Thousands of aspiring candidates will vie for the much sought-after seats in management institutes across India as All India Management Association (AIMA) opened registration for the September session of MAT 2022. MAT is one of India's premier aptitude tests designed to scout for talent aspiring to make a career in management and business administration.

It is a highly competitive exam. It offers an opportunity for many young management aspirants to get enrolled into some of India's leading B-schools. Students around the country are now gearing up for the test and preparing for an important phase of their educational journey.

Any competitive exam requires a certain amount of preparation, both tactical and mental, in order to qualify with distinction. Today, many students undergo extensive coaching and have a whole range of reading materials to refer to.

This coupled with multiple mock tests puts them in a strong position, ready to compete with other aspirants from across the country and differentiates oneself, giving them an extra edge to do better.

So, how does one ensure that the preparation translates into results? How can one replicate the performance of mock tests in the main exam? Here are some quick tips on how to effectively manage these entrance exams.

In a highly competitive world, it is imperative to get the early mover advantage. In order to succeed in any competitive exam, one needs to start early. Early is a relative term and it is the aspirant's prerogative to decide when the time is right to begin.

One must arrive at this decision after careful deliberation and after consultation with parents, teachers, or any other influencers in one's life. Ideally, one should start preparing for MAT 6 months in advance.

It is of prime importance that one is well versed with the format of the test. This will help in preparing in the right direction and enable one to formulate an effective strategy.

This will lay down the basic framework for one's preparation and provide the comfort of familiarity. It is important to refer to previous years question formats to evaluate one's preparation and readiness.

Time management is one of the most important factors for successfully doing competitive exams. There are 200 questions to be attempted in 150 minutes, which means one gets less than a minute for each question. Knowing one's strengths and prioritising them holds the key.

Candidates may attempt Language Comprehension and Indian and Global Environment questions as quickly as possible and devote more time to numerical or problem-solving questions.

Candidates are advised not to attempt questions that they are not sure of as answering incorrectly will bring down their overall score and percentile.

Many times, anxiety and fear take over your decision-making ability, resulting in basic errors and mistakes. This is where mental preparation and conditioning come into play. It is essential that, alongside exam preparation, one also takes some time out to work on one's mental strength.

Meditation, yoga, or any other form of exercise/activity that helps in calming down and staying focussed would help in the long run. Often, one fails not because of lack of preparation, but because one is not able to handle the pressure on D-day.

These are some aspects that could help aspirants to achieve success in not just cracking MAT - but also help to accelerate one's growth in the future - both professionally and personally.

- Article by Rekha Sethi, Director General, All India Management Association

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