A year ago, I was also one of the people who searched about NMAT, crammed for the test, and tried to get help from tips posted on several blogs. But now, I will share basics of NMAT, my experience and some sort of tips that might help those who are gonna take this coming October 25!
ALL ABOUT NMAT
Thorough description of NMAT can be found here and for registration, visit here. But I can summarize some for you ;)
The test can be considered as a whole-day examination since it is divided into two parts -- first part in the morning & second in the afternoon.
Part I is 3 hours - measures your mental ability with four subtests: Verbal, Inductive Reasoning, Quantitative, Perceptual Acuity.
Part II is 2.5 hours - for academic proficiency with 4 subtests: Biology, Physics, Social Science and Chemistry.
Register earlier than the deadline!
CEM allows graduates and graduating students but some people I know took it in their junior year, I don’t know how they did that! haha
PREPARING FOR NMAT
For graduating students, reviewing and preparing for the test can be difficult. But it’s okay, you don’t need to spend too much time reviewing for NMAT since most of the questions you’ll encounter uses common sense, stock knowledge and familiarization.
Two weeks as preparation is enough :)
Don’t enroll to review centers! hihi for me, it’s quite expensive and time consuming, but if you want, you can try :)
You can buy MSA-NMAT reviewer set - they can be helpful. but they tend to give harder questions than the actual NMAT.
Dig up some of your hidden notebooks, workbooks and handouts that you think might be helpful.
Search for videos that offers simple discussion and short clips that might be helpful.
I also compiled pdf questionnaires and sample tests I found online in all subjects. You can find a lot, just choose the better ones ;) haha There are also online exams that are similar to Part I subtests since those are common in almost every entrance examinations.
I downloaded SparkCharts which were very helpful. For each subject, they summarized it in a very convenient way. Please check on it!! :)
Don’t be sad if you get a low scores on the Practice Test, just review more on the items you got wrong.
Always time yourself while taking the practice test! actual test is really time-pressured.
Also research about on the choices/options per item in the Practice test in Part II.
TIPS
Don’t panic. Just relax before taking. Say a little prayer while the proctor is giving the final instructions. You shouldn’t waste every second when the test time starts.
For Part I, prepare first your “cheat sheet” by writing the alphabets and also ordered numbers beside it. This will be helpful.
For Part II, make your solution or “scratch area” clean so you will have more space for the other items. In my experience, I consumed the 2-page scratch because ..... freestyle! hahaha
The answer sheet looks like a folded spread in a magazine. on the first page is your information sheet where you put the applicant number and the booklet number, and your brief info. on the second page (back of first page) is the answer sheet proper where you shade those circle of options hahaha. the third and fourth page are scratch!
Visit your exam room a day before and plan where you will eat your lunch. :)
Don’t skip an item. The best thing to do is just do a guess and shade an answer. You might have no time to go back. In cases like this, I write the item number so if there’s time left, I can verify/solve it again.
Bring a good eraser, sharpener and extra pencil.
Slightly rotate your head-neck often while taking the test. You might lose focus if you feel a bit uncomfy later.
Bring a jacket! Our exam room was really cold, good thing our proctor was considerate and always asks us if we want to turn up the temperature.
FAQ’s
Is it hard? Of course! it is not easy. You can’t study, memorize, learn everything! It’s just a matter of understanding and remembering things you previously learned plus consider spending less than a minute per item!
How to get a good score like 90 plus? I can say that getting 90 and above is possible. A lot of people I know got high percentile rank, and most of them didn’t enroll to review centers.. and reviewed for only just a few weeks. If you understood well your previous lessons on Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Social Sciences, you should be confident!
Best tip? Believe that you can ace on NMAT! Always pray!
