Now that March has come, many of you will be contemplating to pursue an MBA. The reasons can be manyfold – some of you are tired of your mundane “IT job”, while few of you are stuck at your current level in the organization for quite some time now and want to progress. Many of you are just coming out of your degree colleges (be it Engg., Arts, Science or anything else for that matter). No matter what your reasons are for doing an MBA or what your academic background is, the one thing common for all of you is the entrance exam(s). In this article, we will take a brief look at the top MBA entrance tests that any student should target if he/she is aiming to get a seat in the top B Schools in India. Although there are more than 15 well-known MBA entrance tests conducted by colleges all over the country, we will look at the top ones only. While we will be discussing the entrance exams, we will not get into the exam pattern, etc. We will, however, look at the colleges that participate in these exams or accept these exam scores for admissions.
CAT: Common Admission Test is the mother of all the MBA entrance tests for colleges in India. This exam is conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management. There are currently 21 IIMs in India and every year one of the IIMs takes up the mantle of conducting this test. This is an online exam that is conducted generally on the last Sunday of November. (CAT 23 was conducted on 26 November 2023). The application process generally starts in August and ends in September. Many of the top B-Schools in India accept CAT scores which include all the IIMs and IITs for their MBA courses. Below is a list of the top colleges apart from the IIMs and IITs that accept CAT scores in their admission procedure –
Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi (FMS)
SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR)
Management Development Institute, Gurgaon (MDI)
Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS)
Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad (IMT)
International Management Institute, New Delhi (IMI)
Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA)
KJ Somaiya Institute of Management
Welingkar Institute of Management
Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar (XIMB)
T A Pai Management Institute (TAPMI)
Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA)
XAT: Xavier Aptitude Test is the second biggest entrance exam for MBA in India. It is conducted by XLRI Jamshedpur. The exam is generally conducted in the early days of January every year. The application process starts in the month of August and ends in mid-December. Below is the list of top colleges that take XAT scores –
Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) Jamshedpur & Delhi
Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar (XIMB)
TA. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI)
Goa Institute of Management
KJ Somaiya Institute of Management
Welingkar Institute of Management:
SNAP: Symbiosis National Aptitude Test is the entrance exam conducted by Symbiosis International University for the MBA programs of all its colleges. The students can take the exam up to three times in a year in December and January. Below is a list of Symbiosis-affiliated colleges that accept SNAP scores –
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) located in Pune.
Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development (SCMHRD) situated in Pune.
Symbiosis Institute of International Business (SIIB) based in Pune.
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) located in Bangalore.
Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management (SIOM) situated in Nashik.
Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies & Research (SICSR) located in Pune.
Symbiosis Institute of Digital Telecom Management (SIDTM) situated in Pune.
Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS) based in Pune.
Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication (SIMC) located in Pune.
Symbiosis Centre for Information Technology (SCIT) situated in Pune.
Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences (SIHS) based in Pune.
Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance (SSBF) located in Pune.
Symbiosis School of Sports Sciences (SSSS) situated in Pune.
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) located in Hyderabad.
Symbiosis Institute Of Business Management (SIBM) situated in Nagpur.
NMAT: NMIMS Management Aptitude Test is the entrance exam conducted by Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies for admission to all the MBA courses of NMIMS Mumbai and the MBA courses of NMIMS Hyderabad and Bengaluru. This is a computer-based test conducted over 10 weeks. The exam is generally held from October to December. The applications start in July and end by October's first week. The unique feature of this exam is that a student can write the exam a total of 3 times in a year. The best of the 3 scores will be considered for the admission process. NMIMS Offers a range of MBA programs as given below –
MBA two-year full-time program
MBA Human Resources
MBA Pharmaceutical Management
MBA – Bengaluru Campus
MBA – Hyderabad Campus:
CMAT: Common Management Admission Test is an online computer-based test conducted by AICTE. This is an entrance test for admission into the MBA programs offered by institutes approved by AICTE. The exam is conducted in April/May. Some of the colleges accepting CMAT are:-
JBIMS
SIMSREE
GOA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
KJ Somaiya Institute of Management
Stay tuned as we will bring exclusive preparation content for each of these examinations. Also Read: