IPMAT 2023 | IPM Aptitude Test-2023

Know what to expect and what to prepare

• The season of entrance exams is here and candidates are trying their luck in the back to back exams to get into the college of their dreams. Integrated Program in Management Aptitude test (IPM AT) conducted by Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore is one of the most popular of these exams. It is scheduled to be held on 16th June 2023. IIM Indore was the first institute to start the IPM Course and was later followed by other IIMs like IIM Ranchi, IIM Rohtak, IIM Jammu and IIM Bodh Gaya. However, the most popular and sought after institute remains the trendsetter -IIM Indore.
• Value of writing IPMAT Indore can be assessed by the fact that its score has a universal value which is accepted by several other top institutes offering IPM including IIM Ranchi, Department of Management Studies of NALSAR Hyderabad, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade Kakinada and T.A. Pai Management Institute Karnataka. So, preparation for one examination opens multiple doors to choose from.
• Now that only a few days are left for the exam, let us see what can be done these days, what to expect and how to be prepared for what is coming. One should always hope for the best but prepare for the worst. So, leave no stone unturned and be mentally prepared to face whatever kind of paper this test throws at you. IPMAT conducted by IIM Rohtak had an easy paper this year. This does not mean that the same can be said about IPMAT Indore. The complete syllabus should be covered and no topics should be left out. One should be comfortable with both topics -be it Quantitative ability or Verbal Ability. This is one exam that also has Short answer type questions in addition to Multiple Choice Questions. So one should be prepared to answer both the question types. Also, just because a candidate is more comfortable and confident in Verbal ability does not mean he has the luxury to ignore Quant because Quant is the backbone of the paper with two sections of the same. There could be more focus on arithmetic, but if there is more of higher maths in the paper, one should be prepared to tackle it with the same level of comfort/effort. One should be fast with calculations and be able to finish the paper in the allotted time.
• It is not advisable to get overly engaged with difficult questions as one may end up losing all the time that could’ve been used elsewhere in attempting a greater number of easier questions. Time management is essential, and one should have the ability to decide where to focus and where to skip. The paper has negative marking. This means that risk should be calculated. It helps to practice mocks in a similar interface before appearing for the main exam so that candidates are familiar with navigating the questions and marking the answers. Candidates should write as many mocks as possible and revise as much as possible in these last few days. If a candidate has been maintaining a notebook of all the vocabulary and new words, now is the time to brush up the same. While putting hours into Quantitative ability and Verbal ability one should also keep an eye on national and international affairs because clearing the aptitude test alone will not get them admission into IIM campus. They will have to face an interview board also which will test their personality, knowledge and awareness.
• One should master the most expected topics/questions that appear every year and be fully prepared to deal with all variants of the same. There could be questions from frequently tested topics like Probability, Averages, Number system, Speed-Distance, Geometry, Profit and Loss, Ratio and Proportion, Percentages, Trigonometry, Set theory and Logarithms.
  n In Verbal ability the maximum weightage could be of Reading Comprehe nsion. One should be ready for questions on Para-completion, Verbal analogy, Fill in the blanks, Synonyms/ antonyms etc.
• By referring to previous year papers one can have some idea about the kind of questions that are expected and also save time in not spending too much time on topics that are rarely asked. Rest assured that with right mindset and little faith in themselves candidates can prove themselves worthy and be part of the prestigious IIM Indore or other schools that they would like to get into.

Nitin Srivastava
(Alumnus of NLU Jodhpur), Assistant
Course Director,
UG courses, T.I.M.E.