MAT Exam Preparation and Exam Pattern - Check MAT Cut-Off Score

MAT(Management Aptitude Test) is a general aptitude test conducted four times each year by All India Management Association, for which thousands of aspirants prepare each year to seek admission into 600+ colleges throughout India. It is generally conducted in both online CBT(Computer Based Test) and offline PBT(Paper Based Test), however owing to the present COVID 19 viral outbreak, a new mode of examination called IBT has been introduced. The pattern for the examination, however, remains the same.

The ongoing viral outbreak has left most of MBA aspirants in a fix, as most of the various coaching institutes remain indefinitely shut. The year 2020 has remained a rollercoaster ride for most aspirants, as coronavirus interruption has resulted in an unprecedented disruption in the learning and education sector. However, MAT IBT 2020 has presented itself as a golden opportunity for aspirants who wish to seek admission into various reputed B schools, all across India. Here we shall have an in-depth discussion as to how students must strategize and study to get the most out of their valuable time.

Get Acquainted With The Pattern Of Examination

Unquestionably, the most crucial part involving the preparation of any competitive examination is to get thoroughly acquainted with the pattern of examination. To achieve this, students must vigorously go through previous year's question papers, to not only learn about the distribution of marks but also to learn about the types of questions students are required to answer. Students must keep in mind that it is an indispensable part of their preparations. It would not only help them to strategize beforehand as to how they prepare but would also keep their preparations efficient. It would help them excel with a remarkable score in the MAT 2020 examination.

Make Your Own Strategy

Before commencing the preparations, they must start strategizing. For this, they must start trusting their intelligence. To strategize, it is indispensable that they shall first mark the sections they are weak on and must immediately start working on it.

The next step involves that they must mark their strong points as well, only then must they start strategizing. They must stick to this strategy throughout their preparations. To seek outside help, there are a plethora of articles, webinars, etc available on the internet written or conducted by previous year toppers and examination experts. Students must absorb the knowledge given in these webinars and must learn from their experiences. It would not only give them a clear perspective but would also help to answer their various questions relating to the admission process, scholarships offered, or which B schools accept MAT scores.

Manage Your Time Wisely

There are two aspects relating to the management of time. First of which concerns itself as to how students must prudently manage their time during their preparations to get the most out of their preparations. As mentioned above, students must identify their weak points and mark their strengths. Then they must plan their management or division of time in such a manner so that more time could be devoted to sections in which they find themselves weaker. For instance, if a student is confident about his skills in quantitative aptitude and mathematics but finds herself wanting in language comprehension. Then they must prepare their management of time in such a manner so that they can give more time to it. It would be advised that they start focusing on their weaker sections from the start of their preparations so that they can efficiently absorb it.

The aspect relates to the management of time during the examinations. 150 minutes are given to students to answer all the five sections, those being- Language Comprehension, Intelligence and Critical Reasoning, Data Analysis and Sufficiency, Indian and Global Environment, and Mathematical Skills. For this, a total of 2 hours and 30 minutes are allotted to the candidate. Candidates must practice and make sure they can answer all questions sufficiently in the given frame of time. This brings us to the next point in our preparation strategy i.e. Practicing MOCK tests.

Practice Mock Tests

Practicing mock tests, MAT sample papers and previous years question papers is an indispensable part for preparation for any competitive exam. Your overall preparations would be rendered quite insufficient without it. Students must practice as many mock tests as they can lay their hands down. It would not only make them aware of the pattern of the examination but would also help them identify their weak areas. It would let them know on which areas they must focus on more and on which areas they are already, relatively well prepared.

As the students will practice mock tests, it would make them comfortable with the pattern of the examination. They would be well prepared as to what they expect in the examination. This would help them a lot when they finally sit for the actual examination. As they would be thoroughly acquainted not only with the pattern of the examination but also about the various instructions related to the examination. This would be of extreme help during the actual examination as it would save a lot of time.  It would also boost the confidence of the student.

On top of all this, practising mock tests would give the students a well-informed opportunity to strategize their time management accordingly. As the students will get to know their weaknesses and strengths they can strategize more carefully and will get a chance to know- which strategy will suit them the best.

Get Your Hands On the Best Study Material

It is crucial for the students to research which study material would be the best for them. Many books are specifically designed for MAT preparations. Apart from this, there is plenty of study material available online on which students can rely. Besides this, students must keep their own needs and capabilities in mind when choosing study material, consulting with friends and fellow MAT can prove to be helpful.

We have combined a list of books that are highly recommended for MAT preparations in a tabular form.

MAT 2020 IBT Scorecard

MAT scorecard is framed on a scale of 0 to 100. Scorecard for all the five sections i.e. language comprehension, mathematical skills, Indian and global environment, intelligence and critical skills, data analysis, and sufficiency are mentioned.

• ·Students must note that the score of the Indian and global environment is mentioned separately and wouldn’t be included in the total calculation of merit or percentile.
• The composite score is calculated based on 4 sections from 199 to 801.
• A score below 200 is mentioned as 199, on the other hand, a score above 800 would be mentioned as 801
•  Equal weightage is afforded to all four sections.
• Percentile figure is also mentioned apart from the MAT score in the final score.

Colleges Accepting Mat Score

AIMA has recently published a list of 300+ colleges that would accept MAT scores and MAT total scores. Apart from this, there are 300 colleges in the state of Maharashtra that would be accepting the MAT IBT 2020 score.

 Validity Of MAT Scorecard

A question that bothers most students concerning the validity of the MAT is – For how long is the MAT score valid?

The validity of the MAT scorecard extends to one academic year immediately after the declaration of results. This means students can apply to B schools based on their MAT scores for up to a year.

MAT 2020 CUT-OFF

Based on their MAT score students can apply for admission into more than 300 colleges. Some colleges are expected to announce the sectional cut off and composite score that they are going to accept. While top B schools will be accepting a cut off between 90-95 percentile, students who scored between 70-80 percentile can expect to make it to a decent B school.

However, various other factors affect the MAT IBT 2020 cut off,  some of them being-

• Number of students appearing for the examination
• The difficulty level of the examination
• Number of seats in a given institute

Conclusion: What Next After MAT IBT 2020 Cut-offs?

Once the  MAT results are declared students have to go through an admission process that would be institute specific i.e. it would be different for each of the colleges. Being institute specific, some colleges would offer admission directly based on your MAT score or percentile and you would not be required to go through any other test. However, for other colleges, the admission process could be different as they choose to assess the students based on some predetermined criteria in addition to their MAT score.
Some of the additional processes which students usually have to go through are-

• Written ability tests
• Group Discussions
• Personal interview

These additional processes are usually followed by various colleges. More stress is laid on the written ability test by most institutes to assess the students so that they could determine which students are the most deserving ones.

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