What is unique about IIFT Exam Pattern?
IIFT Entrance is a mixture of a speed and accuracy. It is a 2-hour (120 minutes) test that comprises about 125 questions, but there is no fixed trend because the number of questions tend to vary each year. In general, IIFT has a tendency to experiment with IIFT Exam Pattern. Experimenting with the pattern does not mean that it changes difficulty level and marking too, because it remains constant every year.
Also, the questions are distributed unevenly among 4 sections namely- Quantitative Ability, Reading Comprehension, General Knowledge & Awareness and Analytical Reasoning. Additionally, the marks awarded in case of each section are different i.e. 1 mark is awarded in Quants, RC, DI & LR and .75 in Verbal Ability while only .5 in case of General Knowledge. 1/3 marks of the marks allotted are deducted for every incorrect answer.
Final selection in IIFTs is made not only on the basis of IIFT written exam but also essay writing, GD and PI are taken into account.
Is IIFT difficult than CAT?
Most of us think that IIFT is an extension of CAT which is right in a way because both the competitive exams are for Management admissions and syllabus for both is same. So, where the difference lies? Both the exams vary when we look at CAT and IIFT Exam Pattern, number of questions & duration and also in terms of difficulty. There is an advantage in case of IIFT because it’s a pen- paper based test so you can get an overview and idea about the difficulty level in advance. Let’s go into detail and look at the section wise difficulty level analysis.
Data interpretation section in IIFT is extremely calculation based and has huge tables which consumes a lot of time.
Logical Reasoning and Verbal Ability sections are of moderate difficulty and questions are easier when compared to CAT.
Reading comprehension is tedious and questions are related to multiple fact-finding, which is time consuming and requires logic as well.
Quantitative Aptitude is difficult and the level of questions asked is slightly higher than CAT because questions focus on geometry and modern mathematics when compared to basic arithmetic in CAT.
General Knowledge focus on business awareness with a sprinkling of static and General awareness questions. Also, the questions are based on controversies, launches, cases and CEOs.
Why Aspirants fail to clear IIFT Cut offs?
Most of the aspirants do not prepare exclusively for IIFT because they assume it as an extension of CAT. But, examinees must keep in mind that CAT is known for its difficulty level, on the other hand, IIFT is a speed based test because you need to solve more than 1 question or more in just a minute. So, it can be said that improper strategy is the main reason for bad results.
Also, candidates are expected not just to clear overall cut offs but also the sectional cut offs as well, which makes it hard for them to clear the exam.
In addition to this, low confidence level affects your performance a lot especially when it comes to General Knowledge section. They delay the GK preparation till the last weeks, although they go through a lot of material during those days still it does not give enough confidence. IIFT cutoff goes very low for GK section still aspirants find it difficult to crack.
Other than GK section, Quantitative aptitude is very difficult which makes it hard for candidates to solve questions in such a shorter duration.
Not only this but competition level is also very high because more than 50, 000 candidates appear for IIFT and only 400 get selected.
To clear IIFT, prior knowledge of IIFT Exam pattern and syllabus is necessary but examinees must have certain strategies in their mind.
What strategy one must opt to Crack IIFT?
Opting certain strategies is must for cracking any competitive exam and it plays even more important role in case of time and speed based exams. Strategies include which section one must solve first and how one must solve it.
Start with GK section first and solve as many questions as you can in first 10 minutes. If the section will be tough then cut off can also go negative, so there is no need to solve the questions you have no idea about. Just attempt few selective questions. If the difficulty level will range from easy to moderate then try to solve more questions.
Then jump to Logical Reasoning and try to solve all the straight forward questions in 20 odd minutes. Do not waste your precious time on just 1 question, just try to skip it and move to the next question.
After LR, try to complete the entire Verbal Ability in 15 minutes and give 15 minutes to Reading Comprehension.
Afterwards, you will be left with the difficult section and 45 minutes to solve it. But, try to solve Quantitative Ability in 30 minutes. The section requires proper knowledge of all the formulae and complex mathematics but there is no other option, because then you will get 15 minutes to solve other section questions which you think you can. Try to use this time as a bonus to clear the cut offs.
If you follow this strategy or can somehow construct a similar strategy, you would definitely crack the test easily. Just relax, keep calm and stay confident during the exam and you will definitely crack IIFT.
Also, for preparation tips and more strategies visit Collegedunia.com
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