TIPS TO STRATEGIZE AND GET HIGH SCORES IN MAT EXAMINATION
The Management Aptitude Test (MAT), like any other national-level management entrance exam, is meant to evaluate a candidates aptitude and ability required for management studies. Administered since 1988 by the All India Management Association (AIMA), MAT scores are used for admission by more than 600 MBA colleges across India.
The Management Aptitude Test is conducted four times in a year – February, May, September, and December, mostly on the first Sunday of the month. Candidates can choose to give the exam either in paper-pencil mode or online mode. MAT is an objective-type test, it has five sections with multiple-choice questions.
MAT being a knowledge-based test with an objective-type test pattern will examine your general aptitude across the following parameters:
- Language Comprehension
- Mathematical Skills
- Data Analysis & Sufficiency
- Intelligence & Critical Reasoning
- Indian & Global Environment
MAT preparation calls for carefully devised strategical plans which will help you cover maximum topics and score high to get a call from good management institutes across the country. Since the aspect of negative marking exists in MAT exams, you need to be careful and wise in formulating a strategy to qualify the cutoffs for each section. Hence, a decent level of preparation would suffice for this objective.
To get a better result, it is good and advisable to start preparing as early as possible. By reading daily newspapers and magazines you can improve your vocabulary in English. Also by watching English news channels can help you in improving your vocabulary.
Eligibility criteria for MAT examination are:
The criteria for MAT examination are very simple and accessible to everyone.
- Graduates in any discipline can take the exam.
- Final year graduation students can also apply.
- There’s no age limit for MAT exam.
Basic MAT examination process:
There are four simple steps that you can follow to get a hassle-free enrolment in MAT exam.
- The application form
Candidates willing to appear for MAT examination need to first fill in the application form. Registration for MAT can be done by logging on to the official website. MAT examinations application fees are Rs 1550. Candidates can apply through any one of three following modes:
- Online Payment
- Demand Draft
- Cash
Candidates who have opted for the computer-based test can choose the date and time slot of their choice and subject to availability. While filling up admission forms, candidates need to fill in the details of five management institutes during registration. MAT scores will be sent directly to these institutes.
Date and time slot for the exam will be automatically allotted by the system to those candidates who do not select their slot up to four days before the computer-based test.
The candidates are also required to select five B-Schools they want their MAT scores to be sent to for admissions. Those who want their scores to be sent to more than 5 institutes will have to fill up a separate form available on MAT website. They will have to pay Rs 75 per institute before the test date and Rs 100 after the test date.
- Download MAT admit card
Candidates who have registered successfully for MAT examinations will have access to their respective admit cards. The admit card can be downloaded from the official website using registered email ID and Date of Birth. Every admit card will consist of a registration number that will be unique for every aspirant. Candidates must note that hard copies of the admit card will not be sent to the aspirants.
- Appear for MAT examination
MAT examination is a Paper-based test & Computer-based test that will be conducted on two different dates. The sections included in the MAT exam paper include - Indian & Global Environment Section, Data Analysis and Sufficiency/ Mathematical Skills, Language Comprehension, and Intelligence and Critical Reasoning.
- Check MAT results
Aspirants can check their MAT result on the official website after it has been officially site announced. To check the result, the candidates need to enter their Roll Number, Form Number and month of exam.
Advantages of applying to MAT examination:
Choice of B-Schools
With more than 600 institutes across India accepting MAT scores, it is naturally beneficial for a candidate to opt for MAT. According to AIMA officials, MAT is ‘the largest test of its kind in the nation.’ “A large number of B-Schools subscribe to MAT scores”.
A majority of these schools also charge considerably low fees than most of the top 20 B-Schools.
Lower Difficulty Level
“The difficulty level for MAT exam is quite low as compared to CAT, XAT, and SNAP. Hence, MAT is an easy way out for all students to get a management education.
More attempts per year
With MAT being conducted four times a year, candidates have the flexibility to register for the exam at their own pace. Plus, candidates can choose to give it more than once in a year.
TIPS TO ACE MAT EXAM
- Clear you basic Math’s Concepts. Learn as many formulas as possible and try to develop your own shortcuts. Make small notes to remember them or create small names or riddles for each formula.
- Work on your vocabulary. Read a lot of new books or the old classic ones and observe how words are used in different contexts this will be of great help to you during your examination.
- Develop the habit of reading. You can start with newspapers, Magazines and TV can be a great help here as well. Magazines not necessarily should be on politics or business.
- Reasoning skills can be improved by solving puzzles. Practice a lot of Solving sets of questions within a time frame with concentration this could help you miraculously. Devoting equal time to each question and section will be of great help as well.
- Know your Strength and Weakness. Once you know your strengths and weaknesses go for some full-length tests. Observe how you could improve your score with each passing test.
- Revise. This is the mantra which most of the students miss out on.
Verbal Ability section of MAT is pure comprehension. This is the area of concern for most students while we think it is an opportunity in disguise as this section, like the DI section, will help you score very high. Once you understand one paragraph, you will be able to answer 4 to 5 question based on the same Passage. It not only saves time but also gives you a lot of confidence. The only thing that can help you here is reading and reading a lot.
ENGLISH
Practicing from previous question papers of MAT will be the best way to get an idea of this section.
REASONING
You should be very attentive and careful as the speed breaker questions, most of the times, are in this section.
The DI section of MAT consists of conventional data interpretation like graphs and charts with questions based on finding percentage increase or decrease. This section, in particular, gives you the opportunity to score as high as you can because if you interpret even one table or graph, you can correctly answer 4 to 5 questions following it.
DATA ANALYSIS AND SUFFICIENCY (DI)
The quantitative section of MAT checks your basic knowledge of math and that is why MAT Test has relatively easy math sums as compared to other exams, except probability and permutations which may prove difficult. Generally, the paper can be solved with some patience and a lot of practice. So, as mentioned earlier - stick to basics.
MATHS
Maths is one of the most important parts of MAT examinations, students who score well in this section are given top priority by any recruiter.
For cracking MAT, it is really essential for you to attempt and score in each section. It should always be kept in mind that scoring very high in one section and very low in the other will affect your overall percentile. So, to have a balance is very essential.
