With so many students appearing for IPMAT every single year, it’s common to think that opting for coaching is necessary to crack IPM. But, is it really? Do you actually need to join a coaching institute to crack the IPM Aptitude Test?
The short answer to this question is, well, it depends. There’s no one size fits all approach to this and different students have varying needs.
In this article, I’ll try to break it down to you so that you can decide for yourself if you actually require help from a coaching institute or not.
Is IPMAT tougher than CAT?
To begin with, we first need to clear a misconception. Some people take the CAT as a benchmark to see if they can get through the IPMAT. While a part of quantitative aptitude syllabus of IPMAT comprises of higher math topics, the rest of it is comparatively easier when compared to CAT. The same can be said about the LRDI section (not asked as a separate section in IPMAT but as a part of QA.) The level of the verbal section is more or less the same when compared to CAT.
Joining a coaching institute is recommended for non-math students
If you’re a non-math student like me, clearing the aptitude test can be a challenge. The level of math required to clear the entrance, especially IPMAT-Indore is quite high and the level of questions can be up to JEE Mains.
Cracking IPMAT for a non-math student is certainly not impossible but can get tricky. Therefore, to increase your odds of getting in, I’d strongly recommend you to join an IPMAT preparation programme.
What about those with a weak base in Quants or Verbal?
The next category comprises of those students who’ve studied these concepts earlier but might not have a strong grip over them. One might be really good at quants but lack in Verbal Ability or vice-versa.
The way you identify if you’re weak in a particular section is by solving the previous year’s question paper, which is available on the official website. If you’re not able to solve most of the questions or are finding yourself short of time, you might require some additional help.
For these students as well, I’d recommend joining a good IPM coaching institute as they lay out a proper structure for preparation and help expedite the learning process.
Who doesn’t require coaching?
Now that we’ve talked about the type of people who should join a coaching institute, we shall discuss who can choose to skip it.
Students who already have a strong grip over both the sections and are always on top of all major happenings across the world need not join a coaching institute.
Furthermore, those keeping IPMAT as a secondary option can also do away by not opting for coaching. This includes people who’re primarily focused on JEE and only look forward to joining IPM in case they don’t get an old IIT or the branch of their choice. If you’re preparing for JEE your quants section is already prepared, you only need to focus on verbal.
If you intend to prepare for IPM by yourself, you can go through this article of mine where I talk about the best books you can refer to for your IPMAT preparation.
Giving Mocks is Essential
While joining or not joining an institute for your overall preparation is a choice that you can make, I’d strongly suggest you buy the mock-test pack of a good coaching institute at least.
This will help you analyse your current standing so that you can better optimize your preparation strategy and achieve the desired results. But, make sure the institute you’re buying it from is of a good repute and is not repurposing its generic BBA sample papers in the name of IPMAT mocks.
You can also join an institute for just the PIWAT preparation in case you’re not very good with your communication or writing skills.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, some people think that coaching is non-essential to cracking IPMAT and that, everyone can crack IPMAT without that. They believe coaching to be unnecessary or frivolous mistaking them for motivational sessions that provide a temporary boost of confidence.
One interesting commonality amongst all these people is that they themselves opted for coaching to crack the entrance (or their parents forced them too.) and they had a bad experience at their institute which leads them to think this way.
While everyone does have a potential of cracking the entrance on their own, joining the RIGHT coaching can certainly boost your performance and help you gain an edge. And, even a slight edge can possibly change the final result, so I think it’s very much worth the investment.
Therefore, you not only need to identify if you require that additional push but also the best coaching institute if you do. I’ve also written an article which lays out the parameters to choose the right coaching for IPMAT so in case you feel the need of joining one, you can refer to that article.