MBA Entrance Exams in India

In order to get admission into a Top B-schools or MBA institutes, student has to undergo a selection process which most commonly includes:

1. Written Test

2. Group Discussion

3. Personal Interview

4. Essay Writing

5. Psychometric Test

6. Group Task

7. Management Games

Written Tests usually consists of questions related to:

1. Quantitative Ability

2. Verbal Section

3. Data Interpretation

4. Logical Reasoning/Ability

5. General Awareness

Popular Entrance Exams for MBA/PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) courses in the India are shown below, some of these exams are preferred by large number of institutes as a part of their admission processes. There are some management institutes which conduct their own entrance exams.

CAT (Common Admission Test):

IIM (Indian Institute of Management) CAT is the first step in order to take admission in the full-time program which is India’s most popular B-school. The IIM institutes are spread in cities like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, Kozhikode and Lucknow which are considered as top B-school which offer MBA programs. CAT is a written examination which is organized by the Indian Institute of Management and is an important and the first part of the selection process. If the student is selected, he or she would then be called for the personal interview and the group discussion.

Sections of CAT Examination

1. The CAT paper is divided into four parts called verbal ability, Problem solving, Reading comprehension, and Data Interpretation.

2. The questions are required to be answered using a HB pencil on a computer coded answer sheet.

3. The negative marks would be given in case of incorrect answers

4. The question paper pattern is changed every year in order to prevent certainty.

CAT 2010 Exam Dates

• Registration for CAT 2010 starts from 30 August to 30 September 2010


• Last date for receipt of completed CAT Application at the IIM: 30 September 2010


• CAT Exam: 27th October to 24th November 2010


• CAT Results: 12th January 2011

MAT (Management Aptitude Test)

MAT is a National Entrance test for qualifying into MBA programs and other equivalent postgraduate programs of the institutes that participate in the test. This test is conducted by the All India Management Aptitude Testing Service (AIMATS), New Delhi. MAT is conducted in almost all the cities of India and also in overseas location.

Sections of MAT

1. MAT is an objective type based test having multiple choice questions

2. The test has 5 segments called the Language comprehension, Mathematical Skills, Data Analysis, Indian and Global Environment, Intelligence and Critical Reasoning.

MAT 2010 Dates

• MAT Entrance Test Date: 5th September 2010, From 10:00 am to 12:30 pm


• Computer based Test Date: From 11th September 2010 onwards

XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test)

XAT (Xavier’s Admission Test) which is conducted by XLRI, Jamshedpur on all India level in order to select the best students for management courses. It has been conducted for 50 years as a gateway to XLRI as well as other affiliated institutes like XIME (Xavier’s Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship) and XIM (Xavier’s Institute of Management). XAT score is considered to choose the students at about 42 more institutes like GIM (Global Institute of Management), LIBA (Loyola Institute of Business Administration) etc. The exam is always held on the first Sunday of January every year.

Sections of XAT Exam

1. Data Interpretation and Quantitative ability

2. Verbal ability, Logical reasoning and Analytical

3. Analytical Reasoning and Decision making

4. Students are expected to write a short essay on topics that have social relevance.

XAT 2011 Dates

• XAT Exam Registration dates: 1st September 2010 to 30th November 2010-09-05


• XAT Exam: 2nd January 2011.

SNAP (Symbiosis National Aptitude Test) Exam

SNAP is conducted to take admission in the postgraduate programs offered by Symbiosis University, which is an online exam. It is the first step in the selection process and if selected, students have to undergo other rounds of interview as well. Registrations are done through their website as per the instructions given.

Sections of SNAP Exam

1. General English

2. Quantitative, Data Interpretation and Data sufficiency

3. General awareness, Current Affairs, General Knowledge and Business Scenario

4. Logical and Analytical Reasoning

The first three sections contain 40 marks each and the last section contains 60.

The duration of the test is 2 hours.

SNAP 2010 Dates

• Registration of SNAP Test: Registrations are going on and closes on 26th November 2010-09-05


• SNAP Test: 19th December 2010


• SNAP Test Result: 12th January 2011.

FMS (Faculty of Management Studies) Exam

Faculty of Management Studies Institute, Delhi conduct FMS test in order to select the appropriate students for the management programs that include Full time MBA, MBA in Management of Services. Students can apply for the exam through their website.

Sections of the FMS Exam:

1. Quantitative Aptitude

2. Data Interpretation

3. Analytical Reasoning

4. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

All of the above segments are covered in the 175 questions.

FMS Exam Dates

• FMS 2011 Exam for the MBA regular programs: Sunday, January 9, 2011


• FMS 2011 Exam for the MBA non regular programs: Sunday, January 30, 2011


• Registration for FMS 2011: From Monday, October 4, 2010 to Friday, November 19, 2010


• Results: Tuesday, February 1, 2011

IIFT (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade) Exam

IIFT Test is conducted by the Indian Institute of Foreign trade which has campuses in Delhi and Kolkata.

Sections of IIFT Exam

IIFT is a 2 hours test which covers

1. General Knowledge and Awareness

2. English Comprehension

3. Logical reasoning

4. Quantitative Analysis.

IIFT Exam 2010 Dates

• Registration: Last date September 2, 2010


• IIFT Exam: 21st November 2010


• IIFT Results: 8th December 2010

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