CAT exam is considered one of the toughest examinations in India. The common Admission Test (CAT) exam is conducted to select candidates for management studies into IIMs and other government institutions. However, if you prepare for the CAT examination, you can appear for other national MBA examinations as well. Along with CAT, many other government and private institutions conduct exams for admission into management studies.
The syllabus of these examinations is more or less the same as the CAT exam. If you prepare well for the CAT examinations, you will find it relatively easier to score well in other MBA entrance exams. Similar to the CAT Exam, other MBA Entrance Exams have three major sections like Maths, Reasoning, English Language and Comprehension. A few of them also include General Knowledge.
MBA Entrance Exams You Can Appear along with CAT
Here is the list of the examinations you can appear in along with CAT. However, you would have to change your exam strategy as per the different exams. But, if you study well for the CAT Exam, you will find these exams relatively easy.
Table of Contents
XAT
Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) is taken by XLRI, Jamshedpur for admission into various PGDM courses in hundreds of management institutes like XLRI, and XIMB, etc. The syllabus of the XAT exam is the same as the CAT Exam Syllabus, however, the difficulty level varies. However, the cut-off of the XAT examination is substantially lower than the CAT exam. So, in XAT it is more about attempting less with high accuracy than attempting more.
CMAT
Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) is conducted in the month of January by National Testing Agency every year. The syllabus of CMAT is similar to the CAT exam, however, it has an additional subject- General Awareness. So, if you can prepare general knowledge a bit, then, CMAT can be a good option apart from the XAT exam.
IIFT
The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) is held for admission into the IIFT in Kolkata and Delhi. The IIFT paper in terms of difficulty is on par with CAT and XAT and requires an attempt of at least 60% questions for the general candidates in order to crack the exam.
SNAP
The Symbiosis National Aptitude (SNAP) exam is conducted for admission into 15 institutes including, SIBM (Pune) and SCMHRD. Apart from these institutions, other PGDM/MBA institutes also accept SNAP scores for the admission criteria. Even the syllabus of the SNAP exam is exactly similar to the CAT exam with three major subjects- Maths, Reasoning, and English Language and Comprehension. The exam level is a bit easy and requires high attempts.
NMAT
NMAT is conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council for admission into NMIMS Mumbai for MBA admissions. The syllabus of the NMAT is also the same as the CAT Exam. The NMAT exam can be taken three times a year and requires a good number of attempts. The cut-off of NMAT is usually around 210-215 marks.
MICAT
The Mudra Institute of Technology Communications Admission Test (MICAT) exam is conducted twice a year. However, for attempting the MICAT exam, one needs to have a valid CAT or XAT score. The exam is slightly different from other MBA exams as it includes psychometric tests along with Maths, Reasoning, English, and General Awareness.
Other MBA Exams
Along with these MBA examinations, candidates can also appear in MAT, MHCET, ATMA, IBSAT, MAH CET, TSICET, and APICET. It is not the end of the list; there are other MBA entrance exams also that you can give to get admission into other private institutions.
The CAT Exam is considered one of the toughest examinations in India. Due to immense competition, it’s always better to appear in other MBA examinations as well, than wasting another year for the CAT exam.
