Preparation Strategy for MICAT
A topper’s preparation Strategy for MICAT
What is the MICAT exam?
MICAT exam is the entrance exam conducted by Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad. MICA is considered to be very popular for its post-graduate courses such as Strategic Marketing and Communications), Crafting Creative Communication, etc. MICA has emerged famous for its professors who are highly qualified individuals and have significant experience in the media industry. This exam is easy to crack if one has a good preparation strategy for MICAT.
This is why this college is targeted by many MBA aspirants. If you are preparing for other MBA entrance exams you are by default prepared to ace the MICAT exam. As you read further ahead you will gain more insights about preparation strategy for MICAT, its syllabus, sections, exam dates, fees, and details about the admission procedure.
Eligibility for MICA
In order to be eligible for the post-graduate programs in MICA (all – Post Graduate Diploma in Management – Communications, (PGDM-C), Fellow Programme In Management – Communications (FPM-C), Post Graduate Certificate Programme in Crafting Creative Communication (CCC), you should have completed bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification in any discipline from a university recognized by Authorities of Indian Universities.
You can write the MICAT exam even if you are in the final year or you are a passed-out student. You need to have a proper preparation strategy in place if you want to ace all the sections in the MICAT exam, including the psychometric test, descriptive test, convergent and divergent test.
These are the sections that need attention and a different preparation strategy altogether if you want to ace the MICAT exam on your first attempt as these sections are normally not present in the rest of the competitive exams. You will have to get well acquainted with these sections.
Read: Know more about MICA
MICAT exam pattern
The MICAT exam is a computer-based exam. It is an exam for 165 minutes. It is conducted 2 times and the best score of the two is taken into consideration for calling the students for further admission rounds. MICAT 1 is conducted You can appear for MICAT 1 or MICAT 2 or both. There are a total of 144 questions. MICAT exam includes both objective and subjective type questions. MICAT 1 is tentatively held in December mid and MICAT 2 is held in the first or second week of January.
There are a total of 3 parts to the MICAT exam. 35 minutes are given to section 1 while 130 minutes are given to section 2. There is no negative marking for Part 1 and part 3. Part 2 has a negative marking. The negative marking is 0.25. The language of the exam is English. Following are the sections in the MICAT exam:
1. Psychometric Test
2. Descriptive Test
3.1 Verbal Ability,
3.2 Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation,
3.3 General Awareness,
3.4 Divergent and Convergent Thinking
| Parts | Sections | Number of Questions (Expected) | Duration (In Minutes) | Negative Marking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section A | Psychometric Test | 150 | 30 | No |
| Section B | Descriptive Test | 4 | 25 | No |
| Section C | - Verbal Ability - Quantitative Ability - General Awareness - Divergent-Convergent Reasoning | 20 20 20 20 | 80 | Yes - 0.25 marks for each wrong answer |
Also read: Tips for creative writing
MICAT exam syllabus:
The three main sections – quantitative ability and verbal reasoning are similar to most of the other competitive exams. The divergent and convergent reasoning section needs a different preparation strategy altogether.
Quantitative Ability:
If you are preparing for CAT/XAT, the Quant portion becomes easy, especially relevant is the fact, the Quant paper in MICAT is easier than CAT. The Quantitative Ability section has a total of 20 questions, with a 0.25 negative marking for wrong answers. The section mostly includes Arithmetic related topics including Time and Speed, Time and Work, Average, Allegations, and Mixtures.
Other topics include Profit and Loss, Numbers, Venn Diagrams, Functions, Probability, Mensuration, and Equations. Try to go through the basics thoroughly, as most questions would be very basic in nature, and maximize your attempts for this section, as it is very scoring. Your basics should be strong. You can focus on Arithmetic, followed by other topics like Probability, Mensuration, Numbers, Equations, Venn Diagrams, and Functions.
Don’t forget to check out: Speed calculation tricks for quants
The verbal section:
This section of the paper has 20 questions on topics like para jumbles, reading comprehension, statement-assumption, statement-conclusion, etc., and there is a negative marking of 0.25 marks on every wrong attempt. Again, if you prepare for CAT and other exams, you should be able to solve these. These are usually of moderate level difficulty, so try to increase your accuracy in this section. Focus on studying fill-in-the-blanks, para jumbles, and para-completion. In addition to this, one important hack for verbal is to prepare well for ‘statement assumption and conclusion’. Most of the students lack preparation for it. There are games available online that can help you test your word power and make it enjoyable too.
Divergent and convergent test section:
This section checks the analytical ability of students. It consists of lots of tricky questions. One hack for this section is that you should be thorough with proverbs and phrases.
Psychometric test:
Section checks your personality and behavioral traits. There is no negative marking for this section. You are allotted 30 minutes to complete this section.
Watch: Tips for the psychometric test
General Awareness:
The GK section consists of 20 questions with a 0.25 negative marking for wrong answers. Questions in the general awareness section cover aspects from the latest current affairs to business news, advertising agency trivia, global brand awareness, etc. You can have an edge over other aspirants in this section if you prepare thoroughly for it. This section tests your knowledge on Business, Marketing, Brands (both a thing that does not come all of a sudden, and even if you know something, it does not mean that you will remember it. national & international), Advertising Agencies, Companies and taglines, Celebrity Endorsers, Start-ups, critically acclaimed/social films, and others.
Here’s an interview with a MICAT topper with a top-notch preparation strategy for MICAT:
Why is MICA your dream college?
This is my dream college because I have always been inclined toward marketing. I have a lot of experience in the field of marketing. The job profile that I am looking for, from the Future point of view I think this college is the best place to be in. Also, placements and campus life were something that always attracted me. The faculty at MICA are well-known industry experts. Who would not want to be a part of such a wonderful learning experience?
How did you prepare for the MICAT exam?
>MICAT preparation happened along with my CAT prep. Except for the writing part which I practiced every day. I wanted to crack this exam so I made sure that my preparation strategy was in place. My mentors at Catking were always there for me whenever I had any queries or doubts. Also, I was preparing for other competitive exams as well as quantitative ability on the verbal ability part automatically covered. For the creative writing section, I made sure that I practiced writing on a daily basis. It was just to get used to writing pretty neatly in just 30 mins. The English LR was tricky so needed practice. My basics for quantitative ability and verbal ability were clear when I attended lectures in the classes.
What was your preparation strategy?
First I got thorough with my basics. I attended the lectures and practiced questions from the study materials. After I finished the study material I moved on to solving the topic-wise tests. The topic-wise tests and sectional helped me get used to solving the questions within the time limit. Initially, my mock scores were low. But after thorough analysis and after knowing my weak and strong areas my scores in the mocks started to improve. I was consistent throughout.
What was your daily schedule like?
Umm, I could say I made it a point to do at least one topic from all the sections every day. Well, For my MICAT Preparation I used to start with English in the morning and by evening end up doing quant and LR. I imbibed a habit of giving mocks on a regular basis. I gave around 20 mocks and I made sure that after every mock I analyze my mistakes in a detailed manner. For the Writing section, I practiced once every day for a month before the exam day.
What was your D-day strategy?
I had a strategy in mind as to how I am going to approach the paper. I played on my strengths and weaknesses. It is important that you know your strengths and weaknesses so that you don’t mess up on exam day. Verbal was my strongest section as reading is my hobby. I made sure that I solved the easier questions first and leave the tough ones for later. This strategy helped me optimize my time in a perfect manner and I was able to solve the maximum number of questions on the exam day.
What advice would you give to this year’s aspirants?
One should make a proper preparation strategy. I would say MICAT is getting tougher every day. But again it is a walk-in test. In addition to it, The most important advice that I would give is that be consistent in your preparation. The more you practice the better. Get your basics crystal clear and you should be ready to solve any question, no matter the difficulty. Do not let your mock scores affect you in any way. Attempt sectional and topic-wise tests on a daily basis. Solving topic-wise tests is an excellent way to revise your topics. Psychometrics is something you cannot learn. So just enjoy MICAT and you’ll sail.
Why Would you recommend this college to current MBA Aspirants?
The curriculum is very powerful and develops you as an individual and makes you a very powerful communicator which is the only important thing today to set you apart. MICA is the only college that focuses more on the creative aspects of a human being. If you get into MICA, you ought to sharpen your creative aspects to the next level.
The secret to your success?
To be very honest it was just hard work and the right guidance and moral support and I got both from Rahul sir and CATking. The mocks offered by Catking for MICAT were up to the mark and helped me a lot acing the actual exam on D day. I find myself lucky to have had his support throughout my endeavor. Rahul sir is a known expert for MICA in the country and I’m glad I could be mentored by him.
