NATA 2018 (National Aptitude Test in Architecture) will be managed by the Council of Architecture (COA). It is a national level aptitude test which is conducted for admission into the architecture programme all over the country.  From the year 2017, the NATA exam will be held only one time in a year. Through this exam, candidates will get admission into 5 years of Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) programme. A NATA score card will be considered by private & governments aided colleges or institutions. Check this article, here we have updated the complete details about NATA 2018.

NATA Exam Dates

Below, we have mentioned the tentative schedule of NATA 2018:

Events	Dates (Tentative)
Online Registration Starts	1st week of January 2018
Last Date of Online Registration	1st week of February 2018
Image Upload Last Date	1st week of February 2018
Fee Payment Last Date	1st week of February 2018
Confirmation Page Printout Available	Last week of February 2018
Correction Window open	3rd week of February 2018
Admit Card Issued	4th week of March 2018
Date of Exam	3rd week of April 2018
Result Declaration	2nd week of June 2018

NATA Registration 2018

• Candidates can register for the NATA 2018 through online mode.
• The NATA 2018 Registration will begin from the 1^st week of January 2018.
• Candidates can register till the 1^st week of February 2018.
• Candidates have to fill their personal details & upload documents at the time of online form filling.
• Candidates have to upload their scanned images, i.e., passport size photograph, left hand thumb impression & own signature in a given format.
• Keep the printout of the confirmation page generated after the fee payment for further process.
• There is no need to send the NATA application form through offline mode or by post.
• In case, candidates make any mistake in the application form, the correction window will be opened in the 3^rd week of February 2018.

Registration Fee

• The registration fee is Rs. 1250 for all category candidates.
• Candidates can make payment through online or offline mode include debit card/credit card/net banking & e-Challan.
• Candidates, those opt for exam city in Dubai have to pay extra examination fee of INR 7000 prior to issuance of admit card.

Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria are mentioned below:

Age Criteria:

• Age Limit: Candidate’s minimum age should be 17 years as on 31^st July 2018.

Qualification Criteria:

• Qualifying Exam: Candidates have to pass 10+2 or equivalent or 10+2 Diploma (any stream) or International Baccalaureate Diploma, after 10 years of Schooling.
• Subjects: Pass above examination with mathematics as one of the subjects.
• Minimum Marks: Secure at least 50% marks in the above qualifying examination.
• Appearing candidates can also apply.
• Lateral Entry: There is no process of lateral entry admission into B.Arch course.

NATA Exam Pattern

NATA 2018 exam will be conducted in the 3^rd week of April 2018. The exam pattern is given here:

• Mode of Exam: The exam will be held through offline mode (pen paper based).
• Duration: The duration of the exam will be three hours.
• Type of Question: The question of Mathematics & General Aptitude will be multiple choice questions.
• No. of Questions: Total 60 questions will be asked in the examination.
• Total Marks: The question paper will be of 200 marks.
• Marking Scheme: For each correct answer, two marks will be awarded to the candidates in Mathematics & General Aptitude test.
• Negative Marking: No marks will be deducted for incorrect answer.
• Subjects: The question paper will comprise of three sections, i.e. Mathematics, Drawing & General Aptitude.
• Qualifying Marks: Secure minimum 25% marks in MCQ portion (30 out of 120) & 25% marks in Drawing portion (20 out of 80).

Subjects	Marks
PART A (90 minutes)
Mathematics	40
General Aptitude	40
PART B (90 minutes)
Drawing Two sets in A4 size paper	80

NATA Syllabus

The NATA 2018 Syllabus will consist of three sections include Mathematics, Drawing & General Aptitude.

Mathematics:

Algebra, Logarithms, Matrices, Trigonometry, Coordinate Geometry, 3-Dimensional Co-ordinate geometry, Theory of Calculus, Application of Calculus, Permutation and combination, Statistics  and Probability.

General Aptitude:

Interpretation of pictorial compositions, visualizing three dimensional objects from two dimensional drawing. Objects, textures related to architecture & built environment. Analytical reasoning, mental ability (visual, numerical and verbal), general awareness of national/international architects and famous architectural creations. Visualizing different sides of 3D objects. Mathematical  reasoning and sets & relations.

Drawing Test:

Understanding scale and proportion of objects, geometric composition, shape, building forms and elements, aesthetics, colour texture, harmony and contrast. Conceptualization and visualization through structuring objects in memory. Drawing of patterns – both geometrical and abstract. Form transformations in 2D and 3D like union, subtraction, rotation, surfaces and volumes. Creating 2D and 3D compositions using given shape and forms. Generating plan, elevation, and 3D views of objects. Perspective drawing, sketching of urban scape and landscape. Common day-to-day life objects like furniture, equipment etc., from memory.

How to prepare for NATA 2018

• Candidates have to understand their drawing & creative skills.
• Make a time-table & give equal interval of time to each subject.
• Aware about complete syllabus & exam pattern of the examination.
• Solve previous year question paper for practice.
• Eat healthy food & stay fit.
• Refer best study material & books.

NATA Admit Card 2018

Candidates can download their admit card from the 4^th week of March 2018 through online mode. Whenever the admit card will be issued by the authority we will update it in our website. The NATA 2018 admit card will consist of candidates & exam details such as name of the candidate, roll number, date & time of exam, venue of the test center, etc. Candidates have to carry one of the photo ID proof along with the admit card/appointment voucher.

NATA Result 2018

NATA 2018 Result will be announced after a few weeks of the examination. Candidates will check their results through online mode from the website. The result will be declared in the 2^nd week of June 2018. The result will be published in three formats: marks secure out of 200, merit list, percentile score. Keep the print copy of the result for admission procedure.

Admission Procedure

NATA Counselling will be organized by the participating Institutions Individually. No counselling will be conducted by the COA. After the result declaration, candidates can apply to get admission into B.Arch courses in various Institutions & university on the basis of the NATA Score card. The NATA Score Card will be valid only for the academic year 2018-2019.

               A laptop is an essential part for an architecture student. First let's understand what kind of Softwares each architecture students have to deal with during his course.

First year is a time for creating hand drafting skills among architecture students. First year students will be required to do many presentations on different topics, so laptop is an essential thing from the very first day. Slowly design exercises will be given and students will be asked to  start with softwares as well. The very first software an architecture students learns slowly during his course is Google Sketch up and AutoCad.

From Second year students will be introduced with the BIM (Building Information Modelling )

Softwares like 

Autodesk Revit Architecture

Graphisoft ArchiCAD

Nemetschek Allplan Architecture

Gehry Technologies - Digital Project Designer

Nemetschek Vectorworks Architect

Bentley Architecture

4MSA IDEA Architectural Design (IntelliCAD)

CADSoft Envisioneer

Softtech Spirit

RhinoBIM (BETA)

For Detailed 3d views and post production works students can use  3dsmax , Cinema4d .

For easy renderings and fast output many offices prefer Lumion , which requires a good performance laptop to function.

For all this Job to be done in a college and during internships students require a very good laptop .


Let me list out you the best configurations required for you.

1.Processor

Intel Processors are always the best in the market. I would suggest Intel i3 and above with processor speed 2.20 ghz and above. The More the speed the better will be the performance.

2.Ram

Minimum 8gb RAM is required if you want a better performance laptop. we usually get laptop with 8 gb and 16 gb ram. Do not go for the 4 gb ram variant. Let me show you a rendering scene and you will understand how important a good ram is.

RAM usage during a small house Rendering

After Rendering

(This Model was designed and rendered using Archicad.)

3.Graphics Card

Minimum 2 gb dedicated graphics is required for this job. I would suggest you to go for the 4gb Nvidia Graphics rather than AMD graphics from my personal experience.

In Nvidia Graphics itself go for the 900m and above series which is more than enough for the work.
I prefer 940MX for better performance.

4.Storage

Minimum 500 gb harddisk is required . I would suggest you go for a 1TB harddisk. Nowadays we can get SSD instead of normal harddisk . SSD are simply the fastest hardisks we get in market. But they are really costly. So its better to buy with a laptop with mixed harddisk minimum 120gb  SSD plus 1TB normal Hardidsk. So install the OS and Applications in the SSD and data can be stored in the normal harddisk. This will speed up the reading and writing time for OS and applications,which is helpfull in less time consumption.

I will suggest you the best laptop available till now which you can buy online

1. Lenovo IdeaPad 110-15ISK 80UD0148IH

• 2.8GHz Intel Core i5-6200 processor
• 8GB DDR4 RAM
• 1TB hard drive
• 15.6-inch screen, AMD R16M-M1-30 2GB Graphics
• Windows 10 operating system

      


2. Dell Inspiron 15 7548 15.6-inch Laptop

• 2.7GHz Intel Core i5-5200U 5th Gen processor
• 8GB DDR3L RAM
• 1TB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
• 15.6-inch screen, AMD Radeon R7 M270 4GB Graphics
• Windows 10 Home operating system

     


3. Acer Aspire E5- 575G- 51VA

• Intel Core i5 7th Gen, 2.7GHz, 3MB Cache
• 8 GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM, 1 TB Hard Disk
• Active Matrix TFT Colour LCD with 1366 X 768 pixel resolution
• Nvidia GeForce 940M Graphics
• Linux operating system

     

4. ASUS R558UQ-DM701D

   

• Intel i7 7500U Processor 2.7G,3M Processor speed
• 8GB Memory RAM, 1 TB Hard Disk, NV GT 940MX 2G DDR3
• 15.6-Inch (16:9) LED backlit FHD (1920x1080) 60Hz Anti-Glare Panel with 45% NTSC
• 2 Cells 38 Whrs Polymer Battery
• 1-year limited International hardware warranty

     




5.HP Omen  - AX248TX

• 2.6GHz Intel Core i5-7300 7th Gen processor
• 8GB DDR4 RAM
• 1TB 7200rpm Serial ATA hard drive
• 15.6-inch screen, Nvidia GeForce 1050 GTX 2GB Graphics
• Windows 10 Home operating system
• Black with carbon fiber finish

    



6.Asus FX553 FX553VD-DM483

• 2.8GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor
• 8GB DDR4 RAM
• 1TB eSATA hard drive
• 15.6-inch screen, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Graphics
• Endless OS operating system
• 2.48kg laptop

    



7.ASUS ROG GAMING LAPTOP GL553VD-FY103T

•    Core i7 7th Gen 7700HQ (2.8 Ghz)
•    8GB DDR4 RAM, 
•    1TB HDD, DVD RW, 
•    4GB NV GTX 1050T GDDR5 Graphics
•    Windows10, 
•     2 Years Warranty

    

8.HP Pavilion 15-AU628TX 15.6-inch Laptop

• 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-7500U 7th Gen processor             
• 8GB DDR4 RAM
• 1TB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
• 15.6-inch screen, Nvidia GeForce 940MX 4GB Graphics
• Windows 10 Home operating system
• 2.03kg laptop
• Comes with Microsoft Office H&S 2016
• HP Wide Vision HD webcam

      

9.HP Pavilion 15-AU626TX 15.6-inch Laptop

• 2.5GHz Intel Core i5-7200U 7th Gen processor
• 16GB DDR4 RAM
• 2TB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
• 15.6-inch screen, Nvidia GeForce 940MX 4GB Graphics
• Windows 10 Home operating system
• 2.03kg laptop             

     

10.HP AU627TX 15.6-inch Laptop

• 3.5GHz Intel i7-7500u 7th Gen processor
• 16GB DDR4 RAM
• 2TB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
• 15.6-inch screen, NVIDIA GeForce 940MX 4GB Graphics
• Windows 10 Home 64 operating system

      

11.HP Pavilion 15-AU628TX 15.6-inch Laptop

• 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-7500U 7th Gen processor
• 8GB DDR4 RAM
• 1TB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
• 15.6-inch screen, Nvidia GeForce 940MX 4GB Graphics
• Windows 10 Home operating system
• 2.03kg laptop
• Comes with Microsoft Office H&S 2016
• HP Wide Vision HD webcam

      

12. HP Pavilion 15-AU113TX 15.6-inch Laptop

• 2.5GHz Intel Core i5-7200U 7th Gen processor
• 16GB DDR4 RAM
• 2TB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
• 15.6-inch screen, Nvidia GeForce 940MX 4GB Graphics
• Windows 10 Home operating system
• 2.03kg laptop

      

13.HP Notebook 15-AU008TX

• 3.1GHz Intel i7-6500U 6th Gen processor
• 16GB DDR4 RAM
• 2TB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
• 15.6-inch screen, Nvidia 940MX 4GB Graphics
• Windows 10 Home (64-bit) operating system
• 9 hours battery life, 2.03kg laptop

     

14.HP 15-Au004TX Gd 15.6 inch Laptop

• 6th Gen Intel Core i7 Mobile Processor i7-6500U, 2.5 GHz, TurboBoost 2.0 up to 3.1 GHz,
• 4 MB SmartCache
• 8 GB PC4-17000 DDR4-2133 (17 GB/s), 2 SODIMM Slots (Upgradeable to 16 GB)
• 1 TB Serial ATA (150 MB/sec @ 5400 RPM), HP ProtectSmart HDD Protection
• 8X SuperMulti DVD Writer (DL) | M-DISC support
• NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, 4 GB Discrete DDR3 Memory ; Optimus Technology, NVIDIA CUDA ; NVIDIA PhysX Technology ; DirectX 12

      

15.HP 15-au623tx (Z4Q42PA)

• Intel® CoreTM i5-7200U (2.5 GHz, up to 3.1 GHz, 3 MB cache, 2 cores) / 8 GB DDR4-2133 SDRAM (1 x 8 GB)`
• 1 TB 5400 rpm SATA / NVIDIA® GeForce® 940MX (4 GB DDR3 dedicated)
• 39.6 cm (15.6) diagonal HD SVA BrightView WLED-backlit (1366 x 768) / SuperMulti DVD burner
• Intel® 802.11ac (1x1) Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® 4.2 Combo (Miracast compatible) / 1 multi-format SD media card reader
• 1 HDMI; 1 headphone/microphone combo; 1 USB 2.0; 2 USB 3.1; 1 RJ-45 / Windows 10 Home 64