NAT or GAT: which NTS test do you need?
The short answer
It depends on the level you are applying at, not the field. NAT is for undergraduate admission and GAT is for postgraduate admission and HEC scholarship eligibility, with GAT General for most MS and MPhil programmes and GAT Subject for doctoral level and specific subject requirements. All of them test the same three abilities — English, quantitative and analytical reasoning — which means one body of preparation serves whichever you sit.
Which test does your programme require?
The institution decides this, not you, and it is stated in the admission advertisement. The categories below are the usual mapping and the reason candidates sometimes prepare for the wrong paper.
| Test | Used for | Practise |
|---|---|---|
| NAT | Undergraduate admission. Comes in variants aligned to your intended field, such as pre-medical, pre-engineering, computer science and commerce. | NAT |
| GAT General | MS, MPhil and equivalent postgraduate admission, and HEC scholarship eligibility. | GAT General |
| GAT Subject | Doctoral admission and programmes that require subject-level testing. Adds a substantial subject-specific portion. | GAT Subject |
| NTS-conducted job tests | Recruitment papers that NTS administers for departments. A different paper entirely, closer to a commission screening test. | Job tests |
Check the category and validity before you book
Two mistakes cost candidates a whole cycle: sitting the wrong NAT category for the degree you want, and letting a valid score lapse before the admission deadline. NTS publishes both the category mapping and the validity period of each test. Confirm them on the current NTS site and in your university's advertisement rather than relying on a forum post or on this page.
What do these tests actually measure?
Not what you know, which is the source of most wasted preparation. They measure three transferable abilities, and the subject content is thin by design at the general level.
- Verbal reasoning. Vocabulary, sentence completion, analogies and comprehension. Vocabulary is the single most improvable component here, because the tested range is finite. Practise on English.
- Quantitative reasoning. Arithmetic, algebra, ratios, percentages, averages, basic geometry. School-level content examined under time pressure, which makes speed the real variable. Practise on Mathematics.
- Analytical reasoning. Logical deductions, seating arrangements, blood relations, coding and decoding, syllogisms. Almost pure technique, and the component that improves fastest with practice. Practise on Analytical Reasoning.
The practical consequence is that a candidate who has not studied mathematics for four years is not disadvantaged the way they fear. The content is recoverable in weeks. What takes longer is the speed, and speed only comes from timed reps.
How do you prepare efficiently?
Start with analytical reasoning, because it moves fastest
Each puzzle type has a method, and once you know the method the question is mechanical. This is the highest return per hour on the whole paper, and it is the section candidates most often leave until last.
Build vocabulary daily, in small amounts
Fifteen minutes a day for two months beats a weekend of word lists, because vocabulary is stored by repeated exposure at gaps rather than by volume. The reasoning is in why you forget MCQs.
Rebuild quantitative fundamentals before doing speed work
Percentages, ratios, averages, time and work, basic geometry. Get them right untimed first. Practising speed on a method you have wrong just makes you wrong faster.
Then add the clock, and treat it as the main event
These papers are as much a pacing test as an ability test. A section you can complete untimed and cannot complete timed is not yet prepared.
For GAT Subject, treat the subject portion as a separate exam
It is substantial and it is where the preparation diverges. Do not let general-section practice give you the impression that you have covered it.
This preparation is reusable
English, quantitative and analytical reasoning are the same three components examined by most Pakistani job screening tests, including the commission papers covered in PPSC and FPSC preparation. Time spent here is not spent on one paper.