10 Tips To Crack NIFT(UG) In 1 Month

What is NIFT?

Aspiring Fashion designers aim to get into NIFT(National Institute of Fashion Technology). There are 16 NIFT’s across India. These institutes offer 4 year B.Des Programs and 2 year M.Des Programs across various specializations including Fashion Design and Fashion Technology.

There are two stages of the exam:

Stage 1 - NIFT Written Test (GAT + CAT)

Stage 2 - NIFT Situation Test

What happens in the NIFT Written Test?

The GAT (General Ability Test) has a definite syllabus consisting of quantitative ability, communicative ability, english, analytical ability, general knowledge and current affairs. The GAT tests candidates for their logical, analytical, awareness and communication abilities. It is after the GAT that the CAT takes place.

 Sections:                                                       Number of Questions

English comprehension                                      25

Quantitative ability                                              20

Communication ability                                        25  

Analytical ability                                                 15

General knowledge and current affairs              15

The Creative Ability Test (CAT) varies each year. It’s unconventional and puts the candidate’s artistic and creative abilities to the test. Aspirants need to show a good understanding of colours, creativity and ability to communicate through sketching.

It is only after the candidate clears the Written Test, are they allowed to write the situation test. Generally, for every seat available, 5 aspirants will be called for the situation test.

What happens in the NIFT Situation Test?

In the situation test, the candidate will be given material and topics. They have to use the material to come up with something that will suit the topic.

The situation test is set up to see how the candidate can think on their feet and make optimum use of the materials given. After doing so the candidate must also provide a write up explaining their project, the write up must be in English.

 NIFT preparations for a 1 month

 Strategy:

GAT

• Brush over fundamentals of Math and English since you have the time. 
• Make notes of what you aren’t thorough with and go back to it when you have the time.
• Go through monthly magazines of the previous year.

CAT

• Perfect your techniques with pencil colors, oil pastels and watercolors.
• Get the opinion of a professional, take the time to discuss on what you can improve on.

Ace the entrance in just one month with the help of the following tips

1) Be confident – Confidence is the first step to success. Coaching centres like DQ Labs mentally prepare the students for such competitive exams with a good learning environment. They boost the students’ self esteem and nurture their creativity. The mentors insist on regular practice that shows in the students’ work and the final exam.

2) Read up on more than just the industry – Current affairs and static general knowledge plays a crucial part in every competitive exams, this is to test the awareness of students. Since there is only a month left it’ll be impossible to read all the newspapers. That’s why there are monthly magazine and pdfs of news affairs available. The Manorama year book , lead the competition website are reliable sources. The candidate is advised to read up on the industry as well, making notes of upcoming designers and leading actors is important, as well as other aspects of design and general knowledge regarding design philosophies. Follow fashion bloggers, stylist bloggers and kingpins of the industry.

3) Strict schedule – Since there isn’t a lot of time at hand, it is important to follow a rigorous timetable. Most students study 10 hours a day, working on various parts of the GAT (General Aptitude Test) . Organize your study material for the day and repeatedly go through your notes, work out as many quantitative aptitude problems as possible. With such intense preparation your efforts will be proven fruitful.

4) Work with different materials - Try your hand at origami, clay modeling, paper crafts and so on. This will help you think outside the box. In the situation test your versatility is examined, they observe your material handling skills. DQ Labs takes material handling classes by providing and encouraging students to work with different materials and tools .The mentors make sure that this session remains interactive and productive, it is because of this students are able to think on their feet and effectively produce desirable results in the situation test.

5) Work on detailing – The examiners pay attention to intricate details and notice the overall neatness of your presentation. Your presentation has to standout from the thousands that take the exam, you can only do that by giving it a uniqueness and a sense of originality. It’s advisable that you harness your creativity with neatness, anything can be creative and messy but it is exceptional when something is creative and neat.

6) Refer to DQ labs study material- DQ labs has compiled data on all the past papers. They have revised and organized exercises of their own. Their books contain similar problems that appear for competitive exams, with adequate practice of problems in their books the students will perform well in the General Aptitude Test.

7) Talk to students in who have cracked the exam – The students who have cracked the exams will have more to tell you about it and the course, see if you can incorporate their methods of studying into your own. Many toppers are from DQ Labs, try and get in touch with them and enquire about their strategies of preparation.

8) Join a reputed coaching centre – Coaching centres like DQ labs offer well structured programs that help candidates crack the paper. There are 1 month crash courses that are very helpful. This is led by experienced mentors who will offer guidance that cultivate and develop creativity.

9) Practice mock papers – Mock papers are very important, once the student finds all the topics manageable they must make it a point to write mock papers. They help the student mentally prepare for exam, it teaches the student to deal with the time constraint. DQ Edge is an online platform that grants its users access to many mock papers that come with a time limit, after taking the test the website analyses what you’re good at and what you’re weak at.

10) Keep calm – It is essential to be level headed with such a time constraint. Make it point not to save anything for later, get done with everything once and for all and most importantly remain calm, by doing so you can work through all your portions constructively .