MAT (Management Aptitude Test) is one of the six national level tests, recognized by AICTE and Ministry of HRD, Govt of India.
It is conducted by All Indian Management Association four times in a year for candidates seeking admission in management courses offered by B-Schools across the country.
LATEST: AIMA has announced the examination dates for Management Aptitude Test (MAT) September 2022. The MAT paper-based test is scheduled to be conducted on 4th September 2022, and the MAT computer-based test will take place on 10th September 2022.
Eligibility Criteria: The minimum qualification for appearing in MAT is graduation in any discipline from any recognized University or equivalent recognized degree. A final year student can also take the exam. Usually, there is a minimum percentage requirement in graduation, which varies across B-schools. There is no age limit for MAT.
Since there is no minimum percentage requirement for MAT, like that in the Common Admission Test (CAT), this test gives students especially with low percentage an opportunity to take the test and apply to B-schools.
December 2014: Last MAT of the year |
The Dec MAT (paper based) will be conducted on December 7, 2014 (Sunday) from 10 am to 12:30 pm. If the number of students registered for computer based test is limited, then the test will be held on December 13, 2014 itself.The last date of sale of form is November 22, 2014 while the last date of registration is November 25, 2014. Admit card for the test will be available for download from the AIMA website, approximately 7 days before the Paper Based test date i.e. December 13, 2014 onwards. No separate admit card is issued or dispatched to the student. |
MAT Preparation Strategy
The key to nailing the MAT exam lies in your preparation strategy. All of us have heard of the adage – revise thoroughly. Well, that works. Every time. With revision, your outlook at problem solving can help take your exam paper to the next level. Let us look at overall preparation strategy and then look at each section thereafter.
Overall Strategy
You should first take a mock MAT exam. Free sample MAT test papers are available online (click4college.com). This will help you understand the paper pattern and plan out studies. Remember, this is just a litmus test to see where you stand. Under no circumstances, should you be discouraged if you score low in this exam. You are not expected to score well in this test. Taking the test will help you identify your weak and strong areas on the basis of which you can create a study plan.
First, you should focus on concept building in each topic. For instance, you should understand the concept in Ratios chapter. You should then try the practice questions to ensure you are able to solve all questions of this type. Then again you should do another exercise on Ratios but now time it. 40 mins for 40 Math questions means 1 min per question. If you take an exercise with 10 Questions then complete the 10 Questions in 10 mins. Some questions you would take more than a min while for some less than a min. Overall, you should try to complete it in 10 mins. This will help you build on your speed and maintain accuracy at the same time.
Once you understand the underlying concepts in all topics in an area, take an area test. For eg. Arithmetic has ratio, percentage, simple interest & compound interest, work, profit & loss. So after you complete all these concepts, do an exercise on arithmetic i.e. questions from all these topics in one exercise. This will reinforce your learning. You will able to solve different question types within the required time period.
This has to be followed by sectional tests i.e a test comprising of 40 Math questions. Similar strategy has to be applied for the remaining three sections other than the General Awareness section.
After you have mastered the individual sections, you should focus on practising full length tests. This is critical, since you have to solve a paper for 2.5 hours at a stretch. It will test your stamina. Analyse the correct as well as incorrect answers in the mock tests. A disciplined approach will definitely result in score improvement & you would have a very good chance of doing well in the actual test.
To summarize, first focus on your concepts and then on application building i.e. exercises. This should be followed by full length tests to build your test skills & strategies. |
Now, let us look at each section:
Section-wise strategy
1) Section 1 - Language Comprehension
In MAT Dec 2012, this section comprised of 5 passages of Reading Comprehension with 4 questions each, a total of 20 questions. Some topics covered in the RC’s were Health Care in India, Solar Energy, Nuclear and Atomic Energy etc. The questions based on these were of a moderate level. There were 3 questions on Fill in the Blanks, 4 on Jumbled Para and 4 on selecting the grammatically correct sentence, which were on the easier side. There were 4 questions on finding the best essence of the given paragraph and of a moderate level of difficulty. The most difficult questions in this section were choosing the odd one out from a group of words in jumbled form (3 questions) and finding the antonym of the word given in jumbled form (3 questions).
In verbal section, develop a regular reading habit. Read newspapers, books, magazines or anything that is in your reach. Ensure that you read varied topics since a passage can come on any topic. You should be comfortable in handling all passages. Practice lot of RC passages since it is the most important topic in this section.
For vocabulary, reading will help. You should also memorize or learn few words every day. In case of grammar based questions, learn grammar rules and practice different question types.
2) Section 2 - Mathematical Skills
In MAT Dec 2012, this section was primarily dominated by Arithmetic and Word based problems with a variety of easy to moderate level questions. Major topics covered in this section were Time, Speed and Distance, Mixtures and Alligations, Pipes and Cisterns, Ratio & Proportion, Profit & Loss, Simple & Compound Interest, Percentages, Permutations & Combinations and Probability.
The questions are very easy in difficulty level in comparison to that in CAT. Students should ensure they understand the basic concepts, learn their math formulae and practice a lot.
3) Section 3 - Data Analysis and Sufficiency
In MAT Dec 2012, questions were based on Bar Charts, Pie Charts + Bar Charts (Sales of Cars and Country wise Sales Distribution of Cars), Tables (based on export of goods from to 5 different countries), Caselet based on Population Growth, etc.
You should be able to interpret / understand information conveyed in various charts. The questions are easy to solve but can be time consuming. Practice a lot of such question types. Time such questions and see if the questions can be solved via approximations or shortcuts. In case of data sufficiency question types, it is important to know the basic concepts. Read these questions carefully and then answer them.
4) Section 4 - Intelligence and Critical Reasoning
In Dec MAT 2012, this section had 4-5 questions each on Assertion & Reason and Cause & Effect (which were of moderate level of difficulty) and Word Analogies (which were quite easy). There were questions on other topics like Family Tree (3 questions), Clocks (1 question), Symbol based Family Tree (1 question), Directions (3 questions), Matrix Arrangements (4 sets of 3 questions each) and 5 questions on Series which were quite easy. There was one set of 3-4 questions of Quantitative Comparison where a set of 2 statements were given and students had to find which quantity was greater using both the statements.
The questions on arrangement can be time consuming. Diagrammatic representation of these questions is very important. Be careful about the different conditions given in the question. These question types have no particular method of solving and hence require practice.
The other questions such as those on clocks, family tree, etc. are easy. This section is similar to Maths and practice is the key. The good part is that you don’t have to memorise many formulae.
5) Section 5 - Indian and Global Environment
In Dec MAT 2012, there were only about 7-8 questions on Static GK, the remaining questions based on Current affairs. Anyone who regularly reads news papers and is abreast with events in the past few months on the Indian and world economic and political scenarios would easily attempt these questions.
Some Books for MAT
IMS MAT Correspondence program comprises of 5 books viz Mathematical Ability, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency, Logical Reasoning, English Grammar and Verbal Ability, Verbal Reasoning & Reading Comprehension. These train students on all aspect except section 5. GQuest, an online portal is a good source of GK questions. Several books on word power, quantitative skills and aptitude tests are also available at your local book store.
So while cracking MAT exam is not really a cakewalk, proper preparation, revision and lots and lots of mock MAT tests can make getting 800 above marks in MAT easy like a breeze!
Remember, you need to plan and strategise each section intelligently, respect time and maintain a level-head to put whatever you have practised to proper use. All you need is to keep calm and solve MAT. Good luck!
About the Author:
Dr. Alok Bansal, Director – IMS, New Delhi region is a management professional with over 25 years of experience. IMS is a leader in management entrance training and has been ranked 4th in the education sector and 44th amongst the Top 50 Most Trusted Service Brands across India (AC-Nielsen & Brand Equity, December 2003). Today, IMS has spread its wings across India with more than 90+ centres and over 50,000 students, successfully making it to some of the most prestigious institutes in India and abroad.
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