IBA entry test — how did you prepare for the English section specifically?
I'm applying to IBA Karachi for the BBA program and the entry test English section has me worried. My FSc math score was 87% so quantitative prep feels manageable, but I've been studying 5 weeks at about 2 hours a day and I'm at 72% on math practice and only 61% on English. Vocabulary and critical reasoning are where I'm losing the most points.
The math practice questions are solvable with enough time — algebra, geometry, and basic statistics make up most of it. But the English reading comprehension passages feel very academic and the vocabulary goes well beyond what I encountered in school. I've started reading Dawn and The News every day to build exposure to formal written English.
Three weeks left before my test date. I've heard the BBA cutoff is around 60-65% overall, but the program is competitive enough that you really want 75%+ to feel safe. My goal is to get English up to 70% minimum by exam day. For anyone who recently took the test — how closely did actual questions match the prep material available online?
I scored 69% overall and ended up on the waitlist but didn't get in. Students who made direct admission in my session were mostly above 78-80%. Don't aim for 75 — aim for 80 if you actually want the program.
Reading Dawn every day genuinely helped me. After about 4 weeks my reading speed improved noticeably and formal academic vocabulary started feeling more familiar. The Economist is worth adding too if you can handle the difficulty level.
Math was more straightforward than I expected going in. If you're at 72% on practice the actual test should be manageable. Shift your remaining 3 weeks heavily toward English — that's where the most points are being left on the table.
The actual test ran harder than the official sample papers on the English side. The vocabulary felt less common than standard GRE word lists and the reading passages were longer than I expected. Budget at least 2 minutes per passage rather than the 90 seconds I'd planned for.
Just wanted to give a quick update since I posted here a few weeks ago freaking out about the English section. I've been drilling vocab through flashcards every morning and doing one critical reasoning passage every night before bed, and honestly it's starting to click. Went from 61% to 74% on my last full mock. Still not where I want to be but it doesn't feel impossible anymore.
I'm planning to sit the actual test in the second week of July, so I've got about three weeks left. The reading comprehension was what killed me at first but I wasn't reading the questions before the passage, which apparently makes a huge difference. Someone on this thread mentioned that tip earlier and it genuinely helped. Good luck to everyone still prepping!
I'm actually a working adult who did the CNE while juggling a job, so the time crunch is real. What helped me was treating vocabulary in small chunks during commute time — even 10 words a day compounds fast. For critical reading I found drilling with a cne practice test pdf more useful than any textbook because it forced me to work under time pressure, which is honestly where most people lose points. Don't skip the reading comprehension passages even when you're tired, that's where I saw the biggest jump.
At 61% you're not far off, you just need to be more targeted. Figure out whether it's vocabulary or inference questions killing your score because the fix is completely different for each. I wasn't great at inference early on but once I stopped trying to use outside knowledge and just stuck to what the passage actually said, it clicked. Give yourself two more weeks of focused English and I think you'll surprise yourself.