IBSAT 2025 is expected to be held in the fourth week of December 2025. IBSAT is a national-level entrance test conducted for admission to ICFAI Business School (IBS). IBS offers MBA/PGDM programmes across its nine campuses. Thousands of management aspirants appear for IBSAT annually.
IBSAT is conducted over a set of two dates and organized around 90+ test centres. Since 2020, the exam has also been administered in online proctored mode, allowing candidates to take the test from their own devices at home. The purpose of this test is to check the candidate’s proficiency in quantitative aptitude, data interpretation, and verbal ability. After the exam, candidates are naturally curious to learn about their performance and evaluate their chances of admission.
So, here we have carried out an exhaustive IBSAT 2025 exam analysis:
Overall IBSAT 2025 Analysis
The difficulty level of IBSAT is moderate and is less than other popular MBA entrances like CAT, XAT, etc. However, you still need to work on your exam strategy in order to secure an admission seat to one of the IBS campuses. The exam pattern of IBSAT has remained nearly the same every year. Yet, the type and difficulty level of different questions may vary. Here are the key features of IBSAT 2025:
- Total Duration: 120 minutes
- Total Number of Questions: 140
- Sectional time limits: None
- Marks awarded for every correct answer: 1
- Negative marking: Nil
The exam follows a home-based, online proctored format designed to assess key management aptitude areas with 140 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) in 120 minutes, offering candidates a convenient way to take the test from their devices.
IBSAT 2025: Exam Pattern
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Sections
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No. of Questions
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Verbal Ability
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50
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Reading Comprehension
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30
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Quantitative Aptitude
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30
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Data Adequacy & Data Interpretation
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30
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IBSAT 2025 Exam Analysis
IBSAT 2025 is expected to maintain a similar difficulty level to previous years. DI and Quant questions are mostly moderate in difficulty, whereas the RC and verbal sections are quite easy to handle. Here is the detailed section-wise IBSAT 2025 exam analysis:
Verbal Ability
Clearly, Verbal Ability has the highest weightage in the exam. At the same time, it is also the easiest of all sections. Except for a few vocabulary questions of high difficulty level, the section is mostly composed of easy-to-understand and direct questions. These questions are based on idioms/phrases, synonyms/antonyms, para jumbles, error correction, one-word substitution, analogy, and fill-in-the-blanks. With good vocabulary and knowledge of grammatical rules, the section can be easily aced.
An attempt of 30+ questions in 20-25 minutes would fetch a good score. Candidates scoring between 32 and 35 questions would be considered strong performers in this section.
Reading Comprehension
As usual, the RC section has four passages, typically 500–900 words each. While most RC questions are factual in nature, some are inferential and a little time-consuming. Good reading speed and vocabulary knowledge help master this section.
An attempt of 21+ questions in 25 minutes fares well for a good performance. Candidates attempting 23 to 25 questions can expect competitive results.
Quantitative Aptitude
Quantitative Aptitude is composed of moderate and slightly tricky questions from algebra, arithmetic, and geometry. Topics usually include ratio & proportion, time & work, progressions, percentages, probability, speed, distance & time, interest, etc. With the right shortcuts and good calculation speed, candidates can score highly.
An attempt of 19+ questions in about 25-30 minutes serves well for an effective performance. Strong candidates typically attempt 22 to 24 questions correctly.
Data Adequacy & Data Interpretation
Considered the lengthiest section of IBSAT, DA & DI features questions in graphical or caselet format. Information is presented in line graphs, bar graphs, charts, etc. Basic mathematical concepts prove highly useful here. The section also requires good logical skills for accurate interpretation and deduction.
An attempt of 18+ questions makes for a high score. Candidates scoring 20 to 22 questions would be among the top performers.
Overall Exam Difficulty and Strategy
IBSAT 2025 is expected to have a moderate difficulty level, consistent with previous years. The absence of negative marking encourages candidates to attempt all questions without penalty, providing an advantage in maximizing scores. Aiming for 100–105 good attempts across all sections is considered a strong performance likely to yield competitive scores.
Expected Cutoffs (Percentile)
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Campus
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Expected Cutoff Range
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IBS Bengaluru
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68–75 percentile
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IBS Gurgaon
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65–70 percentile
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Key Preparation Tips
- Focus on vocabulary and reading skills to excel in verbal and comprehension sections.
- Practice quantitative calculations regularly and develop shortcuts for speed.
- Solve previous year papers and mock tests for familiarity and confidence.
- Develop effective time management to balance all sections efficiently.
Conclusion
IBSAT 2025 exam analysis shows that the exam maintains a moderate difficulty level with a balanced section-wise distribution. The exam is student-friendly due to its home-based mode and no negative marking. Candidates with consistent preparation, strong English language skills, and solid practice in quantitative and analytical reasoning are likely to perform well.