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Careers360 - MAT September Prepration Guide PDF
Careers360 - MAT September Prepration Guide PDF
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What this book about?
This eBook guides you in preparation of MAT exam. This eBook covers all
the aspects related to MAT starting from eligibility criteria, important dates
to exam pattern, syllabus and preparation tips.
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Introduction:
Management Aptitude Test, also known as MAT among the MBA aspirants
is one of the most popular MBA entrance exams of India today. Conducted
by All India Management Association (AIMA), the exam is conducted four
times a year in the months of February, May, September and December.
The objective behind conducting MAT four times a year is to provide MBA
aspirant more opportunities to improve
their scores and better their chance in
admission for a particular academic
year instead of waiting for one more
year.
MBA institutes offering recognized MBA programs and allied fields can
participate in MAT. It is for the MBA aspirants to take MAT for admission
into the Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) and equivalent
MBA programs offered by participating B-schools. All B schools that
participate in MAT are either AICTE (All Indian Council for Technical
Education) approved or affiliated to universities.
MAT is one of the most popular competitive exams among MBA aspirants
as it gets them access to a large number of good B schools in India. Also,
the other reason that attributes to the immense popularity of this exam is
that the candidates can choose to take either Paper Based Test or Computer
Based Test as per their convenience.
„Computer Based Test‟ assumes that the candidate has basic familiarity
with use of computers like use of keyboard and mouse operation. It is the
responsibility of the candidate to acquire these skills before appearing in
the test and AIMA cannot take responsibility for the same. Online MAT is
offered over a period of time and the candidate can choose the center, the
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day and time of his/her convenience to take the test.
This is unlike the Paper Based Test, which is generally offered on a single
day to all candidates. In traditional Paper Based Test, Candidate is
supposed to bring Pen, HB-Pencils, Erasers and Sharper with him/her
whereas the Question Paper & OMR Answer Sheet is provided at the Test
Centre.
The exam has got a status of National Entrance test by the Ministry of
Human Resource Development. It is conducted in all the major cities of the
country. The MAT is generally valid for the duration of one year form the
date of result declaration. MAT exam is normally considered as less tough
to crack as compared to CAT exam.
MAT Eligibility
MAT scores are valid for one year for most management institutes. It help
students in getting admissions in various management programs such as
Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) in Insurance
Management, HR, Finance, Marketing, Operations, and International
Business, Post Graduate Diploma in Information Technology &
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Management (PGDITM) in IT Marketing, E-Commerce, Information
Systems Management etc.
Sale Counters
IMPORTANT DATES:
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Pattern of MAT entrance Exam
Marks allocation
MAT entrance exam covers five sections in all. Scores of first four sections
compose the final scores. However, institutions might choose to consider
the score of the General Awareness section. MAT is the test conducted by
All India Management Testing Service for entering into MBA or equivalent
post graduate programs. The five sections mentioned above are basically
comprised of the following five papers:
2. Mathematical Skills 40 40
Data Analysis and
3. 40 35
Sufficiency
Intelligence and Critical
4. 40 30
Reasoning
Indian and Global
5. 40 15
Environment
Total 200 150
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Detailed Syllabus
Quantitative Ability:
The Mathematical Skill section though most dreaded is one that is capable
of fetching you 100% marks. However, for that one needs to have enough
practice on MAT practice papers, evolve the technique of solving through
the elimination process so as to arrive at the correct option. The
elimination process though commonly advised should be used judicially
since it means spending a lot of time on one problem. This section should
be allocated a maximum of 40 minutes considering its importance and
difficulty level.
DI And Reasoning:
Graphs can be Column graphs, Bar Graphs, Line charts, Pie Chart, Graphs
representing Area, Venn diagram, etc. Critical reasoning, Visual reasoning,
Assumption-Premise-Conclusion, Assertion and reasons, Statements and
assumptions, identifying valid inferences , identifying Strong arguments
and Weak arguments, Statements and conclusions, Cause and Effect,
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Identifying Probably true, Probably false, definitely true, definitely false
kind of statement, Linear arrangements, Matrix arrangements. Puzzles,
Syllogisms, Functions, Family tree - identifying relationship among group
of people, Symbol Based problems, Coding and decoding , Sequencing ,
identifying next number in series, etc.
The Data Analysis and Sufficiency is another highly scoring section hence,
after spending enough time at the Maths section one should shift their
concentration to the Data Analysis section. This section needs ample time
and also makes use of the elimination process though in a slightly way. 35
minutes of the total time should be spent on this section.
General Awareness:
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Intelligence and Critical Reasoning
The Intelligence and Critical Reasoning section is usually full of traps and
one must be ready to read between the lines of every question placed in
front of them. It always helps to make a diagram of the arguments and
options available, also try reading and re-phrasing the question before you
jump on to answering it so that you are extremely sure of what exactly are
you looking for in the answer. From personal experience always beware of
the word "EXCEPT" it usually turns the meaning of question around and
the shifts the stimulus. Try solving enough MAT mock test papers to get an
idea. A section of average difficulty, this section should be allotted 30
minutes by every candidate to be able to manage time efficiently.
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Practice Book on quicker Maths M. Tyra & K. Kundan
Analytical Reasoning by M. K. Pendy
Problem solving (Puzzles) by K. Kundan
For the other sections, it is important that you practice as many problems
as you can. But it is also important that you don‟t repeat the mistakes time
and again. Once you identify a mistake, you must certainly ensure that you
understand the concept thoroughly. In addition to this, you must prepare a
timetable to help you allocate your time in the best way possible.
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Tackling each Section
For cracking MAT, it is really essential for you 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.
Quantitative Ability:
The quantitative ability of MAT checks your basic knowledge of math and
that is why MAT exam has relatively easy math sums as compared to CAT
or XAT, 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.
But, you should also be very attentive and careful as the speed breaker
questions, most of the times, are in this section only.
Reasoning:
Practicing from previous question papers of MAT will be the best way to get
an idea of this section. Like many other MBA Entrance exams, MAT also
follows old GRE books, so, it will be a good idea to get a reference from
them.
Verbal Ability:
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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. Only thing that can help you here is reading and reading a lot.
2. Vocabulary
Reading a lot and observing how words are used in different contexts
will be of great help.
3. Reading
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4. Reasoning skills can be improved by solving puzzles
Once you know your strengths and weaknesses go for some full-
length tests. Observe how you could improve your score with each
passing test.
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calculation on percentages, comparison of fractions and simple
mathematical operations.
• The difficulty level of the section can be termed as moderate.
Language Comprehension
• This area had 20 questions on English Usage and 20 questions on
Reading Comprehension. There were five passages which were of moderate
length.
• The questions were direct and on easy lines.
• The topics of English Usage were PFQs, jumbled words and sentences,
odd man out, best essence of Para, best sentence etc. This area was of
moderate difficulty level.
The exam pattern is more or less static hence it doesn‟t have much change
in the broad pattern or question types. The overall difficulty level was easy to
moderate. The section wise analysis is as follows:
Language Comprehension
The section was a mix of Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary. There
were five reading comprehension passages which were of approximately
500 to 600 words. Each passage had four questions. While three of the
passages were straight forward and fact based, two were abstract and
inferential in nature.
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The vocabulary and grammar questions were on Antonyms, Fill in the
blanks and Odd word out, jumbled words and sentences, Para jumbles and
sentence correction. Overall difficulty level of this section was moderate to
difficult and was quite lengthy too.
Intelligence and Critical Reasoning
This section was the easiest in the whole paper. Maximum number of
questions appeared from Mathematical Reasoning, which were 27. The
other questions were on Verbal Ability which was asked on topics of
Analogy, Series, Statement-Conclusion, Blood Relations, Directions,
Analytical Reasoning, Assertion Reason and Cause and Effect. The overall
difficulty level was Easy with questions on Series and Analytical Reasoning
going up to moderate level.
Mathematical Skills
This section had questions from diverse areas. Majority of the questions
were on Arithmetic. The topics of the Arithmetic questions were Ratio,
Profit & Loss, Averages, Time-Speed-Distance, Time & Work, Partnerships
and Percentages. Some of the questions were ambiguous in nature. The
other topics were Geometry and Mensuration, Cubes, Number System,
Probability and others. The difficulty level of this section was easy. Few
questions were of moderate difficulty level.
Data Analysis and Sufficiency
This section was of highest difficulty level. The topics of this section from
which the questions arrived were Caselet, Bar Graph, line Graph, Pie Chart,
Mixed, Table, Data Sufficiency and Data Comparison. The questions were
calculation intensive.
Indian and Global Environment
Though this section was a mix of current affairs and static GK, but it was
mostly dominated by current GK questions. The difficulty level ranged
from easy to moderate. The topics of the questions were Business
Awareness, Politics, Sports, Books and Authors etc.
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Importance of solving Mock Test Papers
With mock tests, you are aware as to what kind of questions you would be
facing in the main examination. The mock test papers contain questions of
the previous years and the pattern is also same as the main MAT exams.
This way you are well prepared for the main exam and you know what
would be the level of difficulty and kind of questions in the main exams.
Since the mock tests are on the lines of the main MAT exam, you can judge
your timing. You get a fair idea of how much time you would require
completing a section and hence will be able to make your preparations
accordingly. Simply solving questions from the workbook will never assist
you to keep a check on your timing. Time is a crucial factor and several
times a student is unable to complete the paper even though he knows the
answers. There time management is an important criterion that you must
keep a check on while preparing for the MAT.
Mock tests help you to analyze your accurate position. You get to know how
well your preparation is going and where you need to put in more effort.
Taking a mock test at least a couple of months before your exam can be of
great help as you know where you exactly stand at that point of time and
what should be your plan of action post the mock test. You need to judge
your performance much before you sit for the main exam so that you can
prepare for your exam knowing your strengths and area of concerns.
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Scoring high in MAT exam at one go is a very difficult task and a well
planned approach can help you to achieve your target. In order to
strengthen your exam preparation, a mock test is the best.
Mock test is a yardstick of your performance which gives you a true picture.
It is designed in such a way that it gives you the feel of the real examination
and you know what the main exams going to be like.
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Participating institutes:
North Zone
The Northern India has 66 MAT September 2013 Participating
Institutes. Some of them include the following:
AIMA Center for Management Education, New Delhi
Amity University Noida & Manesar
Asia Pacific Institute of Management, New Delhi
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Usha & Lakshmi Mittal Institute of Management,
New Delhi
Dr. Gaur Hari Singhania Institute of Management & Research, Kanpur
Fortune Institute of International Business, New Delhi
Galgotias Business School, Greater Noida
GL Bajaj Institute of Management & Research, Greater Noida
Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow & Noida
Lovely Professional University, Phagwara
Manav Rachna International University, Faridabad
New Delhi Institute of Management, New Delhi
NIILM Centre for Management Studies, New Delhi
SRM University, Modinagar
University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun
West Zone
In the Western zone of India, there are 33 MAT September 2013
Participating Institutes. The top names are as follows:
Amity University, Jaipur & Gwalior
Flame School of Business, Pune
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IILM Academy of Higher Learning, Jaipur
Institute for Technology & Management, Navi Mumbai
Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur
Jaipur National University, Jaipur
Jaipuria Institute of Management, Jaipur & Indore
JK Lakshmipat University, Jaipur
MIT School of Business, Pune
Mitcon Institute of Management, Pune
Suryadatta Institute of Business Management & Technology, Pune
South Zone
Southern India has 56 MAT September 2013 Participating Institutes.
The top B-schools are as follows:
Acharya Bangalore B-School, Bangalore
Acharya Institute of Management & Sciences, Bangalore
Acharya School of Management, Bangalore
Alliance University, Bangalore
Christ University, Bangalore
GITAM University, Medak
IFIM Business School, Bangalore
Institute for Technology & Management, Hyderabad, Chennai & Bangalore
Institute of Public Enterprise, Hyderabad
PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore
SCMS-Cochin, Kochi
TA Pai Management Institute, Manipal
Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management, Hyderabad
VIT University, Vellore
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East Zone
There are 26 MAT September 2013 Participating Institutes in eastern
India. The top B-schools of this zone include the following:
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kolkata
Institute of Engineering & Management, Kolkata
Jharkhand Rai University, Ranchi
Kaziranga University, Jorhat
Techno India Group, Kolkata
Contact Details
http://www.bschool.careers360.com/mat
http://www.bschool.careers360.com/ebook-list
http://www.bschool.careers360.com/exam-sample-papers
http://www.bschool.careers360.com/mat-september-2013-
participating-institutes
http://www.bschool.careers360.com/indias-first-ever-b-schools-
alumni-ranking-2013
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