Written entrance tests: aptitude, number and reasoning
Domain 1: Written entrance tests
The NUST mature-age written entrance test is an aptitude paper rather than a repeat of school subjects. It asks whether an applicant who left formal schooling some years ago can handle the reading, number work and reasoning that degree study demands. The question families repeat: verbal reasoning (word relationships, short passages, inference), numerical reasoning (percentages, ratios, rates, averages), logical reasoning (sequences, syllogisms, assumptions), data interpretation from tables and charts, and a short written response.
Core rules and techniques
- Percentages: separate "percentage of" from "percentage change"; chain successive changes with multipliers, never by adding them.
- Ratios: convert both quantities to the same unit first; a share of the total is part ÷ total, not part ÷ other part.
- Rates and averages: average speed is total distance ÷ total time; never average two speeds.
- Sequences: test differences first, then ratios, then an alternating or two-interleaved-series rule.
- Syllogisms: draw only what the premises force. "All A are B" does not license "all B are A".
- Data questions: read the axis units and any "except", "least" or "not" before touching the numbers.
Worked example
A trader buys stock for N$80, marks it up 25%, then gives a 20% cash discount. What is the selling price?
Mark-up: 80 × 1.25 = N$100. Discount: 100 × 0.80 = N$80. The selling price equals the cost, so profit is zero. The reasoning is that successive percentage changes multiply (1.25 × 0.80 = 1.00); adding +25% and −20% would wrongly suggest a 5% profit.
Traps that cost marks
Unit mismatch (km against m, monthly against annual); averaging averages; choosing an answer that merely looks plausible before computing; ignoring except/least/not; and burning ten minutes on a one-mark item while the extended written task waits.