I'm planning to appear for ICET this year and I'm trying to put together a study schedule that actually makes sense. I've been out of college for 2 years working, so my analytical reasoning is rusty. I started mock tests last week and scored 58% overall - Communication Ability came in at 65% but Analytical Ability dragged everything down at around 51%.
My target is a seat in a decent MBA program in Andhra Pradesh. I've been told anything above 85 percentile is competitive for the better programs. That means I need to significantly improve my score from where I am now in about 10 weeks of consistent preparation.
I'm planning 3 hours of study per day - 1 hour on Analytical Ability, 1 hour on Communication, 30 minutes on Mathematical Ability, and 30 minutes of mock test review. Does this split make sense given my weak areas or should I be putting more time into analytical?
Also - does the ICET penalize for wrong answers? I've seen conflicting information and it changes my test-taking strategy significantly if there's negative marking involved.
No negative marking on ICET - attempt every question. That alone should bump your score a few percentile points on sections where you're unsure. Never leave a blank.
10 weeks is enough to hit 85+ percentile from where you are if you're consistent. I started at 54% overall and finished at 91st percentile. The key is doing full-length timed tests twice a week from week 4 onward.
Data sufficiency problems in the Analytical section take the most practice to get fast on. I spent 2 weeks just on those and went from 48% to 71% on that specific question type. They follow patterns once you recognize them.
Analytical Ability is the section that most separates scores at the top percentiles. I'd shift to 1.5 hours there and trim Communication down to 45 minutes since you're already decent on that section. Front-load the harder work.
Failed my first attempt with 54% and honestly the biggest mistake I made was treating all three sections equally. Communication Ability feels easy so you end up neglecting it, but that's exactly where I lost easy marks because I didn't practice enough reading comprehension under time pressure. Second time around I flipped my approach and spent the first two weeks doing nothing but Analytical Ability, like really grinding the data sufficiency and number series problems until they felt automatic.
The thing that actually moved the needle for me was timed sectional tests, not full mocks. Full mocks were exhausting me and I wasn't learning from them. Once I started doing 30-minute focused sets on just Arithmetic or just Analytical, my accuracy went up way faster. If you're already at 58% after one week of prep you're in a decent spot, just don't ignore the MA section thinking it'll take care of itself. It won't.
I was in almost the exact same spot last year — working full-time and trying to squeeze in prep around a 9-to-6 job. Analytical Reasoning was my weak spot too, and honestly it stayed that way until I stopped treating it like something I could cram and started doing 20-25 questions every single morning before work. It's boring but it works. Data Sufficiency tripped me up the most within that section, so I'd say don't sleep on it even if your overall AR score looks decent.
For Communication Ability, if you're already at 65% you're probably fine — just keep reading editorial pieces to stay sharp. The real time investment should go into AR. I used free icet analytical ability practice sets to build my speed up without paying for a full course, which honestly saved me a lot given I didn't have hours to spare on weekdays. Weekends I'd do a full timed mock, then spend Sunday evening just reviewing the ones I got wrong. Two months of that and my score jumped about 12 points.
Honestly, Analytical Ability was the section that hit me hardest too, especially after being out of college for a while. I work a 9-to-6 so I just carved out 45 minutes every morning before logging in, focusing almost entirely on data sufficiency and series problems because those took the longest to click. Found these free icet analytical ability practice sets really useful for drilling without having to sit through a full mock every day.
Communication Ability sort of takes care of itself if you're reading regularly, so don't stress too much there. The real time sink is getting your Analytical speed up because the section's not hard conceptually, it's just slow if you're rusty. Once I hit 70%+ consistently on timed drills, my overall score jumped more than I expected. Give it two weeks of focused morning sessions and you'll feel the difference.
Honestly I almost dropped out of prep entirely around week 3 because Analytical Ability was destroying my confidence. I was scoring like 45% on it consistently and kept thinking I just wasn't cut out for this. What actually helped me turn it around was drilling specific question types rather than doing full mocks every day -- there's a solid set of free icet analytical ability practice questions that let me identify exactly where I was losing points, and that changed everything for me.
For structuring prep, I'd say don't sleep on Communication Ability just because it feels easier. I did that and nearly got caught out. Analytical needs the most time if you're rusty like you said, but Data Sufficiency specifically is where most people bleed marks without realizing it. Keep your mock frequency up but also do targeted section practice between mocks -- that combo is what got me from 58% to clearing the cutoff with room to spare.