This question crosses the minds of almost everyone at some point. If you like most aspects of IBA, you might wanna try it out.

Statistically, the acceptance rate is around 1%. It’s not something you can gamble on. If you already have a decent foundation or generally perform better in aptitude tests, your chance is a lot better than that.

To evaluate that, there are open-to-all assessment tests on this website. Sit for a test without any prior knowledge or preparation. You can then estimate your chances of getting in if you start preparing.

There are many assessment tests that you can choose from. The best one to assess yourself with is "THE IBA MOCK". Just like the IBA exam, you will get 70 questions in total: 30 English, 25 math, and 15 analytical. The "standard" of the next intake can never be predicted, but I've kept the questions similar to the recent years' standards.

Each right answer gives you one mark. There's a -0.25 penalty for each wrong answer and no penalty for the questions you don't answer. You get a total of 90 minutes, so around 1 min 15 s per question.

You cannot use a calculator, but you can do rough work on a sheet of paper so that calculations are easier. In the actual exam, you'd have to do it in the space between the questions or the blank space at the end of the question paper.

In the IBA exam, the passing bar is dependent on the performance of the examinees on that test. It varies based on the difficulty of the questions and the quality of the candidates. That’s why it is very difficult to try and predict what the passing bar will be until it is announced in the final results. But having a rough idea about the passing bar of each section is crucial to passing the test.

Last year, the passing bars were:

English 11.75/30 Mathematics 7/25 Analytical 6/15 Writing Part 12/30 Viva 12/20
Total: 49/100 and 61/120

After you submit the assessment test, you will see a detailed test result page that shows your total score out of 70 and individual scores in each section. There will be remarks such as "Needs Work" or "Good" beside the scores for your understanding.

You can also check the median of all the test takers that have ever taken this test! However, for free tests like these, the median tends to be very low because people are testing themselves out here without any preparation or clear intent.

The standard passing bar of this assessment test is around 30% in each individual section. If your scores are too low in a section, then chances are you might miss the passing bar in the IBA exam in that same section as well. But if you're confident that you can improve significantly through preparation, you can still give it a shot.

You will see individual section performances with score, attempt, accuracy, and time taken per score. Attempt is the percentage of total questions you attempted. Accuracy means the percentage of attempted questions you got right. Try to get both to more than 60%.

You'll also get these analyses topic-wise so that you can figure out the areas you are lacking in and work on those. There's a share button on the test result page. You can also share it with someone to get their opinions on it.

You can also find the questions in a separate tab and check which ones you got wrong and why. There are explanations as well. You will also see the time you spent on that specific question and figure out which questions take you more time.

You should read all the blogs on this website. They'll help you get a much better understanding of the dos and don'ts of DU IBA preparation.

Just like everything else, there are levels to the IBA admission test and its preparation. For now, keep it simple and slow. Don't overwhelm yourself. Just try to have fun along the process.

A short action sequence:
1. Sit for a quick assessment test first (it takes 30 mins)

2. Read the preview pages of the IBA book to get a better understanding of IBA as an institute: https://www.tathirmichil.com/book/preview
3. Read the blogs on this website for a better understanding of the admission test: https://www.tathirmichil.com/blogs
4. Sit for the full-length assessment test.
5. Decide whether you want to go all in, try your luck, or choose some other path.

Best of luck!! If you need any help, drop a detailed text addressing your situation and doubts: https://www.facebook.com/tathirmichil