What is SNAP?
Symbiosis National Aptitude (SNAP) Test is a mandatory
first step for applying to any post-graduate programme
at any Symbiosis Institute.
The Symbiosis group of institutes is synonymous with
management education in Pune.
Who conducts SNAP?
SNAP is conducted by the Symbiosis group of institutes.
When will SNAP
be conducted?
Usually SNAP is conducted on the third week of December
every year. SNAP 2010 was on 19th December 2010, Sunday.
Overview of the
SNAP. “High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.”
Procuring a management degree from the prestigious Symbiosis Institute carries with it a high sense of achievement…but this achievement also comes with a price, which today’s SNAP fittingly proved.
Combing the finest from the best, today’s Entrance Test showed that if you are aspiring to join the cream of the management crop then you had to set high standards to pass the SNAP.
The Symbiosis group of institutes is synonymous with management education in Pune. Symbiosis National Aptitude (SNAP) Test is a mandatory first step for applying to any post-graduate programme at any Symbiosis Institute. Every year, thousands of students from all over the country take this test to get a call from one of the many prestigious Symbiosis institutes.
| Overview of the SNAP Paper |
Time |
120 mins |
Total no. of questions |
150 |
Total marks |
180 |
Negative marking |
25% |
How was the December
2010 SNAP paper?
This paper can best be described as a rollercoaster ride on the MBA bandwagon. If General English gave you the thrills then General Awareness gave you the chills…while Quantitative and Data Interpretation caused a few turbulences, Analytical and Logical Reasoning kept you on track.
 Total number of questions was more than SNAP 09
Analytical and Logical Reasoning section had some direct logical questions.
General English had questions with an easy flow to them and were less tricky in comparison to SNAP
2009.
Quantitative and Data Interpretation & Sufficiency section had simple straight forward problems where
application of fundamentals was the only criterion with some questions directly from previous year CAT
papers.
General Awareness section was slightly tough compared to other sections with definitely few sitters in it.
How was the Verbal
Ability section in SNAP 2010?
General English: Reading Comprehension, Verbal Reasoning and Verbal Ability
Students had a field day answering the General English section. The level of difficulty of the questions showed a marked reduction raising the number of attempts and also increasing the scores for this section.
| Area Tested |
Description |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Reading Comprehension |
One short passage |
5 |
Above Average |
Verbal Ability |
Fill in the blanks (grammar based) |
5 |
Easy |
Fill in the blanks ( Double as well as single blanks; word based) |
13 |
Easy |
Synonyms (Words+Phrases) |
1 |
Average |
Idiomatic phrase |
8 |
Easy |
Convey the same idea |
4 |
Easy |
Antonyms |
1 |
Average |
Odd man out |
3 |
Easy |
|
Total |
|
40 |
Easy |
How was the Quantitative
Aptitude, Data Interpretation and Data sufficiency section
in SNAP 2010?
Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation & Sufficiency
| Topic |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Pipes and cistern |
2 |
Easy to average |
Men, Time and Work |
2 |
Average |
Equation Based |
2 |
Easy to average |
Numbers |
5 |
Easy to average |
Geometry |
3 |
Easy to average |
Inequality |
1 |
Easy |
Mixture and Alligation |
1 |
Easy |
Speed, Time and Distance |
1 |
Easy |
Set theory |
1 |
Easy |
Percentage |
3 |
Easy to average |
Visual reasoning based |
1 |
Easy |
Number series |
2 |
Easy |
Averages |
1 |
Average |
Data Sufficiency |
11 |
Easy to average |
Bar Graph |
4 |
Easy to average |
Total |
40 |
Easy |
How was the Reasoning
Ability section in SNAP 2010?
Analytical Reasoning & Logical Reasoning
| Area Tested |
Description |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Analytical
Reasoning |
Arrangement |
2 + 1 + 2 + 1 |
Easy |
Circular Arrangement |
3 |
Average |
Coding Decoding series |
1 |
Easy |
Selection |
2 |
Easy |
Data Verification |
1 |
Easy |
Verbal Reasoning |
Deductive Reasoning (Syllogism) |
1 |
Easy |
Inductive Reasoning (Inference) |
1 |
Easy |
Inductive Reasoning (Weakening Argument) |
1 |
Easy |
Mathematical
Reasoning |
Ratio |
1 |
Easy |
Set theory |
2 |
Easy |
Clock |
1 |
Easy |
Series |
3 |
Average |
Equation Based |
2 |
Easy |
Puzzle |
3 |
Easy to average |
Data interpretation |
Table |
2 |
Easy |
Total |
|
30 |
Easy to average |
How was
the General Knowledge section in SNAP 2010?
This section was an amalgamation of Current Affairs, Business Awareness, Indian Polity and static General Knowledge. Keeping abreast with the current happenings internationally as well as nationally was clearly the order of the day.
A substantial chunk of General Awareness sought to assess the aspirants static general knowledge gleaned over the years. Cashing on the General Knowledge Handouts and Infodigest from Career Forum’s website would have helped immensely.
Those who have made use of the Infodigest and General Knowledge Handouts on Career Forum’s website stood to gain in this section.
 Eligibility
Criteria and Marks related:
What is the eligibility
for SNAP 2010?
The candidate must be a graduate with at least 50% marks
and 45% in case of students belonging to SC, ST and PWD.
Candidates appearing for a qualifying examination
can also apply subject to submission of proof of requisite
qualification.
When will SNAP 2010 reuslts be out?
SNAP 2010 result announcement will be on 12th January 2011, Wednesday
Do I have to
be a graduate from a premier college?
No. It is not necessary that students need to be from
premier colleges. You get into a B-school on the basis
of your performance in the entrance exams conducted
by the B-schools themselves.
I have done my
diploma. Can I apply for an MBA?
MBA, being a master's degree, requires the aspirant
to be a graduate. That means, you must have a Bachelor's
Degree from any university incorporated by an act
of the Central or State government of India, any other
educational institution established by an act of Parliament
or any institution deemed as such under section 3
of the UGC Act 1956. This also includes any equivalent
qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government
of India. Your Bachelor's Degree or equivalent qualification
must have covered a minimum of three years of education
after completing higher secondary schooling, which
is a total of 10+2+3 years.
Preparation
Related:
How does one
develop aptitude for Math and English? In
simple terms, SNAP tests managerial abilities in a
candidate through Mathematics and English. This means
that you will be required to interlink concepts in
order to solve a particular problem. Your ability
to apply concepts to practical situations is what
will be tested.
Once you start taking section tests and comprehensive
tests, it becomes important to Analyze each of the
tests that you take. This will help identify the areas/topics
that you are weak at and still need brushing up before
you take the next test.
How does one
analyze performance? 1.
Analyze your area-wise/topic - wise performance to
identify potential areas for improvement.
2. Work on the identified areas,
through determined practice using
Concept Books
Section Tests and Comprehensive Tests
After you take each test, do analyze it well. Analysis
would take a lot of time, do not take this as a waste
of time, and instead convert this into a learning
process. For all correct answers, compare your method
with the Explanatory Answers, check if you can attempt
it faster and practice the new method, if any. For
all incorrect answers, reattempt the questions with
no time limits. You need to understand as to why did
you make the mistake- was it conceptual/silly mistake/incorrect
interpretation. Learn from your mistakes and ensure
that you do not commit them in future.
How does one
increase reading speed and verbal ability?
The areas that are tested in English are verbal ability,
reading comprehension and composition skills. This
means that you need to build an overall aptitude in
English. Good command over English language is a must
in order to succeed in SNAP. In fact, you will observe
that you need good English even to attempt the quantitative
and data interpretation sections.
Reading a newspaper like The Times of India / The
Hindu, a business daily like The Economic Times/Business
Standard and political and business magazines should
become a daily habit for all SNAP applicants. Further,
Read any section in the newspaper, especially the
editorial one.
Timing yourself while reading is important. You should
be able to read 200 to 250 words a minute.
Write a summary ( about 100 to 150 words ) every day
on the topic you have read. It will help in building
your thought process which is crucial in SNAP.
Make a note of the difficult words and look up their
meanings from the Oxford English dictionary. Try and
maintain a notebook/prepare flash cards
that you can go through in your free time.
Reading would also help keep updated on
the events going around thus building on your general
awareness that would be helpful during
the group discussion and personal interview rounds.
B-School
Admissions Related:
How important
are my application forms?
It is very important to be honest in your application
forms. Do not fill any information that is untrue.
Certain questions in the forms ask you about Career
Goals, Strengths, Weaknesses, etc. They are deliberately
there to help the B-school know a little bit more
about you and are often referred to during the interview.
It is highly recommended to keep a photocopy of every
form that you fill so that you can revise what you
have written before the interview.
What do you
mean by percentile and percentage?
Percentile: Percentile indicates
student's relative performance position among the
total students who took the exam.
Percentage: The % score represents
normalized percentage of scores secured by the candidate.
It is a relative method of representing the score.
This is not the actual % score.
For example – A 99 percentile
means that the student is among the top 1 percent
of the population who took the exam.
Does a candidate
get calls only on the basis of cutoffs?
No. One needs to keep in mind that cut-offs are only
one of the many evaluation tools that the B Schools
use to shortlist candidates. The other prominent factors
are past academic performance, work experience if
any, extra curricular activities and achievements
etc.
Does work experience
increase chances of making it to a reputed school?
Work experience is not mandatory criteria for making
into any B Schools. However, having work experience
does add to your profile. None the less, you need
to prove your worth at the time of the GD/PI rounds.
This implies that the panel needs to be convinced
about what you have learnt at the job and contributed
positively to the organization. The way you present
yourself and your approach towards the questions plays
a vital role in the outcome of your interview. Remember,
you will be pitched against the best minds during
the GD/PI rounds. So you need to be at your best to
make sure you get the final call.
What is the
duration of the test?
The duration of the paper is 2 hours.
Which B-schools
which accept SNAP score?
The Participating Institutes are:
| Institute |
Programme/s |
Symbiosis Institute of
Business
Management (SIBM)
|
Master's Degree in Business
Administration (MBA )
(Specializations in Marketing/ Finance/ Human
Resource/ Operations Management)
|
Symbiosis Institute of
Computer Studies and Research (SICSR) |
Master of Business Administration
-
Information Technology
Master of Science in Computer Applications
|
Symbiosis Institute of
Mass Communication |
Post Graduate Diploma
in Mass Communication
Post Graduate Diploma in Communication Management
|
Symbiosis Institute of
International Business (SIIB) |
Master’s Programme
in International Business
Master’s Programme in Agribusiness Management
|
Symbiosis Center for Management
& Human Resource Development (SCMHRD)
|
Post Graduate Diploma
in Management |
Symbiosis Institute of
Management
Studies (SIMS)
|
Post Graduate Diploma
in Management
PGDM (PM & HR)
PGDM (Information and
Communication Technology Mgmt)
PGDM (International Business)
|
Symbiosis Institute of
Telecom
Management (SITM)
|
Post Graduate Diploma
in Telecom
Management with Specializations –
Marketing & Finance and System & Finance. |
Symbiosis Center for Information
Technology (SCIT)
|
Master’s programme
in Information Technology |
Symbiosis Institute of
Geo-informatics |
Master’s programme
in Geo-informatics |
Symbiosis Institute Of
Operations
Management (SIOM)
|
Postgraduate Diploma in
Operations
Management (PGDOM)
|
Symbiosis Institute of
Health Sciences (SIHS) |
MBA (Hospital & Healthcare) |
|
