Up Close and Personal with NTS-GAT

"So how are you going with the Lambs?", casually I asked her. "I am not very fond of food", she replied. I was surprised. I asked again, "I mean the book that I gave you? Charles and Mary Lamb?" "Oh. No, I haven't started it yet.", she shot back. Anxious, I persisted, "and the movie that I recommended to you? Pygmalion." I was about to add to the list of movies when she interrupted. "Look, I am right now preparing for GAT test. Only one week left and I have just reached the letter Q and still 2000 words left to be memorized". I gave it up. I would not be able to memorize 300 words in 300  years. But there she was, memorizing all those words. 

Graduate Assessment Test (GAT) which is also know is local GRE is required for admission into M. Phil in almost all Pakistani Universities. Moreover, it is required for HEC scholarships. Naturally, students in their last semester/year of their graduation get obsessed and sometimes worried about GAT as their future is dependent on passing or failing of it. So what is really GAT? As obvious by its name, it is a test which is designed to assess the skills and abilities gained in 16 years of education. And so there are no quick fixes. But do not get depressed. Continue reading to know what you can do to make this test less dreadful for yourself.

So what can you do?

Get familiarized with the test first. There are a total of 100 multiple choice questions and a total of 120 minutes. Each question carries one mark and there is no negative marking. Further, there are 40 question in the English section, 30 in analytical and 30 in math (this is for Biological Sciences. For other subjects, there is slight variation. For complete details, visit the NTS website). In English, there are antonyms, synonyms, fill in the blanks and reading comprehension questions. In math, which is essentially high school level math, the questions consist of basic geometry, sets, basic arithmetic, and basic algebra. Analytical section is mainly consisted of logical puzzles and a few logical reasoning questions.

Hone your math skills by studying elementary math like high school level math in a month or two. Try to learn algebraic and geometric equations and formulae. Practice your skills each day with sample questions. You can find the lastest GAT format in the official NTS book. The questions there are not of the highest quality but at least you will get an idea of what type of questions you may expect.

You can improve your analytical ability by practicing sample questions. For the logical puzzle questions, my favorite book is the GRE Big Book which has plenty of questions to last a life time. You can try to solve puzzles like Sudoku or code breaker which help increase your analytical ability.

For English there is no quick fix. Forget memorizing the word lists. They will do no good and instead will disturb you psychologically. Try a few novels, preferably by British authors. Also try to read columns and op-ed pages of English dailies. Puzzles like anagrams and crosswords help you increase your vocabulary. Try to solve at least 1 puzzle daily.

The main thing in these type of tests is that you know answers to all of the questions but you mismanage your time and at the end left with no time. So try to solve 100 questions in the same ratio as in the real test in a time of 120 minutes. This way you can find your rhythm and can simulate the real test conditions. With a week of solving these "home" tests, you will feel confident and be able to manage your 120 minute in the best way on test day.

People often ask me what book one should follow to get a higher score. I usually suggest books like GRE Big Book, Barron’s (older editions), ARCO and the NTS official book. But please keep in mind that these books are no substitute for hard work and dedication and use these as a tool rather than relying entirely on their contents. As GAT has no fix syllabus, in the end a book serves as much as a template for the real test.

Try to sleep early before test day. Reach the test center well in time and locate your seat. Try to relax. Do not read anything on test day. GAT has no syllabus so you do not have to complete that sample test from the last night. You may try your own methods of solving the test while my method is this: Start with math section and solve all those questions which are straight forward and can be solved in less than 45 seconds. It will take 20 minutes. The rest I leave. Then move on to the English section and try to solve the easy questions. Leave the reading comprehension questions for now as they are very time consuming. With 30 minutes on this section, finally move on to analytical section. The trick here is to understand the problem. And if possible, draw a table or diagram. Read each question carefully. Try the process of elimination on each option. At the end there is only one option and that must be the correct one. Do not try to spend too much time on a particular question. This section will or should take you maximum of 50 minutes given that there are 30 questions. So go back to the math section and try the remaining questions there. Sometimes you are sure about a question that you will not be able to solve it in the next few years. So make an educated guess. Move on to English and try the same. At the end you will be left with 10-15 minutes. So try to solve the remaining analytical questions. In the last 2-3 minutes, make guesses about all the questions that you left. Double check your answer sheet to make sure that no question is left unmarked.

These are few tips or suggestions which worked for me but do not think that it will work for everybody. Different people have different way of thinking and how they work so try your own way if that works for you.

I wish you best of luck for your next test and hope that it will not be a nightmare.



Also published in Express Tribune Blogs.


(P.S. This was posted earlier but upon the insistence of some of the friends I have posted this again for the benefit of those students who would be appearing for the test in January 2012.

P.S.S. Those of you who are outside Pakistan and wondering what this is all about, GAT is the local version (desi GAT as called by Fatima) of the International GRE conducted by ETS, USA.)