One Month to CMAT: How to Make the Most of Your Preparation Time, Ft. VBS

CMAT is among the prominent management entrance exams and falls at the fag end of the list of MBA entrance exams, giving ample preparation time to aspirants. Another advantage of this exam is that a lot of preparation is already done by aspirants while preparing for other entrance exams such as CAT, XAT, MAT or IIFT, so preparing for CMAT becomes easier. Practising a few sample questions and understanding the exam pattern is all one needs to ace CMAT 2023.

You can succeed in CMAT with one month of preparation if you cover the syllabus and draft a tight and extensive practice schedule. Giving emphasis on time management and taking mock tests will help you be prepared in time for the exam.  

CMAT Exam Pattern

The exam format for CMAT was slightly changed w.e.f CMAT 2021, where an additional section on Innovation and Entrepreneurship was introduced. This section included 25 questions with an extra 30 minutes to solve them. In CMAT 2022, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship section was not optional and had 20 questions like the other four sections. Aspirants were required to solve the entire paper (5 sections) in 180 minutes only. For CMAT 2023, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship section may again be mandatory, with 180 minutes allotted for all 5 sections. Your 1-month CMAT study plan must also incorporate preparation for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship section.

For aspirants who have already prepared for entrance exams like CAT 2022, SNAP 2022, XAT 2023 and IIFT 2023 exams, taking the mock tests and brushing up on GK would help get a good score. However, if you only have CMAT 2023 in mind, then your exam preparation needs to be exhaustive, requiring 4-6 hours of study plan for every day of the month. Let’s see how you can devise an effective 1-month study strategy for CMAT.

1-Month Study Strategy and Preparation Tips for CMAT 2023 

The exam pattern for CMAT is more or less like that of the other MBA entrance exams. There are MCQs on Quantitative Techniques, English, Reasoning, and GK, and the syllabus is the same too for almost all the MBA entrance exams. You can follow a few strategies that will help you in the month leading to CMAT:

• Concentrate on the weak areas- Since you have less time on your hands, you should allocate it judiciously by picking up the toughest subject first. You can refer to the CMAT syllabus and list down the topics in order of their difficulty level. Allot time for each accordingly so that you can cover the syllabus and keep adequate time for practising CMAT mock tests and previous years’ question papers.

• CMAT Mock Tests: Mock tests and previous years’ question papers help you understand the exam pattern and devise strategies such as making your own shortcuts for solving calculation-heavy questions. It is crucial that you attempt a mock test every alternate day in the last month before the exam and analyse the test results to work out ways to improve your score.

• Time Management: This aspect is crucial for all exams, and the last month’s preparation must be used to focus on time management. With 100 questions that need to be solved in 180 minutes, you roughly get 1.8 minutes for each question. This also includes the time used in reading exam-related instructions, RC passages, lengthy reasoning questions, etc. Along with working on improving your accuracy, you must also work on building up speed.

• Join Study Groups: A problem-solving session in study groups either offline or online, can clear any last-minute doubts. It is also a good way to know some tricks and shortcuts that can be used to solve questions faster and with accuracy. Connecting with mentors and other aspirants also helps in confidence building and reducing any exam-related stress.

• Revision: Keep time for revising the concepts and formulae in the last 14 days. Brush up on your static GK topics and if you have been following the news regularly, your current affairs would be up to date. 

• Devise an exam day strategy- Your choice of questions will play an important role in helping you secure a good CMAT score. Remember that CMAT has negative markings and it is better to skip a tough question than get your score down with a negative marking.

Getting a good score in CMAT will get you shortlisted for several top management institutes like VBS. The Vivekanand Business School offers a full-time PGDM program with five specialisations: Business Analytics, Banking & Finance, Marketing, Operations & Supply Chain Management, and Human Resource Management. To meet the latest business requirements and prepare students for future skills, the institute also provides certification courses in each specialisation. The certifications include NSE & IIBF in finance, Master Certification from SHRM in HR, Digital Marketing and 3 Google Certifications in Marketing, Green Six Sigma certifications in Operations & Supply Chain, and Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning certification in Business Analytics. The school has been ranked 4th among the Top Private MBA Institutions in Mumbai by Outlook iCare and has tie-ups with premier international B-schools to provide global exposure. With exceptional placement opportunities and a recent award for the Best Institute for Placements by ASSOCHAM in the Education Excellence Awards 2023, the b-school also offers scholarships on 1st year tuition fees with up to 100% fee waiver for meritorious students.

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