IGDTUW MCA Entrance — My Honest Take & Preparation Strategy
A lot of students have been asking me about the IGDTUW MCA entrance exam — how the paper was, what to study, what not to study, how much maths comes, whether PYQs are enough, etc. So I thought I’d divide the students into two categories: students preparing for NIMCET + IGDTUW and students preparing only for IGDTUW.
For those preparing for NIMCET, my biggest advice is: just focus properly on your NIMCET preparation. If your NIMCET preparation is strong, IGDTUW should not be extremely difficult for you. Talking about the maths level of our paper, it was somewhat easier/moderate compared with NIMCET 2026. NIMCET 2026 was quite lengthy, whereas our paper wasn’t like that. The maths level in our paper was manageable. The approximate distribution of our paper was 20 questions English, 20 Reasoning, 20 Mathematics, 20 C/C++, and 20 Basic Computer Science/Computer Organisation. So overall, Computer has a very significant weightage — around 40 questions.
One very important thing is that the IGDTUW paper pattern is NOT predictable. For example, in 2025 they asked C-based questions, in 2024 they also asked C questions, but in 2026 the programming section consisted of C++ output-based questions. Similarly, the Computer Organisation/basic computer section has also varied. In our paper, it was relatively basic, whereas in the previous batch it was comparatively harder. Reasoning was very easy for us and there weren’t really quant questions in our paper, but in 2025 they had asked quant. So please don’t prepare based on predictions like “this year only this topic will come.” Even if a teacher says that only certain topics will come or a particular mock is based on a specific pattern, don’t depend completely on that. My personal experience is: prepare everything.
For students preparing only for IGDTUW, I would suggest giving extra attention to the Computer section. For programming, prepare both C and C++ thoroughly — theory as well as output-based questions. Practice code tracing, loops, functions, operators, precedence, basic programming concepts and basic OOP concepts. Don’t prepare only output questions; theory is equally important because the pattern can change every year. Do as many C/C++ output-based questions as possible because even a small mistake in understanding the code can change the answer completely. Along with programming, prepare Basic Computer and Computer Organisation properly. Don’t study only the very basic definitions assuming that the same level as the previous year will come.
For Reasoning and Quant, prepare both. Don’t think, “Last year only reasoning came, so I’ll skip quant.” The pattern can change. If your maths is weak, don’t completely leave it. At least prepare manageable and formula-based topics like probability, permutation and combination, basic algebra, mean, median, mode, coordinate geometry, circle, ellipse and other important formulas. Even if maths isn’t your strongest subject, knowing these concepts and formulas properly can help you attempt several questions.
Around 1,200–1,300 students appear for the exam, while there are around 76 seats, with reservations applied category-wise. So obviously, competition for General category can be tougher because the number of seats available there is lower. For the exact category-wise seat distribution, I’ll leave that information in the comments separately so there is no confusion.
Talking about the cut-off, it generally goes around 70, but if you’re from the General category, I personally would suggest aiming for 75+ rather than targeting the bare minimum. I’m saying this based on my own experience of giving the paper and my estimation of my score. The actual cut-off can vary depending on the difficulty level and competition that year.
One BIG thing: don’t become dependent on mocks or PYQs. PYQs are useful, memory-based questions are useful and mocks are useful, but don’t make them your entire preparation. You can find previous-year/memory-based questions shared by students, including on platforms/groups such as Marolia, but use them for practice and understanding the pattern, not for predicting the next paper. Don’t do, “This mock is being conducted, so I’ll just prepare according to this mock.” Instead: Prepare → Give mock → Analyse your mistakes → Improve → Repeat. The mock should test your preparation, not become your preparation. The same goes for PYQs.
And most importantly, don’t panic — neither before the exam nor while attempting it. If your NIMCET preparation is genuinely good, you should be able to handle the IGDTUW paper. If you’re an IGDTUW-only student, cover all the sections properly, with extra focus on Computer and C/C++ theory + output-based questions. The paper is manageable if you have prepared well.
There is no negative marking, so make sure you attempt all 100 questions. Results are generally released around a week after the exam.
So my final advice is: Don’t try to predict the paper. Prepare yourself for whatever paper comes. The pattern has changed across years, so don’t skip subjects just because they weren’t asked heavily in the previous year. Prepare thoroughly, stay calm, and trust your preparation. All the best to everyone preparing for IGDTUW! ❤️