakes is crucial for an all round preparation. One should revisit all the tests and questions solved and find out the repetitive mistakes. After identifying the mistakes one should just focus on getting the basics clear and be cautious while attempting those kinds of questions on the exam day. 4. Not iterating the preparation strategy Having one preparation strategy is good, but sticking to it despite no results in terms of scoring in mocks is stupidity. Changing the study plan if not working well is recommended. Here advices from industry experts and academicians can be followed. 5. Not listing down important formulas and concepts To have a quick access to all the important formulas, concepts and tricks, aspirants can prepare a list of the same. The list can be put on pin board, it proves good for revision. 6. Ignoring the SWOT Analysis Identifying strengths and weaknesses is very important for performing well in the exam. If strengths are known one can be confident and start solving the test from questions based on strong concepts. On the other hand the weak areas can be practiced and focus can be on minimizing errors.

Q: What are IBSAT last minute preparation tips?

Some of the last minute preparation tips for IBSAT exam are: 1. Review the exam pattern and syllabus: You must familiarise with the number of question and pattern of examination. 2. Focus on strong areas: In the last minute, you must focus on enforcing the learning in the stronger areas. Avoid picking any new topic. 3. Practice time management: Focus on solving previous year question papers or sample papers to practice time management. Ensure to solve the questions as per the IBSAT exam time duration. 4. Brush the key concepts: In the last minute one must focus on revising the formulas and important topics. 5. Stay cam and positive: you must have positive mindset and stay confident during last minute preparation. Avoid any kind of stress, take short breaks and take good sleep.

IBSAT 2025 Exam Day Preparation

What is the use of exam preparation if it is not able to help you perform as expected? Go through these key tips for best performance on the IBSAT exam day:

Go through topper interviews to know how they overpowered their exam nervousness
Say no to last-minute revision; do it one day before the exam
Reach the exam centre an hour prior to the exam
Be calm and say no to unhealthy junk food on the exam day because it can make you lazy and reduce your productivity

Also read: IBSAT 2025: Exam Day Checklist -Dos & Don’ts Day

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Books for IBSAT Preparation

Check the best books to read for IBSAT preparation in the table below.

IBSAT section	IBSAT books
Reading Comprehension	Business Communication by Clark Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
Verbal Ability	English Proficiency by IMS India
Quantitative Aptitude	Quantitative Aptitude by Arun Sharma
Data Adequacy and Interpretation	Nishit Sinha’s Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

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FAQs Related to IBSAT Preparation

Check frequently asked questions on IBSAT preparation below:

Commonly asked questions

Q: How to prepare for GDPI? Which are the best MBA colleges of IBSAT?

Top colleges in IBSAT are: 1. IBS Business School – Hyderabad. 2. IBS Business School – Dehradun. 3. IBS Business School – Pune. 4. IBS Business School – Gurgaon. 5. IBS Business School – Bangalore. Group Discussion: You should be updated about current affairs, international events, issues affecting India and the world, etc. so that you can put forward your opinion and views when asked. You need to have patience and effective listening skills to respond effectively in a group discussion. Remember the interview panel consists of people from college management who are sitting down only to reject candidates and sort the final admission list quickly. So, even a slight mistake can cost you heavily. Personal Interview (PI): 1. Introduce yourself in a very brief and formal way. 2. Limit introduction to entirely yourself. DO NOT speak about parents, siblings and family, unless asked by the interviewer. 3. Give straight and simple answers to the questions asked by the interviewer. 4. Answer in small sentences. 5. To the point and precise answers are far better than beating around the bush. 6. Don’t try be aggressive, overconfident. And definitely, DO NOT try to impress the panel by using some cheesy mugged up lines. It won't work. 7. Dress formally.

Q: How can I crack IBSAT in 3 months?

To prepare for IBSAT in three months refer to the tips below: 1. Set your plan right. Work on your plan and identify your weakness and strength. Get the right material. Try to plan and identify the above-stated things within a week. Set your plan agile and keep buffer time for revision and solving mock test papers. 2. Start with your verbal and quantitative practice in parallel 3. Three months can make or change the game, time management is very important at every single point of time till the final day and even on the day. 4. Keep positive! Solve questions in a specified time frame this will help you in doing questions in time. 5. Maintain a good balance between your accuracy and solving time. 6. Be focused and calm. For the last month keep all the formulas and tricks handy and revise on a daily basis. 7. Remember not to be emotional while solving or appearing for exams. Manage your time wisely. Remember: A goal without a plan is just a wish.

Q: What are some interview tips for IBSAT?

The Personal Interview round for admission to IBS and its campuses is expected in February 2023. It is the final and crucial stage of admission to IBS, with a weightage of 25 marks in the final merit. Some interview tips for IBSAT admission are as follows: 1. Regularly read newspapers to stay updated with current events. 2. Stay calm to avoid looking overconfident during the interview round. 3. Don't be nervous while answering questions, which may give a bad impression. 4. Study your graduation subject well to not make mistakes in basic questions. 5. Prepare every aspect of your resume in case anything is asked about your experience, hobbies, etc. 6. Dress neatly in order to appear professional during the interview process.

Q: How can I crack IBSAT in 1 year?

IBSAT exam is comparatively easy as compared to other MBA entrance tests. You must work on efficiency and time management. Reasoning section, the candidates can practice through mock tests to be precise and accurate. Since for this section, there is no precise formula, the candidates can solve as many mock tests as possible. Simple preparation for this section can be done by solving puzzles and riddles. Quantitative section, the candidates can prepare from the NCERT books or secondary and Higher secondary level mathematics books. Candidates can also opt for solving mock tests, previous years ATMA question papers and CAT question papers. Lastly, for the verbal section, the candidates can brush up their grammar, vocabulary and increase their reading speed. Reading from various topics can give an advantage while dealing with long passages. It is essential that students refer to previous years question papers and rely on mock tests, as this will make them familiar with the paper pattern and will give them an idea about the type of questions asked. Thus, students are better prepared for the examination.

Q: How can I crack IBSAT in 6 months?

IBSAT is an online management aptitude test which is conducted by The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education. The test scores are used for the intake of MBA and PhD programs of ICFAI Business School, The campuses that consider these scores are Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Dehradun, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Each section except Verbal Ability has 30 questions. The Verbal Ability section has 50 questions Verbal ability section in IBSAT exam basically tests students written language abilities. To clear this section, you must follow strategies like making a habit of reading more newspapers, quality magazines, novels etc. Spending qualitative time in reading also helps to overcome your weakness in your language skills. The verbal ability section of IBSAT exam is classified into following parts - Vocabulary Usage - Para Jumble - English Grammar - Replace the missing words - English Usage Few tips and tricks for IBSAT Preparation are - The first step to follow is IBSAT previous years question papers in order to understand the structure of the exam. You may also try solving them within the 120 minutes and examine the answers after completing the paper. - Make sure to check the speed while solving the questions. Time management plays a very critical role as the candidates will get more than a minute for each question. To improve this part, solve sample papers and try mock tests. - Since IBS is a Computer Based test, the candidates are recommended to appear for as many mock tests as possible. The online mock test will offer a similar atmosphere as that of the exam. - Do not lose confidence and do not get anxious in the exam or solving the sample papers. Go through the questions cautiously and try to comprehend them and then solve them. - Try reading newspapers, magazines, novels, books, journals, etc. for a better hold over vocabulary.