I wrote this letter for a friend who was about to take the NMAT.
Maybe I you can pick up some tips too.
Don't hesitate to post any comments or questions you might have. I'd be glad to answer them back!
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Hi! I heard that you're taking the NMAT this April. I hope the reviewers that I lent you will be of help. My mom suggested that I send you some tips so I'll be writing this assuming you'll be taking the NMAT for the first time. :)
Basically, when I was preparing for the NMAT, I just made sure that I disciplined myself to follow the schedule that I made. In the month prior to the NMAT, I scheduled about 3-5 days per subject, depending on how easy or hard I found it, and just reviewed for 2 hours in the morning and evening about 2 hours in the evening per day.
For Part I, the English part was relatively easy for me. Just practice building your vocabulary and practice reading quickly but also making sure you comprehend articles well. For Math, it was basic math skills in algebra, trigonometry and geometry and a lot of graph and table analysis but nothing extremely complicated like higher calculus. If in case you're like me though, who isn't so good in Math, I suggest you really practice also. Though the questions are basic, they can be really tricky and you have to be quick in answering them. For Abstract Reasoning and Perceptual Acuity, there's not much I can tell you except to PRACTICE. These parts are really based on logic and skill. The main pointers for Part 1 is to practice and to be always aware of the time. A lot of people weren't able to finish this part and as a result got their NMAT grades pulled down.
For Part II, the Bio part was OK. The questions were a mixture of Genetics, Basic Bio, Ecology, Botany and Zoo. For Chem, I found it a bit hard. Study Organic Chem, Biochem, Analytical Chem and Basic Chem. In our NMAT, a lot of Basic Chem came out (valence electrons, spdf, etc.) as well as Organic Chem. Make sure you know your Analytical Chem also (titration, etc.). In Physics, you have to study thermodynamics, electricity, light and waves and of course the basics, i.e. motion, energy, etc. I found this pretty hard. This was the subtest I got lowest grade so I hope you get to study especially if you're not so familiar with it anymore. Social Sciences was OK also, same level of difficulty as Bio. Make sure you know the terms used in Psychology, Social Studies and Anthropology. I have a good set of handouts on that from the review center. Review the terms.
Part I is more time consuming than Part II. Always make sure you're aware of the time and budget it accordingly based on your skills. Practice for Part I and study for Part II. When you think you're as prepared as you can get, use the mock exam that CEM gave you when you applied for the NMAT. That will give you a gauge of how prepared you are. The mock exam was really useful for me and I think it's as close to the actual NMAT as you can get.
They say every NMAT is different so the best advice I can give is be prepared. Practice, study and budget your time on the actual test. I'll be praying for you Monica. I hope you do well in the NMAT. Email me lang if you need to ask anything pa.
God bless!
Sincerely,
Litte Miss Hippocrates
