IBA admissions is one of the most competitive admission tests. Over 10,000 people sit for the exam, and only around 120 make it through. Luck is a huge factor that plays into it, as do hall pressure, unpredictable question patterns or even just having a bad day. So, it is incredibly risky to prepare solely for IBA. Fortunately, there are quite a few very good backup options that require similar or minimal extra preparation and can be a good landing pad in case of, you know, the off chance that IBA doesn’t work out.

Of course, you have your basics: BUP BBA General, NSU BBA, DU FBS (or DU C Unit), DU B Unit, and BUP FBS. Then there’s BBA at any other university. There will also be a few of you who are preparing for Engineering, Medical, or A Unit.

BUP BBA General and Private Universities:
English: 25 marks

Math + Analytical: 40 marks

GK: 10 marks

This combination works out well with IBA prep, as the question patterns are mostly similar. If you prepare sincerely for IBA, your preparation for these exams will also be covered properly. You generally don’t need to do much else except go through a few General Knowledge books. Zubair’s Capsule should be the only booklet you’ll study. It comes out once every month, and you should try to study 2–3 editions before the exam. Cramming GK solely for the purpose of BUP General or FBS won’t be wise if you don’t plan to sit for the DU B Unit exam.

DU FBS (Science/Humanities)
MCQ: Bangla, English and ICT - 12 marks each
Any one of Higher Math/Statistics/Economics - 24 marks

Written: Bangla, English, ICT - 10 marks
Any one of Higher Math/Statistics/Economics - 10 marks (Must be the same subject as MCQ)

The English preparation will mostly be covered by your IBA preparation. Bangla is mostly grammar based for which you have to refer to SSC Bangla Grammar Book.

Science/Humanities: ICT questions are mostly theoretical. You can answer any one of Higher Math/Statistics/Economics regardless of if you had them in HSC or not. Higher Math questions are similar to that of HSC board standard/A unit which will be a bit challenging to solve without a calculator and the given time constraint. Statistics and Economics prep can be taken from scratch within the available preparation time.

DU FBS (Business Studies)
MCQ: Bangla, English, Accounting and Management - 12 marks each
Any one of Marketing/Finance - 12 marks

Written: Bangla, English, Accounting and Management - 8 marks each
Any one of Marketing/Finance - 8 marks (Must be the same subject as MCQ)

The English preparation will mostly be covered by your IBA preparation. Bangla is mostly grammar based for which you have to refer to SSC Bangla Grammar Book.

Business Studies: You need a good grasp over the group subjects from HSC level to answer properly. You can choose either Finance or Marketing so choose the one you're most confident in. Try to focus more on the 2nd papers of each subject as more questions are asked from there.

DU B Unit:
MCQ: Bangla, English - 15 marks each

General Knowledge - 30 marks
Written: Bangla, English - 20 marks each

English is mostly covered by IBA prep, but you have to read some topics from EFT and cover some memorisation parts as well. Bangla is comparatively much harder than B Unit because it carries a lot more marks and the questions are also more in-depth. General Knowledge is very tricky to learn, so you should start early if you want to prepare for this. Refer to Zubair’s GK for the General Knowledge section.

JU IBA:
Bangla: 5 marks

English: 30 marks

Aptitude, Math & IQ: 30 marks

GK: 15 marks

English and Math will be mostly covered by IBA preparation. A few IQ questions appear in the exam, which can be prepared for in a few hours. The Bangla section does not carry much weightage here and does not require extensive preparation. However, if you prepare for B or C Unit, your Bangla preparation will also be covered. The GK section includes business-related GK and recent GK and the questions are somewhat different from those of B Unit, so prepare accordingly.

BUP FBS:
English: 25 marks

Math + Statistics + Economics + Analytical: 40 marks

GK: 10 marks

Again, similar to IBA but easier. English questions mostly appear from the GRE Big Book and Math questions come from traditional math topics like percentage, profit and loss, geometry, work - time, etc. Statistics and Economics questions are mostly based on basic knowledge and do not appear much, so no extensive preparation will be required for those.

That’s about it for the alternatives you can handle alongside IBA prep that have similar educational paths. 

For people who are trying to juggle Engineering + IBA or Medical + IBA, it’s not impossible. It’s actually quite common for engineering aspirants to get into IBA. But for that, you need to have a very good grasp of your fundamentals from school and college. That, along with some proficiency in English, will make preparing for both IBA and Engineering a little less troublesome for you.

Engineering preparation itself requires a hefty amount of time and effort. So unless you have a very good grasp of Physics, Chemistry, and Higher Math, you should not try to prepare for both. If you have good Higher Math skills, it may give you somewhat of an advantage in Analytical and Aptitude Math.

Medical preparation doesn’t go hand in hand with IBA at all and requires completely different preparation. Medical preparation itself is very demanding and has to be prepared for separately. This combination is quite difficult and not recommended unless you are making very good progress in both preparation tracks. It is definitely not impossible, but it is very difficult and will take a toll on you.

You get to learn a lot about plan B’s as you navigate admission period. It’s something you should think about, but not worry about (unless, of course, you’re juggling two things at the same time.) In that case, do give it a lot of thought and strategize properly.

Give a few tests to see how well you do. Figure out what suits your interests and prepare accordingly. Best of Luck!

By Adhara Annanya Ittela,
34th Batch, DU IBA