How to Prepare for MAT Exam?

MAT is one of the most widely taken tests by management aspirants and is a gateway to over 600 B schools in India. It is a 150-minute duration exam, in which a candidate has to solve 200 questions. MAT exam preparation calls for a carefully crafted strategy that will help candidates cover the important topics and score high. For a good result it is advisable to start the preparation as early as possible.

Latest Update: MAT 2019 for September session will be scheduled on September 21 (offline) and September 14(online).

MAT previous year observations shows that opting questions of around 80 marks (except GK) with at least 80% accuracy can fetch you a very good rank. A concrete plan, good strategy, a lot of practice, focused mind, high determination, can help in scoring good marks in MAT. Check MAT Syllabus

MAT preparation can be divided into three parts-

Concept based- certain questions of Mathematical skills and language comprehension are conceptually driven. Start you preparation with concept building of fundamental topics.

Practice intensive- Intelligence and critical reasoning, data analysis, english proficiency requires practice of questions. Practice across questions requiring application of key concepts.

Environment driven- awareness is required of national-international current affairs in general and environment awareness in particularly.

Check MAT Mock Test Prepared by Collegedunia

MAT 2019 Preparation Strategy

Understand MAT Exam Pattern and Syllabus

The first step towards MAT preparation is getting hold of the exam pattern and syllabus. Candidates need to come up with a well chalked out preparation plan as per MAT exam pattern. MAT comprises of 5 sections of 40 questions each. There is no sectional time limit and the entire paper has to be completed in 150 minutes. Check Detailed Exam Pattern

Candidates need to score well in all the sections, as there are sectional cut off in colleges. The section Indian and Global Environment will not be taken for score calculation and merit list preparation.

Check 5 Things to Keep in Mind During MAT Registration

Decide the mode of preparation: Coaching or Self Study

• Depending upon the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate and amount of guidance needed, mode of preparation should be decided.
• MAT coaching institute can guide with preparation material and test series. Coaching can be taken as regular classes, Weekend classes or online mode.
• Candidates who are working professionals can opt for online coaching in order to save time. Online coaching are cost effective and less time consuming.
• Self study is the best preparation strategy for MAT exam if candidates have a moderate level of preparation. Mock test can help to overcome weak sections.
• Candidates should go through the exam pattern and syllabus and accordingly make a schedule.
• Self study should be monitored by attempting mock tests and previous year question papers.

Understand MAT Exam Pattern and Syllabus

The first step towards MAT preparation is getting hold of the exam pattern and syllabus. Candidates need to come up with a well chalked out preparation plan as per MAT exam pattern. MAT comprises of 5 sections of 40 questions each. There is no sectional time limit and the entire paper has to be completed in 150 minutes.

Time Management is the key

• Maximise number of questions to be solved in suggested time limit: It is important to focus on all the sections as marks allotted to each section is equal i.e 40 marks for each section with a total of 200 marks. Time table should be prepared in such a way that each section gets equal attention to have a balanced score. 

The following table will give you a fresh idea of time balancing and the best percentile:

• Have a cut off time for each question : 200 questions are to be solved in 150 minutes in MAT hence time management for each section is important. Read the question and decide to solve it or not in the first few seconds. Question that are complicated and time consuming should be left.
• Prioritize the Sections: It is considered best to always begin with the time-consuming section as it takes more time than the allotted time. And the time can be adjusted with the sections which consume less time. 
• Be Focused: To get admission in the best B school, 98 percentile is required. During preparation, candidates must be sure that they should cover at least 1^st level problems of all the topics as they can bring marks.

Check 9 Best Reasons to Take MAT

Instructions For MAT Preparation

1. Being updated with the MAT 2019 current syllabus
2. A proper time-table should be followed
3. Practicing mock tests and previous years’ papers
4. Solve the quant section using short-tricks
5. Prepare self-made notes
6. Have a good strategy to solve the maximum number of questions in less time
7. Attempt the questions where you’re 110% sure
8. Refer good books
9. Don’t stick to any question, read< solve, skip< move
10. Self-motivation, Confidence is the key to success

Check Top MAT Coaching Centers to Boost your MAT Preparation

MAT 2019 Preparation Books

Books and study material for MAT will guide candidate to start their preparation. There are many books available at stores and online for MAT. the best ones will strengthen your fundamentals and clarify the concepts. Given below are some of the reference books for MAT 2019, that are considered by toppers-

Practice Mock Test and Sample Papers

• Attempting MAT with speed and accuracy is important. To develop this mock test and sample papers are of utmost importance. It will provide an idea of expected topics, difficulty level of questions, shortcuts and tricks.
• Sectional and full length mock test should be given. Mock test and online series give an idea of preparation level to the candidate and analyse the strengths and weaknesses.
• They are available with coaching centers like T.I.M.E, Career Launcher, etc. as well as online on site like HundakaFunda, Pagalguy, etc.

MAT 2019 Section Wise Preparation Tips 

MAT Preparation Tips for Language Comprehension

Language Comprehension Covers the following areas:

• Word analogies
• Vocabulary with questions on antonyms and synonyms
• Rearranging sentences
• Reading comprehension
• Sentence completion

While preparing for Comprehension, you can follow the tips mentioned below:

1. Questions in this section revolve around grammar usage, vocabulary and test the reading skills.
2. Invest time in reading extensively, develop habit of observing and learning new words daily. This will help expand your vocabulary.
3. Read English newspapers, magazines, editorials, articles and watch English news channels.
4. Regularly practice previous year papers and mock test to check grammar and vocabulary proficiency.
5. During the exam. reading the questions before comprehension makes it easy to find the answers well and save time.
6. With decent command over english and regular practice, one can score well in this section.

MAT Preparation Tips for Mathematics Skills

• Number Systems
• Percentage, Profit and Loss, Mixtures
• Averages, Ratios, Interest
• Time and Work, Speed and Distance
• Geometry, Trigonometry

While preparing for Quants, you can follow the tips mentioned below:

1. Gain conceptual clarity of fundamental topics. Make your own notes of the concepts and formulas and understand them.
2. Analyse topics and questions that are important and are frequently asked.
3. In MAT, there is a kind of questions that are generally not asked in other MBA exams, focus on them.
4. Use stopwatch while practising sample questions in order to increase speed and accuracy.
5. If questions seem time consuming, skip them. Brush up shortcuts and tricks to solve the questions in order to save time during exam.

MAT preparation tips Data Analysis & Sufficiency

• Data Sufficiency
• Standard DI tools like bar graphs, pie charts, line graphs, data tables
• Data comparison

While preparing for DI, you can follow the tips mentioned below:

1. This is one of the most scoring sections in MAT, try to focus and understand the nature of questions.
2. Regular practice makes it easy to solve data analysis questions in less time.
3. Focus on previous year questions to increase speed and solve various kinds of questions.
4. Try solving different types of questions in a time-bound manner.

MAT Preparation tips for Intelligence & Critical Reasoning

• Identifying patterns in number sets
• Relationship
• Direction Sense
• Coding, Decoding
• Verbal Reasoning

While preparing for Reasoning, you can follow the tips mentioned below:

1. This section test candidates reasoning and deduction skills. Good preparation and high accuracy can fetch you more marks and reserve a seat.
2. Practice different types of verbal and non-verbal questions to improve efficiency.
3. Remember the directions, visualise the questions and solve accordingly.
4. Shortcut tricks are essential and should be mastered as only 30 minutes are allotted for this section.

MAT Preparation Tips for Indian & Global Environment

1. Questions in this section cover the topics related to general knowledge and current affairs.
2. Refer to magazines, newspapers and articles related to indian government, international developments, business, sports.
3. Watch news on television and youtube, this will help remember facts for a long period of time.
4. Download news and current affairs apps on mobile to stay updated on the latest happenings.
5. Develop a basic understanding of banking and business sector.

MAT Topper’s Preparation Strategy

Ketan Anand scored 99.28 percentile in MAT. He emphasises on having conceptual clarity which will help gain speed and accuracy. He took coaching from bullseye and attempted number of mock test and solved previous year question papers to keep a track of his performance. Analysing mock test are neccessary as per Ketan. Read More

Ashish Patial secured 99.99 percentile in MAT. he was a working professional and studies exhaustively for 9-10 hours on weekends and holidays. he suggest that attempting mock test explores the loopholes in preparation and time managment. since quants was his forte he focussed on language comprehension and data analysis. Read More

Also Read MAT Topper tips by Ankit Kumar

30 Days Plan for MAT September Preparation

The following table represents a 30-days plan for preparing for MAT exam. The columns define each of the topics covered in MAT Syllabus. An aspirant should practice the defined set of topics for at least 1 hour each to obtain a valid MAT scorecard.  

The mock tests can be taken every day to enhance the speed of solving questions. And on the exam day, the question paper will seem another practice test. All the best!

MAT 2019 Preparation FAQs

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College