MBA Entrances-National Level

Exam Name Exam Pattern Comp based/PP Additional Points
CAT. Three sections VA/RC, DI/LR and QA with 24,20 and 22 questions respectively.
Each section has a 40 mins time limit. Most questions are MCQs whereas few are Non Multiple choice questions, for which there will not be negative marking.		 Computer Based You do not need to apply separately to most of the IIMs. However, for any other institute using CAT scorecard, applications will need to be submitted separately.
XAT The exam shall consist of the following sections:
Quantitative Ability, Verbal & Logical Ability,Decision Making and General Awareness		 Computer Based The performance in General Awareness is not used for shortlisting of candidates for the GDPI round.
SNAP 60 Questions – 15 in General English , 20 in QA, DI/DS and 25 in Analytical and Logical Reasoning.
Total duration-1 hour		 Computer Based Applicant needs to separately choose and apply to MBA programs of his/her choice. Rs 1000 is charged per program.Exam can be written max 3 times, best of 3 is considered.
CMAT 100 Questions – 20 each in QA & DI, LR, VA , GA and Innovation & Entrepreneurship Computer Based It is conducted once in the month of April/May.
NMAT 108 Questions in 120 Minutes, LS – 36 Q in 28 min; QS – 36 Q in 52 min; LR – 36 Q in 40 min Computer Based A candidate can write the test up to three times within the test window.
TISSNET 100 questions –Maths and LR- 35 Qs, Eng-30 Qs, GA-35 Qs in 100 min. No negative marking Computer Based TISS has adopted a unified test for all its programmes since 2012.
MICAT candidates are assessed on MICAT which consists of 6 sections:
Psychometric (P), Verbal ability (VA), Quantitative ability (QA), General awareness (GA) , Divergent-Convergent Reasoning (DCR) and Descriptive Test (DT).		 Computer Based It is conducted twice and best of two is taken in case an applicant has taken it both the times.
MAT 200 Questions – VA (40), QA (40), LR (40), DI/DS (40), GA (40) Both Although the paper has a section on "India and Global Environment (GK)",
the scorecard is based only on the first 4 sections of the paper.
IBSAT 140 Questions in VA, RC, QA and DI - to be answered in 120 min Computer Based

CAT is undoubtedly the most sought after entrance exam. However, there are several other exams besides CAT that a student can and must write. We collectively call them as OMETs (Other Management Entrance Tests). These would include XAT, SNAP, CMAT, MAT and Institute specific exams viz NMAT, TISSNET,IBSAT  and IIFT.

The key reasons why a candidate should write other exams besides CAT are as follows:

B-school-Entrance-Exams

Awareness and adequate preparation for these exams is essential, as these tests have patterns which are different from CAT. Let us look at the major Other management Entrance Tests (OMETs) which would be conducted this year.

XAT is the second most popular management entrance examination after CAT. XAT is conducted by XLRI,Jamshedpur on behalf of Xavier Association of Management Institutes.Apart from XLRI, which is one of the top-5 B-schools in India according to latest rankings by various independent agencies, XAT scores are used by more than 100 institutes across India. XAT is usually conducted in the first week of January.

SNAP is an aptitude test conducted by the Symbiosis society as a first entry requirement for all the B schools under Symbiosis International University which has 15 B schools under its umbrella, 5 General management and the others- sectoral or specialized MBAs. The list of institutes includes SIBM Pune, SCMHRD Pune, SIBM Bangalore, SIIB Pune etc. The exam is considered a must for MBA aspirants thanks to this eclectic mix of colleges using its scorecard as a part of their selection processes.

MAT is conducted by All India Management Association four times a year – February, May, September, and December in both the formats - Paper pencil as well as Computer based. Even though the paper has a section on General Awareness, the score in this section is rarely used by any B-school for shortlisting candidates for the GDPI process.

The following stand-alone tests are conducted by various B-schools for admission of candidates into their MBA programmes.

  • TISSNET for Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai offering specialisation in a range of areas from HRM & IR to Social Entreprenuership to Women empowerment etc.
  • MICAT - Conducted by MICA Ahmedabad for admission into their PGDM (C ) program.
  • IBSAT IBSAT is an online aptitude test conducted by The ICFAI Foundation For Higher Education (a deemed to be University under Section 3 of UGC act 1956), for students seeking admission to the MBA / PhD programs of IBS Hyderabad.