Area

CAT 2011

NMAT 2012

Recommendations

Check-in Process

Admit Card Mail + 1 Valid ID card needed

Biometrics includes photograph and fingerprint

Bags and valuables not allowed in the test lab. Only a wallet allowed.

Confirmation Mail + 2 Valid ID cards needed

Biometrics includes photograph and signature on a digital pad

Bags and valuables not allowed in the test lab.

Where I had suggested carrying 2 ID cards for CAT, I would recommend carrying 3 for NMAT. It helps to have an extra ID

Try to carry an ID that shows you face AND sign clearly. The NMAT authorities check these on biometrics vs ID card

Carry only as much stuff as you really need

NDA

1 minute – after the tutorial and just before the test

2 minutes – before the tutorial and test

Both the non-disclosure agreements more or less say the same thing. Make it a point to read them quickly and accept them at the earliest

Tutorial

15 minutes

10 minutes

Both the tutorials give you an overview of the screens and features that you will encounter during the exam. An added advantage of the NMAT tutorial is that at the end of the tutorial, you can try the functionalities of the review screen using the slides of the tutorial. Since time saved in the tutorial does not get added to the exam, utilize this time to go through the tutorials well

Section Order and Selection

For CAT, 2 sections with no choice in selection. 

For NMAT, 3 sections with a choice in selecting section order

There is a separate screen that allows you to pre-determine the order in which you will attempt all 3 sections.

The screen gives you 6 combinations of section orders and you have click on the one that suits you the best.

If you do not select the section order within 3 minutes, the system automatically starts the test using the first section order given.

NMAT has been more student-friendly in the sense that it has allowed the student to decide first-hand what order he/she wants to attempt the sections in.

There is a section order screen which has a time limit of 3 minutes. This screen gives you 6 combinations: VA-QA-LR, QA-LR-VA, VA-LR-QA etc. You can select any combination that you want. The sections will be displayed as per your selection

If you do not select within 3 minutes, the system selects the default option i.e. VA-QA-LR

Also, once you select the section and start the test, you cannot change the order midway. So, if you select VQ-QA-LR and during VA, you feel you want to attempt LR second, it will not be possible.

Sections

In CAT, Section 1 – QA + DI – 30 questions – 70 minutes

Section 2 – VA + LR – 30 questions – 70 minutes

In NMAT, QA – 48 questions – 60 minutes

VA – 32 questions – 22 minutes

LR – 40 questions – 38 minutes

Unlike CAT, since you know the structure in terms of subject area beforehand because of the breakup given by the NMAT authorities, you can plan and prepare accordingly. In CAT, you won't know how much time to spend on DI and how much on QA

Negative Marking

Yes, but undisclosed

No

CAT clearly wants a focus on accuracy and attempts based on whether you are confident of what you know.

NMAT obviously wants you to attempt all questions) like MHCET) because of the no-negative marking policy.

For questions where you are not sure in NMAT, "flag" the question and in the last 2-3 minutes, randomly mark those questions. Don't waste time on those questions initially.

Termination of Section

Not allowed before the scheduled time lapses

Lapse of schedule time

Completion of questions

Unlike CAT, if you finish your section slightly earlier than allowed, you CAN end that section and move to the next section.

However, your time saved in this section does not get added to the subsequent section.

So, in case you save time on, say, Verbal Ability, it is a better idea to review your questions. You will anyways lose the spare time by ending.

Breaks

In CAT, no breaks allowed 30 minutes prior to and during the exam

In NMAT, breaks are allowed but they are timed. Any time that you use in the break gets deducted from that section

For CAT, it makes sense to take your water and toilet breaks well in advance.

For NMAT, the Pearson authorities were slightly more lenient and let people take water and toilet breaks even 10-15 minutes before the exam. However, it may not be wise to take a chance.

In NMAT, if you manage to end section 1 or section 2 with more than 5 minutes to spare (unlikely), you could use it to take a break.

Group Questions

Number of questions in the set declared beforehand

All questions seen one below the other on the right hand side of the screen

Number of questions in the set NOT declared beforehand

Each question seen on a fresh page

As is evident, CAT scores more than NMAT in this regard. In NMAT, when you start a group question, you don't know how many questions that set has. This makes "attempt planning" virtually impossible.

For each question, you need to use the "Next" and "Previous" buttons. This harms you if the latter questions of a set are easier or multiple questions are related to each other e.g. if calculating data for question 1 can help solve question 4 as well.

In CAT, since you can see all questions together, you can decide whether you want to attempt all the questions or some or skip the set altogether.

Highlighting in RCs

Allowed in CAT

Not allowed in NMAT

Since highlighting is not allowed in the NMAT RCs, finding relevant data may become slightly more difficult. You may need to practice NMAT RCs accordingly.

Section End Warnings

5 minutes before the end of each section and 1 minute before the end of each section

5 minutes before the end of each section

Since NMAT gives only one warning i.e. 5 minutes before the section is scheduled to end, you will have to keep a tab of when approximately 2 minutes are left. This will help in marking the questions you haven't attempted

Difficulty Level

Challenging compared to last year

Simpler compared to last year

I found CAT 2011 more challenging compared to last year with a better quality of questions

Attempts

21 in section I with approximately 17-18 correct (I assume)

48 out of 48 in QA

For CAT, I would suggest anywhere between 17-19 attempts with 15+ correct in section I and 23 -24 attempts in section II with 20+ correct