SBI PO Exam Survival Guide

A Fatskills Exam Survival Guide: what to focus on, what to avoid, and how to get through test day without panicking.

Window: India | Prelims + Mains (+ Interview) (patterns vary year to year)

Must-do topics

• Prelims:
  • Quant: percent/ratio, SI/CI, TSD, series, quadratic, DI (simple)
  • Reasoning: puzzles/seating, syllogism, inequalities, coding-decoding
  • English: RC, error spotting, cloze, para jumbles, vocab in context
• Mains: tougher DI (caselets), arithmetic mix, high-level puzzles, grammar usage, GA (banking awareness)

Top traps (avoid)

• Burning time on a hard puzzle early; selection matters more than speed
• DI: ignoring units/percent bases; missing hidden totals
• English: relying on “sounds right”; not reading RC question ask
• GA: chasing breadth over banking core (RBI, policy, instruments)

Time split (indicative)

• Prelims (1 hr total): 20 min Quant, 20 min Reasoning, 20 min English (sectional timing varies)
• Mains: allocate DI/puzzles heavy time; keep 10–12 min for GA sweep

Last-48h checklist

• 2 full Prelims mocks or 1 Mains set; analyze error reasons
• Puzzle frameworks (linear/circular/box); inequality & syllogism grids
• Quant: percent/ratio sheet; DI practice with rounded calc then refine
• Banking awareness one-pager: RBI, monetary tools, recent reports

Quick facts / methods

• Approximation first in DI; exact only if needed
• Inequality: compare coefficients; Syllogism: Venn sanity check
• English RC: eliminate distortions and out-of-scope options

Speed tactics

• Scan section first; attempt easy clusters; mark time traps
• Back-solve arithmetic from options; estimate vigorously
• In puzzles, write variables table; stop if no new deduction in 60–90s

Day-of mini-plan

• 10-min warm-up: 1 DI + 1 small puzzle + 5 grammar Qs
• Pace marks at ¼, ½, ¾; leave 2–3 min for a final guess sweep
• Stay calm; maximize attempts with accuracy rather than perfecting one set

Ready to practice? Try the Bank Exams MCQ practice sets on Fatskills.