NMAT Exam Pattern 2025: Know Latest Marking Scheme & Exam Duration
NMAT 2025 ( NMAT )
Registration - 5 Jan '26 - 10 Jan '26
NMAT Exam Pattern 2025: The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) releases the NMAT exam pattern. As per the NMAT test structure, candidates need to answer as many as 108 questions in 120 minutes. All three sections of NMAT, namely, Language Skills, Quantitative Skills and Logical Reasoning, carry an equal number of questions (36).
The NMAT exam is being conducted within a testing window of 45 days. Candidates can choose a particular day and venue to take the exam at their convenience during the NMAT exam scheduling process. Read all about the NMAT exam pattern and marking scheme below. Also, check out the NMAT syllabus PDF for a holistic NMAT preparation using both pattern and syllabus.
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The sectional cutoff in NMAT is the minimum score required in each section of the exam in order to be eligible for admission to a particular B-school. The NMAT exam is divided into three sections:
- Language Skills
- Quantitative Skills
- Logical Reasoning
The sectional cutoffs are different for each B-school. Some of the participating institutes may or may not have any sectional cutoff score. Candidates who meet the overall cutoff score; however, do not meet the sectional cutoff scores are not eligible for the NMAT based admissions.
Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) conducts NMAT exam in an online mode. Online NMAT exam is conducted from Pearson VUE centres situated across India. Candidates need to appear at the chosen test centre to appear for the computer based NMAT exam. At the NMAT exam centre, each candidate is allotted a computer system where he/she has to login to take the test. Once the candidate logs in to the computer system, the responses will be recorded against the test taker ID. Further, this test taker ID will be helpful while evaluating performance of indicidual test takers.
- NMAT Exam Pattern 2025
- NMAT Sectional Weightage 2025
- NMAT 2025 Marking Scheme
- NMAT Exam Pattern 2025: Key Highlights
- NMAT Syllabus 2025
- NMAT Mock Test 2025
NMAT Exam Pattern 2025
NMAT 2025 will comprise as many as 108 questions from three sections. Each section shall have equal questions and marks weightage. In addition, all three sections of NMAT 2025 also have a sectional time limit. The space below mentions the evolvement of the NMAT exam pattern over the past few sessions.
NMAT 2025 Exam: Section Wise Question Weightage
The table below indicates the section-wise question weightage for NMAT 2025 exam.
| NMAT Sections |
Number of Questions in NMAT 2025 |
|---|---|
| Language Skills |
36 |
| Logical Reasoning |
36 |
| Quantitative Skills |
36 |
| Total |
108 |
NMAT 2025 Exam: Sectional Time Limit
The table below indicates the sectional time limit followed as per the NMAT exam pattern 2025:
| NMAT Sections |
NMAT 2025 |
|---|---|
| Language Skills |
28 minutes |
| Logical Reasoning |
40 minutes |
| Quantitative Skills |
52 minutes |
| Total Duration |
120 minutes |
Also Read:
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.
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.
NMAT Sectional Weightage 2025
The table below mentions the section wise number of questions and score range in the NMAT 2025 exam:
| Sections |
Number of Questions |
Score Range |
|---|---|---|
| Language Skills |
36 |
12-120 |
| Quantitative Skills |
36 |
12-120 |
| Logical Reasoning |
36 |
12-120 |
| Total |
108 |
36-360 |
| DILR Question-Answers for Practice | Quantitative Aptitude Question-Answers for Practice | VARC Question-Answers for Practice |
NMAT 2025 Marking Scheme
GMAC will evaluate the performance of NMAT test-takers based on the below-mentioned marking scheme
- Each objective-type question of the NMAT exam carries 3 marks
- There is no negative marking in case of wrong attempts
- Zero marks are deducted for unattempted questions
- Once the candidate ends a particular section, all answers are considered final
Also Read: How to prepare for NMAT online?
NMAT Exam Pattern 2025: Key Highlights
NMAT is considered a user friendly exam with the below-mentioned features:
- Candidates get three attempts at NMAT exam in one admission cycle.
- Candidates get to choose the preferred exam date within the set test window.
- GMAC allows candidates to choose order of sections from the NMAT question paper.
NMAT Syllabus 2025
The table below mentions the important topics as per the NMAT syllabus.
| NMAT sections |
Topics |
|---|---|
| Language Skills |
Reading Comprehension, English Grammar, Word Meaning and Verbal Ability |
| Quantitative Skills |
Trigonometry, Geometry, Algebra, Mensuration and Modern Maths |
| Logical Reasoning |
Logical Reasoning topics like Coding-Decoding, Critical Reasoning, Puzzles, Blood Relations, Statement Conclusions and Number Series |
Also Read: Best books for NMAT preparation
Commonly asked questions
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.
GMAC conducts the NMAT exam for MBA admission in India and abroad. Based on feedback from test takers of the past exam sessions, test takers found the exam to be moderate to tough in terms of difficulty standards. If compared with other MBA entrance exams, NMAT is comparatively easy as the candidates have the liberty to appear for the test three times and use the best scores for admission. Candidates can schedule the exam based on their convenience. However, the level of difficulty can vary from year to year. Success in any entrance exam ultimately depends on the candidate's preparation and performance on the exam day.
Similar to other top NMA entrance exams, NMAT exam also comprises three sections. These three sections have equal weightage in terms of maximum marks, number of questions, and a similar marking scheme. NMAT exam sections include the following:
- Language Skills
- Lgical reasoning
- Quantitative Skills.
Candidates need to answer questions from all three sections of the NMAT exam. Each section of the NMAT exam has a time limit collectively making the NMAT exam duration as 120 minutes.
NMAT Mock Test 2025
Practising mock tests is an important part of exam preparation as it enhances both the speed and accuracy of solving the questions, which is critical to scoring well in the NMAT exam. Shiksha has created an online NMAT mock test for aspirants to check their preparation levels. Click on the link below to access the free NMAT mock test.
Commonly asked questions
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.
NMAT mock test helps candidates get aware of the pattern and aids the overall exam preparation. Candidates get to know about the type of questions that appear in NMAT exam.
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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NMAT Exam
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 2 days ago
Candidates appearing for NMAT test have to carry any of the following documents with NMAT admit card:
- Aadhaar Card
- Passport issued by Government of India
- PAN Card
- Voter's ID Card
- Driver's License
V
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 days ago
Candidates need to carry a valid photo ID proof along with a hard copy of admit card on the NMAT exam day.
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 days ago
The process to download NMAT admit card for a retake attempt remains the same as it was followed for the first attempt. Candidates have to provide login credentials
D
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 days ago
No. GMAC releases a separate admit card for all attempts of NMAT exam. NMAT admit card for each attempt is downloadable after the exam scheduling is complete.
L
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 4 days ago
No, NMIMS Indore MBA admissions are not accepted without NMAT exam. However, if you are looking to get admission in any other NMIMS Indore course, you may apply without NMAT scores. Make sure to check the admission requirement of the desired course. NMIMS Indore admissions are entrance-based only.
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
The Bangalore University MBA Cutoff 2025 has been announced for admission to the MBA/PGDM programme via the Karnataka PGCET, CAT, NMAT, XAT, and other accepted exams. According to the Bangalore University Karnataka PGCET Cutoff 2025, students needed to obtain a rank of 3375 for admission to ABBS Ba
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 weeks ago
The accepted entrance tests at the FOSTIIMA Business School are CAT, XAT, CMAT, and others. Students must get good scores in the accepted entrance tests for admissions. For NMAT related info, seek information from the college. The college admission office will surely help students knowning whether
J
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 weeks ago
How many NMAT-accepting colleges are there in India?
As of the latest admission cycle, around 55–60 B-schools in India accept NMAT by GMAC scores for MBA/PGDM admissions. These colleges include a mix of top-ranked institutes, well-known private universities, and emerging business schools across majo
A
Beginner-Level 3
Answered 3 weeks ago
The BML Munjal University NMAT Cutoff 2024 was released for admission to the MBA/PGDM courses for all categories under the All India quota. As per the NMAT Cutoff 2024, admission to the MBA in Human Resources course, had a qualifying score of 150 for the candidates belonging to the General All India
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 weeks ago
School of Management, BML Munjal University accepts the NMAT entrance score for selecting students to its MBA/PGDM courses. In 2024, the NMAT cutoff score was 150 for MBA in Human Resources, MBA in Business Analytics and MBA in Finance courses.
R
Contributor-Level 10
169 Institutes accepting NMAT
S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai
Andheri West, Mumbai • Private
4.1Vile Parle West, Mumbai • Private
Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai
Kanchipuram, Chennai • Private
T A Pai Management Institute, Manipal, MAHE
Manipal • Private
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