IIFT EXAM 2019

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) organizes a national-level entrance test, IIFT Exam, for admission to MBA (International Business). Approximately 60,000 candidates register for IIFT Exam to compete against 420 seats. IIFT 2019 is scheduled for December 2, 2018 in offline mode.


For personalised coaching for GD/PI/GE/WAT , contact Vivek Gupta, IIMB Alumni

The last date of the IIFT Registration 2019 was extended from September 14 to September 24, 2018. Indian nationals with 55% in graduation and foreign nationals with a valid GMAT score can apply. IIFT Application Form can be filled online (iift.edu) or offline (buy prospectus from office).

IIFT exam has 100 objective questions of 1 mark each. It tests a candidate’s quantitative, verbal/reading, reasoning and general knowledge skills. Scores of IIFT 2019 will be applicable to full-time and part-time MBA course in IIFT only. The result is expected to be declared in January 2019.

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IIFT 2019 Exam Dates 

	Date	Reference Links
IIFT Registration 2019 starts	August 6, 2018	IIFT Application Form ends on September 24, 2018
Last date to request change in exam centre	November 5, 2018
IIFT 2019 Exam	December 2, 2018 (10 am to 12 noon)
IIFT 2019 Result	Fourth week of December 2018
Selection Procedure	January/February 2019	Involves Essay Writing, Group Discussion & Personal Interview
Final Results	March 2019	Previous Year IIFT Cut off for General Category is 48.5

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IIFT Eligibility Criteria 2019

Nationality: Indian and Foreign National Students are eligible to apply in IIFT.

Educational Qualification:

• Candidate should have a graduation degree in any stream from a recognized university
• The minimum aggregate required in graduation is 55%.
• Candidates appearing in the final year of graduation are also eligible to apply. 

Age Limit: There is no age limit set by IIFT.

Additional Eligibility Criteria for Foreign National and NRI

• Candidate should have been resident outside India for at least 18 months as on December 31, 2018.
• Candidate must possess valid passport/travel document from a country other than India.
• Candidate must have a valid Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT) score.

IIFT Reservation Policy

Some seats out of the total sanctioned intake are earmarked for candidates belonging to minority groups or special categories as shown in the table below:

Category	Reservation of Seats in IIFT
Other Backward Classes (OBCs)	23%
Scheduled Castes (SCs)	15%
Scheduled Tribes (STs)	7.5%
Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)	4%

IIFT 2019 Registration

• Registration of IIFT 2019 will begin in the August 2018.
• IIFT Application Form can only be filled online as well as offline.

Steps to fill the application form are mentioned below:

IIFT Online Registration

1.    Visit the official website of IIFT

2.    Click on ‘Apply Now’

3.    Fill in the basic information like Name, Date of Birth, Email ID and Phone Number

4.    Click on Submit.

5.    Login to the candidates’ portal with the help of login ID and Password acquired during registration

6.    Fill in other details like academic qualification, work experience etc.

7.    Once completed, an email will be sent to the registered email id.

8.    Pay the requisite application fee.

9.    Upload scanned images of photograph and signature.

10.Take a print out for the future reference.

IIFT Offline Registration

Candidates who bought the Prospectus in cash or through demand draft need to complete the enclosed Application Form and send the same in the envelope provided for the purpose to:

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade,

B-21, Qutab Institutional Area, and New Delhi-110016 

IIFT 2019 Application Fee

• Application fee can be paid both online using Debit/Credit Card/Net banking or offline through a Demand Draft
• DD must be drawn in favor of INDIAN INSTITUTE OF FOREIGN TRADE payable at New Delhi.

For General Category- INR 1550/-

For Reserved Category- INR 775/-

For Foreign Nationals- INR 4,500/US $ 80

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IIFT 2019 Admit Card

• IIFT 2019 Admit Card is available online from November 16, 2018.
• Candidates can download IIFT 2019 Admit Card from the official website.
• Admit Cards will also be dispatched via post. 
• Candidates must preserve IIFT Admit card till the completion of admission process. 

How to download IIFT Admit Card Online?

1.    Visit the official website of IIFT

2.    Click on ‘Download Admit Card’

3.    Provide the Application ID and password acquired at the time of registration

4.    Check the details mentioned

5.    Take a print of IIFT 2019 Admit Card.

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IIFT 2019 Exam Centers

IIFT 2019 is going to be conducted across 20 cities. Candidates are required to select the exam city at the time of IIFT Registration.

State/City	State/City
Bangalore	Dehradun
Chandigarh	Guwahati
Chennai	Indore
Jaipur	Allahabad
Mumbai	Bhubaneswar
Delhi	Kochi
Hyderabad	Lucknow
Ahmedabad	Coimbatore
Nagpur	Kolkata
Visakhapatnam	Jamshedpur

NOTE:

1.The shortlisted candidates are required to appear for the selection process at 7 major cities: Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai.

2. If candidates wish to change the opted IIFT Exam Centers, a fee of INR 1,000/- will be charged. No request for change of centre will be entertained after November 2018.

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Exam Pattern of IIFT 2019

• IIFT Exam 2019 will be conducted on last Sunday of November or first Sunday of December.
• The objective type paper will be conducted in pen paper mode.
• The duration of exam is 120 minutes.
• Total weightage is of 100 marks.
• The question paper is divided into 6 section-
• Reading Comprehension- each of 1 mark
• Verbal Ability- each question of 1 mark
• Quantitative Aptitude- each question of 1 mark
• Logical Reasoning- each question of 1 mark
• Data Interpretation- each question of 0.75 mark
• General Knowledge- each question of 0.25 mark
• A penalty of 1/3 marks in each section will be applied for each incorrect answer.

IIFT 2019 Syllabus

• IIFT exam syllabus is from mathematics of class 10^th and 12^th level. 
• Logical reasoning includes general puzzles and most importantly syllogisms and blood relations.
• Data Interpretation has questions on different type of graphs and charts.
• There are usually 4 passages in Reading Comprehension
• Verbal Ability comprises of vocabulary based questions and idioms.
• Current Affairs are from both static General Knowledge and current occurrences from around the world. The table below enlists the IIFT 2018 Syllabus:

Quantitative Aptitude	Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation	English	General Knowledge
Algebra	Critical Reasoning	Reading Comprehension	Business & Economics
Arithmetic	Arrangements	Fill in the blanks	Awards & Records
Geometry	Puzzles	Para-jumbles	Science & Environment
Number System	Syllogisms	Sentence Correction	History & Geography
Modern Mathematics	Coding & Decoding	Odd one out	International Organisations
Statistics	Venn Diagrams	Vocabulary based	Social Issues
Set theory	Graphs & Charts	Idioms and Synonyms & Antonyms	Politics & Sports

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IIFT 2019 Result

• IIFT 2019 Result will be released in the first week of January 2019 as merit list.
• The scorecard will be available for candidates a few days after the declaration of merit list.
• Candidates who score the marks equal to or more than the cut off will be eligible for the selection process.
• The steps to check IIFT Result is given below:

1.    Visit the official website of IIFT

2.    Click on the link for ‘IIFT 2019 Result’

3.    Enter Roll number and Date of Birth

4.    Verify the details on the score card

5.    Take printout of the score Card

IIFT 2019 Score Card will contain the following details:

• Name of the candidate
• Roll number of the candidate
• Date of Birth of the candidate
• Maximum marks in each Section
• Total marks 
• Sectional Cut off
• Marks secured by the candidate
• Overall cut off category wise
• Total marks scored by the candidate

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Expected IIFT Cutoff 2019

• Candidates have to clear both sectional as well as overall cut off.
• Those who score more than or equal to the set cut off are invited for the next round of the selection process
• The expected cut off for IIFT 2018 is given the tables below:

Category wise Overall Cut off

Category	Cutoff marks	Max. Marks
General	48.5	100
OBC (NCL)	43.5	100
SC	38.5	100
ST	27.17	100
PH	28.85	100

Sectional Cut off

Section	Cutoff marks	Max. Marks
VA	4.67	20
RC	3.98	16
QA	4.01	20
LR	6.10	20
DI	1.25	15
GK	0.99	9

IIFT Cut off 2017

Category wise Overall Cut off

Category	Cutoff marks	Max. Marks
General	35.50	100
OBC (NCL)	30.50	100
SC	20.02	100
ST	22.69	100
PH	23.36	100

Sectional Cut off

Section	Cutoff marks	Max. Marks
VA	3.35	20
RC	2.69	16
QA	3.01	20
LR	5.67	20
DI	0.25	15
GK	0.82	9

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IIFT 2019 Selection Procedure

Candidates are shortlisted on the basis of their performance in the written test are called to participate in IIFT Selection Procedure. The rounds are expected to begin from January 2019.

The selection procedure for admission to MBA (International Business) involves Essay Writing, Group Discussion and Personal Interview.

Essay Writing: In this round candidates have to write an essay based on some topic of General or business affairs. It aims to test candidates’ writing skills and conceptual knowledge about the topics. The average duration of this round is 20 minutes and the length of a well-defined essay is usually 300 words.

Group Discussion: For Group discussion, qualified candidates from the previous rounds are divided into groups of 10-12 participants. Candidates are given a topic related to current or business affairs. The duration of the GD usually varies. Candidates’ ability to take initiative, ability to effectively communicate their ideas are generally some qualities that the panelists lookout for in this round.

Personal Interview: The Personal Interview round is one on one personal round where the panelists adjudge the candidates on the basis of their persona and ability to stay focused under pressure. The usual duration of PI round in 10-15 minutes.

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About MBA-IB at IIFT

The Programme aims at providing a comprehensive coverage incorporating all the important subject areas and disciplines relevant to international business. It has the below features:

• To familiarize the participants on the fundamental concepts of management.
• To expose the participants to the challenges in the emerging competitive business environment in an increasingly globalized world.
• To relate the management concepts to business situations and help participants to develop analytical and decision skills so as to evolve effective National and International Business Strategy.
• To develop socially responsive managers for International Business and help in shaping up their personality. To equip for career opportunities in International Business.
• To equip for career opportunities in International Business.

Scholarships in IIFT

1.    The Institute operates Need Based Scholarship Scheme under which it pays interest subsidy for a certain period of time on Educational Loan from a Bank taken by the student whose family income is less than INR 4.50 lakh per year. Depending upon the fee and other expenses the amount of educational loan is revised every year.

2.    Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and Ministry of Tribal Affairs have introduced a liberal scholarship scheme called Central Sector Scholarship Scheme of Top Class Education for SC/ST Students. Four SC students and four ST students, who secure admission in the Institute's two year full time MBA (International Business) are awarded scholarship by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and Ministry of Tribal Affairs, respectively. The scholarship provides for (i) full tuition fee and non-refundable charges; (ii) living expenses @ INR 2,220 per month subject to actuals; (iii) books and stationery at INR 3,000 per annum subject to actuals; and (iv) a latest computer with accessories like UPS, Printer, Multimedia limited to `45,000 as one time assistance during the course

Placements at IIFT

Here are the top recruiters of IIFT MBA-IB:

Abbott	Amazon	Apollo Hospitals
Airtel	Bajaj	Blue Deebaj
Cipla	Dell	Citi Bank
Britannia	Deloitte	Cognizant

IIFT Fee Structure

The annual tuition fee payable by each participant for the MBA (IB) is INR 6,75,000 which can be paid in three installments. There are other charges of INR 30,000 for rest year and INR 20,000 in the second year for computer facility, internet, library, alumni charges and IMF (student body). The students of SC, ST and PH category are given 50% concession on tuition fee only.

Foreign Nationals/NRI Students/ Children of NRIs will have to pay the annual tuition fee along with other charges in a single installment at the time of admission in the rst year and by the start of second year. The fee under this category is US$27,500 per year and other charges of INR 30,000 for rst year and INR 20,000 in the second year.


For personalised coaching for GD/PI/GE/WAT , contact Vivek Gupta, IIMB Alumni

All About GRE

Have a dream of studying abroad at top-notch universities? Want to persue research and management in top-10 universities of the world? GRE is the key to your success.

The Graduate Record Examination opens the door for 1,200 business schools around the world and thousands of universities for research and higher studies. A basic GRE exam and Subject exam will test your full grip over a subject. The subject tests include Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Literature, Mathematics, and Psychology. The general GRE exam includes Aptitude, Reasoning and English. Undergraduates can apply for this exam. Around 378 MBA colleges and 464 MS Colleges accept GRE score. The exam is conducted thrice a year in April, September, and October.

The Application fee for GRE General Test is Rs. 13,500 – Rs. 14,500 while for Subject Test is Rs. 10,000 – Rs. 11,000. The GRE score is valid for five years. The admission is purely based on the cut-off declared by colleges. It is conducted in 22 cities. This exam also helps to grab you a scholarship at college.

It is important to understand that the GRE is very different as compared to the other exams we are used to giving, talking from an Indian’s perspective. Blind hard work will not serve any purpose and sometimes will be counterproductive.

ETS (the company that conducts the GRE) wants to convince you that your score is a measure of how good you are at ‘critical thinking’, but in reality it is only a measure of how good you are at giving the GRE. So, fortunately for us, the more you practice in the correct way, the better you become at giving the GRE.

Quality > Quantity always. Please do not spend 10+ hours a day mechanically solving problems and forgetting about them as you move forward. This will cause you to plateau at a certain skill level. The key is small incremental improvements.

The ideal way is a simple 3 step process:

·        Solve problems in small sets, around 20(+5 || -5) questions per set.

·        Check your answers. See the solutions, understand them thoroughly.

·        After checking all, recap the questions you got wrong, why, and what you learnt from them. This is extremely important.

Let’s jump into the schedule now, shall we?

Pre-prep phase (1 week):

What is to be done? Words, Words and more Words.

Spend this week learning the words from the following apps:

·        Barron’s 1100

·        Magoosh Flash Cards (around 1000 words)

·        Manhattan Essential Words (around 500 words)

Vocabulary is essential to understanding the Reading Comprehensions as well as the sentence completions, so please complete this before moving ahead!

Week 1:

Congratulations! The boring part is done. This week, let’s do:

4 Practice Tests

Practice each type of question in isolation. For example, do 20 Text Completions in one set. This will help you to identify weaknesses to work on.

Brush up all the shortcuts and maths formulae that you encounter. (Online Magoosh article exists)

Week 2:

This week, let’s move forward with:

·      6 Practice Tests.

·      Do mixed practice sets now (All types of problems together), to simulate the actual GRE scenario.

·      Strictly time your tests and practice sets. Keep 5 minutes per section as a buffer. Identify which type of questions you are slow at. Work on them.

Week 3:

Buckle up; this is your final lap:

·      8 practice tests.

·      Start reading AWA essays online, as well as general structuring tips. A lot of video material is available online. Practice a few essays if necessary.

·      Revise the Vocabulary words and mathematical formulae.

·      At the end of this schedule, you should be ready to face the GRE. So be confident, sleep well before the paper

The Skills Tested in GRE is:

·      Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA)

·      Quantitative Reasoning

·      Verbal Reasoning

Simple strategies:

Please follow 20 minutes strategy. Prepare seriously for 20 mins and then give a small break. Break depends as you can take a 1 min break to an hour. It solely boils down to you. With this strategy, even if you prepare for 10 times a day (10 x 20 mins = 200 mins = 3 hrs 20 mins); then you would be able to put in 3 hrs and 20 mins of valuable effort. More importantly, you will not have any starting problem as some students struggle to even start.

Further, keep yourself fit by doing meditation, yoga and exercises like walking, running etc to keep yourself fit. Staying fit helps you in enhancing the body & mind and in turn helps in increasing the concentration level.

Have a clear goal for your preparation. Work every day with a plan. Systematic and consistent preparation helps you a lot. More importantly, learn it with passion. If you learn with passion, then you can enjoy studying and not creating self inflicted unwanted stress.

1. GRE Verbal Reasoning: (Two sections) - 20 questions per section- 30 minutes per section

·      The Verbal Reasoning section evaluates a candidate's skills to analyze and draw conclusions, understand and add value to data. Candidates are required to understand and summarize the structure of a text as well.

·      Content information analysis and evaluation

·      Analysis of relationships between different parts of sentences

·      Differentiate between concepts and words and the relationships between them

Preparation Tips for Verbal Reasoning:

Learn new words: Candidates should learn new words regularly. It is the most important GRE preparation tip. Along with learning new words, learn and practice the usage of the words as well. It is always interesting to play with words and their formations. This exercise introduces new words and improves your vocabulary to a great extent as well. Candidates on the look-out for new words may find websites like OALD and Webster to be extremely helpful. Try playing scrabble during the leisure time; it will help in learning new words easily.

Practice Reading Comprehension: Reading Comprehension forms a big part of the GRE paper. Hence, aspirants should practice as many reading comprehensions as possible. It should be treated as Mathematics. The practice of at least two to three reading comprehensions in a day would be helpful for the test takers to fare decent scores in GRE test.

Check Grammar: Another major GRE preparation tip is to practice Grammar extensively. It is not an easy task to learn all the rules of grammar. The simplest way here would be to understand the basic usages and very importantly learn tenses and other particulars of English grammar.

2. GRE Quantitative Reasoning: (Two sections) - 20 questions per section- 35 minutes per section

The quantitative reasoning section evaluates the basic mathematical skills of the test taker. Candidates need to possess knowledge of the standard mathematical concepts and their application in solving problems.

The Quantitative section has two tasks with 20 questions in each and the time allotted to complete each section is 35 minutes.

Preparation Tips for Quantitative Reasoning:

A. Practice elementary mathematics: It is imperative for candidates appearing for GRE to make sure their concepts of elementary mathematics are clear. The main topics in this section include Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Data analysis. However, instead of direct questions relating to the topics, candidates would be asked questions where they need to apply the mathematical concepts. It means the exam checks the confidence of the test taker in the respective topics. So, candidates should ensure that basic concepts are clear before taking up the GRE test.

B. Solve sample paper: One of the effective GRE preparation tips is to solve as many sample papers as possible. Quant is one of the trickier sections of GRE and it is always preferable to be prepared for the kind of expected questions.

C. Plan, Prepare and Practice: This is the only technique that can help candidates ace the Quantitative section of GRE. The more one plans and practices, the more his/her concepts will be cleared.

3. GRE Analytical Writing: (One section with two separately timed tasks)-

Analyze an Issue task (30 mins)

Analyze an Argument (30 mins)

This section measures two important skills of the test-taker firstly, the critical thinking ability and secondly, analytical writing skills. There are two tasks in this section: Analyze an Issue and Analyze an Argument. The issue task requires analyzing an issue and developing opinion around it. In the argument task, the candidates have to analyze an argument and present their position regarding it.

Preparation Tips for Analytical Writing:

A. Read and Analyze: Yes, the trick is simple. Reading is the key to success. Candidates should first read and then analyze the content. They should try forming well-read opinions and try to provide reasons for the framed opinions. An analysis should be done from every point of view with substantiation. There is always a way of directing an argument in a manner that is convincing and that only comes from having knowledge on any given topic.

B. Practice writing: Candidates should choose any topic and start writing on it. They should focus on using better vocabulary for expressing the views and arguments. Candidates are suggested to look up at current topics and brainstorm with a peer group to get more ideas and improving on articulation. Also, prospective test takers should practice citing pertinent examples for their line of argument. Candidates might consider the below mentioned GRE preparation tips while writing:

·        The direction of the argument i.e., for or against

·        Listing all the points for or against the issue.

·        Filtering points based on reason and importance.

·        Dividing argument into well-defined sections to clarify their stand.