SNAP Preparation

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.

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.

You can prepare basic concepts of Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning and Verbal Ability topics included in the SNAP syllabus by studying from CAT books. The syllabus of both exams is same for these topics so you can refer to CAT books for studying the concepts, fomulae and theorems. CAT is also a tougher exam, so if you practice CAT questions for conceptual clarity, you will be automatically preparing for SNAP as well.  

However, for SNAP specific preparation, you must refer to books published exclusively for SNAP preparation as the type of questions in SNAP are different from CAT. Some of them are:

• Map the SNAP Symbiosis National Aptitude Test: 5 mock tests and sample papers by Arihant
• SNAP Guide by Ramesh Publication House
• Map the SNAP Test by Arihant

After attempting every SNAP mock test, check how many questions you could solve accurately in the given time. Analyse questions of which topics took more than one minute to solve, how much time it took to read Reading Comprehension passages, how tricky were the Logical Reasoning questions and which were the questions you could not attempt at all. You need to assess three things, time taken on every type of question, accuracy achieved on every question and the number of questions completed in 60 minutes. The next step is to note the trend of your performance viz. the topics and chapters. The topics that are difficult for you, need more attention or revision before the next mock test attempt. You should aim to achieve better score with every consequent SNAP mock test.

The official SNAP mock test will be accessible to only those candidates who will register for the exam. You will need to register for the SNAP exam before a certain deadline (the SNAP authorities will inform regarding the same at the official website) to be eligible for official SNAP mock test. The SNAP authorities conduct SNAP mock test twice in a gap of two months. The first mock test is conducted in October and the second mock test is conducted in November. Candidates can book a slot and appear for the official mock test from home in remote proctored mode. The SNAP mock test is only for practice purpose and its performance has no bearing on candidate’s SNAP result.

The SNAP mock test toppers are in fact rewarded with cash back and shopping vouchers by the SNAP conducting body. 

SNAP mock test is an important part of exam preparation but they should know when to start practicing it. The candidates should start solving mock tests only after completing the SNAP syllabus. October-November is the ideal month to start solving mock tests for SNAP exam preparation as the exam is conducted in December. Those preparing for other entrance exams simultaneously, can practice SNAP mock test without completing the syllabus also as they would be already familiar with the topics, concepts, theorems, etc. Those who have attempted SNAP before, can start their preparation by attempting a SNAP mock test to see how much do they remember. Candidates should start solving the full length SNAP mock tests only when they are confident about every chapter and topic included in the SNAP syllabus.

Candidates should solve only one full-length SNAP mock test in a day. After each mock test, they should assess their performance and identify the gaps to fill during preparation. Also, they should not solve SNAP mock test daily. Give yourself a breather for revision of the chapters that posed challenge in the previous mock test. Work on those problem areas and then pick another mock test. Ideally, candidates must solve about 30 SNAP mock tests to crack the exam with good scores so, start practicing the mock tests from two months before the exam date and continue to solve a mock test in a gap of one day until you reach their desired score. Stop once you reach the desired score. However, do attempt one SNAP mock test in the last week before the exam to keep the confidence level high.

The official SNAP mock test is conducted online by SIU on its portal snaptest.org. Candidates who fill the SNAP application form are eligible to take the official mock test by booking a slot at the exam website. They need to submit the SNAP application form before a certain deadline to appear in the official SNAP mock test.  The official SNAP mock test is of one hour and remote proctored. Candidates can choose a slot to appear for it and take the test from home or any location of convenience. SNAP mock test is conducted twice. Once in October and once in November, so that candidates are familiar with the SNAP exam pattern and test navigation before they appear for the actual exam which is conducted in the month of December.

By practicing SNAP mock test the candidates will learn time management skills for the actual exam. It will also help the candidates in identify gaps in their preparation. The main benefit of practicing the official SNAP mock test is to know the latest exam pattern and structure. It is important because SNAP is a speed based test and one needs to be able to solve questions quickly. The candidate needs to assess how much time they should spend on each section in the exam. Sectional mock tests help candidates in developing this aspect of time management. Mock tests are same as actual SNAP exam as the purpose of these mock tests are to prepare the candidate for the final exam. The time limit, structure, difficulty level and format of the official mock test of SNAP is same as the actual exam.

One month is too less a time to prepare for not only SNAP but also any other exam. You need at least three months to prepare for the SNAP exam, but even for that you need to be familiar with the SNAP syllabus. If you’ve studied Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, Analytical Reasoning and Verbal Ability for MBA entrance exams, then you can prepare decently for SNAP in such a short span of time. All you would need to do is, practice sample questions and mock tests. Practice of sample questions and SNAP mock tests will improve your skills to handle Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, Analytical Reasoning and Verbal Ability questions with speed and accuracy. You will also need some time to revise all the chapters which you will do a few days before the exam. So, instead of starting to prepare for SNAP just a month before the exam, get on to it at least three months before.