HOW TO PREPARE FOR IPMAT. AIR 30's Preparation Experience

 Hello and welcome to my very first Blog. Through this blog I would like to try and give people, mostly students the insights of what I learn being inside one of India’s biggest management school- IIM Indore. I would talk about my experiences, my learnings and what I feel a IPM aspirant or even student should do not only for preparing the exam but also for overall improvement in personality which will eventually help in interviews and will get you your dream package.

In my first blog I would like you to tell you about – HOW I PREPARED FOR IPMAT.

 

HOW I STARTED PREPARING FOR IPMAT

So, my journey began 2 years before my IPM exam when I was in class 10^th and was deciding which subject to take up. On my way to the school I saw this coaching called ‘CH EdgeMakers’ , there were various banners promoting an exam called IPMAT. I saw this ad regularly for a whole month, and one day decided to look it up. After that I went down a rabbit hole and ended up learning everything possible about IPMAT – The exam pattern, the curriculum, the campus etc. etc. And after carefully thinking about it I decided to go for it and opted for Commerce with applied mathematics which I thought was the best fit for me (and as it turned out, It WAS, but more about that later). After this I joined CH EdgeMakers and enrolled in their 2 year long course which might seem too much but believe you me that this turned out to be a great decision as it allowed me to prepare smoothly and without much haste. Also, this gave me a lot of time to focus on my extracurriculars. Also, COVID played a big role as when everyone was locked in at home it gave me a lot of extra time as school and coaching were both pushed online. Further i will tell you my strategy I used which helped me get AIR 30 in IPMAT Indore.

HOW TO MANAGE IPMAT PREPRATION WITH BOARDS

So since I started my preparation in 2020 for an exam for which I was going to appear in 2022, my journey started slow. At first, I used to give 2hr max per day for IPMAT preparations and that was more than enough, As I was done with most of my syllabus in around 6-8 months with plenty of practice. One point I would like to mention is that having applied mathematics helped a lot as I could easily relate to the topics thought in school as well as coaching due to syllabus overlap.

So, the main problem was not during regular day as I was easily able to divide my time between the school and IPMAT. However, during exam time, I had to focus more on school. So, during exam time I shifted my focus completely on school as it also helped me prepare for boards. However, I still tried to find at least one hour for English reading – be it a book or newspaper. This helped me prepare my English. I was able to follow this strategy as I started my preparations early, and I would advise everyone that if you are serious about IPMAT you too should start early. Also, during my final board exam, I tried to find time for QA as well during the long preparation leaves. This was my strategy everyone can have a unique strategy for the same

Also, during the later phase I preferred to study at home rather than going to coaching as at home you can focus on the topics you feel are important or you are underprepared. Also, I would suggest getting material of online coaching apart from the coaching you are enrolled in as this helps you prepare for all kinds of paper. AceIPM , Percentile classes, Supergrads are some coaching you can get material from – a lot of which is available for free on their YouTube channel.

In the end I would like to tell that using this helped me get 94% in Boards without any external coaching or tutoring for the same.

 

STRATEGY FOR IPMAT PREPRATION

My strategy was not very complex. At first I simply started with the course material provided by my coaching to get an idea of the topics of which were asked in the exam. After few weeks of practice I was able to identify the areas in which I faced problems and areas for which I was well prepared. After this I made notes of the topics, I was week in and regularly practiced them while also doing newer topics. In this way I was able to the entire syllabus the first time in around 8 months. I took 8 months as I started my prep early and had more time to prepare, this time can vary depending on your comfort level with the subjects, and the time you have for preparations.

After this I restarted my preparations but this time with a lot of tests and more focus on topics in which I had doubts. At first, I gave topic wise test which were provided by my coaching. These are great for preparation of specific topics. You can also get these on online coaching of your choice.

Then came the MOCKS – perhaps the most important part of any exam’s preparations. They help you get a grasp of what paper are actually going to be like. I highly recommend doing a lot of mocks and analyzing each mock after giving them and get some takeaways. Now I personally started mocks after completing the syllabus but if you are running short on time you can start when you have completed around 75% of syllabus. As this will put you in a proper mindset. Also, mocks are great way to figure out your strategy for the final exam, as it teaches you time management and proper question selection. Analyzing mocks are as important as giving them as without them it's no use giving them.

In conclusion IPMAT may seem a very tough examination but with proper practice and preparation strategy it can be cracked even by an average student e.g.- ME ;)

HOW MUCH TIME IS REQUIRED TO PREPARE FOR IPMAT (My Opinion)

 

I personally prepared for IPMAT for 2 years but looking back I feel that 6 months with proper planning and preparation is enough time to crack IPMAT, however this time can vary from person to person. Hence, I suggest starting as early as possible and then figure out your strategy on the way

 I will share my interview experience in the next blog so stay tuned and all the best for you IPMAT journey…

In case of query or doubts my contact details are mentioned below:

Phone No.: 9644201344

Email; prakhar9644@gmail.com

Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/prakhar-sharma-iimi