Most Popular MBA Entrance Exams for Admission
Broadly speaking, there are 9 popular National Level MBA entrance exams in India for MBA admission. They are CAT, CMAT, MAT, XAT, NMAT, SNAP, ATMA and GMAT. Then are the State Level Exams like MAH CET, TANCET, PGCET, KMAT which will help you get into MBA colleges in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu etc. Some popular institute/university-specific exams are IIFT, TISS NET, IBSAT, KIITEE Management and UPES MET.
Let’s understand more about these top MBA entrance exams:
Here are key details of Top MBA Exams for top MBA colleges in India. We have categorized Top MBA Exams for top MBA colleges in India in three types:
1.National level MBA Exams,
2.Institute level MBA test, and
3.State level MBA exams
1. National MBA Entrance Exams
- CAT (Common Admission Test) – CAT exam or the Common Admission Test is a computer-based MBA entrance test for admissions into the IIMs and several other prestigious B-Schools in the country. CAT exam is conducted every year by the IIMs on a rotational basis and CAT exam 2019 was conducted by IIM Kozhikode and the results were declared on January 4, 2020. CAT exam 2020 was conducted by IIM Indore and the results were declared in January 2021.More than Top 100 MBA colleges in India are accepting CAT score for MBA admission. There are 20 IIMs including top IIMs – IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow and other top CAT MBA colleges in non-IIM category, including FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR Mumbai, SJMSoM IIT Mumbai, DoMS IIT Delhi among others which are CAT score accepting colleges.
- XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test) – XAT exam full form is Xavier Aptitude Test. It is the Admission Test for admission to MBA/PGDM programs in XLRI and other top MBA colleges like XIMB, IMT Ghaziabad, TAPMI Manipal and 160 other top MBA colleges in India. XLRI will offer admission to its Jamshedpur and Delhi campuses on the basis of this exam score only and will not accept any other test score. There are more than 70 cities and more than 100 venues where XAT exam is conducted in India.
- SNAP (Symbiosis National Aptitude Test) – Symbiosis National Aptitude Test, popularly known as SNAP, is the MBA Entrance Exam for Admission to 16 Symbiosis Institutes in India. Every year around 1 lakh students from all disciplines including Engineering, Commerce, Humanities and even Law take SNAP Test to get into of the 2,500 MBA seats in Symbiosis colleges. Over the years, SNAP has changed its question paper pattern from paper based to computer based. To get a high percentile (90+) requires 3-4 months of serious preparation.
- CMAT (Common Management Admission Test) – CMAT full form is Common Management Admission Test (CMAT). It is a government-organized computer based national level MBA entrance examination for entry into 1000 AICTE approved management programmes (MBA/PGDM) all over India. Till 2018, CMAT was conducted by AICTE, now the Test is conducted by the National Testing Authority (NTA) constituted by Government of India. More than 70,000 candidates apply for CMAT every year. CMAT offers unique opportunity to all the test takers as none of them is disqualified in its result.
- MAT (Management Aptitude Test) – Management Aptitude Test popularly known as MAT Exam is one of the most popular National level MBA entrance exams in India after CAT. More than 600 MBA/PGDM Colleges are accepting MAT exam 2021 scores for MBA/PGDM Admission 2022. In its notification AIMA has clarified that there are 600+ Participating B-Schools who use MAT score. This includes the 330+ MBA colleges in Maharashtra who offer PGDM and MBA/MMS programmes.
- ATMA (AIMS Test for Management Admissions)- AIMS Test for Management Admissions (ATMA) is one of the popular National level MBA entrance exams in India. More than 200 MBA colleges including Welingkar Mumbai, JIMS Rohini (Delhi), NDIM New Delhi, Jaipur, Noida, offer MBA admission on the basis of ATMA exam score. ATMA is a credible, comprehensive and single-window test for admissions to Post-Graduate Management Programs like MBA, PGDM, MCA, MMS and other management post graduate courses. It is an online objective type nationally accepted entrance test. This test is recognized by AICTE and Ministry of HRD, Government of India and is conducted across all the states in India.
- GMAT– The Graduate Management Admission Test, or GMAT, is an important part of the business school application process. The GMAT is a multiple-choice, computer-based and computer-adaptive standardized exam that is often required for admission to graduate business programs (MBA) globally. The GMAT is developed and administered by test maker GMAC to provide business schools with common measures of applicants’ preparedness for graduate-level academic work. Business school admission committees look at your GMAT score, along with work experience, academic record, and supporting materials, to assess your readiness for the rigors of an MBA program.
2. Institute level MBA test
1.IIFT MBA (IB) Entrance Exam – Indian Institute of Foreign Trade Admission Test- popularly known as IIFT Exam, is the MBA Entrance Exam for Admission to its flagship MBA (IB) Programme which will have a total intake of more than 570 seats in 2022 in its three campuses namely Delhi, Kolkata and Kakinada. MBA (IB) is presently offered at IIFT Delhi and Kolkata campuses with a total approved 500+ seats. Every year around 60,000 students from all disciplines including Engineering, Commerce, Humanities, Law and others take the IIFT admission test to get MBA admission in the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. The admission test paper of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade has changed from paper-based to computer-based. To get a high 95+ percentile in the NTA-IIFT admission test, 4-5 months of serious preparation is required.
2. TISSNET – Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai conducts TISS National Entrance Test (TISSNET). It is a national level entrance exam conducted for admission to MA programmes in the School of Management and Labour Studies. The MA programmes offered at TISS campuses are at par with the management programmes offered by top MBA colleges in India. TISS will announce the exam dates for TISSNET 2022 tentatively in November 2021. TISSNET 2022 exam is expected to be held in February 2022. The entrance exam is held in online mode and the exam paper comprises questions from English Proficiency, Mathematical Skills & Logical Reasoning, and General Awareness.
3. IBSAT – IBSAT is an important online computer-based MBA entrance test for MBA admission 2022 in all the ICFAI Business Schools (IBS) located across India (Read Details below). IBSAT Entrance Exam 2021 is conducted by ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (a deemed to be University), the exam has a test duration of 2 hours. Exam vouchers to apply for IBSAT are available at all the IBS Marketing offices across the country by paying the fee in cash apart from the online application submission facility.
4. MICAT – MICAT is the MICA institute specific entrance exam for admission to 2 years full time PGDM-C and PGDM programmes. It is conducted by MICA. Apart from appearing in CAT, XAT or GMAT, the candidates applying for admission to 2 years full time PGDM-C or PGDM programme at MICA will have to appear in MICAT-I on December 5, 2020 or MICAT-II on January 30, 2021. MICAT commands 50% weightage in shortlisting at MICA, while 50% weight goes to CAT/XAT/GMAT score.
5. KIITEE– Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Entrance Exam for Management (KIITEE Management) is a National Level Entrance Examination conducted for admission into Master of Business Administration (MBA) in KIIT School of Management (KSOM) and MBA (Rural Management) at KIIT School of Rural Management (KSRM). KIITEE Management is conducted by the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology. KIITEE Management will be conducted online i.e. Computer-based Test (CBT) from Jun 16, 2021 to Jun 23, 2021 (tentative) for a duration of 150 minutes. Admission will be given based on the marks secured in KIITEE Management or other National Exams such as CAT, XAT, CMAT, MAT, etc.
6. IRMASAT – IRMASAT or IRMA Social Awareness Test is conducted by the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA). IRMASAT scores are considered for admission to Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management (PGDRM) and Fellow Programme in Rural Management (FPRM). The IRMASAT 2022 exam is usually conducted in the computer-based test mode. Admission to IRMA’s PGDRM course is done on the basis of CAT/XAT scores. The admission process includes – Application submission, IRMASAT 2022, Group Activity (GA) and Personal Interview (PI). The IRMASAT 2022 application form will be available on the official website of IRMA.
3.State level MBA entrance exams
- MAH CET – Maharashtra Common Entrance Test or MAH CET is a computer-based management entrance test. Officially known as MAH MBA/MMS-CET, the exam is conducted by the State Common Entrance Test Cell, Maharashtra, for admission to MBA courses in various institutes in the state of Maharashtra. The syllabus of MAH MBA CET exam includes Q– Logical Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude and Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension. MAH CET MBA is followed by Centralised Admission Process (CAP) or Counselling in which the candidates will be allotted MBA seats in MAH CET participating colleges on the basis of their scores. Candidates having valid score of CAT/GMAT/CMAT/MAT/XAT/ATMA can participate in MAH CET MBA counselling directly, for admission to MAH CET participating colleges.
- Karnataka PGCET – Karnataka PGCET is a state-level entrance test conducted by Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) for admission to MBA/ MCA/ ME/ MTech/ MArch programs offered by Karnataka’s Government / University/ Private Aided / Private Un-Aided professional educational institutions. Total 178 institutes in Karnataka participate in Karnataka PGCET for PG admission after qualifying this common entrance test. Candidates can also get a lateral entry for admission in MCA program.
- TANCET – Tamil Nadu Common Entrance Test, abbreviated as TANCET, is an admission test conducted to fill PG seats, across courses, in colleges of Tamil Nadu. Anna University conducts the state-level entrance exam for various PG courses including MTech/ MArch/ MPlan/ ME, MBA and MCA programmes. More than 200 colleges situated in Tamil Nadu accept TANCET scores for admission. Every year, more than 40,000 MBA aspirants appear for the TANCET to compete for more than 15,000 seats offered by several institutes of Tamil Nadu. Anna University conducts the TANCET MBA exam in an offline mode. TANCET comprises 100 objective type questions to be answered within two hours. DTE, Tamil Nadu administers the TANCET counselling for MBA admission of qualified candidates