GPAT Exam Preparation Tips - Check Preparation Strategy, Tricks, Study Plan, Time Table, Best Books

GPAT Exam Preparation Tips

For admission to postgraduate pharmacy programs like M.Pharm, the Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT), a national entrance exam is conducted by NBEMS every year. Along with aptitude and analytical abilities, it assesses candidates' understanding of fundamental pharmacy subjects such as pharmaceutics, pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry, and pharmacognosy. A well-organised preparation plan is necessary to achieve a high score because of the competitive nature of the exam and the extensive syllabus. This calls for not just a thorough comprehension of the material but also efficient time management, regular practice, and familiarity with the format of the test.

The best way to prepare for the GPAT is to start by carefully going over the syllabus and past years' test questions to determine which subjects are most important. A realistic schedule that strikes a balance between learning new ideas and frequent revision should be made by candidates. Accuracy and speed are improved by using timed practice sessions and mock exams, and taking brief notes can help with last-minute exam revision. Performance and the likelihood of success in GPAT can be greatly increased by remaining disciplined, controlling stress, and keeping up a healthy study schedule.

Quick Tips & Tricks for GPAT Preparation

When taking an entrance examination such as the GPAT, numerous pupils typically experience anxiety. However, if they handle the preparation phase well, they can overcome their fear. Listed below are a few important tips and tricks to help students prepare for GPAT 2026 exam:

• As you read through the various chapters, make written notes on all the important concepts so you can easily refer to them when preparing for GPAT.
• Since many of the test's questions will concern pharmaceuticals, try to learn as much as you can about them.
• To gain an understanding of the test's structure, review previous years' GPAT question papers. Following your analysis, you can formulate your own questions that you feel have been brought up repeatedly throughout the remainder of the question paper.
• If candidates effectively manage the preparation phase, they will be able to recall the concepts with ease. In front of the study table, they can make drawings, charts, graphs, and diagrams. Research has shown that visually appealing content is easier to remember than text-based information.
• Practice is the most important aspect of preparing for any admission test, including the GPAT. You can increase your test-taking readiness and familiarity with the test format by practicing test questions every day. You can respond to more questions in the allotted time the more you practise.

GPAT Preparation Daily Timetable

While preparing for the GPAT Exam, candidates should follow a daily timetable. Here we have created a format of the daily timetable that candidates can follow to score good marks in the entrance exam.

Related Article: List of Important Topics for GPAT Exam

GPAT 7 Days Preparation Plan

The week before the exam is always the most important and hectic for the aspirants. It is essential to effectively manage the remaining time and go through the syllabus one last time. Revising the important topics should be the main priority for the students a week before the GPAT 2025 exam. Here, we have curated a 7 days preparation strategy for GPAT exam. 

• Go through the syllabus once and try to find the areas that you need to work on. Give extra emphasis on those topics for better preparation.
• Retake mock tests and solve all the exercises once again. There are many online platforms that provide mock tests for the GPAT exam. Try to solve GPAT previous year's question papers as many times as possible for better revision. 
• Schedule at least 4 to 5 hours of study time daily in your everyday routine. Maintaining consistency will help in revising the whole syllabus. 
• Stay away from all kinds of distractions that may cause hindrances in your study. 
• Keep all your study materials well organized and in a proper place so that you can find them easily when needed. An organized study place will decrease the chances of important notes getting lost at the last moment.
• Segregate the chapters into small sections and make short notes for the important topics from each section. This will help you not miss out on anything crucial for the GPAT exam. 
• One of the best ways to study is by teaching someone else. Try to teach the concepts to someone else or explain the concepts to yourself for better understanding and memorization. 
• Use study materials like compare/contrast cards, flashcards, charts, and timelines. Evaluate all the review sheets. 

GPAT 30-Day Preparation Plan

Students sometimes lack the time necessary to prepare for the GPAT. As candidates have just one month to prepare for GPAT, they must keep in mind that while passing the exam might be difficult, it is not impractical. To understand how to prepare for GPAT in 30 days, aspirants can follow the easy instructions discussed thoroughly in the subsequent section:

• Establishing a daily timetable for GPAT preparation is the most important prerequisite.

• The number of days left must not serve as a constant source of stress for applicants. Instead, they must devote their time, attention, and energy to living each day to the fullest.

• Candidates must read the syllabus for GPAT preparation and rank the topics and lessons according to their understanding and priority.

• There is not enough time in the allotted 30 days to delve deeply and comprehend the nuances of different subjects. In these situations, aspirants must concentrate primarily on covering as many subjects as they can and practising their frequently asked questions regularly.

• Applicants need to set up time each day to practise at least 50-100 multiple-choice questions (MCQs).

• Attempt GPAT sample papers with solutions, past year's test papers, and mock exams regularly. They could assist students with enhanced confidence in addition to giving an estimate of the kind of questions that might be asked on the actual test.

• Candidates should invest as much time as possible in comprehending the concepts and ideas associated with pharmaceutics, pharmacology, and chemistry because these topics are crucial to the GPAT preparation.

• Applicants are required to record any mistakes and unsuccessful efforts when answering questions. After their preparation is over for a subject, they have to review each of those topics.

• Students should allow themselves at least three to four days before the test to again go through the syllabus for GPAT preparation.

How to Prepare for GPAT in 2 Months

Candidates can follow the time table below to know how to prepare for GPAT in 2 months. 

Week 1-2: Strong Foundation

1. Focus on Important Subjects like Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Microbiology & Biotechnology, Clinical Pharmacy & Therapeutics, Pharmacology. 
2. Make a Study Timetable Study 6 to 8 hours on a daily basis. Divide the time: Concepts (4 hrs) + Revision (2 hrs) + MCQs (2 hrs)
3. Start with High-Weightage Topics: Pharmacology & Pharmaceutics (Most questions come from these)
4. Make Short Notes & Mind Maps: Summarize formulas, mechanisms, and important drugs in charts

Week 3-4: Concept Strengthening & Problem Solving

1. Solve PYQs (Last 10 Years) & Mock Tests
2. Revise Important Formulas & Structures: Especially in Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmaceutical Analysis
3. Focus on Numerical Problems: Biopharmaceutics, Pharmacokinetics, Dose Calculations
4. Daily Quick Revisions: Flashcards for drugs, classifications, and mechanisms

Week 5-6: Full-Length Mocks & Final Revision

1. Solve Full-Length Mock Tests Daily
2. Revise Frequently Asked Questions & Topics: Drug schedules, Laws, Instrumentation
3. Time Management & Speed Practice
4. Stay Motivated & Healthy

GPAT Four-Months Preparation Plan

What if now you have only four months to prepare for GPAT examination? How would you prepare? Here’s how.

GPAT Six-Months Preparation Plan

Sometimes not being able to manage time properly becomes the greatest problem for candidates while preparing for an examination. So, if you have good six months in your hands for GPAT preparation, here’s the preparation plan you can follow.  

General Preparation Tips to Crack GPAT

Check the general preparation tips to ace the GPAT exam:

• Aspirants must be aware of the detailed exam pattern and syllabus of GPAT 2025 before starting their exam preparation.

• It is vital to make a strategy and come up with a plan before commencing with the preparation.

• The preparation timetable should be reasonable and doable. Candidates should not add infeasible tasks.

• Applicants must find out which chapter and topics have the most weightage. They must devote their time accordingly to those areas.

• Solving last year's question papers, mock tests & sample papers is as important as studying for the exam. Practice enhances the accuracy and understanding of the candidates.

• While preparing for GPAT, the aspirant must keep jotting down important points and concepts in a notebook so that it becomes easy to revise important topics in the last few days.

• Candidates must make sure that the books they are referring to for preparation are not outdated or from unreliable publishers/ authors.

• Applicants must always refer to a maximum of 2 books for each subject. Too many books can create confusion and spoil the preparation game for them.

• Aspirants must keep taking short breaks between study hours to give their minds a breather. They should not study continuously as it may make their mind tired and unfocused.

• It is important to take at least 6-7 hours of sleep every day. Candidates must never compromise with their sleeping time as it would leave their body and mind exhausted.

GPAT Subject-Wise Preparation Plan

The syllabus is comprehensive and includes plenty of details on several important topics. But, in order to score good marks, one must remember that it is crucial to solve previous years’ question papers as many times as the questions are repeated. Subject-wise preparation is one of the things that candidates need to do in order to thoroughly complete the syllabus. The subject-wise important topics that candidates should cover without fail are given below:

Important Topics from Pharmacognosy

Some of the most important topics from Pharmacognosy for the GPAT exam are

Important Topics from Pharmacology

Pharmacology is one of the main subjects from the GPAT Syllabus. Major topics from this paper include

Important Topics from Pharmaceutical Analysis

This section mostly contains numerical problems and is one of the easiest sections in the GPAT exam. The important topics are

Important Topics from Pharmaceutical Chemistry

In order to score well in this section, candidates are advised to go through their understanding of organic chemistry. Some of the most common topics from this section for the GPAT exam are mentioned below

Important Topics from Pharmaceutics

It is one of the most important topics for the GPAT exam. Candidates need to solve numerical problems and learn about the formulation of tables in this section. The important topics from this section include

GPAT Preparation Tips by Toppers

Here are some of the GPAT Preparation tips that are suggested by the toppers of the GPAT exam

• Starting with the portions that are difficult is a good plan. In this way, students can return to the easier chapters later on. 
• Candidates should refer to the proper reference materials while preparing for the GPAT Exam. They must choose books that have sufficient exercises with MCQs. Also, the language of the books must be lucid in order to avoid doubts.
• One of the major step in order to take a perfect GPAT Preparation is to solve all the doubts before the exam
• Appearing for as many GPAT Mock tests as possible and solving the GPAT Previous year question papers and GPAT Sample papers are great ways to access the preparation level of the candidate
• Due attention should be paid to time management

Last Minute GPAT Preparation Tips

Aspirants wishing to appear for GPAT must be well acquainted with the basic concepts as mentioned in the exam syllabus for securing a high score. In case a candidate finds it difficult to prepare for the upcoming examination, they can follow these last-minute GPAT preparation tips to boost up their performance and motivation, enhancing their overall zeal to secure their desired score. 

Mentioned below are a few last-minute GPAT preparation tips to help the candidates prepare better:

• It is important to keep away from learning new concepts at the eleventh hour before the GPAT examination.
• One must be sure to work on their doubts and solve every query about all topics, before examination commences.
• Do not forget to set up self-attaining goals in terms of studying each and every topic covering the GPAT Syllabus.
• Candidates must be wise with curating a productive timetable as per their individual goals, and must not fail to follow it everyday.
• It is highly advised to always solve online mock tests for the upcoming examinations to analyze or test one's preparation. 
• Candidates must not forget to go through the previous year's question papers for gaining a better insight of the question pattern and marking scheme of GPAT.

Mistakes to Avoid During GPAT Preparation

To ace the GPAT examination, all candidates must look at certain strategies to help boost their preparation. Some of the common mistakes to avoid while preparing for GPAT are mentioned below:

• To reduce the possibility of mugging up the GPAT syllabus, last-minute preparations must be avoided at all costs. Candidates who study for crucial subjects at the last minute are frequently met with blank stares as they sit in the exam room. Therefore, at least a few days prior to the test, all candidates should study for the important subjects and ensure that they fully comprehend the concepts.
• The secret to success lies in hard work. Although candidates are encouraged to work more efficiently for better results, this is insufficient on its own. All candidates must prepare a successful study plan and invest enough time in GPAT preparation if they want to ace the upcoming test.
• Before taking the test, all applicants must address or resolve any questions they may have. If a question comes up in one chapter, the candidate should try to answer it before moving on to the next. This exercise will not only help you prepare better, but it will also give you a clearer understanding of it.
• Before the test, all applicants should set aside enough time to complete practice questions. In addition to assessing one's level of preparation, completing practice questions based on each topic will help one understand the format of the GPAT exam.
• No subject from the GPAT syllabus should be skipped by any candidate. Every subject listed in the syllabus is equally important for the GPAT test.