NMIMS Competency Test Preparation 2026: Check Latest 2026 Pattern, Syllabus, Questions, Candidate Experiences, Expert Tips; Download PDF

Table of Contents

1. What is NMIMS Competency Assessment Test?
2. NMIMS Competency Test Pattern 2026
3. NMIMS Competency Test Syllabus 2026
4. Questions Appearing in NMIMS Competency Assessment Test
5. NMIMS Competency Test Preparation Tips
6. NMIMS AI Assisted Personal Interview (PI) Preparation
7. NMIMS CT Preparation 2026: Candidates’ Experience Sharing
8. NMIMS Competency Assessment Test Instructions
9. NMIMS Competency Test Questions: Mocks

1. What is NMIMS Competency Assessment Test? 
Before coming to NMIMS Competency Test preparation 2026, candidates should note important background information. Last year, NMIMS University had introduced a new component “Competency Assessment” test for its MBA Admission 2025 process with weightage of 50 per cent. NMIMS Competency Assessment Test replaced “WATSON”, and WAT tests which were held earlier. As shared by NMIMS Vice Chancellor in MBAUniverse.com interview, NMIMS Competency Assessment is the second-stage assessment that focuses on evaluating key managerial competencies and abilities.

This year, NMIMS University is also conducting NMIMS Competency Test 2026 for their MBA admissions 2026 process, and has allocated 60 percent weightage to competency test scores. Check image taken from the official announcement by NMIMS University announcing components and their weightages for NMIMS MBA Admission process.

Table: Components and Weightages for NMIMS MBA Admission 2026 Process

2. NMIMS Competency Test Pattern 2026 
The next step in NMIMS Competency Assessment (CA) Preparation to understand the exam pattern. The NMIMS Competency Assessment Test 2026 is a 45-minute, computer-based test of moderate difficulty. NMIMS competency test 2026 pattern is expected to have 30 questions. Shuffling within each section is permitted, and navigation between sections is allowed. Check NMIMS competency test pattern (expected) in the table below.

Table 1: NMIMS Competency Test Pattern 2026

Last year, NMIMS Competency Assessment test 2025 exam pattern had only 20 questions divided into 3 sections:

Table 2: NMIMS Competency Test Pattern 2025

3. NMIMS Competency Test Syllabus 2026 
The Competency Test under NMIMS MBA admission is divided into four sections, each designed to evaluate specific traits of the candidate:

Verbal Ability (10 Questions): This is the largest section. It includes Reading Comprehension (RC) with approximately three questions, paragraph summaries, paragraph completion (CAT style), inference-based questions, and occasionally antonyms or vocabulary-based questions.

Mental Ability (8 Questions): This section focuses on logical reasoning and cognitive skills. Common question types include arrangement-based puzzles (often involving one set of 3–4 questions) and critical reasoning topics such as assumptions, strengthening, and weakening arguments.

Managerial Ability (6 Questions): Drawing similarities to the Decision Making (DM) section of the XAT, this section presents business, ethical, or HR scenarios. Questions might cover ethical dilemmas in drug pricing, conflict resolution in teams, prioritising tasks during supply chain disruptions, or data-driven decision-making following a sales decline. Some questions may also lean toward finance-heavy or commerce fundamentals.

Quantitative Ability (6 Questions): This section will have arithmetic and calculation-based problems

4. Questions Appearing in NMIMS Competency Assessment Test 2026 
Feedback received from experience of students who appeared in the NMIMS Competency Test 2026 on January 31 and February 2, the test includes following questions:

NMIMS Competency Assessment Test Difficulty Level 2026 
According to experiences shared by candidates who appeared in NMIMS CTPI 2026 on January 31 and Feb 2, the overall difficulty level of the NMIMS CT 2026 exam is easy to moderate, if compared to CAT or XAT exam. Check NMIMS Competency Test Difficulty Level 2026:

• Overall easy to moderate
• Verbal Section: RC and easy to moderate CAT type Verbal Ability questions
• Mental Ability: SNAP-level logical reasoning questions.
• Managerial Ability: Surprisingly a few candidates have reported this as the easiest section.
• Quantitative Ability: Short few lines simple questions

5. NMIMS Competency Test Preparation Tips
Based on 2026 questions, last year’s questions and mock questions (check details below), Patrick Dsouza, CAT Mentor, has recommended following approach for NMIMS Competency Test 2026 Preparation: 

a) How to Prepare for NMIMS CT Verbal Ability? 
Last year, the question type was that what was asked in CAT Verbal Section. You can prepare from CAT VA section. Apart from fill in the blanks question, you can look at other type of Verbal questions like Para Summary, Para Jumble, Reading Comprehension, etc.
Since Verbal Ability has the maximum weightage, can look at other sources like Verbal questions from other Management Entrance Tests too.

b) How to prepare for NMIMS CT Critical Reasoning?
For Critical Reasoning the best source would be the GMAT Critical Reasoning Questions. GMAT Club portal has a huge source of CR questions of different levels. Practice questions from different difficulty level to help you get familiar with the question types. 
Other sources would be CR questions from any preparatory material for Management Entrance test like NMAT, CET, SNAP, etc.

c) How to prepare NMIMS CT Mental Ability Section? 
The logical reasoning question type looked similar to puzzles that appear in MAH MBA CET exam. So that could be a good source of preparation. 
Another source could be Puzzles from Banking Exam material. You could refer to various banking exam preparation websites for the same.

d) How to prepare for NMIMS CT Managerial Ability Section
Prepare a few questions on Decision Making from XAT past papers related to Business.

6. NMIMS AI Assisted Personal Interview (PI) Preparation 
Along with the competency test, NMIMS is conducting Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assisted Personal Interview Process. NMIMS PI Preparation requires understanding the format and type of questions asked during the interview.  

Speaking with MBAUniverse.com, Dr Ramesh Bhat, VC, NMIMS shared following details: “NMIMS, a leader in higher education, is introducing an innovative and cutting-edge approach to candidate selection through its AI-assisted Interview process,” said Dr Bhat. This is perhaps the first time such an initiative has been taken by an Indian B-School on a large scale.”

NMIMS Vice Chancellor had revealed that the Personal Interview round will be conducted in two broad stages:

Stage 1: AI-driven Screening Phase
The advanced AI assisted PI method streamlines the evaluation process by first subjecting candidates' documents—such as statements of purpose, qualification records, and experience—to an AI system. Based on this initial assessment, along with the candidate's statement of purpose and a detailed form filled by the candidate, the questions may focus on academic performance, professional experience, and the data shared by the candidate.

Stage 2: In-depth Interview by Expert
Following this AI-driven screening phase, candidates are subjected to in-depth questioning by an expert, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation while maintaining transparency throughout the process.

Read more details about NMIMS AI Assisted Personal Interview 2026.

7. NMIMS CT Preparation 2026: Candidates’ Experience Sharing
Read feedback and experiences of candidates who took NMIMS Competency Test 2026, and last year and shared experiences with MBAUniverse.com. Their experiences are invaluable resource for your NMIMS competency test preparation. NMIMS Competency Test Candidate Experiences are shared below

NMIMS CTPI 2026 Experience: Date & Time - 31st January @12.00

11.40 AM - Reached college. A board showed Batch Number. Searched my name – it was written on it. Went to the registration/waiting room. Surrendered wallets, bags, mobile phones etc, which was tagged and got a token. Sat and waited.

12.00 PM - Taken to auditorium, told to sit group-wise and sign a register. Got Computer Lab Number and Seat Number.

12.40 PM- After long wait, was taken to lab and allocated a computer desk, similar to CAT and other competitive exams.

1.00 PM - Start NMIMS CT exam. The exam had 4 sections - Verbal ability, Mental Ability, Managerial Ability and Quantitative Aptitude. Total 30 questions in 45 minutes. Each correct answer = 3 marks while a wrong answer = 1 negative mark. 

All the questions were easy questions if you prepared for CAT. Quants was slightly tough, so I skipped a few questions.

1.45 PM - Exam ended. Faculty explained overview of AI and Personal interview. Then we were given a break and told to eat light breakfast available. 

2.45 PM - The teachers called a few candidates for the interview. We were taken in groups of four to wait outside classrooms. We then waited there till we were called for interview.

3.30 PM - I was called in for the interview. The AI interview was the weirdest thing. It asks questions based on your SOP and tends to ask highly technical questions based on your SOP. Whatever answer you give, the AI uses it to combine with your SOP and asks you the next question. It also asked me India's GDP and growth rate of economy etc.

3.35 PM - After the AI interview, the personal interview started. The expert asked some generic questions like “Why MBA”. Then I was asked a few questions based on my commerce and computer studies background. I was disturbed by the AI interview, that it affected my personal interview as well. 

3.40 PM – Interview ended. I soon left NMIMS campus after a short visit to a few facilities. 

Test date & time: January 30th, 2025
Candidate Profile - NMAT 225 | 9/8/7 | 24 months’ work experience 

“This day was full of surprises for me. Some good some bad. Starting with as soon as you reach, you’re supposed to go to the VIP lounge, as they mentioned in the video.
I reached in at 7:40, and the first surprise was, the room was already full. I was anticipating 50-60 people in my slot, but it was exactly double of that. 100-120 people in one slot. 4 slots in a day, which means about 400-500 people in a day….

Moving forward, you’ll submit your bags and phones. You don’t really need anything another than your call letter, your id, and a pen. You can keep your wallets though.

Then, you’re given a group. There are about 10 people in a group, but with my slot I could see half of them were no shows. Which means they were anticipating about 200 people in a slot.
Then, you’re made to sit in the auditorium, they verify your id everything, then they take you to the lab in groups.

Now comes the main -- Competency Test…Verbal ability had para summary, para completion, inference-based question and an RC. Mental ability had an arrangement set, a few critical reasoning. Managerial Ability is what looked like DM, but a little finance heavy. Overall, difficultly level is easy to moderate. Some of the questions were jokes, like the RC and the arrangement set was an absolute joke, but some other questions were tricky. 45 mins end up really quickly though!

Then they take you for the PI in groups again, where your group is taken to a cabin, where a laptop and a person from the panel is sitting. They are listening to everything you say, and are monitoring if everything is being recorded.

The PI part, was again a surprise because I was not expecting it to be this advanced! They have your profile ready with the system and the first question is already asked as soon as another person (who’s accommodating you from the CT to the PI) logs you in. Even the mic is on by default. I fumbled a bit cause I took some time to register this technology in front of me. Another very advanced thing was, how the AI was asking follow up questions to whatever you were saying. For example, I spoke about my dad’s business a bit. And it asked me about how inflation has impacted it and how e-commerce has impacted it. Basically, made situation out of everything you were saying. Then it changed trajectory and asked me about India’s performance in the recent world test championship. Really? I rambled on over there. One more thing, was how strong the mic was. It’s catching everything you’re saying very accurately. Even the umms, ands, uhhhs. So initially as soon as you start talking, you can see it typing in the text box, then you can take a few seconds to read and edit it. And then you’re supposed to submit the answer.

The AI bit is for 12 mins. Mine stopped while I was talking and post that the panel expert…is going to ask some follow up and additional questions as well. Not too stressful…

The entire process got done in about 3 hours. My tip would be to not have any expectations with the process. Take it easy and have fun and enjoy the swanky building!”

Test date & time: January 30th, 2025
Candidate Profile - NMAT 218 | No work experience

I took NMIMS Competency test days at NMIMS University. Here are is a summary of my experience today.  

Competency Test

• Verbal: Fit the sentence in a passage, Summary of passage, 3 questions on a RC (very easy and straight forward)
• Logical: 4 questions on 1 LR set, Assumption reasoning,
• Managerial: Question on problem faced in inventory management, Rest were which inference follows type questions
• Overall: Very similar but easier than NMAT

Personal Interview

• AI Interview: Your background is more on the technical side, what inspired you switch to a managerial role? How has digitization in rural areas of India impacted people's finances? How has supply chain optimization benefited consumer goods companies in india like Unilever? Something about global economic welfare
• Expert Panel Interview: I had 97% in 10th and 78% in 12th, he asked me the reason for this. What is your opinion on DeepSeek in AI?

Things to carry: Call for Interview document, ID proof, pen and remember your NMAT ID.”

Test date & time: January 30th, 2025 
Candidate Profile – NMAT: Not Shared | Work Experience 2.5yrs

“I went to the VIP lounge and deposited my bag and phone at the counter. There was a board which had the list of all the candidates in groups of 5-6 people and also the Lab no. in which the Competency Test is to be held. I noted my group and lab details and proceeded to the Auditorium to complete the registration process, after which they gave me the seat number for the Competency Test. Then I was escorted to the designated Lab for Competency Test. The test began at 1.00 pm.

My NMIMS Competency Test Experience:

1. Verbal section contained an RC with 3 follow-up questions, Para summary, para completion (CAT style), one Antonym question, and a Critical Reasoning Questions.
2. Mental Ability section contained a fairly simple Arrangement set with 4 follow-up questions.
3. Managerial ability section asked a fairly technical question relating to a finance which I skipped. Rest of the questions were Decision Questions with one inference question and one Assertion and 
   Reason question as well.

The test concluded at 1.45 pm after which, we were taken to the 7th floor to wait for our turn for PI. Refreshments were given to the Candidates who were waiting for their PI turn.

My NMIMS Personal Interview Experience:
I was called after about 20-25 mins for My PI. I was escorted yet again to the 9th floor for my PI. I had to wait for some time before I was allowed in the room.

For PI, there was just a single professor in the room and 2 laptops, one for the professor, one for me to appear for the AI-assisted interview.

I faced minor technical issues while trying to sign in but it got resolved after some time.

The AI assistant was already given my SOP and my profile details so it straight away asked me the question of Why MBA after Engg?

I answered the question promptly and at the end, the professor asked some follow up questions based on my answer. I gave replies to his questions and all of this was being transcribed by the AI assistant on to the textbox of the Interview app. Once I finished answering the professor’s questions, he asked me to submit my answer for the AI assistant to give another question.

I submitted and the AI bot gave me another question which I answered, then the professor again asked some follow up questions based on my answers.

This process continued until the very end. As given in the guidelines themselves, the interview is AI assisted and not completely driven by AI. The professor in-charge was actually the one who wanted to know the details of my answers to the AI bot's questions.

The nature of questions was more towards my Work Ex (since I have 2.5yrs of it) and very less of Current Affairs. No GK at all.

For current affairs, I was asked what are some new developments in the current business landscape of India.

The interview overall felt very relaxing and not stressful at all. I did get stuck in one question but the professor asked me if I would like to skip the question and I said yes and he didn't seem to bother much.
The interview lasted for about 15-20 mins, after which I headed to the VIP lounge to collect my bag and leave for home.”

Test date & time: January 31th, 2025 
Candidate Profile – NMAT: Not Shared | Work Experience 2.5yrs

“My slot was M2 10 am. I reached at around 9:15 at the campus, entered through gate 2 into the VIP louge. By 10:05 we were taken to the Auditorium where we were told to sit according to our groups. They checked call letters and govt ids here.

NMIMS Competency Test Experience:
Competency test started at around 10.45 AM. It was NMATish level only i would say, the RC was quite complex to make sense of but questions could be solved through elimination. For the solving part I had 1 arrangement set (3 questions) which was doable. Rest 17 questions could be done without a pen and paper. All in all you won't need more than 30 mins for the test.

By 11:30 AM the test was over and we were escorted to the 7th floor for the PI and refreshments. We all sat in a hall named Girls Common Room. They started calling names for PI right away. Some of us got a chance to have refreshments before PI, while some took it afterwards. I was immediately called for the PI.

My NMIMS Personal Interview Experience:
At around, 11:40 AM I reached Personal Interview cabin, i was the first person to walk in. There was one panelist and a dell laptop waiting for me. The volunteer (who brought me inside the cabin) told me to enter my credentials, soon after my interview began rolling and the volunteer walked outside the cabin.

AI interview
There is a 12-minute timer but the panelist might ask you submit the interview before 12 mins. Questions revolved around my SOP, right from the first question itself. Questions were as follows Tell me about a scenario where you used your problem-solving skills (SOP) Your interest in Prodman. (SOP) Current economic climate affecting Indian software world (SOP+workex) India's performance in WTC (lol this was best one).

Personal Interview 
Panelist asked me about my workex. What better upgradations can AI bring in your domain? I told i had some experience with chat bots so he asked me rate the chat bot AI that they were using for the interview. What other exams you gave, i told I took CAT. He asked why NMIMS.

Total Interview lasted around 15 mins in total (AI+panelist) only.

I was escorted out, grabbed a few vadas for refreshment along with tea and left.”

8. NMIMS Competency Assessment Test Instructions
NMIMS competency test preparation should include understanding test instructions. Here are the NMIMS competency test instructions, as they appear in the test.  

• The test is a self-timed test.
• The three sections are Verbal Ability, Mental Ability, and Managerial Ability. These sections have 9, 6 and 5 questions, respectively. Each question carries 3 marks.
• Total time given to you is 45 minutes after you have read the instructions. The server clock will do timekeeping.
• You can see and answer any question of the three sections in the allotted time.
• Each question will have 4 alternatives, out of which only one will be the correct answer.
• There will be negative marking. One negative mark will be given for a wrong answer and zero marks for an unanswered question.
• The answer will automatically be submitted after 45 minutes if you do not hit the SUBMIT button.
• An escort will take you to a waiting room from the Computer Lab

9. NMIMS Competency Test Questions: Mocks 
NMIMS Competency Test Questions were released as competency assessment mock test in January 2025. Here are some of the questions that appeared in the NMIMS Competency Assessment Test. These questions will help you get a good idea of type of questions that appear in the test.

NMIMS Competency Assessment Test - Verbal Ability Question

NMIMS Competency Assessment Test – Mental Ability Question

NMIMS Competency Assessment Test – Managerial Ability Question

In summary, NMIMS University is conducting NMIMS Competency Test 2026 for their MBA admissions 2026 process. NMIMS CTPI 2026 Preparation can be done after understanding pattern and type of questions. NMIMS Competency Test Pattern 2026 is revised and has total 30 questions divided in 4 sections. NMIMS Competency Test difficulty level is easy to moderate, compared to CAT exam. NMIMS CT 2026 is followed by a short AI and Personal Interview. Check complete details based on candidate experiences in the above article. Also read latest updates on MBA Admission 2026.