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How To Prepare For MAT By Ms. Mekhla Sinha

GHRDC

COMPETITION SUCCESS REVIEW MBA, OCTOBER 2009 3

The Management Aptitude Test(MAT) is like the real test in life, thatreally needs to be taken seriously, if one

wishes to be an MBA graduate from oneof the good B-Schools in India. TheManagement Aptitude Test helps toevaluate critical thinking skills which aretypically relevant to managementpositions, including the ability to makesmart business decisions, analyse andsolve situational problems, monitor abudget and supervise and communicateeffectively with others. The MATassessment is used to help selectmanagement and supervisory personnel,to help identify training needs and tohelp assess skills and business knowledgefor promotion possibilities.

Since 1988, All India Management Aptitude Testing Service (AIMATS),New Delhi conducts a Management

Aptitude Test (MAT) on a national basis4 times a year in the months of February,May, September and December. TheGovernment of India has approvedMAT as a National Entrance Test foradmission to Master of Business

Administration programme (MBA) andequivalent programmes. Institutesoffering recognised post-graduateprogrammes in management and alliedfields can participate in MAT. MAT isnecessary for admission into the PostGraduate Diploma in Management(PGDM), Post Graduate Diploma inInformation Technology & Management(PGDITM) and equivalent programmesoffered by All India Management

Association (AIMA-CME) or otherManagement Institutes (MI). Centre forManagement Education (CME), theeducation wing of AIMA, was

established in 1993 as a full-fledgedautonomous business school. Allmanagement institutes that participate inMAT are either AICTE (All IndiaCouncil for Technical Education)approved or affiliated to universities.

The minimum qualification forappearing in MAT is graduation in anydiscipline from any recognised Universityor equivalent recognised degree. A finalyear student in any undergraduateprogramme (i.e. B.A, B.Sc., B.Com.,B.Tech., etc.) can also appearprovisionally. MBA is considered to be adegree that will fetch you an instant andhigh paying job. Top business schools inIndia help students get placed with multi-national companies at unbelievablesalaries of Rs. 6-7 lakh per month. Manyof them are placed outside India too.Every year, thousands of g raduatesprepare for the various MBA entrancetests to get admission into a businessschool as a passport to a job.

Management Aptitude Test is one ofthe many entrance exams for admissionto MBA. Students of all streams - arts,science, engineering, medicine, andarchitecture, can pursue a career inManagement after clearing MATentrance exam. If an individual is seekingadmission to an MBA institute, it is notenough to apply for Common Admission

Test (CAT) and other entrance exams.One must keep ones options open.Clearing MAT exam is not easy, henceone needs to put in a lot of effort.

Though the basic sections of MATare same as CAT, there are some subtledifferences in the test. MAT caters tomiddle and lower level institutes. A goodscore in the MAT Entrance Exam is a

pre-requisite for a student to be calledfor the group discussion and a personalinterview conducted to assess thestudents personality and demeanour,

with the final selection made in threerounds.

Pattern of MAT Test:MAT is an objective type of test with

multiple-choice answers. Candidates haveto answer 200 Questions in 150 minutes.Questions are divided into five sections.

Sec. Topic No of Sugg-No. Questions ested

Time(Min.)

1. LanguageComprehension 40 30

2. Mathematical Skills 40 403. Data Analysis

and Sufficiency 40 354. Intelligence and

Critical Reasoning 40 305. Indian and Global

Environment 40 15

Total 200 150

One must remember that very few

individuals can do 150 questions in thegiven time. The candidate must have theability to pick and choose the questions thatmust be done. Validity of the MAT score isfor that particular session for mostManagement Institutes, but for AIMA-CMEs PGDM & PGDITM programmes,the score is valid for one year.

Prepapartion for MAT:It is most imperative that one must

start the preparation for MAT as earlyas possible. The more you practise, themore you learn. Your approach shouldbe to hope for the best and prepare for

the worst. MAT Preparation like othergood entrance exams preparation isgiving it all you have got and at the sametime believing that there is a life beyondMAT also. MAT, traditionally, is amultiple choice based examinationcovering English languagecomprehension, Mathematical skills, Data

Analysis & Sufficiency, Intelligence &Critical Reasoning and Indian & GlobalEnvironment. The enhancement ofability to do well in every section shouldbe your mantra to do well in MAT. Givenbelow is a basic list of guidelines whichevery MAT aspirant should follow as part

of his/her preparation for this importantMBA entrance exam:

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Mental & Physical HealthMentaland physical fitness is the key toachieving success and satisfaction inanything and everything we set out todo in life. Ensuring balanced diet, propersleep including short refreshing naps andsome doable exercise routines would go

a long way in enabling you to take thisall important test.

Organised time-table/Study PlanIt is imperative to create a time-tableand schedule for oneself each day which

will help the individual to follow aspecific plan during the day anddiscipline oneself. It does not matter

what time of the day one keeps asidetime to study for the exam, the importantthing to remember is that one should bementally fresh and ready to absorb atthat point of time.

Assessment of Strengths &Weaknesses: As mentioned above, theentire MAT Test paper is divided into 5categories namely, English languagecomprehension, Mathematical skills, Data

Analysis & Sufficiency, Intelligence &Critical Reasoning and Indian & GlobalEnvironment. Every individual has his/her own set of strengths and weaknessesand therefore it is important to identifythem and accordingly prepare for theexam. For example, if one feels that ones

weak point is Mathematics, then focusand additional efforts needs to be madein that area. Having formulae on yourfingertips, being strong in mental

calculations and developing your ownshort cuts will prove very useful to scorespeedily in Mathematical and DataInterpretation sections. Reasoningsection requires thorough practice in alltypes of questions. Since there are nofixed formulae to tackle them, the scoresdepend on how much you are familiar

with myriad of questioning patterns.Important Tools & Resources :

Once the ground work has been done,it is crucial to decide on the tools andresources to refer to while preparing forthe exam. They are as follows:

BooksThere are several good booksavailable in the market, which are at par

with International & National standardstargeted at preparing for MAT. ForMathematical skills, the best book torefer is the Maths textbook for class Xstudents as that provides a good basisfor the preparation.

Coaching ClassesIf an aspirantdecides to enrol in a preparation course,he or she must resist any impulse to signup for the first course one learnsabout. Courses vary greatly and it isimperative to investigate thoroughlybefore committing to one. Based on

ones study skills, test-taking ability andcontent knowledge, which course will

meet most or all of ones specific needsshould be decided carefully. After carefulassessment, one may decide to preparefor the test on ones own. But, if not,then your "consumer's" approach toresearching courses will assure you of thebest course for your needs and financialconsiderations. The Coaching Classesoften share samples of previous yearsof MAT Examinations which give thestudents an excellent overview of what

they can expect in the coming exams.Computer Software ProgrammeThese aids can be a good alternative toexpensive courses, especially if a studenthas good test-taking skills, a fairly lowanxiety level about standardised tests, andthe ability to discipline oneself on aregular basis. In many cases, theorganisations which administer tests offerthe opportunity to purchase preparationbooks at the time one signs up for thetest. Computer software is available forsome tests from publishers ofpreparation books.

Sectional Approach : A sectional

approach is one of the best ways ofcracking well in most of the sections ofMAT Exam where an individual willneed to break down ones study scheduleinto verticals of each subject along withsetting targets of qualifying. Too muchto handle will be very overwhelming and

will make one lose focus and getdiscouraged. It is best to concentrate oneach section and devote equal time. Even

within each section, there is a very clearneed for a planned strategy ofattempting questions. Unless a clear cuttimed strategy for attempting the test is

in place, there is every chance that onemay miss out on very easy questions

which may be at the end of the sectionand instead end up solving all thedifficult questions that may have beengiven at the beginning.

Speed & Accuracy : One of the mostimportant factors to consider whilepreparing for any competitive entrance

exams is maintaining a good balancebetween accuracy & speed. The timegiven for completing the exam is limitedand hence answering the questionsaccurately keeping in mind the timeconsideration is the key. Towards the lastdays of the test, developing a propertest taking strategy is an approach that aMAT aspirant has to develop in order toensure that he/ she is able to leveragehis/her strengths while attempting thetests. Any strategy that one intends tofollow necessarily needs to revolvearound the time saving measures toanswer the maximum number ofquestions in the allotted time.

General Knowledge & Awareness :One of the sections in the MATexamination is Indian & GlobalEnvironment. In order to prepare wellfor this particular part of the paper, onemust devote ample amount of timeeveryday to update oneself on GeneralKnowledge about economics, politics,national and international issues. Unlikepreparing for the other sections likeMathematical Skills and Data Analysis &Sufficiency, general and businessawareness requires keeping abreast

of happenings through newspapersand other reliable sources of information.

Self Assessment & Evaluation : Acontinuous process and plan of self-evaluation and self-assessment is criticalin order to find out the level of readinessthat an individual has for the exams. Thismany times turns out to be the eyeopener for most of the individuals andhelp them in catching up with areas theyare still lagging behind in. This kind ofself-assessment can be accomplishedthrough sample papers for the previousyears as well as through a series of mockpapers available online and in variousbooks.

The Right Attitude : As inanything and everything in life, the keyto success lies in our attitude towardsthings and how we orient our mindsaccordingly. The same rule applies hereas well when we prepare ourselves wellfor something crucial such as the MATEntrance exam. If one looks at this examas something unachievable or verydifficult, success is indeed going to bedifficult to achieve. However, if onelearns to look at it from the perspectiveof self-development and as a positive

challenge, the whole mind is set towardschanges for the better.

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