MAT 2020 February Exam Analysis: No Surprise Element; DA, English bit Difficult; Check Cut off, Top MBA Colleges

MAT 2020 February Paper Based Test was over at 12.30 PM on Sunday February 16, 2020. AIMA conducted Paper Based MAT 2020 exam on February 16, 2020 after the computer based test which was held on February 2. The PBT MAT was conducted from 10AM to 12.30 PM on similar pattern as was in December. The Exam is rated as easy to moderate with no surprises. A few questions in English Language, Data Analysis and Quant were found a bit difficult. A score of 110-112 is expected to fetch 90 percentile cut off

After September 2019, this is the second time that paper based MAT exam has been conducted after the Computer based MAT.

The paper based MAT 2020exam did not have any surprise element and has remained on similar pattern of last PBT and CBT MAT exams. The exam had  a few difficult questions in Language Comprehension, Data Analysis & Sufficiency and Quant sections. A few questions in Intelligence and Critical Reasoning section were also found a bit tricky as compared to earlier MAT exams.

AIMA has again changed the order of conducting MAT exams in February 2020 and conductedCBT MAT before PBT MAT. Earlier in September 2019, instead of conducting paper based MAT first, the computer based MAT exam was also conducted a week before the PBT MAT.

There were more than 50 MAT exam centers for paper based MAT exam while the number of candidates who appeared for computerbased MAT exam were fewer. So the MAT test centres for PBT MAT are more than 50. AIMA will declare MAT February 2020 exam result on February 28.

The FebruaryMAT 2020 exam analysis reveals that AIMA has adopted a different pattern of conducting MAT exams in a single month. The detailed MAT exam analysis consists of MAT exam structure, difficulty level - overall and section wise, surprise elements, key topics and questions in the exam, sectional composition, important topics asked section wise and expected Cut offs in top MBA colleges accepting MAT score.

MAT 2020: FebruaryExam Highlights

• Test contained 4 RC Passages of 500 words followed by 20 Questions in Language Comprehension section 
• 2 RC Passages were opinion based and were on Abstract ideas, while 2 were fact based
• Reasoning had a few tricky questions otherwise the section was moderate
• Reasoning had 18-20 questions based on Family Relations and Statements – Cause & Effect
• Data Analysis and Data Sufficiency as separate section had more questions on Graphs and Pie charts
• Data Sufficiency had a few difficult questions on Graphs and Pie charts
• Arithmetic had major share of questions of moderate difficulty level in Mathematical skills section 
• CBT MAT contained some of the difficult questions in Language and Data Analysis also.
• Candidates have shared the feedback that the MAT Computer based test was moderate although parts of Verbal, Data Analysis & Reasoning took some more time to solve.
• Candidates would need higher scores as there would be tough competition in getting admission to a good MBA college.   
• Overall raw score of 110 is expected to fetch 90+ percentile cut off in MAT exam

Overall Analysis

• There were 200 questions divided in 5 sections in MAT February exam
• All the questions in MAT exam carry equal marks.
• Every right answer is awarded with a credit of 1 mark
• Every wrong answer attracts a penalty of ¼ negative marking (0.25 mark) which is deducted from the score awarded for right answers.
• All the questions are in MCQ format followed by 4 answer options.
• Individual Sectional Time Limit: No, can switch to any section and any question

Quick View

MAT 2020 February PBT exam Date & Time	Sunday February16, 2020 from 10AM to 12.30PM
Number of test centres for Paper Based Test	51
Total number of questions in the exam	200
Number of sections in the exam	5
Number of answer options per question	4
Maximum Marks per question	1
Negative Marking	0.25 mark for every wrong answer
Level of Difficulty	Moderate
Total maximum raw score	200
Total maximum scaled score out of which percentile score will be awarded	800
Sections considered for percentile calculation	4 (Indian & Global Environment not considered)
Number of questions considered for percentile calculation	160

MAT 2020: February Exam Pattern

Section no.	Section Subject	Number of questions	Suggested time to solve
1	Language comprehension	40	30
2	Mathematical skills	40	40
3	Data Analysis and Sufficiency	40	35
4	Intelligence and Critical Reasoning	40	30
5	Indian and Global Environment	40	15
	Total	200	150

MAT Sectional Analysis

Language comprehension
There were 40 questions in the section. Major topics and number of question are:

Topic	Number of Questions	Difficulty level
Reading Comprenhsion	20	Moderate
Number of RC Passages	5	Easy to Moderate
English Language	20	Moderate
Errors in Sentence formation	3	Moderate
Antonyms	3	Moderate to difficult
Synonyms	3	Moderate
Fill in the Blanks with correct vocabulary words	3	Moderate
One word substitution	2	Moderate
Phrases & Idioms Substitution by words	3	Moderate to Difficult
Jumbled Paragraphs	3	Moderate

• Except a few questions the section had moderate difficulty level and could be answered in time
• A score of 27-28 marks could lead to 90 percentile in Language Comprehension section

Mathematical Skills

• Out of the 40 questions in the section, more weightage was awarded to Arithmetic based questions
• Around 15 questions were based on Arithmetic like Interest, Percentages, Time and Work, Profit, Loss, Partnership. The questions were a little time consuming although were moderate.
• Other questions were based on topics like Equations, Ratio, Proportion & Variation, Geometry & Mensuration, Permutation and Combinations, Probability etc.
• The questions were of moderate difficulty level
• The section could prove to be a percentile booster for the candidates who did this section well
• A score of 29-30 marks could earn 90+ percentile in this section

Data Analysis and Sufficiency

• This section had maximum questions on Data Interpretation
• More prominent in this section were Graphs, Pie charts, bar diagrams, charts, line graph, data comparison
• Time remained the major hurdle to solve these questions with speed and accuracy
• Questions on Data Interpretation (DI) occupied more than 50% space in the section, rest of the part covered questions on data sufficiency and data comparison
• A score of 22-23 marks is expected to get 90 and above percentile

Intelligence and Critical reasoning

• This section had 40 Questions
• More questions were on Analytical and Logical reasoning and fewer questions were there on Critical reasoning
• 10 Questions were based on Family Relation, 10 on Statements-Cause & Effect, and others were Statement –Assumptions, Reasons, analogies, direction, series, Incorrect Terms.
• The questions were formed in sets as well as individual questions
• The section was a little lengthy with moderate level of difficulty
• A score of 26-27 marks may lead to a percentile above 90 in this section.

Indian and Global environment

• Suggested time limit by AIMA to answer the 40 questions in this section was 15 minutes but 10 minutes were enough to attempt this section
• Questions were formed on Awards, Government policies, rules, regulations, Budget, GST, CAA,  Constitution of India, Appointments, Capitals, Current National and International Events, US Trade Policy.
• No re-thinking or recalling was required for what you do not know or are confused on it.
• Ideal time to attempt one question was less than 30 seconds
• This section is not counted for percentile calculation in MAT exam
• Many Candidates skipped or answered very few questions in this section to save time for other sections

Surprise Element
The MAT 2020February exam had no surprise element and was on the same pattern as that of first last MAT exam in December 2019.

Time Management: Key Issue

• The time limit to attempt 200 questions was 150 minutes. Less than 1 minute was available before the test takers to answer each of 200 questions.
• Candidates who could not manage time well, were seen gasping for Time Management to maximise their attempts across the sections.
• Those who adhered to the time limit to solve questions in each section helped them to do better in the exam as with this strategy more number of questions could be attempted with accuracy
• Many of MAT test takers could not attempt more questions despite knowing their answers in paper based test as they struggled for time

How to Manage Time in MAT Exam: Tips by Test Takers
Two and half hours were allotted to solve 200 questions in MAT exam. With some of the questions found more difficult and penalty of negative marking existing for all the questions, Candidates were found gasping for more time. Many candidates who did not follow time schedule could not get across the 70-75 questions.

Although the overall MAT paper based exam remained moderate, a few questions consumed more time of the test takers.

Skip or Scantly Attempt GK Section
A unique way to manage time with an aim to attempt more questions, was found by the test takers. Since the GK section in MAT exam is not counted for score calculation, many candidates skipped or attempted very few questions in Indian and Global Environment section and utilized this time to attempt the questions in other sections. The strategy helped them to maximise the attempts in all the 4 core sections.

Didn’t Devote More than 30 Seconds
Most of the MAT test takers while coming out of the testing hall, revealed that they maximised the attempts by not wasting the time in case they found even a slightly difficult question in their initial attempts. Besides, none of them devoted more than 30 seconds on one question as during this time they could know whether the question was doable or difficult.

Avoided Negative Marking
Apart from maximising the attempts, these candidates ensured that they should attempt only the questions which could solve accurately. The strategy boosted their confidence level further and they expect higher score due to no or very little loss due to negative marking.

Ideal attempts and Cut offs
The MAT 2020 test takers who maximised the attempts in the exam need to score high keeping in mind the negative marking. Giving time to each of the sections and not getting down by any one section remained an important factor to help the candidates to get high score.

Following table consists of the broad MAT analysis, with guideline to achieve cut off above 90 percentile, ideal attempts according to the difficulty level of questions in each section and suggested time limit to solve each of the 5 sections to score high in MAT 2020: 

 

Sno	Section	No of Qs	Ideal time (in minutes)	Ideal attempts	Score required to get 90+ percentile
1	Language Comprehension	40	30	28	28
2	Intelligence and Critical Reasoning	40	35	27	27
3	Data Analysis and Sufficiency	40	38	24	23
4	Mathematical Skills	40	37	30	30
5	Indian and Global Environment	40	10	15	Separate sectional marks, not counted for percentile calculation
		200	150	124	108-110

Scoring in MAT & MBA Admission with MAT

• Admission to good B schools out of the list of B schools available at the AIMA site can be explored with a percentile of 80 and above. 
• MAT score card will contain 6 scores. For each of the 6 scores, a percentile score is given. This shows the percentage of examinees who scored below the candidate based on the entire MAT testing population. The percentile below figure can change with each administration for the same scores.
• MAT 2020February exam would award scores keeping the Indian and Global environment section out from percentile calculation.
• The scores are to be awarded out of 160 marks and accordingly the test takers will get their merit position where their scores are sent by AIMA.
• Raw score of 70+ is expected to award the percentile of 80+ and the raw score of 110 can award you the percentile of 90

MAT 2020February Exam Difficulty Level
MAT exam, held on February16, had a moderate difficulty level. Besides, there was no change in the MAT exam pattern which had 200 questions in MCQ format divided in 5 sections. The MAT test takers found the exam as easy to moderate difficulty level although parts of Verbal, Data sufficiency were rated as bit difficult. 

Top MBA colleges Accepting MAT Score
Following are some of the top MBA Colleges who will accept MAT 2020 February exam score for admission 2020. These are highly ranked and internationally accredited MBA/ PGDM colleges among the MBA colleges accepting MAT score.

B-School	Range of MAT Cut off Percentile
BIMTECH Greater Noida (Specialized programs)	80-85
XIME Bangalore	80-85
International School of Business & Media (ISB&M) Pune	80-85
School of Inspired Leadership - SOIL Gurgaon	80-85
SIESCOMS Navi Mumbai	80-85
Jagan Institute of Management Studies (JIMS) Rohini Delhi	80-85
Jaipuria Institute of Management (Jaipuria) Noida	80-85
New Delhi Institute of Management (NDIM) New Delhi	80-85
Balaji Institute Of Modern Management (BIMM) Pune	80-85
VIPS-TC-Delhi School of Business Delhi	80-85
Christ University Bengaluru	80-85
VIT Business School (VIT) Vellore	80-85

See More MBA colleges Accepting MAT Score

Management Aptitude Test (MAT) 2020PBT exam was attempted by more than 19,000 candidates approximately. With around 10-12% absentees only, the actual test takers may go beyond the number of 17,000.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on MAT 2020