How to Crack SAE BAJA Aptitude Test (BAT)

The BAJA SAE is an event for the undergraduate engineering students, organized globally by the Society of Automotive Engineers, headquartered in the USA.The BAJA SAE tasks the students to design, fabricate and validate a single seater four – wheeled off road vehicle to take part in series of events spread over a course of 3-4 days that test the vehicle for the sound engineering practices that have gone into it, the agility of the vehicle in terms of gradability, speed, acceleration and maneuverability characteristics and finally its ability to endure that back breaking durability test. The event has spanned across six countries – USA, Mexico, South Africa, Korea, Brazil and India. 

SAE INDIA Organises BAJA every year in association with top notch Automobile companies.

It is staged in two round, Virtual BAJA and the Final event. Virtual round usually held in the month of August in Bengaluru after registrations in April-May and the Race event in February for those who successfully qualify virtuals, near an Industrial town, Pithampur, close to Indore in Madhya Pradesh. 

Every year around 7-8 good Automobile companies recruit around 60-70 students from Baja through a test called Baja Aptitude Test (BAT). Around 1200-1500 ELIGIBLE students sit for this drive. Now, the question is how to crack it ?

They don't give you any syllabus nor they give any clue of the pattern. So, students participating have confusion in their mind about this drive and about how to prepare for it.

Here, I will lay down the pattern and stages so that you will be well versed with the actual conditions.

Stages of the placement drive:
1. Meeting Eligibility to take BAT
2. BAT, the written test
3. Gamble Round (this is what I call it)
4. Group Discussion
5. HR Interview
6. Technical Interview
7. Results and Offer Letter

BAT has mainly 5 sections:
1. Verbal
2. Analytical
3. Numerical
4. Domain (Mechanical/ Electrical/ Electronics/ Automobile)
5. Auto General Awareness

Number of Questions: Total- 100

Section wise Questions:
Verbal- 10
Analytical- 15
Numerical- 20
Domain- 35
Auto- 20

Total Marks: 100

No Negative Marking (*Negative Marking may be introduced this year)

Subjects Asked: (Mechanical/ Automobile)
1. Automobile Engineering
2. Design- DOM
3. Elements of Mechanical Engineering
4. Fluids Mechanics
5. HMT & Thermodynamics
6. I. C. Engines
7. Manufacturing Processes
8. Material Science & Metallurgy/ Heat & Surface Treatment
9. Strength of Materials
10. Types of Fuels
11. Operations Research

Companies you can expect:
1. General Motors
2. International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), Manesar
3. Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Pune
4. Cummins
5. Anand Group
6. SAE India
7. Mahindra & Mahindra (MnM for 2nd & 3rd years usually)

More companies in fray this year.

I hope you have understood the pattern.
Now, get ready to Rock !

Keep your energies positive, you can win !

All the Best !!!


Any Query regarding this can be mailed to me at amir_afrin@hotmail.com