NMAT is an exam that is as much a test of skill as it is of time management. Considering the format of the paper (120 questions in 120 minutes), it is extremely vital that you practice your speed-testing skills and are in the habit of dealing with such papers. Overall, the difficulty level of the exam can be labeled as moderate, with most questions being from the easy to moderate category. There was no negative marking in the paper and the candidates had the option of deciding the order in which they would attempt the 3 sections in the exam.
The pattern of NMAT 2014 was as follows:
| S.N |
Section |
Number of Questions |
Allotted Time |
| 1 |
Language Skills |
32 |
22 minutes |
| 2 |
Quantitative Skills |
48 |
60 minutes |
| 3 |
Logical Reasoning |
40 |
38 minutes |
| |
Total |
120 |
120 |
Quantitative Skills :
The Quantitative Skills section in NMAT was a combination of Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation. It consisted of 48 questions, to be attempted in 60 minutes. In terms of degree of difficulty, the section featured only a few difficult level questions and majority of the questions could be handled easily.
In NMAT 2014 paper, a few unique questions made an appearance, but these were far and few in between. In general, the exam featured a uniform mix of questions from Number System, Algebra, Geometry, Arithmetic, P&C and Probability.
The exam also featured three Data Interpretation sets. These sets required a fair amount of calculation work. Also, the paper had a fair number of Data Sufficiency questions (based uniformly on various QA topics).
Considering the level of the paper and overall type of questions, if you could get 27 to 30 questions right, you would have done well. Last year, the sectional cut-off for this section was around 72-76, and is likely to be in this range this year as well.
Language Skills
In the Language Skills section of NMAT, there were 32 questions to be solved in 22 minutes. Considering the large number of vocabulary questions in the section (synonym, antonym, fill in the blanks and analogies), it can be safely said that the section could have been managed within the time limit, but only if you were well prepared with vocab.
The exam also featured a number of questions on the correct usage of prepositions this year. There were also a couple of Reading Comprehensions, which were of easy to moderate level, featuring mainly direct questions. The section also features some Para-jumbles questions and a couple of questions on Grammar.
Overall, considering past year cut-offs and the nature of questions in the section, an attempt of 22-24 questions with 90%+ accuracy can be considered safe.
Logical Reasoning :
The reasoning section in NMAT was a mix of Logical Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning. The section had 40 questions that have to be solved in 38 minutes. Overall, the level of questions in this section was easy to moderate.
The logical reasoning portion of the exam featured questions on logical sets, Venn diagrams, blood relations and series identification. The non-verbal reasoning portion of the exam featured questions on input-output, signs and symbols, coding-decoding and syllogisms. In verbal reasoning, there were questions on critical reasoning, assumptions, courses of action, arguments and cause and effect - based reasoning.
Though the section featured questions from a vast number of areas, overall this section was doable and the difficulty level of the questions was moderate. Considering that, an attempt of 22 to 24 questions in the section and a score of 60 to 65 should be enough to clear the sectional cutoffs.
The overall cutoffs and sectional cutoffs varied as per the different courses offered by NMIMS. The overall cutoff for the Full Time MBA Program/ MBA Banking/ MBA Capital Market/ MBA HR in NMIMS was around 209 out of 360 total marks.
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