Many students & parents have a feeling that they do not stand to succeed in NIFT/NID, especially if they have not been doing extremely well in studies so far. Design Schools aspirants require an analytical approach and it is quite different from normal studies. Applicants should be able to visualize, be creative and creative. The medium of expression of these talents is usually drawing, hence good drawing skills are a must.

NIFT exam consist of two stages, Stage-I has two Screening Tests (GAT & CAT) of three hours each, GAT is objective in nature, CAT is creative/drawing based. All students qualifying this exam are will be called for the Stage-II, the Situation Test, which is a hands on practical test. NID exam also consists of two stages, Stage–I has only the CAT of 31/2 hours, which will test the applicants visualization & creative skills. All those who qualify through stage-I, will be called for Stage-II, the Studio Test & Interview. Studio Test is a hands on practical Test to determine how versatile the applicants are with a set of given objects. All students will also be put through a rigorous interview with a panel of about 5 to 6 persons.

The Stage-II of NIFT & NID will be conducted during April & May, every year. As for the competition, it is really fierce. More than 30,000 candidates normally appear for the Stage-I and around 4000 candidates are selected for Stage-II, and finally about 600 candidates will be selected in NIFT. We have seen that students, who do extremely well in the AFD’s Mock Tests, have the ability to take on the rigors of NIFT/NID preparation, many of them come out with top ranks in NIFT/NID. This is a phenomenon repeated year after year.