Tailoring Your Prep: NBTs for Medicine vs. Law

Maths-heavy degrees: Health Sciences, Engineering, and Commerce

If you are applying for highly competitive programmes like Medicine, Veterinary Science, or Engineering, you are required to write both the AQL and the MAT tests. Engineering faculties place a very heavy weight on your MAT score for placement, while Health Sciences require exceptionally high scores across all three domains (Academic Literacy, Quantitative Literacy, and Mathematics). Plan to write early: Medical faculties often require your NBT scores to be submitted by June or July for early selection.

Reading-heavy degrees: Law, Humanities, and Social Sciences

If you are applying for a Bachelor of Arts or Law, you generally only need to write the AQL test. Your preparation should focus heavily on the Academic Literacy (AL) component. Law faculties use this score to ensure you have the capacity to handle complex reading loads, decode dense syntax, and understand argument structures.

Tailor your prep to your target degree: AQL-only applicants should prioritise AL and QL (reading, inference, data interpretation); AQL + MAT applicants need to add MAT topics, mental maths, and no-calculator practice. Check each faculty's requirements and deadlines so you write the right test(s) at the right time.