NMAT by GMAC 2016: You must have clear plan; expert advice

Updated on July 11, 2016

NMAT by GMAC 2016 will be a computer delivered exam containing 120 MCQs and will have 75 days testing window from Oct 7 to Dec 20, 2016 leading to admission in NMIMS and 17 other B schools

Know well all about the exam, find out the key preparation areas and plan how to maximise your score in subsequent attempts offered by NMAT by GMAC

Instead of leaping into the exam which is different and offers more opportunities to improve your score, know well all about the exam, find out the key preparation areas and plan how to maximise your score in subsequent attempts offered by NMAT by GMAC, says expert and mentor on exam preparation Prof S K Agarwal.

According to the expert first of all an NMAT by GMAC 2016 aspirant exploring admission to NMIMS and other 17 B-schools should be aware that the NMAT is different exam and is closer to GMAT than any other exam. Subsequent to its ownership having been taken over by GMAC in 2015, it is not only the name of NMAT that stands changed as NMAT by GMAC but the exam also has brought with it number of user friendly changes to smoothen the test taking process.

NMAT by GMAC 2016 will have a 75 days testing window beginning October 7 and closing on December 20, 2016. The exam is mandatory entrance test for admission to various MBA/PGDM programmes 2017-19 batch not only to SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS School of Business Management) but to 17 other universities and B schools.

Registration for NMAT by GMAC 2016 opens on July 4 and will close on October 3, 2016. The registration process will be online only.

Prepare a clear plan
Know the exam components
NMAT by GMAC 2016 will the 2nd exam after transfer of ownership of NMAT to GMAC. Last year there was no change in the structure and content of the exam. There is also no proposal to bring any changes in the structure and content of the exam in NMAT by GMAC 2016.

Accordingly, you have to prepare well in following 3 areas- Language skills; Quantitative skills; Logical Reasoning.

Plan as per Sectional weightage
NMAT by GMAC 2016, to be held from October 7 to December 20, 2016 will award different sectional weightage to all the 3 sections. Moreover the time allotted to attempt each of the 3 sections will also be different according to weightage.

NMAT by GMAC 2016 will award maximum weightage to Quantitative skills with 48 MCQs to be solved in 1 hour. The next high weightage section is Logical Reasoning with 40 MCQs to be attempted in 38 minutes. Language skills will have 32 questions to be solved in 22 minutes.

Please remember only your high and balanced section score will make you a winner. You may also note that although admission to NMIMS is based on NMAT by GMAC 2016 score, it considers many other criteria while making final admission offer. Your score of 97+ percentile may lead you to 1st stage shortlisting by NMIMS. So you have to prepare well to qualify in all the 3 sections with high score.

Choose the order of sections
NMAT by GMAC 2016 test takers will be allowed to choose the order of the sections to attempt the exam in accordance with their preference. There will be sectional as well as overall cut offs in NMAT by GMAC 2016. The necessity is to pre-plan and perform well relative to other candidates in each of the 3 sections to get shortlisted for final admission.

The 120 questions in NMAT by GMAC 2016 are to be solved in 2 hours. No descriptive type of questions would be asked in the online computer based NMAT by GMAC 2016.

Plan your 3 attempts
A key feature of NMAT by GMAC 2016 is that the exam has the facility of 3 re-takes. These 3 attempts offer the opportunity to the candidates to maximise their scores in the prestigious entrance test. But you have to begin with the 1st attempt in the early days of NMAT by GMAC 2016 testing window as you need a gap of 15 days between 2 attempts.

For example, if you are not satisfied with your performance and think that you can improve the scores by taking NMAT by GMAC 2016 again, the test can be rescheduled for ‘Retake’ but with a minimum gap of 15 days.

The scheduling to retake the NMAT by GMAC 2016 begins on October 8, 2016 and will continue till December 17, 2016. Candidates have an option of retaking NMAT by GMAC up to 3 maximum attempts, including “no shows”. It implies that ‘No shows’ will be considered as attempts. Once your registration for the retake is complete you will receive an email with authorization to schedule the retake for NMAT by GMAC 2016.

You can schedule the retake test on a date 15 or more days after the most recent date of attempt. This means you will have to wait at least 15 calendar days before you can appear for a retake attempt in NMAT by GMAC 2016. You can schedule your test any time during the retake scheduling window (subject to real time availability). You will be able to select any slot that is a minimum of 24 hours later than the time you carry out the scheduling transaction.

Know how the Computer delivered test works
NMAT by GMAC 2016 will be a computer-delivered exam. The exam will give each candidate a randomly generated test from a pool of questions, delivered one-at-a-time. The number of questions, difficulty levels, and the time limit for each of the sections in NMAT by GMAC 2016 is predetermined and, under normal administration conditions, will be the same regardless of when and where the test is administered.

The good news
The good news for NMAT by GMAC 2016 aspirants is that there would be no negative marking in the exam. In fact sometimes candidates are just not sure of the right answer on the test and are running out of time. Now the candidates can make an informed guess instead of skipping a question without the fear of a penalty for a wrong answer.

The bad news
Please however note that once you complete the section or the allotted sectional time is over, you will have to come out of that section and cannot revisit it. It will be in your interest therefore, to complete your attempts and review the section within the allotted time.

Synchronise Prep plan
You can very well synchronise your preparation plan of NMAT by GMAC with CAT, IIFT, SNAP and XAT as the topics to prepare are more or less the same except the GK component which may not be present in CAT 2016.

NMAT by GMAC 2016: schedule

Event	Start	End
Registration	July 04, 2016	October 03, 2016
Scheduling	July 04, 2016	October 03, 2016
Late Registration	October 04, 2016	October 12, 2016
Rescheduling	July 04, 2016	December 17, 2016
Exam Delivery	October 07, 2016	December 20, 2016
Retake Scheduling	October 08, 2016	December 17, 2016
Final Announcement of Results		January 2017 (second week) Tentative

NMAT by GMAC 2016: You must have clear plan; expert advice

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