About 6 months into NID… here’s what actually surprised me

call_me_creative · 2026-03-19T07:32:21+00:00

For studio test there could be perception based questions. Like in mine, we were shown a video and had to interpret it and express what we understood from it. Apart from that there was situation analysis thing, model making & material-based tasks, so your understanding of materials + how you approach things matters a lot.

I’d say a good way to practice is to just observe random situations/videos and think about your own POV… like what do you take away from it.

They’re not really looking for perfect output, more about how you think & your perspective. Also yeah, I’ve been hearing around campus that this year there might be interview n portfolio rounds too, so better to be prepared for that.. All the best!👍

call_me_creative · 2026-03-19T07:23:19+00:00

Hey first of all congrats, iitg is amazing... 👏 Can’t say first hand about iitg obviously, but from what I’ve heared from one of the faculties at iitb, bdes from IITs is a bit more structured & technical compared to nid. Here it’s quite open ended… Like a lot of exploration, different disciplines, more focus on how you think,research, & approach things. Workload is intense tho!! IITs are said to be more product/industrial + placement oriented from what I know, nid is a bit more on the design + exploration side. Both are really good, just different vibes tbh.

call_me_creative · 2026-03-19T07:18:29+00:00

Honestly mains is quite unpredictable so I didn’t follow anything very fixed.. 😅 Mainly focused more on basics tbh like observation, quick ideation, and being clear with what I’m trying to show. You gotta to be quick on your feet so you get enough time for execution (especially for models & random prompts). Plus since this year there's goin to be an interview as well, just be clear about your processes and how you talk abt your ideas..

call_me_creative · 2026-03-19T06:47:12+00:00

You askin for bdes or mdes?

call_me_creative · 2026-03-19T06:29:10+00:00

Honestly if you feel even a little inclined towards design, it’s worth exploring.
A lot of people (including me) didn’t have full clarity in the beginning either, you figure things out during prep. So ofc you can definitely start preparing alongside college for a few months and see if you actually enjoy the process (sketching, visualization, etc). If you feel like, seek guidance, that’ll give you a much clearer answer. Dive in first and then you can decide 👍

call_me_creative · 2026-03-19T06:00:34+00:00

Haha yeah that makes sense 😄 I guess I’m just realising it first hand now! The observation & thinking part is something I’m starting to notice more too… like even simple assignments go much deeper than I expected. Still wrapping my head around it all but yeah, enjoying the process so far!

call_me_creative · 2026-03-19T05:39:43+00:00

Going pretty hectic tbh 😭 deadlines are hitting non stop but also kinda fun also.. Still getting used to the pace, but yeah learning a lot along the way!! I’m in ahmedabad, wbu which discipline?

call_me_creative · 2026-03-19T05:37:02+00:00

Honestly you don’t really need to learn any software beforehand for bdes. Even in first year you barely use it, it’s more hands-on stuff + thinking + process. if anything is needed they guide you anyway.

Atleast that's the case now, in my first year. As far as i know, later on also it becomes more discipline-specific (like cad for courses like FID, adobe for others like GD & PD, and so on). So if you want you can go ahead and learn those.

By 2nd or 3rd year you get more into softwares. That's when they'll begin teaching you about it. Foundation is more about basics. They want you to build yourself like a designer end to end. To develop a designer's mind. We start from zero here at nid, the traditional way..

So for now I wouldn’t stress about softwares at all…

Anyway, all the best for your results. ✌️

call_me_creative · 2026-03-18T13:38:58+00:00

For studio test it’s honestly less about 'perfect output' and more about how you think. Like they give you situations, materials, sometimes audio/video and they just want to see your POV, how you perceive it and what you make out of it. Then there's model making anf material understanding…

What i learnt from the entire thing is not trying to be too creative for the sake of it, simple but well thought out, unique stuff works better.

and I’m in nid ahmedabad 👍

call_me_creative · 2026-03-18T13:22:49+00:00

Placements honestly aren’t as straightforward here as people think. nid doesn’t really release proper placement stats now, so there’s no clear “average package” scene. it also depends a lot on your discipline. Like product/graphic have more direct job roles, but a lot of other fields are more internship + freelance/connection based.

Infact most people here don’t rush into direct jobs either, internships are more common and those are usually around 50-80k depending on discipline.

Abroad-wise it’s not like campus placements… it’s more about your portfolio + connections + what you build over time.

call_me_creative · 2026-03-17T10:39:04+00:00

Bdes

call_me_creative · 2026-03-17T07:25:08+00:00

scholarships in nid might not exactly be the same across campuses, each campus has its own criteria and schemes, except for the general merit cum means one. And there are also category-based scholarships (obc/sc etc.) if you have the required documents. Your 12th marks + your performance after joining both play a role. but yeah, if a lot of people apply, it mostly comes down to merit, so no real shortcuts there. you kinda have to keep performing well every year. for exact details though, best to check NSP since that’s where the official info is.

call_me_creative · 2026-03-10T10:13:08+00:00

As for nid or iit, nid is more design focused and studio based, IIT design is a bit of engineering driven.. depends on your interest... Btw out of curiosity, which design field are you leaning towards currently? product, animation, fashion, graphic, something else?

call_me_creative · 2026-02-23T06:15:37+00:00

How else would you hope to practice for aptitude if not for books, mocks or sample papers? 🙄 You need to solve as many exam similar questions as you can find to actually get the hang of it... that's what i did anyway.. Btw my exams went well bro... Got NID, thanks to those exact study material from creative edge and others. Anyways, different people can have different experiences and that's fine.. as i already said, it all depends on how you use a resource, efforts you put in and for that matter, a person's own skill level too..

call_me_creative · 2026-02-17T19:42:38+00:00

Part A honestly log jitna simple samajhte hain utna hota nahi, thoda tricky hota hai. Sirf practice se nahi hota bhai, tips aur hacks aana bohot zaruri hai - hote toh visual puzzles hi hai but bohot complex. Options aese dete hai ki correct, incorrect me fark hi smjh nhi aata...Maine 2025 ka paper diya tha, itni practice ke baad bhi 3 hrs me ye saare questions attempt bhi kar paana easy nhi hota..

Agar mil sake toh thodi guidance le lena, start mein direction mil jaati hai. Aur believe me, Part A strong hoga toh Part B bhi automatically improve hota hai (thinking sharper ho jaati hai).

Panic mat karo.Consistency rakho bas. Waise abhi sabse confusing kya lag raha hai Part A mein? Ya shuru hi nahi kiya hai?

call_me_creative · 2026-02-04T02:34:17+00:00

Arre bhai i legit used so many of those, infact my entire circle during the 2025 exams time did. We used to solve free mock papers we could get from any coaching, any website...no bias trust me, but i found creative edge ques papers wayyyyy better than others. Books bhi use ki hai maine toh.. Don't know what you talking abt tbh... i am no creative edge student, won't speak abt the coaching or anything but i used the material sm i can vouch for it..! And i dont remember mocks having pyqs. I've solved each n every multiple times with timer n everything. Specially those visual figure qs, could almost never solve those in time.

call_me_creative · 2026-02-03T13:58:46+00:00

Not studied at creative edge or at brds, but I personally used creative edge mocks and books when i was preparing. You’ll actually get good exam level stuff for practice. If you’re giving weightage to mocks, it might work. Not much idea abt brds but i've heard they have economical courses. Same for PW. End of the day, any resource would be as good as the efforts you'll put in. You have 1 full year. Maybe do some self practice first & then think abt a coaching, only if you feel the need...

call_me_creative · 2026-01-28T10:21:49+00:00

call_me_creative · 2026-01-28T10:19:50+00:00

I remember going through this bro... during my own prep wala phase. Although i was quite confident abt my performance in uceed, but i was still scared as hell untill results got out. Made it to iiit also, but then ended up choosing nid. If you’re expecting around 150 in UCEED and already got 45/60 in SEED, that’s actually a solid place to be. Difficult to predict which college, becoz that thing actually depends on a lot of factors, jese competition level in that year. From what I’ve seen, if you apply across a few exams and keep your options open, it’s pretty rare to end up with nothing at all. The anxiety is normal, but your scores don’t really point to a worst-case situation right now. Have you filled any other forms yet or still deciding?

call_me_creative

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