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How to Prepare for MAT Exam?

MAT Preparation: MAT is a 150-minute duration test, in which a candidate has to solve 200 questions. Higher the accuracy, greater are the chances of getting admission in excellent institutes. It is the most prominent exam of the nation and the scores obtained are accepted by many reputed Management Institutes.

Latest Update: MAT 2019 for September session will be scheduled on September 01 (offline) and September 14(online). Download MAT Sample Papers

Read on to know about the reference books, strategy and 30-days plan for MAT preparation.

A candidate has to attempt all the 5 sections to clear the entrance. These sections are listed below-

  • Language Comprehension
  • Mathematical Skills
  • Data Analysis and Sufficiency
  • Intelligence and Critical Reasoning
  • Indian and Global Environment

CheckMAT Syllabus

A candidate must do good preparation to have a good score. A concrete plan, good strategy, a lot of practice, focused mind, high determination, can help in scoring good marks in MAT Exam. Here are some tips that a candidate must be aware of before attempting for MAT-

  • It totally depends upon the candidate, which mode of exam to be chosen- either online or offline
  • Candidate can choose the day, time and center of MAT
  • It is conducted 4 times a year

Check 5 Things to Keep in Mind During MAT Registration

Given below are some tips to the aspirants to score a good rank.

  1. Solve Previous Years’ Question Papers: From the previous observations, it can be concluded that, opting questions of around 80 marks (except GK) with at least 80% accuracy can fetch you a very good rank. Download MAT Practice Papers
  2. Time Management is the Key: Candidates opting the exam should have better management of time. Candidates kindly make sure that all the sections of MAT are attended properly to have a balanced score.

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

SectionTime (in minutes)MarksLevel of Difficulty
Language Comprehension3020-27Moderate
Mathematical Skills4027-20Difficult
Data Analysis and Sufficiency3521-28Moderate
Intelligence and Critical Reasoning3019-26Moderate
Indian and Global Environment0510-15Moderately Difficult

Candidates should not waste much time on any section. He must divide the total time into 6 different time span, 5 for each section and 1 for revising. He must also maintain the accuracy level.

  1. 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. 
  2. 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 1st level problems of all the topics as they can bring marks.

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

Tips For Preparation MAT 

Language Comprehension

Reading questions before reading comprehension makes it easy to find the answers well. Grammar plays an important role, so be sure to have a good command over it. Read English newspapers, watch English news channels, improve vocabulary and reading skills.

Mathematics Skills

Understand the theories and mug up the formulae. Focus on the questions that are mostly asked. In MAT, there is a kind of questions that are generally not asked in other MBA exams, focus on them. Make your own notes of the formulae and memorize them. Master the basics and short tricks. Jump over the questions that are time-consuming.

Data Analysis & Sufficiency

This section is considered the most scoring section. Only practice makes it easy to solve the questions in less time. Solving last years’ questions helps a lot. Try solving all kind of questions in time-bound.

Intelligence & Critical Reasoning

Good preparation and high accuracy in this section can fetch you more marks and September help you in reserving a seat. Only verbal and non-verbal types of questions are asked. Analyzing the problem before just guessing the answer September help in reaching the correct answer. To prepare this, candidates should solve a lot of questions and go through the model papers. Any good reference book can help you out.  

Indian & Global Environment

Questions in this section cover the topics related to GK and current affairs. This section can be much scoring, to prepare well this section, you must read magazines & newspapers, watch news channels. 


MAT Reference Books

There are many good books available at the stationaries and online. Given below are some of the reference books for MAT 2019, that are considered by the exam aspirants-

List of Best Books for MAT preparationAuthor’s namePublisher
How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CATArun Sharma & Meenakshi UpadhyayMcGraw Hill
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CATNishit K SinhaPearson
Mission MBA MAT GuideBS Sijwali and Tarun GoyalArihant Books
Word Power Made EasyNorman LewisPocket Books
Study package for MATArun SharmaMcGraw Hill
A Modern Approach to Logical ReasoningR.S. AggarwalS. Chand & Co.
Complete Guide for MAT and Other MBA Entrance ExamsDeepak Agarwal, Mahima AgarwalDisha 
MAT Score AcceleratorDisha ExpertsDisha Publication
How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CATArun SharmaMcGraw Hill
How to prepare for Quantitative for the CATArun SharmaMcGraw Hill
Quantitative Aptitude for the CATNishit K.SinhaPearson
Manorama Year BookK. M. Mathew, Mammen MathewMalayala Manorama Group
Regular reading of The Hindu, ToI, India Today, Sports week etc.

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.  

DaysLanguage ComprehensionMathematical SkillsData Interpretation and AnalysisCritical ReasoningIndian and Global Environment
Day 1Verbal ReasoningHCF & LCMPie ChartCritical ReasoningCompany punch lines
Day 2SyllogismsPercentagesPie ChartVisual reasoningGeography
Day 3Vocabulary 50 wordsRatios and proportionsGraphsSequencingCurrent Affairs
Day 4Mock Test
Day 5Using the same word with a different meaningQuadratic and linear equationsGraphsCritical ReasoningGeography
Day 6Contextual UsageWork and TimeBar GraphsVisual reasoningHistory
Day 7Vocabulary 50 wordsWork and TimeBar GraphsSequencingCurrent Affairs
Day 8Mock Test
Day 9AnalogiesGeometryLine ChartsCoding and DecodingHistory
Day 10One word substitutionGeometryLine ChartsAssumption-Premise-ConclusionBusiness
Day 11Vocabulary 50 wordsGeometric ProgressionPie ChartAssumption-Premise-ConclusionCurrent Affairs
Day 12Mock Test
Day 13AntonymsTime-Speed-DistanceColumn GraphsStatements and AssumptionsBusiness
Day 14IdiomsProfit and LossColumn GraphsStatements and AssumptionsScience
Day 15Vocabulary 50 wordsGeometric ProgressionLine ChartsIdentifying valid inferencesCurrent Affairs
Day 16Mock Test
Day 17Fill in the blanksAlgebraVenn DiagramAssertion and ReasonsBooks and authors/ Awards
Day 18Odd man outAlgebraVenn DiagramIdentifying ReasonsSports/ Politics
Day 19Vocabulary 50 wordsAlgebraBar GraphsLinear ArrangementsCurrent Affairs
Day 20Mock Test
Day 21Jumbled ParagraphsAveragesGraphsLinear ArrangementsCompany punch lines
Day 22Sentence CompletionNumber SystemPie ChartMatrix ArrangementsSports/ Politics
Day 23Vocabulary 50 wordsPartnership (Accounts)Bar GraphsMatrix ArrangementsCurrent Affairs
Day 24Mock Test
Day 25Sentence CorrectionPercentagesColumn GraphsFamily treeBooks and authors/ Awards
Day 26Foreign language words used in EnglishVectorsVenn DiagramFamily treeGeography
Day 27Vocabulary 50 wordsWork and TimeLine ChartsCause and effectCurrent Affairs
Day 28Mock Test
Day 29Reading ComprehensionTime-Speed-DistanceVenn DiagramCause and effectHistory
Day 30Reading ComprehensionGeometryBar GraphsCritical ReasoningCompany Punch Lines

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!