SNAP Exam Pattern 2025 (Latest): Check Section Wise Pattern of SNAP Exam & Marking Scheme

There is no difference between SNAP session 1, 2 and 3, apart from question sets. The exam pattern, marking scheme and test structure are same for all three sessions of SNAP, but the questions are different. The difficulty level of SNAP sessions is also the same.

Yes, SNAP is conducted in online mode. Candidates have appear for the exam in computer based test mode at a designated test centre which is allotted to them on the basis of city preferences mentioned by them in the SNAP application form.

To take the SNAP test, they have to log into the computer system using their application details or login credentials. They have to answer the questions using the computer mouse. They have to use the mouse to click on the option they think is correct. All the rough work is to be done on the paper provided in the test lab.

Three SNAP attempts are allowed to every candidate. They can attempt the exam once, twice or thrice. The best score of the three attempts will be taken into consideration for admission shortlist by SIU institutes.

Every candidate can make three attempts in SNAP exam. The SNAP exam is conducted in three sessions in a gap of one or two weeks. Candidates can mention their number of attempts in the SNAP application form. However, they will have to pay application fee per session. Thus, candidates who are sure of making multiple attempts only then they should apply for multiple sessions as the fee amount is non-refundable.  The scores of best attempt will be taken into consideration for shortlisting of candidates for Group Exercise, Personal Interview and Writing Ability Test.

Ideally candidates must take all three attempts as the difficulty level of the sessions could be different and it may so happen that one session is easy and candidates can score high in that.

For preparation of General English section of SNAP exam, candidates must study the following books:

• Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
• High School English Grammar & Composition by Wren & Martin
• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
• How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT by Arun Sharma & Meenakshi Upadhyay

Apart from these books, candidates need to develop reading habit to improve comprehension, writing and vocabulary, which will be immensely helpful at the time of selection for Group Exercise, Writing Ability Test and Personal Interview. To improve English language, you should read books, novels, magazines, business research papers, newspapers. You should also watch English series, movies and TV programmes to learn new words and expressions.

SNAP has 60 questions but it is not mandatory to attempt all of them. Candidates can choose to attempt any number of questions, but they should be mindful of the fact that they need to attempt about 2/3^rd of the total number of questions in each section to get an overall good score. So, candidates should aim to and attempt nearly 45 questions all together with maximum accuracy.

It is advised that candidates must not rely only on SNAP books but also practice previous years SNAP question papers and mock tests. For English, they must read various fiction and non-fiction books. SNAP authorities provide official mock tests a month before the exam and candidates must practice the SNAP mock tests at least once. Yes, SNAP preparation books recommended by the experts have sample questions with solved answers. All the books mentioned above have sample questions and their process to solve and answers so that candidates can understand and practice well. The questions range from easy to tough and are of various types which help candidates in preparation. However, you should nor rely on the sample questions of course books only. You should practice official as well as unofficial SNAP mock tests of different difficulty levels and types.

The official SNAP question paper is not released by the exam authority anymore. It used to be released along with the answer key after the exam until 2019. Since 2020, when the exam format changed from single session to three sessions, the SNAP question paper, response sheet and answer key release was stopped. Now, after the SNAP exam, the authorities directly release the scorecards.

However, unofficial SNAP answer keys are released by coaching institutes and mentors for candidates to analyse their performance. The unofficial answer keys are released on the same day as exam session contain SNAP questions and their solved answers. These-memory based question paper and answer key help candidates in assessing their performance by seeing which of their attempts were correct and which were incorrect.

There is no definite number of mock test that the candidate should practice. It totally depends on the candidate’s ability and strength viz a viz the SNAP syllabus. Some candidates need less number of SNAP mock tests to reach the optimum level of preparation whereas some candidates need more number of SNAP mock tests to reach the optimum level.

At the same time, it is recommended that on an average, candidates should practice at least 25-30 SNAP mock tests to perform well in the exam. Candidates should also analyse each and every mock test performance to know their progress. With every consecutive mock test, they should be able to score higher than previous mock test. Every candidate must decide upon the number and quality of mock tests based on their preparation level. They neither should solve less mock tests nor over-do it.

SNAP is one of the few MBA entrance exams which is easy in terms of difficulty level. It is much easier The number of questions, as well as the exam duration are less that than other MBA entrance exams. The type of questions asked in SNAP as also pretty straightforward.

Moreover, SNAP exam is held thrice for candidates to repeat attempts, which allows candidates to improve their score if they want to. The SNAP syllabus is same as other MBA entrance exam and there are no questions on Reading Comprehension or Data Sufficiency. This makes the SNAP exam much easier to crack than other exams.

Since 2020, the exam is conducted for only 60 minutes and the total number of questions asked is also 60. The first section of SNAP question paper is General English, the second section is Analytical & Logical Reasoning and the third section is Quantitative, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency.

SNAP has 3 attempts for all candidates in a particular academic year. For every session, candidates has to pay application fee of INR 2500. The examination body allows candidates to attempt the exam once, twice or thrice – it is up to the candidate to choose the number of attempts. Ideally, two attempts of SNAP should be good as there is not much gap between the sessions, and one doesn't really get a lot of time to prepare for the second attempt to improve score.

Until 2019, Quantitative, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency section of SNAP exam used to have the maximum number of questions (40), but from SNAP 2020, the Analytical and Logical Reasoning section has maximum number of questions (25). Now, Quantitative, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency section has only 20 questions. The main topics from which questions are asked in this section are, Family Tree/Blood Relations, Seating Arrangement, Clocks & Calendars, Critical Reasoning, Coding/Decoding, Direction Sense, Syllogisms, Visual Reasoning, Analogy & Series, Mathematical Reasoning, Meaningful Word/Matrix and Verbal & Miscellaneous Reasoning. To prepare for this section of SNAP, candidates must practice a lot of sample questions of all difficulty levels –easy, medium and tough. There are no formulae or concepts on Logical Reasoning so the preparation is majorly dependent on practice.

As per the latest SNAP exam pattern, the question paper comprises three sections – General English, Analytical & Logical Reasoning and Quantitative-Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency. The total number of questions in SNAP is 60 which is to be solved in 60 minutes. The General Awareness section was scrapped in 2020. Sectional break up is as follows:

• General English: 15 questions
• Analytical & Logical Reasoning: 25 questions
• Quantitative-Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency: 20 questions

The marking scheme of all three sections is same. One mark is awarded for correct attempt and 0.25 marks is deducted for incorrect attempt. It is not mandatory to solve all the questions in SNAP. Candidates can solve 75 percent of the questions accurately to expect a 98-99 percentile.

There is no sectional time limit in SNAP exam. Candidates can utilize 60 minutes in whichever way they like. However, candidates have previously claimed that 60 minutes fall short in attempting the questions, thus it is important to ensure that you have a time management strategy for the exam, which means you should decide how much time you wish to spend on which section and not overspend. For example, Reasoning section has 25 questions and you may want to target about 15-18 questions, so analyse how much time would you need to spend on it.