MBA entrance exams in India: Which one is the best?
Pursuing an MBA degree has a lot of benefits. MBA provides a solid theoretical foundation in business concepts and helps to develop essential skills such as leadership, management, communication, motivation, and negotiation. It also opens up a host of opportunities for career growth. It offers practical experiences through internships; individual/group projects, and assignments, and equips students to start their independent businesses after graduation.
In India, over thousand reputable management institutes/colleges offer specialized MBA programmes in various fields. Like Finance, Marketing, Operations, Management, Consulting, Entrepreneurship, and Human Resources, among others. However, choosing the best MBA course to pursue your career can be a challenging due to many options available.
To gain admission to your preferred B-school, the first step is to clear one of the entrance exams relevant to your choice of the course and institute. The following are the entrance exams for MBA that candidates must clear to get a spot in top management institution across the nation.
Top MBA Entrance Exams in India
Here is a list of some of the most sought after entrance exams for an MBA:
The Common Admission Test (CAT) Entrance Exam
CAT is the most popular and challenging MBA entrance exam conducted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). While CAT scores are primarily used to admit students to the 20Â IIMs, many other B-Schools also accept CAT scores for admission to their respective centres. As a result, more than 2 lakh students appear for the CAT entrance exam every year.
CAT comprises of four main parts: Verbal, Quantitative, Data Interpretation, and Logical Reasoning. These parts are grouped into three sections – Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Quantitative Aptitude (QA), and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR).
Narsee Monjee Management Aptitude Test (NMAT) Entrance Exam
The NMAT (Narsee Monjee Management Aptitude Test) is a national-level entrance exam organized by the Graduate Management Admission Council. It offers admission to MBA and several other graduate management degree courses offered by different institutes/colleges, such as Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) and various other institutions.
NMAT primarily tests a candidate’s Quantitative skills, Language skills, and Logical Reasoning Abilities.
Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) Entrance Exam
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) conducts the Common Management Admission Test (CMAT). A national-level MBA entrance exam, to assess candidates’ abilities in various segments such as General Awareness, Quantitative Technique, Logical Reasoning, and Language Comprehension.
All institutes like AICTE- approved institutes, departments, universities, and colleges accept CAT score. The exam evaluates General Awareness, Language Comprehension, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative and Data Interpretation skills.
Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT) Entrance Exam
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) for admission to undergraduate management programmes offered by various foreign institutes and universities. Although registration for the GMAT is open throughout the year, candidates can take the test only up to 5 times in single year.
GMAT mainly comprises of four sections, including Verbal, Quantitative, Integrated Reasoning, and Analytical Writing Assessment.
Management Aptitude Test (MAT) Entrance Exam
The Management Aptitude Test (MAT) is a national-level MBA entrance examination administered by the All India Management Association (AIMA) to offer admission to various management programmes. MAT is conducted four times a year (typically in February, May, September, and December) and is available in both online (computer-based test) and offline (written test) formats.
The exam assesses candidates’ abilities in five areas, including Mathematical Skills, Language Comprehension, Indian and Global Environment, Intelligence and Critical Reasoning, and Data Analysis and sufficiency.
Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) Entrance Exam
Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) is another popular MBA entrance exam conducted by the Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) in Jamshedpur. Around one Lakh students appear each year for XAT, typically held on the first Sunday of January. More than 100 management colleges accept students’ admission based on their XAT scores.
XAT mainly consists of four sections: Quantitative Ability, Decision Making, English Language and Logical Reasoning, and General Knowledge and Essay. However, the General Knowledge and Essay tests are conducted only after students are shortlisted for XLRI courses.
ATMA (AIMS Test for Management Admissions) Entrance Exam
ATMA (AIMS Test for Management Admissions) is a national-level MBA entrance exam administered by the Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) to offer admission to various Management Programmes such as MBA, PGDBA, PGDM, MCA, MCM, etc. The exam is conducted four times a year.
The ATMA exam aims to analyze the following skills in a candidate:
- Verbal Skills
- Analytical Reasoning Skills
- Quantitative Skills
MAH-CET (Maharashtra Common Entrance Test) Entrance Exam
MAH-CET, also known as MAH-MBA and MMS-CET, is an entrance exam conducted by the Directorate of Technical Education, Maharashtra. Its purpose is to admit students to various management courses offered by different institutes in the state of Maharashtra, such as MBA/MMS, BE/B Tech, B.HMCT, MCA, M.Arch, and M.HMCT.
Admission to courses such as MBA/ PGDM/ PGDMB/ MMS is facilitated by the Competent Authority of the State of Maharashtra through a centralized process known as CAP (Centralized Admission Process). The MAH-CET exam is held in various sessions, and the Competent Authority calculates scores for each session using the standardized equi-percentile method. The exam tests Logical Reasoning, Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude, and Abstract Reasoning.
SNAP (Symbiosis National Aptitude Test) Entrance Exam
The Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP) is a national-level management entrance exam conducted by Symbiosis International University (SIU) for admission to 15 institutes under SIU and for other MBA or equivalent courses. Since 2017, SNAP has been conducted through an online mode instead of the traditional pen and paper-based exam. The test comprises three main sections, which include Analytical and Logical Reasoning, General English and Quantitative, Data Interpretation, & Data Sufficiency.