MAT 2019 May Exam Analysis: Phase-2 PBT and CBT Easier than Phase-1; English a Bit Difficult for Many

May MAT 2019 phase-2 Paper Based Test has been reported easier than the phase-1 MAT. The exam got over a few minutes back at 12.30 afternoon on May 18, and a session of Computer based MAT exam is also over. There were more test centres for paper based MAT exam than for computer based MAT. AIMA conducted the phase-2 paper based MAT 2019 May exam on Saturday May 18, 2019 from 10AM to 12.30 PM and the computer based MAT in different time slots.

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The Phase-2 paper based MAT 2019 May exam did not have any surprise element. However, the exam had some of the difficult questions in Language Comprehension section. A few questions in Intelligence and Critical Reasoning section were also found a bit tricky.

MAT 2019 May Phase-2 PBT and CBT Analysis: Highlights

• Both Paper Based and computer based May MAT exams were of moderate difficulty level   
• There were more candidates who appeared in paper based MAT than computer based MAT on May 18
• 600 MBA colleges will accept May MAT 2019 score for MBA admission
• MAT May 2019 cut offs for MBA admission are expected to remain between a composite score of 450 - 700 depending upon the MBA college

Exam Pattern  

• MAT exam had 200 questions divided in 5 sections in MAT 2019 May paper based and computer based test held on May 18, 2019    
• All the questions in MAT 2019 May exam were in MCQ format followed by 4 answer options.    
• There were more questions based on Arithmetic in Mathematical Skills Section. The questions were moderate and were doable 
• English Comprehension Section had 4 RC Passages of 500 words with 25 Questions of moderate difficulty level
• RC Passages were a mix of opinion, abstract idea based and fact based
• Pie Charts, Graphs, Tables were prominent in Data Analysis and Data Sufficiency section  
• Out of 40 questions in Reasoning Section, 25-30 questions were found to be much easier. They were based on Family tree, Cause effect, Seating arrangement, Statement conclusion among other

Scoring Pattern in May MAT 2019 exam

• All the questions in MAT exam carried equal marks. 
• Every right answer in MAT is awarded with a credit of 1 mark 
• Every wrong answer will attract a penalty of ¼ negative marking (0.25 mark) 
• The raw scores, so obtained in the MAT exam, will be multiplied by 4 and are scaled for all the 5 sections
• The scores will be awarded out of maximum 800 and will be shown as the total composite score in the MAT score card

MAT 2019 May PBT exam date & time	Sunday May 18, 2019 from 10AM to 12.30PM
Total number of questions in the exam	200
Number of sections in the exam	5
Number of answer options per question	4
Maximum Marks per question	1
Negative Marking	0.25 mark for every wrong answer
Level of Difficulty	Moderate
Total maximum raw score	200
Total maximum scaled score out of which percentile score will be awarded	800
Sections considered for percentile calculation	4 (Indian & Global Environment not considered)
Number of questions considered for percentile calculation	160

Sectional analysis, Ideal attempts and Cut offs
MAT 2019 May test takers need to score high keeping in mind the negative marking. Giving time to each of the sections and not getting low on any one section remained an important factor to help the candidates to get high score.

Following table consists of the broad MAT Sectional Analysis with guideline to achieve cut off above 90 percentile, ideal attempts according to the difficulty level of questions in each section and suggested time limit to solve each of the 5 sections to score high in PBT MAT May 2019 Exam: 

Sno	Section	No of Qs	Ideal time (in minutes)	Ideal attempts	Score required to get 90+ percentile
1	Language Comprehension	40	30	28	28
2	Intelligence and Critical Reasoning	40	35	27	27
3	Data Analysis and Sufficiency	40	38	24	23
4	Mathematical Skills	40	37	30	29
5	Indian and Global Environment	40	10	15	Separate sectional marks, not counted for percentile calculation
		200	150	124	107

Composition of MAT Sections

Language comprehension

• There were 40 questions in the section.
• 4 RC passages with 20 Questions

Major topics and number of question are:

Topic	Number of Questions	Difficulty level
Reading Comprehension Passages (450-500 Each)	20	Moderate
Errors in Sentence formation	3	Moderate
Antonyms	3	Moderate to difficult
Synonyms	3	Moderate
Fill in the Blanks with correct vocabulary words	3	Moderate
One word substitution	2	Moderate
Phrases & Idioms Substitution by words	3	Moderate to Difficult
Jumbled Paragraphs	3	Moderate

• Except a few questions the section had moderate difficulty level and could be answered in time
• A score of 28-29 marks could lead to 90 percentile in Language Comprehension section

Mathematical Skills

• Arithmetic Questions commanded major weightage in this section
• Around 15-16 questions were based on Arithmetic like Interest, Percentages, Time and Work, Profit, Loss, Partnership. The questions were a little time consuming although were moderate.
• Other questions were based on topics like Equations, Ratio, Proportion & Variation, Geometry & Mensuration, Permutation and Combinations, Probability etc.
• The questions were of moderate difficulty level
• The section could prove to be a percentile booster for the candidates who did this section well
• A score of 29-30 marks could earn 90+ percentile in this section

Data Analysis and Sufficiency

• This section had maximum questions on data interpretation
• More prominent in this section were Graphs, Pie charts, bar diagrams, charts, line graph, data comparison
• Time remained the major hurdle to solve these questions with speed and accuracy
• Questions on Data Interpretation (DI) occupied more than 50% of the section, rest of the part covered questions on data sufficiency and data comparison
• A score of 23-24 marks is expected to get 90 and above percentile

Intelligence and Critical reasoning

• This section had 40 Questions
• More questions were on Analytical and Logical reasoning and fewer questions were there on Critical reasoning
• Questions were based on Family Relation, Statements-Cause & Effect, Clocks & Calendars, Statement –Assumptions, Reasons, analogies, direction, series, Incorrect Terms.
• The questions were formed in sets as well as individual questions
• The section was a little lengthy with moderate level of difficulty
• A score of 27-28 marks may lead to a percentile above 90 in this section.

Indian and Global environment

• Suggested time limit by AIMA to answer the 40 questions in this section was 15 minutes but 10 minutes were enough to attempt this section
• Questions were formed on Film Awards, taxation & duties, Indian constitution, Who’s who, States of India, Sports, Recent events
• No Re-thinking or Recalling was required for what you do not know or are confused on it. The answer was either known or not known, so the best strategy was to skip the question if the answer was not known
• Ideal time to attempt one question was less than 30 seconds
• The questions were based on conventional GK, business and economics, current affairs, international affairs
• This section is not counted for percentile calculation in MAT exam
• Many Candidates skipped or answered very few questions in this section to save time for other sections

Where Candidates Needed To Do Better
The time limit to attempt 200 questions was 150 minutes. Less than 1 minute was available before the test takers to answer each of 200 questions.

• Candidates who could not manage time well, were seen gasping for Time Management to maximise their attempts across the sections.
• Those who adhered to the time limit to solve questions in each section helped them to do better in the exam as with this strategy more number of questions could be attempted with accuracy
• Number of MAT 2019 May test takers could not attempt more questions despite knowing their answers in paper based test as their time management strategy was poor

Time management Strategy in MAT Exam
Two and half hours were allotted to solve 200 questions in MAT exam. With some of the questions more difficult and penalty of negative marking existing for all the questions, candidates were found gasping for more time. Many candidates who did not follow time schedule could not get across the 70-75 questions.

The smarter candidates completed their four core sections first and then moved to GK section and many of them also did not attempt more than 5-6 questions in it.

Although the overall MAT paper based exam on Sunday, May 5, 2019 remained moderate, a few questions consumed more time of the test takers.

Indian & Global Environment Section: Skipped by Many
A unique way out to have more time to attempt more questions, was found by the test takers. Since the GK section in MAT exam is not counted for score calculation, many candidates skipped or attempted very few questions in Indian and Global Environment section and utilized this time to attempt the questions in other sections. The strategy helped them to maximise the attempts in all the 4 core sections.

More than 18000 take PBT MAT
Management Aptitude Test (MAT) 2019 May exam in paper pen mode was taken by an approximate number of 18000+ candidates. With around 10% absentees only, the actual test takers may go beyond the number of 16000.

There was no change in the MAT exam pattern which had 200 questions in MCQ format divided in 5 sections. Candidates who have appeared in MAT 2019 May exam, have shared the feedback that the MAT 2019 Paper based test was moderate although parts of Verbal, Data Analysis & Reasoning took some more time to solve. Candidates would need higher scores as there would be tough competition in getting admission to a good MBA college.  

Computer Based MAT on May 18: Key Suggestions
Those who could not do well in MAT 2019 PBT Exam and are appearing in CBT MAT on May 18 are advised not to repeat such mistake and manage time to score high in each section.

Please note that same number of questions with same exam pattern will appear in the online computer based test on May 18, 2019.

MAT Cut offs for MBA Admission 2019

Admission to good B schools out of the list of 300 B schools available at the AIMA site can be explored with a MAT percentile score beginning from 70 onwards. The expected MAT score cut offs in some of the top MBA colleges accepting MAT are as below:

MBA college	MAT cut off percentile score
Jaipuria Lucknow	80
SIESCOMS Navi Mumbai: SIES College of Management Studies	80
ISB&M Pune: International School of Business & Media	80
IES MCRC Mumbai: IES Management College And Research Centre	80
KSOM Bhubaneswar: KIIT School of Management	80
IPE Hyderabad: Institute of Public Enterprise	80

Read more about the MAT score cut offs in top MBA colleges accepting MAT

MAT 2019 scoring pattern

• MAT score card will contain 6 scores. For each of the 6 scores, a percentile score is given. This shows the percentage of examinees who scored below the candidate based on the entire MAT testing population. The percentile below figure can change with each administration for the same scores.
• MAT 2019 May exam would award scores keeping the Indian and Global environment section out from percentile calculation.
• The scores are to be awarded out of 160 marks and accordingly the test takers will get their merit position where their scores are sent by AIMA.
• Raw score of 70+ is expected to award the percentile of 80+ and the raw score of 100 marks can award you the percentile of 94.

MAT 2019 May Exam Result
MAT 2019 exam result will be declared on May 24, 2019 in the afternoon. It may be noted that the candidates should utilize the scores of May MAT exam for MBA admission 2019 as early as possible since many of the MBA colleges accepting MAT score would close their admission process shortly.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on MAT 2019 Exam