MAT (Management Aptitude Test) is a standardized test being administered by AIMA to facilitate B-Schools in screening candidates for admission to management programs. It is one of the most widely taken tests and serves as a passport to over 1000 B-schools in India. In order to ace the exam, you need to have a well-planned preparation strategy.

 

MAT is an objective test with five sections. Test-takers can take the exam in PBT/CBT/IBT mode. Given below are the main features of MAT Exam.

 

There are 200 questions with four choices per question

 

The duration of the test is 2.5 hours.

 

0.25 marks are deducted for each wrong response; while 1 mark is awarded for a correct response

 

MAT Sections:-

 

Language Comprehension (40 Questions)

Mathematical Skills (40 Questions)

Data Analysis & Sufficiency (40 Questions)

Intelligence & Critical Reasoning (40 Questions)

Indian & Global Environment (40 Questions)

 

Preparation Strategy

 

The paper can be split into three parts: concept-driven, practice intensive and environment-sensitive. Mathematical Skills & select areas of Language Comprehension are concept-driven where the questions are critically dependent on the test-taker’s conceptual clarity with respect to core fundamentals; Intelligence & Critical Reasoning, Data Analysis & Sufficiency and select areas of English Language Proficiency are practice-intensive; Indian & Global Environment is environment-sensitive where an awareness with respect to current affairs is the winning stroke. Given below is the preparation strategy for each of the MAT sections along with essential topics.

 

Indian & Global Environment

 

In this section, you are required to stay abreast of the latest happenings across the world. Apart from the current GK, you need to be aware of the basics of the banking and corporate sector. For a good score, it is important to brush up your general knowledge on a daily basis.

 

The majority of the questions in this section are from the following areas:-

 

Current Events & Happenings

Banking & Business

Sports

General Political Information

 

Mathematical Skills

 

This section evaluates your mathematical abilities in some of the basic topics. Before you start practicing this part of the exam, make sure that you gain enough conceptual clarity of the fundamental topics. The important areas in this section are:-

 

Number Systems

Percentage, Profit & Loss, Mixtures

Averages, Ratios, Interest

Time & Work, Time, Speed & Distance

Geometry, Trigonometry

 

Intelligence & Critical Reasoning

 

In this section, you will be tested on your reasoning and deduction skills. In order to ace this section, you need to practice different types of questions from all the crucial topics. Most of the question types do not have any standard way, so all you can do is, practice as many questions as possible. This area has questions related to:-

 

Identifying patterns in number sets

Relationships

Direction Sense

Coding, Decoding

Verbal Reasoning

 

Language Comprehension

 

This area intends to assess your vocabulary and verbal abilities. A great way to expand your vocabulary is to invest a sufficient amount of time in diverse reading. Additionally, keep practicing from previous year papers and Mat mock tests to check your proficiency in various kinds of questions. The vital areas, from which maximum questions have been asked, are:-

 

Word Analogies

Vocabulary, with questions on antonyms and synonyms

Rearranging sentences

Reading Comprehension

Sentence Completion

 

Data Analysis & Sufficiency

 

In this section, questions are accompanied by some data represented in points or in form of graphs. Based on the given data, you are expected to find the logical links and arrive at a conclusion. In other words, you can get hold of this section only if you practice a good number of data sets. The thrust areas here are:-

 

Data Sufficiency

Standard DI tools like bar graphs, pie charts, line graphs, data tables

Data Comparisons

 

Final Tips

During your MAT Exam preparation, you must follow a sequential and systematic approach. Given below is the expert way to MAT preparation:-

 

Start with concept consolidation in areas where concepts are critical (as mentioned above).

In the next phase, start practicing questions from previous year MAT papers Cement your preparation with proper analysis of your mock test performance and work on improving your test-taking strategies.

 

Overall, the test taker has to understand that MAT is designed to assess you on certain core management skills like time management, prioritization, stress management, knowledge and balancing accuracy & speed. As you attempt more and more tests, you will get better in speed and accuracy, thus boosting your preparation for MAT.

 

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