IPMAT is an Aptitude test which tests your skills in Quantitative Ability and Verbal Ability for an admit to the prestigious IPM Program of IIM Indore. Though questions are based on basic concepts and language skills given the competition it is desirable to have a properly structured IPMAT preparation strategy in place to crack the exam. In this article we bring to you How to Prepare for IPM exam to get into IIM Indore for the 5 year integrated management programme.

Preparation for IPM must include the following steps that I am mentioning below:

Your preparation strategy should consist of the following components:

Having a proper plan for:

Concept Learning

Learning how to apply those concepts

Practicing what you have learnt

Figuring out Weaknesses and Strengths & Improving weak areas

Zeroing in on a strategy to attempt the actual test

We’ll now address them one by one:

Proper Planning

Set weekly targets and aim to achieve the same before time. Why I am focusing on a weekly timeline is because it gives you the flexibility to cover the targets while also accommodating other engagements!

So, at the start of every week segregate topics which you will be studying that week and build a daily plan like the one below:

30 minutes a day of reading + VA practice

1 Quant concept a day (theory)

1 LR set (from dedicated IPMAT Preparation Courseware)

15 minutes a day of quants practice

This can be changed according to when you are starting i.e. the time left for preparation. This particular target plan will work if you have around a year to prepare! Note that it covers all the sub-heads mentioned above.

However, if you do miss out on some preparation time one day you can compensate for that some other day in that week itself! Even if there is a spillover you can easily cover for it over the next week, which should be avoided until and unless it is absolutely necessary.

Follow this for around 2/3rd of the time left from where you are starting and you should be done with concept-based learning and will also have learnt how to apply those concepts. If you look at this as a bunch it will take you 1-1.5 hours a day but if you segregate it then around 4-5 15-20 minutes sessions will also take care of it and this amount of time you can easily take out in between your school studies. Also find ways to use the time you think goes waste everyday. For example I used to read while I used to commute in the Mumbai locals. So, I used to make use of that 1 hour in train, which would have gone waste otherwise.

Figuring out weaknesses and Strengths & Improving weak areas

In the leftover 1/4th of the time left till the exam take. Its wise to finish the theoretical part of preps before mocks start if possible! These mocks will help you find your strengths and weaknesses. You can do so by the following process:

Across the first 3 mocks you take:

Analyse the mocks together:

For each topic segregate the questions and consider the following:

Accuracy

Percentage of questions attempted

Time taken

A topic is your strength if:

Accuracy of questions attempted in that topic > 75%

Percentage of questions attempted for that topic > 70%

Average Time for attempting questions < 1.5 minutes

Now if a topic is your strength you should look for the questions from that topic and attempt them first.

A topic is your weakness if it satisfies only 1 or lesser criteria

Post finding your strengths and weaknesses you should go back and revisit the concepts and practice more in case of your weaknesses!

Zeroing in on a strategy to attempt the actual test

This will also be done through mocks!

Keep a track of the following while analyzing mocks:

Accuracy – there’s always a tradeoff between accuracy and speed – so figure out what’s working for you

The best approach to solve a problem – What is the best way to solve a problem; have you used the same?

In what order are you solving the questions – Questions Strength areas first and then questions from weak areas or easy questions first and then the tougher ones – what suits you the best?

The number of mocks will vary according to the time left for preparation. However you should start slow and then ramp up! For Example you can start slowly with 1 mock per week – taking at least 3–4 days analyzing them and later on graduate to 2 mocks per week – slowly you will see that the time taken for analyzing also reduces!

So to summarize:

In the first 2/3rd of the time left for IPMAT preparation:

Set weekly/daily targets – provides flexibility

Start off with learning concepts

Learn to apply them

Practice as you learn

Try to complete your topic wise learning before mocks start.

Hope you find it helpful

let me know in the comment box if you are having any further doubts

thanks

Good Luck!