Symbiosis National Aptitude Test is by far one of the most predictable of the management exams in India. SNAP2009 did not do anything to change this image except for the small fact that the number of Qs went up from 135 to 150. Last year SNAP had 2 mark Qs in each of the 4 sections; however that was discontinued this year. The Analytical & Logical Reasoning section of SNAP2009 was the only one that had 2 mark Qs in it.General English, QA/DI/DS and General Awareness sections had 40 Qs each while the Analytical & Logical Reasoning section had 30Qs. However the Reasoning section had the maximum weightage and students should have done well to give this section the maximum amount of time as compared to the other sections. All in all this SNAP was definitely easier than the SNAP exams of previous years and the cut-offs should scale new highs. Let us now look at the individual sections in detail:

Analytical & Logical Reasoning

The Analytical & Logical Reasoning section of SNAP2009 had the least number of questions but the maximum weightage in terms of marks. In the past this section was quite difficult but SNAP2009 reversed this trend by giving a much easier section that would not have troubled the well prepared students at all. A good strategy for any student would have been to spend a higher proportion of time in this section on account of the higher marks per question which implies a higher return for time spent. Common sense would suggest that working out the set based qs would be much more rewarding than picking up the individual Qs. However this section had very few sets and most of those sets looked more like pure observation based DI sets than analytical reasoning puzzles. The set on 'Annual Production of elements' was as easy as it can get and should have been solved in less than a minute! The puzzle on 'Boats' was easy and should have been worked out through the data given in the Qs. The table based data set on 'Airtel One' was tricky and involved lengthy calculations and one could have made errors here if not careful. The set on the 'Production and Demand Statsistics of TV companies' was an absolute sitter and could be solved by simple observation. The individual Qs came from an assortment of topics like Strengthen & Weaken Arguments, Conclusions, Analogies, Coding Decoding, Number Logic, Non-Verbal Reasoning (Visual Reasoning) andLetter Series and were of the 'Easy-Moderate' level and students could have cracked most of them without any problem provided they had enough time to spare.

A good time allocation strategy for this section would be around 35-40 minutes. Attempts in the range of 22-24 should be considered to be very good.

General Awareness

This was probably the 'testing' section of SNAP2009 as the Qs required recall and an eye for detail. A cursory glance at the section may deceive us into believing the section was easy but after having gone through each question in a fair bit of detail, this view is bound to change. There was a preponderance of questions on Definitions (Dendrochronology, Ekistics etc.),Economy, Acronyms, History, Sport, Science & Technology and Current Affairs. This was a paper that would have played into the hands of those who have been reading a newspaper on a daily basis (yes that oft repeated advice given by us to students in every chat!) and those who have an active interest in quizzing. Given the nature of the questions – wild guessing in this paper would prove to be counter productive.

A good time allocation strategy for this section would be around 15 minutes. Attempts in the range of 26-28 should be considered to be very good.

Quantitative and Data Interpretation & Sufficiency

Though this section is termed the Quantitative, DI and DS – there were very few Qs from Data Interpretation area and none from the Data Sufficiency area! This section was dominated by Qs from Arithmetic, Number puzzles and some from Visual reasoning (this was a surprise). There were just two sets from Data Interpretation, both of which were pretty starightworward and should have been attempted. This section was on par with the difficulty leve of previous SNAP papers and a student who had done sufficient practice for CAT and other management tests would have been able to attempt quite a few questions in this section. The set on the 'card game' was tricky and would have troubled students however the set on Venn diagrams couldnt have been easier. A few Qs had some typos and were unresolvable and students should have recognised them as such and moved on without getting stuck on them and wasting valuable time.

A good time allocation strategy for this section would be around 30-35 minutes. Attempts in the range of 22-24 should be considered to be very good.

General English

The section had 40 questions that tested the candidates' abilities, in the areas of Comprehension (though there was just one passage), Vocabulary (meanings, usage idiomatic use, spellings and Grammar and Composition (Recognition of function, error identification, sentence correction, arrangement of jumbled sentences). SNAP2009 was a Verbal focussed paper with very little emphasis on Reading Comprehension. This was seen in the solitary RC passage that was asked and the preponderance of Qs from Vocabulary and usage.

The grammar questions would have taken some time to answer because the errors were minor and difficult to spot. However those who have prepared for CAT would have found this section to be a cinch and would have scored heavily.

A good time allocation strategy for this section would be around 30-35 minutes. Attempts in the range of 28-30 should be considered to be very good.

Sectional Scores and Overall Cut-Off

The participating institutes under SNAP decide on the sectional and overall cut-offs that they would be using on their own. Students should remember that just because an institute has NOT explicitly disclosed the sectional and overall cutoffs doesnt mean that they do not have such cut-offs. We have therefore always advised our students to ensure that they do well in all sections of SNAP. Studenst should also keep in mind that the procedure followed by any of the Symbiosis institutes last year would have little bearing on what they would do this year and hence one can and should expect surprises from each one of them in their GDPI Call criteria. The cut-offs which we have given below are under the assumption that the Symbiosis institites would stick to what they had done last year in terms of the sectional and overall cut-offs.

One should note that many of the participating institutes using SNAP scores in 2008 had sectional and overall cut-offs. It would not be a surprise to see most of them using the sectional filter this year as the number of test takers is quite high. A safe score to get calls from the top institute (SIBM Pune) would be around 98+ with good scores in all four sections.

Cut-off Estimates for SNAP2009

***Estimated sectional cut-off in case the institute goes for sectional cut-offs