One of the best features of NMAT is that it allows you multiple attempts - you can give the exam up to three times in a particular year. This means that you get to give it your best shot. The college of your dreams is not determined by that one day. Now, your attempts are roughly three weeks to a month apart. It is critical that you use this time wisely so that with every attempt your score gets better. I would strongly advise everyone to give a minimum of two attempts. No matter how high your score is in your first attempt, there’s always the chance that you can score higher in the second attempt and thus have a better chance of getting into the college of your choice. If you don’t clear the cut-off, it is important not to get demotivated and remember that you have another chance.
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After Your First Attempt
Now let’s say you’ve finished your first attempt and it didn’t go as well as you wanted. The first thing you want to do is to go over the paper in your head once again. Which section did you do well in? Which section did you struggle with the most? Make mental notes of how your paper went so that when you start preparing again, you know exactly what to tackle. This will ensure that you don’t make the same mistakes again and are able to get a better score.
Preparing for the Next Attempt
Now coming to the preparation part. You have approximately three weeks until your next attempt. This time should be your most intensive studying, with a minimum of 6-7 hours per day. Let us look at the ideal daily schedule you should follow:
When you’re ready to start studying, start with your weakest subject. Understand why you are weak in that subject. Is it because you don’t know how to answer the questions or do you not have enough time? A good way to kill two birds with one stone is to do timed tests. This way you increase your repertoire of sums and simultaneously ensure that you work within a time frame.
How to Tackle the Exam Section-wise?
Quant and Data Interpretation:
These are sections in which a lot of people struggle to perform. The first step is to understand which chapters you’re good and bad at. There is a slight chance that you will have time to solve ALL the quant questions. For the topics you’re good at, you should know sums of all difficulty levels. Any sum that comes from those chapters you should confidently be able to answer.
There are some chapters that you may find very hard and hence only know basic level sums. Knowing which sums to attempt and which to leave is critical. It is better to leave a sum and move on rather than spend time on it and after a little while realize that you are unable to solve it.
Logical Reasoning:
The only way to do well in logic is through practice. Give as many sectional mock tests as you can. This way you will get a tentative hang of the question pattern and after enough practice you will know which sums to attempt and which sums to leave. One problem that people face in logic is that they start solving a sum, midway realizes that they’re taking a long time but still continue to solve since they’ve already invested so much time. In this case, one has to learn when to just give up and move on to the next sum. There’s no point spending 15 min on one set of 3 tough questions. Rather, spend that time solving 5 easier questions.
Verbal:
Again, Verbal requires a great amount of practice for those who are not comfortable with the section. Thorough knowledge of Barron’s 333 words as well as Norman Lewis’ ‘Word Power Made Easy’ goes a long way in helping you ace the section. Newspapers and online articles definitely add to your strength.
Best of luck with your preparation! Happy Studying!
About the Contributor: Rayna Pereira is a student at SDA Bocconi Asia Center. She has completed her M.Com. from Mithibai College in Business Management. She wishes to take up HR as a specialization. In addition, she is also the Vice-President of the Toastmasters Club and a part of the Placement Committee at SDA Bocconi Asia Center
Do You Want To ACE NMAT This Year? We Have A Free Webinar With NMAT Toppers (210+ scores) On 17th October 2019 from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Register for FREE here.
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