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IPMAT 2027 Preparation Strategy: a plan built on how you're actually scored
Most preparation plans split your time evenly across topics. The institutes don't score evenly. Verbal is half of IIM Indore's aptitude score. Board marks are 30% of IIM Rohtak's decision. The interview is 35% at Indore. This plan, written for Class 12 students, starts from those numbers.
Start from the scoring rules, not the syllabus
Every rule below comes from the institutes' own 2026-cycle documents. Each one should change where your hours go.
| The rule | What it means for your preparation |
|---|---|
| Verbal is 50% of IIM Indore's aptitude score (the two quant sections are 25% each) | Reading and vocabulary need daily time from the first week. They are hard to catch up on in the last month. |
| Indore's short-answer quant has no negative marking | Practise quant with the options covered, and plan to answer every short-answer question. |
| Indore gives each section its own 40 minutes | Time you save in one section can't be used in another. Practise each section against its own clock. |
| Rohtak: 120 questions in 120 minutes, one clock | About a minute a question. Speed and deciding what to skip are skills you have to train. |
| Rohtak counts Class XII at 20% and Class X at 10%, and requires 60% in both (55% for SC, ST and DAP) | Your board exams are part of your IPMAT preparation, not a break from it. |
| The interview is 35% at Indore and 15% at Rohtak | Start interview preparation in small doses months before any shortlist appears. |
| JIPMAT: 100 questions in 150 minutes. IIM Jammu requires the 50th percentile in every section (General category) | One weak section can end your IIM Jammu application, however strong the other two are. |
| Rohtak and JIPMAT test reasoning; Indore doesn't | If you are taking more than one exam, Logical Reasoning has to be in your plan. |
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How much time you actually have
The IPMAT 2027 dates have not been announced (as of 24 Sep 2026). The 2026 cycle is the best guide to how the year runs:
| 2026 cycle | IPMAT Indore | IPMAT Rohtak | JIPMAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applications | 2 Feb – 17 Mar (extended) | 6 Feb – 6 Apr | Opened 16 Apr |
| Test | 4 May | 10 May | 7 June |
| Interviews | 15–18 June (tentative) | 1st–2nd week of June | None listed by IIM Jammu |
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The plan, phase by phase
Five phases. The dates assume a test in early May, like 2026. Move them when the 2027 notices are out.
| Phase | When | The goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Build | Now – end of November | Rebuild school maths from the basics, start reading every day, learn the reasoning question types |
| 2. Practise | December – January | Timed sectional tests, your first full mocks, an error log |
| 3. Boards | From your board exams until the last paper | Board marks first. Keep IPMAT going with a short daily session. Submit the applications |
| 4. Exam mode | After boards – test day | Full mocks in each exam's own format, and time for analysis |
| 5. Interview | Small doses from December; full focus after the test | Be ready before the shortlist comes out |
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Phase 1: Build
Quant first: arithmetic (percentages, ratios, averages, time and work), then algebra. Most of it is Class 9–10 maths, so be honest about what you have forgotten. Read 30–45 minutes every day: editorials, long-form essays, anything argued rather than listed. If you are taking Rohtak or JIPMAT, learn one reasoning question type a week.
Phase 2: Practise
Move from chapters to mixed, timed sets. Take a full mock every two weeks, and write down every question you got wrong or took too long on. That list, not the mock score, tells you what to study next. Start doing quant with the options covered, to prepare for Indore's short-answer section.
Phase 3: Boards
Rohtak and IIM Jammu count your board marks, and both need 60% to apply. Protect those marks. Keep 45–60 minutes a day for reading and a quant set so nothing goes cold. Application deadlines fall in this period, so don't let one pass during an exam week.
Phase 4: Exam mode
Two or three full mocks a week, each followed by an analysis as long as the mock itself. Practise Indore against three separate 40-minute clocks and Rohtak against one 120-minute clock. The two need different habits.
What a normal week looks like during school
This is a routine that fits around school. Adjust the amounts, but keep the shape. Doing a little every day beats long weekend sessions.
| Day | Phases 1–2 | Phase 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Mon – Fri | 30–45 min reading + 60–75 min quant or reasoning | A full mock or two sectionals, plus analysis |
| Saturday | One timed sectional test + review of the week's error log | Full mock + analysis |
| Sunday | Full mock every other week (from Phase 2) + analysis | Weak-area practice, light reading, rest |
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These are suggestions, not official requirements. Students who start with strong basics may need less time than this, and students returning to maths after a gap may need more.
Section by section
For the full topic list, see the IPMAT syllabus. IIM Indore's and IIM Rohtak's 2026 admission documents don't include a topic list. NTA describes JIPMAT's quant as Class 10 mathematics concepts.
Verbal
Worth half of Indore's aptitude score and a full section everywhere else. Read daily, keep a word notebook and revise it weekly, and practise grammar and sentence questions in timed sets. Reading comprehension improves over months of daily reading, not in the last few weeks.
Quant (multiple choice)
Learn the concept, then practise speed. For each question type, know one quick method and one way to check your answer. With −1 for a wrong answer, deciding which questions to skip is part of the skill.
Quant (short answer, Indore only)
There are no options to work backwards from, so you have to be able to calculate the answer yourself. A wrong answer here costs nothing, so leave no question blank.
Logical Reasoning (Rohtak, JIPMAT)
Arrangements, puzzles, sets and data interpretation. It rewards learning the patterns more than raw ability, so a steady weekly routine from Phase 1 works well.
Mocks: the analysis matters more than the score
A mock tells you what to fix, but only if you go back through it. For every question, sort it into one of four groups: right and quick, right but slow, wrong, or skipped when you could have solved it. The last three groups are what you study next.
The guessing arithmetic
At +4 / −1, a guess between two remaining options gains you 1.5 marks on average. A completely blind guess is a gamble. Eliminate first, then decide.
Practise in the real format
An Indore-style mock with one 120-minute clock trains the wrong habit. Match the timing rules of the exam you are practising for.
Watch the trend, not one mock
One bad mock tells you very little. If a section scores low in three mocks in a row, that section needs more of your time.
The interview: 35% at Indore, and most students start late
In 2026, IIM Rohtak's schedule put interview calls in the last week of May, and IIM Indore listed interviews for 15–18 June (tentative). That leaves a few weeks after the test. Most of the preparation can start much earlier.
From December
Fifteen minutes of news every day and a short note on anything you have an opinion about. Over five months this builds up into what you can say about current affairs.
Know your own story
Why management, why this programme, what you do outside class, your Class 12 subjects. Interviewers ask about what you have written on your form, so read it again before the interview.
Practise out loud
Answers that sound fine in your head come out differently when spoken. Mock interviews with someone who will give you honest feedback matter more than more reading.
IIM Jammu's 2026 policy lists no interview; selection there is on the JIPMAT percentile and board marks.
Five mistakes that cost seats
Treating verbal as the easy section
At Indore it is worth as much as both quant sections together.
Pausing everything for boards
Two months off means rebuilding speed from scratch. Keep a short daily session going.
Ignoring boards for IPMAT
The opposite mistake. At Rohtak your board marks are worth 30% of the result.
Taking mocks without analysing them
Ten mocks you have reviewed properly are worth more than thirty you haven't.
Missing a form deadline
In 2026 the Indore form closed on 17 March and Rohtak's on 6 April. Put both dates in your calendar before your boards begin.
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Official sources
Every figure on this page comes from these documents. The weekly routine and phase lengths are our suggestions, not institute rules.
- IIM Indore – IPM 2026-31 Admission Procedure, Domestic Applicants (PDF)
- IIM Indore – IPM FAQs, including the tentative timeline (PDF)
- IIM Indore – IPM admission details (dates)
- IIM Rohtak – IPM admission page
- NTA – JIPMAT 2026 Information Bulletin (PDF)
- IIM Jammu – IPM admission policy
- IIM Shillong – IPM 2026 admission policy (PDF)
The IPM Labs is an independent institute and is not affiliated with any IIM. Figures are from the 2026 admission cycle, the most recent published at the time of writing. Dates, patterns and weightages can change between cycles, so always confirm against the current official notification.