NIFT Preparation

As per the 2016 entrance exam schedule of NIFT, for Bachelor of Design (B.Des) aspirants, the selection rounds are divided into 3 parts.
1.General Ability Test (GAT): 120 mins
There will be approximately 150 questions which will be based on Quantitative Ability, Communication Ability, English Comprehension, GK etc. Basically, typical entrance exam questions which test your knowledge, the presence of mind, calculative ability, English grammar & class 10th maths etc.
2.Creative Ability Test (CAT): 120 mins
This is where your creativity comes into play. Questions can be about perspective, like draw a water bottle from an ants point of view. Here all you skills like geometry, visualisation, perspective & creativity come into play. There can be questions about making logos or designing posters or even mascots based on the given topic. So now the trick is to make something relate-able to the given client, which represents the cause/company etc but at the same time, it should not be common(or a done concept which is cliche). Eg: if the topic is female feticide, your poster should have an impactful element(a strong conceptual detail) & that 1 innovative concept will make your work stand apart.
3.Situation Test:
In this round, the candidates are given a bag of materials like paper, cardboard, pins, roped, colours, clay etc. The question will be to make something (say a handbag or a lamp) using what you have. The idea is to test your hands on material usage skills. How well you use the given objects to make something unique.
Creativity is the most important aspect in NIFT entrance. You either have it or you dont. But of course, creative skills can be developed & giving it a proper direction is most important. Many students clear the exam without any coaching. But yes, coaching gives you enough practice & guidance to sharpen your skills. Asking an NIFTian to help you in preparation might also be sufficient. SILICA is a good one if you want to take classes.

Hi Shyma,
A key component for the preparation for any exam is understanding the paper pattern and style. For all fashion enthusiasts slogging before the NIFT (National Instituted of Fashion Technology) entrance exam, here is a complete guide to test's question paper style.
The entrance test consists of two main components: Creative Aptitude Test and General Aptitude Test. The General Aptitude Test consists of objective type questions with one mark for every correct answer and negative marks of 0.25 for each incorrect answer.
Creative Aptitude Test:
The test focuses on judging intuition skill, power of observation, innovation in development of a concept and design ability of the candidate. An important aspect of the test is the creative and innovative use of colour and illustration skills.
General Aptitude Test:
1) Quantitative Ability: It consists of questions on addition, multiplication, division, fractions, percentage, rate of interest, work and task, ratio and proportion, and distance.
2) Communication Ability: It is aimed at testing the language ability of the candidates. It includes questions on synonyms, antonyms, words with corresponding meanings, singular, plural, one word substitutes, idioms and phrases and correct spellings.
3) English Comprehension: It requires understanding and answering questions regarding a specific passage.
4) Analytical Ability: It is designed to test the candidate's inference and logic ability from given information.
5) General Knowledge and Current Affairs is based on recent events and general knowledge.
6) Case Study: This test uses a situation to evaluate your style of response to discern your managerial ability
Bachelor of Design (B.Des):
Creative Aptitude Test (CAT) has 50 per cent weightage
General Aptitude Test (GAT) has 30 per cent weightage for a total of 150 questions to complete in two hours.
Quantitative Ability - 25 questions
Communication Ability - 35 questions
English Comprehension - 30 questions
Analytical Ability - 30 questions
General Knowledge and Current Affairs - 30 questions
Situation Test has 20 per cent weightage and is a practical exam.