Last-minute tips for the CMAT 2021 Exam
Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) 2021 will be held on March 31st. The National Testing Agency (NTA) will be conducting the CMAT-2021 exam. The CMAT score is accepted by all the AICTE- Approved Institutions / University Departments / Constituent Colleges / Affiliated Colleges. The exam will be conducted in two shifts from 9:00 A.M. to 12/12:30 P.M (Shift 1) and 03:00 P.M. to 06:00/06:30 P.M (Shift 2). In this post, we will provide some last-minute tips for the candidates to crack the CMAT exam.
CMAT is an MCQ based online exam with 100 questions (125 questions for those who opted for the new section).
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CMAT 2021 |
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| Exam date | 31 March 2021 |
| Admit card available | 24 March 2021 (Released) |
| Shift and Timing of Examination* | Shift 1: 9:00 A.M. to 12/12:30 P.M.
Shift 2: 03:00 P.M. to 06:00/06:30 P.M. |
*The candidates who have opted for the additional section namely“Innovation and Entrepreneurship” will get 30 minutes extra.
Exam Pattern:
| Section name | No. of questions | Maximum Marks |
| Quantitative Techniques | 25 | 100 |
| Logical Reasoning | 25 | 100 |
| Language Comprehension | 25 | 100 |
| General Awareness | 25 | 100 |
| Innovation &Entrepreneurship (Optional) | 25 | 100 |
| Total | 125 | 500 |
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Last-minute tips:
Though it was shocking news for CMAT aspirants about the exam date’s announcement, there’s still a chance to score well in the exam if one can make the most of the remaining time available. Devising a proper study plan can be a little tricky now, so we are providing some preparation tips and the section-wise preparation strategy, which can help you prepare better. Here is a list of some last-minute tips and tricks that will help you ace the exam:
- Revise essential concepts: With very few days left for the exam, candidates should ideally focus on the revision of concepts and going through mistakes done in mock tests. Mostly focus on your strong areas during revision. Do not spend time learning new concepts at this point. With very few days left for the exam, there’s no point in learning anything new as it might take more time to learn new topics, which is not recommended. Also, learning new concepts may lead to undue stress, which will not boost your confidence level.
- For the ones who have completed the syllabus, Revise the essential concepts in these remaining days, go through the previous papers, and most importantly, take the CMAT mock tests.
- And those who have not finished the syllabus yet, the first point to keep in mind is not to panic. It’s important not to panic, as that’s what makes all the difference in the exam.
- We have made these revision videos for quant. Do watch these excellent videos, these are a good source of revision. Also solve the previous year’s papers of the exam, to have a better understanding of the type of questions asked in the exam. Apart from this, it’s extremely important to take the mock tests and analyse them thoroughly. When you take mock tests, you feel confident and that’s very essential to ace the exam.
- Mock tests: As mentioned above, it’s very essential to take Mock tests and analyse them thoroughly. Also, analyse your previous mock tests. Go through your mistakes during the mocks and revise all the essential concepts, to finalise your strategy. Focus on time-management during the mocks and also on building your strategy during the exam.
- Based on last year’s cutoffs vs percentiles, if one can try to achieve a score of at least 250+ one can expect to get a 95%ile, and a score at least 280+ for a 99%ile. (please note that cut-off vs percentile varies from year to year depending on the number of candidates taking the exam, difficulty level of the paper etc. The candidate with 347 marks has been awarded 100%ile in 2020, as compared to a score of 372 for 100%ile in 2019. And the CMAT score for 99 to 99.99%ile in 2020 was in the range of 282-342, as compared to 310-361 marks in 2019.)
- The MBA colleges accepting the CMAT scores usually don’t have any sectional cutoffs, but if one is aiming for a 99%ile one must score well in all the sections. (a few colleges may have sectional cutoffs, candidates are advised to check with the respective colleges and plan the exam strategy accordingly).
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Section-wise preparation and last-minute tips
1. Language Comprehension- In this section, the topics majorly include- Reading comprehension, Para jumbles, Antonym/synonyms, Sentence completion, Idioms and Phrases, Grammar-based questions etc. The questions are of moderate difficulty level.
It will help if you are well versed with the Reading Comprehension passages. Take mock tests and analyse your scores and strategise accordingly. Practice language ability questions based on grammar, vocabulary, Antonym/synonyms, Sentence completion, etc., in the last few days before the exam.
2. Quantitative Techniques: Here, the major topics include: Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Others (basic P&C, Probability etc). The questions are of moderate difficulty level.
One can easily score well in this section if one’s fundamentals are clear. Candidates should revise the important formulas thoroughly in these last few days before the exam. Practice and revise basic speed math calculations, as it also helps to learn tables up to 25, squares till 50 and cubes till 30.
The DI Topics in this section include simple caselets, tables, charts etc. The trick here is to represent the data in an organised manner, which saves time during the calculation.
Watch this excellent video to revise essential concepts in Quant for the CMAT exam.
3. Logical Reasoning: The topics here include- Statement and argument, statement and conclusion, statement and assumptions, arrangements, blood relation, coding-decoding, number series, analogies etc. The questions are of easy-moderate difficulty level.
This is a scoring section of the exam. So, one should definitely not miss out on this section. During practice, solve a variety of problems to get acquainted with this section. Revise essential concepts, take mocks and practice from previous papers (practice around 15-20 sums from this section every day, from a variety of topics that come in the exam).
Download CMAT previous papers mobile app
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4. General Awareness section- Here the topics are wide-ranging and they include, Static GK and Current GK. Topics like – Recent government schemes, International affairs, History, Geography, Sports, Politics, Awards, Books & Authors, Arts & Culture etc – are tested. The questions are of moderate difficulty level.
This is usually the make or break section in the exam, and hence Aspirants cannot ignore this section. Candidates who read the newspaper editorials (The Hindu, Indian Express, etc.), and the current affairs regularly will perform well in this section. Using the CMAT preparation material (PDF) to prepare for the CMAT 2021 will be highly advantageous during your preparation.
Watch the following series of videos for a quick revision in this section:
Most expected CMAT GK Questions
Watch the Full list here
5. And those who opted for the Innovation & Entrepreneurship section (new optional section), try to score as much as possible in the exam. Familiarise with the essential terminology related to Innovation and Entrepreneurship. You can refer to this blog for the same.
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Strategy during the exam:
- CMAT exam is slightly different from other MBA entrance exams. So, one should approach it accordingly. It is not a very tough exam. Having a proper exam taking strategy in place helps save a lot of time. Having the right strategy in place enables you to understand which sections to attempt first, time management during the exam, type of questions to attempt in each section. Analyse previous mocks and see the time spent per question and plan your strategy.
- First, make sure to attempt all the easy questions and familiar questions. One should not be missing out on all the easy questions. Once that is done, focus on attempting the moderate difficulty level questions. Also, since there is negative marking in the exam, candidates must avoid guess marking in the exam.
- Maintain the right balance between speed and accuracy: A proper balance between speed and accuracy is essential, there’s no point in attempting more questions but inaccurately, as there’s negative marking in the exam.
And finally, as mentioned above remember that it’s important not to panic. Our concentration is usually at a peak during the last few days before the exam. And hence, it’s essential to make the most of these remaining days. It is very important not to get overly stressed by the exam pressure. All your preparation would go in vain if you falter on the day of the exam.
Revise key concepts, take mock tests, and rather than studying for too many hours, take enough rest and do something that relaxes your mind (listening to your favourite music, taking a walk outside etc). Your mind should get adequate rest before the exam.
If you can follow these last-minute tips for the CMAT exam, and take the exam with a calm mind, you will ace the CMAT exam.
All the very best!
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