Aptitude Tests Are Filtering You Out. Here's What to Actually Study for TCS NQT, Infosys, and AMCAT.
You have been grinding LeetCode for months. You can reverse a linked list. You can solve a medium DP problem. Your project is deployed at a real domain with CI/CD. You walk into the TCS NQT, confident in your technical preparation. The first section is quantitative aptitude. 90 seconds per question. The clock starts. Question 1: "A train 150m long passes a pole in 15 seconds. How long will it take to pass a platform 250m long?" You freeze. You know this is a speed-distance-time problem. You also know you have exactly 90 seconds. You guess. You move to the next question. The same thing happens. By the end of the aptitude section, you have guessed half the answers. You did not fail because you are bad at math. You failed because nobody told you that the aptitude round is a speed drill, not a math test — and you did not train for it.
WHAT EACH COMPANY’S APTITUDE ROUND ACTUALLY TESTS — 2026
| COMPANY | TEST NAME | QUANTITATIVE | LOGICAL REASONING | VERBAL | CUTOFF % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TCS | NQT (National Qualifier Test) | Numerical ability: percentages, ratios, time-speed-distance, probability | Syllogisms, blood relations, seating arrangements, coding-decoding | Reading comprehension, sentence correction, para jumbles | 65% overall, 50% per section |
| Infosys | InfyTQ | Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, data interpretation | Puzzles, arrangements, direction sense | Grammar, vocabulary, comprehension | Sectional cutoffs apply |
| Wipro | Wipro Elite NTH | Adaptive difficulty. Percentages, profit-loss, time-work | Logical puzzles, pattern recognition | Essay writing (scored separately) | 60% overall |
| Cognizant | GenC Assessment | Moderate. Ratios, averages, mixtures | Data sufficiency, logical deductions | Reading, grammar | 55% overall |
TOPICS THAT APPEAR IN EVERY APTITUDE TEST — PRIORITIZED BY FREQUENCY
| TOPIC | WEIGHTAGE | COMMON QUESTION TYPE | STUDY TIME (HOURS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentages, Profit & Loss | High | "A shopkeeper marks up goods by 30% and gives a discount of 20%. Find the profit percentage." | 3-4 |
| Time, Speed & Distance | High | Train problems. Boat-stream. Relative speed. | 4-5 |
| Ratios, Proportions, Averages | High | Mixture problems. Age problems. Partnership. | 3-4 |
| Probability & Permutations | Medium | Dice, cards, arrangement problems. | 5-6 |
| Data Interpretation | Medium | Bar charts, pie charts, tables. Calculate from visual. | 3-4 |
| Syllogisms & Logical Deduction | Medium | "All dogs are animals. Some animals are pets. Conclusions?" | 2-3 |
| Blood Relations & Direction Sense | Low-Medium | Family tree problems. Direction tracing. | 2-3 |
Week 1 (Quantitative): 2 hours/day. Monday: percentages + profit-loss. Tuesday: time-speed-distance. Wednesday: ratios + averages. Thursday: probability. Friday: data interpretation. Weekend: full 60-min mock test. Review every wrong answer. Week 2 (Logical + Verbal): 2 hours/day. Monday-Tuesday: syllogisms + logical deductions. Wednesday: blood relations + direction sense. Thursday: reading comprehension. Friday: sentence correction + para jumbles. Weekend: full mock test. Week 3 (Speed Drills): 1 full mock test per day. Time yourself strictly: 60 questions, 60 minutes. Review errors immediately after. Target: 85% accuracy under time pressure by the end of the week. If you are consistently above 80%, you will clear the cutoff on every major service company test.