Common Mistakes to Avoid While Preparing for NID 2026

Common Mistakes to Avoid While Preparing for NID 2026

Ongoing Event

NID DAT Admit Card Date:11 Dec' 25 - 21 Dec' 25

Ritika JonwalUpdated on 13 Dec 2025, 11:06 AM IST

Hello candidates, the NID 2026 exam is almost here, and therefore, there is a lot of stress and anxiety to perform well among the students. It is very important for students aiming for NID DAT to prepare efficiently. When preparing for the exam, it's important to avoid certain common mistakes that can affect your performance and make you score less. Here are some of the common mistakes curated by the experts for students that are needed to keep in mind while preparing for the NID 2026.

Common Mistakes to Avoid While Preparing for NID 2026
Common Mistakes to Avoid While Preparing for NID 2026

Common Mistakes to be Avoided by Students Preparing for NID 2026

Here are some of the common mistakes that are seen to be made by students over the last years in NID exam and needed to be avoided by the students aiming to crack the NID 2026 exam:

  1. Not Going through NID Exam Pattern and Syllabus

It is crucial that students fully comprehend the NID DAT Exam Pattern and NID 2026 DAT Exam Syllabus before beginning their preparation in order to be ready for the kinds of questions that may be asked.

NID DAT prelims will be a paper-and-pencil/pen test with a total of 100 marks as per the NID DAT Exam Pattern. According to the changes in pattern over recent years, now the proportion for NID aptitude and drawing portions will be of 25 and 75 marks respectively.

  1. Lack of Time Management

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Not managing time effectively during NID DAT preparation is a common mistake that needs to be avoided by the students. Not preparing for time management will lack students' efficiency and accuracy during the actual exam and can also cause anxiety as students won’t be able to solve all the questions in a given time.

  1. Lack of Proper Study Plan

NID DAT 2026 Full Study Material
Students preparing for NID 2026 can access this study material for both prelims and mains. Download now to strengthen your preparation and boost your chances of success.
Download EBook

Students should make a thorough study strategy because focusing too much on one area of the test (such as sketching) and ignoring other areas (such as general knowledge or Numerical ability and Analytical Aptitude) can result in poor exam scores.

Solve NID DAT Previous Year question papers along with NID DAT sample papers and NID mock test 2026 to understand the format and language of the paper with the number of questions and type of questions asked in the exam. Solving will boost the confidence of the students for the actual exam.

  1. Not Practicing for weaker sections

Regularly practicing with questions from different sections of the syllabus help students to improve speed, accuracy, and creativity. Therefore, students need to focus on what areas and sections they feel weak in and make proper study plans to give more time and practice more questions.

  1. Not giving Questions enough time or Overcomplicating solutions

Students should not make the error of not giving the questions enough time during the NID 2026 exam and not understanding what is being asked. Prior to answering a question, always read it thoroughly, make sure you understand it, and then consider the best possible answers. Also it is advised to not overcomplicate solutions in the NID exam. As a result, it is recommended that students should answer with design ideas that are understandable, realistic, and straightforward.

Related Articles:

Ignoring Mental and Physical Wellbeing

It's acceptable to feel nervous or stressed throughout a test, but excessive exam anxiety or stress will impair your performance. Approach every topic with confidence and engage in mindfulness and relaxation exercises.

NID 2026 - Other Useful Study Resources - Free PDF Download

Students are advised to also check these important free resource pdfs curated to help them in their NID 2026 preparation and score high below:

NID 2026 Study Plan

Download Here

NID Prelims Time Management

Download Here

NID DAT Prelims (Part-B) Drawing and Sketching based Questions with Solutions

Download Here

How to prepare for General Knowledge and Design Awareness section for NID Prelims

Download Here

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Why is time management important for the NID Prelims 2026 exam?
A:

Students need to practice for time management for the NID Prelims 2026 exam as it is a time bound exam and can include lengthy questions.

Q: What is it important to solve NID previous years question papers for NID Prelims 2026?
A:

To understand the format and language of the paper with the number of questions and type of questions asked in the exam, solving NID previous years question papers will boost the confidence of the students.

Q: What are some of the most common mistakes that are made by students during the NID exam?
A:

Some of the most common mistakes made by students during the NID exam is not reading questions properly and not managing time for each question properly which makes them lose marks during final exam.

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Questions related to NID DAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to NID DAT ?

Hello,

Yes, if you are in Class 12, you are eligible to sit for the NID DAT 2026 (BDes) exam. The National Institute of Design allows students who are in their final year of Class 12 or have already passed to apply.

To know more access below mentioned link:

https://design.careers360.com/articles/nid-admission-2026

Hope it helps.

You can get the NIT DAT SYLLABUS, updated version from careers 360 in detail from careers 360 article. Follow the link given from The link of the syllabus article is given below from careers 360

https://design.careers360.com/articles/nid-dat-syllabus-2026

Yes you are eligible to appear for NID DAT for the M.Des programme. Since you are in final make sure you will have completed your BA by the required deadline. Also go through the specific specializations you want to apply for, some may require certain specific backgrounds to be eligible to apply for them. You can find more details here design.careers360.com/articles/nid-dat-eligibility-criteria

Hello,

To prepare for M.des exams like CEED or NID DAT, here are some points which you can follow:

Understand the pattern – focus on creativity, design aptitude, and problem-solving.

Practice sketching daily and improve visualization.

Study basics of color, form, and design concepts.

Solve previous papers and build a strong portfolio.

Stay consistent and observe everyday designs for new ideas.

THANKU.

Hi daksh

As 563 rank in nid dat exam cannot guarantee admission in designing college but it could be a good chance to explore some campus as if you are not from general category as category role plays an important role . But now you can do one thing focus on your strengthening your protofile or preparing for the studio test (bdes) or interview (mdes).

Thanks.