Top 5 MBA Exams in India

An MBA is more than just a degree, it is a transformative experience that equips you with the knowledge, skills, and network to thrive into the corporate world. However, gaining admission to a prestigious MBA program in India requires acing the right entrance exams. Therefore, in this article we have discussed about the Top 5 MBA Exams that aspirants can choose to refer.

1.CAT exam

The CAT exam is held every year in November on the last Sunday. Its form generally gets released in the month of August. This exam is conducted once a year. The total number of questions in this exam is 66 questions. Applicants are allotted 40 minutes for every section. This means the total time of the exam is 2 hours. The important thing is that the sectional time limit is defined here, which is 40 minutes. And you have to attempt sections in a certain order, VARC, DILR and then Quant. You can not skip them in between. You get 3 marks for each correct answer in the CAT exam and -1 for the wrong answer And if you don’t attempt a question, it will not have any impact. But there are some questions which we call TITA questions, “Type in Type Answer” questions in which if you type the answer even if it is wrong, no marks are deducted. The CAT exam is the most significant MBA exam because all the IIMs, FMS and 1200 other B-Schools accept it as an entrance test. Every year almost 2.5 lakhs students register for this exam. You should have a minimum of 50% marks in your graduation for its eligibility. And even if you are in your final year you can take this exam.

2. XAT exam

One important thing to note is that if you are a CAT 2023 aspirant, then you will be a XAT 2024 aspirant because XAT will be conducted next year, in January. Its form is available between August to December. It is considered as another important exam after CAT.

The XAT exam is conducted only once a year, which is in January. For this, generally, you used to get 3 hours 10 minutes earlier but last year, it was 3 hours 30 minutes.175 minutes for the first 3 sections, After that, there is a mock keyboard test for that 5 minutes, and finally, you get 30 minutes for GK and essay writing. There is no sectional time limit in XAT, 1 mark for every correct answer 0.25 mark is deducted for every wrong answer. If your unattempted questions are more than 8, then 0.1 mark is deducted for each question. You can get admission in XLRI & 160 other institutions through the XAT exam. Every year almost 95-98k students register for this exam. The difficulty level of the XAT exam also ranges from moderate to difficult. But it is a little easier than the CAT exam. The most interesting thing is that there are no criteria for 50% marks in graduation. If you are a graduate or in the last year you can take this exam.

3. NMAT

The next exam is NMAT, NMAT is conducted between October to December. Generally, there is a window of 75 days to 90 days, in which you have to schedule your test date. Its registration starts in August and ends in November. But you need to stay alert, as sometimes its registration date closes before the CAT exam. This exam is also conducted only once a year for that certain window. In this, you are allowed 3 attempts, one is the main attempt and 2 times you can also retake it. The time limit for Language Skills is 28 minutes, 52 minutes for Quantitative Skills, and 40 minutes for Logical Reasoning. A total 2 hours is allotted for this exam. The good thing is there is no negative marking in the NMAT exam, and this is an adaptive test, which means if you gave the correct answer, the difficulty level of the next question would increase. Basically, just like the GMAT exam. That’s why the total number of marks for this exam is 360. Can’t say so but generally it is said that there are 3 marks for every correct answer. but that is not entirely true because this is adaptive. Through NMAT, the best college you can get admitted to is NMIMS. The total number of students taking the NMAT every year is 50k. The eligibility is similar to CAT, i.e. min 50% in graduation or in the final year.

4. SNAP

The SNAP exam is generally conducted in December, and on 3 dates, its registration starts in August and generally closed in November. Initially, its last date is before the CAT exam. but a lot of times it gets extended. This exam is also conducted once a year but in 3 sessions, there are 3 dates, you can take all three times, and the higher score is considered and the time limit is also 60 minutes. So this is one of those exam in which you need a lot of speed. SNAP is known to be a speed-based exam. Because in this the total minutes are 60, there is no sectional time limit .The marking scheme of the SNAP exam is such that +1 mark for every correct answer. and – 0.25 for a wrong answer. You can apply to 16 colleges through the SNAP exam i.e. Symbiosis. 50k to 60k students register for this exam. The eligibility is similar to the CAT exam which is minimum 50% in graduation or you must be in your final year.

5. IIFT

Now let’s talk about the last exam which is IIFT. IIFT exam is conducted in the month of December every year. Its registration generally starts in the month of September, and closed in October or November. Its frequency is also only once i.e. it is conducted only once in a year. There is a time limit of 2 hours and there is no sectional time limit. The marking scheme of this exam is very interesting If you answer correctly for the first 3 sections, then you get +3 marks. and -1 for a wrong answer. But in the General Awareness section, +1.5 mark for a correct answer and – 0.5 marks for a wrong answer. You can get selected for the IIFT campuses through the IIFT exam. Every year 35k to 40k students register for this exam. The eligibility is similar to the CAT exam which is minimum 50% in graduation or you must be in your final year. So this was majorly about the top MBA exams.

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