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Isha
30 January, 2025
Over a thousand reputable management institutes/colleges in India offer MBA programmes specialised in finance, marketing, operations management, consulting, entrepreneurship, and human resources. However, admission to some of the best colleges is based on performance in the MBA entrance exams. Popular tests for MBA admissions include CAT, GMAT, XAT, and NMAT. Aspirants have to complete their graduation for MBA admissions with or without entrance exam. If you are struggling to decide which MBA entrance exams other than CAT, continue reading.
Are you wondering which entrance exam is best for MBA? Here is a list of the top MBA entrance exams with the college acceptance list. This list would help you shortlist the colleges and narrow down your MBA entrance examination preparation journey. Let’s take a look:
Did you know that around 250,000 students enrol annually in various MBA programmes worldwide? Most CEOs, CFOs, and people in higher managerial positions are likely to hold an MBA degree. An MBA is a strategic step towards career growth. There are so many MBA entrance exams for admission. This makes it confusing to choose the one that would be best for you. Here’s a list of some of the most sought-after entrance examaniation for MBA:
The Common Admission Test (CAT) is the most popular and challenging MBA entrance exam by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM). The exam is held for admission to over 1000 colleges in India, including IIMs, IITs, NITs, and MNITs. As a result, more than 2 lakh students appear for the CAT entrance exam every year. The CAT entrance exam date is tentatively in November.
CAT comprises four main parts: verbal, quantitative, data interpretation, and logical reasoning. These parts are grouped into three sections: verbal and reading comprehension (VRC), quantitative aptitude (QA), and data interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR). So, if you want one exam which fits all, this is the test for MBA admission.
✅ Examination Mode: Computer-Based Test (CBT)
✅ Exam Duration: 120 Minutes (2 Hours)
✅ Number of Questions: 68 Objective-Type Questions
✅ Total Marks: 204
✅ CAT Registration Opens: First Week of August (tentative)
✅ CAT Exam Date 2026: November (tentative)
CAT Exam Pattern:
The NMAT (Narsee Monjee Management Aptitude Test) is a national-level entrance exam organised by the Graduate Management Admission Council. It offers admission to MBA and several other graduate management degree courses from 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.
✅ Examination Mode: Computer-Based Test (CBT)
✅ Exam Duration: 120 Minutes (2 Hours)
✅ Number of Questions: 108 (Multiple Choice Questions)
✅ NMAT Registration Opens: First week of August (tentative)
✅ NMAT Exam Date 2026: October to December (tentative)
NMAT Exam Pattern:
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) conducts the Common Management Admission Test (CMAT). It is a national-level MBA entrance examination that shall assess your abilities in various segments, such as general awareness, quantitative technique, logical reasoning, and language comprehension.
The CMAT score is recognised at all AICTE-approved institutes, departments, universities, and colleges. The exam evaluates general awareness, language comprehension, logical reasoning, and quantitative and data interpretation skills.
✅ Examination Mode: Online
✅ Exam Duration: 180 Minutes (3 Hours)
✅ Number of Questions: 100
✅ CMAT Registration Opens: Second Week of March (tentative)
✅ CMAT Last Date of Registration: October (tentative)
✅ CMAT Exam Date 2026: 25 January
CMAT Exam Pattern:
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). It is one of the popular MBA entrance exams other than CAT. This test opens up admission in various government and private business schools in India as well as abroad.
However, today the GMAT exam is replaced by the GMATTM Focus Edition. It is a shorter and more streamlined entrance test for an MBA. You can give your GMAT exam five times in 12 months. GMAT mainly comprises four sections, including verbal, quantitative, integrated reasoning, and analytical writing assessment.
✅ Examination Mode: Online
✅ Exam Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes
✅ Number of Questions: 64
✅ Total Marks Range: 205 to 805
✅ Top B-schools Admission Cutoff: 740+ score
✅ GMAT Registration: Open throughout the year
✅ GMAT Exam Date 2026: Candidate’s choice
GMAT Exam Pattern:
Also Read: GMAT Score Chart and Percentile Calculator
The Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) is another popular entrance exam for MBA, which is conducted by the Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) in Jamshedpur. Around one lakh students appear each year for XAT. More than 250+ management colleges accept students based on their XAT scores. You can check out your results on their official website.
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.
✅ Examination Mode: Online
✅ Exam Duration: 180 Minutes
✅ Number of Questions: 95
✅ XAT Registration Opens: July (Tentative)
✅ XAT Exam Date 2026: 4 January
XAT Exam Pattern:
The Management Aptitude Test (MAT) is a national-level MBA entrance examination. All India Management Association (AIMA) conducts the examination to offer admission for various management programmes. MAT is conducted four times a year: typically in February, May, August, and December. It is available in both online computer-based test and offline written test modes.
The MBA entrance examination in India shall assess your abilities in five areas, including mathematical skills, language comprehension, Indian and global environment, intelligence and critical reasoning, language analysis, and sufficiency.
✅ Examination Mode: Computer-Based Test (Online) and Paper-Based Test (Offline)
✅ Exam Duration: 150 Minutes (2 Hours and 30 Minutes)
✅ Number of Questions: 150
✅ MAT Exam Date 2026: February, May, August, and December (tentative)
MAT Exam Pattern:
ATMA (AIMS Test for Management Admissions) is a national-level entrance test for MBA administered by the Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS). It offers admission to various management programmes such as MBA, PGDBA, MMS, PGDM, MCA, MCM, etc. This entrance examination for MBA is conducted four times a year.
✅ Examination Mode: Online
✅ Exam Duration: 180 Minutes (3 Hours)
✅ Number of Questions: 180
✅ ATMA Registration Opens: December
✅ ATMA Exam Date 2026: February 22
ATMA Exam Pattern:
MAH-CET, also known as MAH-MBA, is another MBA entrance test in India conducted by the Directorate of Technical Education, Maharashtra. This MBA entrance test will open up doors to admission in top management colleges situated in Maharashtra. There are more than 300+ top B schools that you can apply to after clearing the exam.
You can apply for courses such as MBA/PGDM/PGDMB/MMS. The MAH-CET exam is held in various sessions, and the scores are calculated for each session using the standardised equi-percentile method. The exam tests logical reasoning, verbal ability, reading comprehension, quantitative aptitude, and abstract reasoning.
✅ Examination Mode: Online Computer-Based Test (CBT Mode)
✅ Exam Duration: 150 Minutes (2 Hours and 30 Minutes)
✅ Number of Questions: 200
✅ MAH-CET Registration Opens: January (Tentative)
✅ MAH-CET Exam Date 2026: April (Tentative)
MAH-CET Exam Pattern:
The Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP) is a national-level management entrance exam conducted by Symbiosis International University (SIU). This MBA entrance exam opens admission to institutes under SIU and for MBA or equivalent courses. Since 2017, the SNAP has been conducted online instead of the traditional pen-and-paper-based exam. The test includes three main sections: analytical and logical reasoning, general English, quantitative, data interpretation, and data sufficiency.
✅ Examination Mode: Online
✅ Exam Duration: 60 Minutes (1 Hour)
✅ Number of Questions: 60
✅ SNAP Registration Opens: August (Tentative)
✅ SNAP Exam Date 2026: December (Tentative)
SNAP Exam Pattern:
Here is a step-by-step process for registering online for the MBA entrance examinations in India. Please ensure that you fill out the MBA entrance tests from the official websites to make the registration process seamless and simple.
✅ Select the MBA entrance tests you want to appear for.
✅ Open the official website for the examination to avoid misinformation or any kind of fraud.
✅ Register on the website using your email ID and mobile number.
✅ After verification, open the application form and fill out your personal information and academic details.
✅ Select the exam slot and examination centre.
✅ Upload all the essential documents.
✅ Pay the application fee to finally submit your application form for the MBA entrance exam in India.
✅ Make sure to download the fee receipt for your record and future reference.
Choosing MBA entrance exams depends on your preferences, such as your career goals, profile, finances, and target colleges (if any). And, while making this choice, it is natural to feel confused. However, the most effective way to make this choice easier is to use the elimination method. This way, you can understand your own interests and what your available options are.
Three things to keep in mind while making the selection: if you have a target college, such as IIMs, ISB, or any other top-tier management college, national-level examinations, such as CAT, XAT, are usually a good choice. Next, you must keep in mind the structure of the MBA entrance examination. This will make your MBA admission journey a little easier.
Pursuing an MBA degree has a lot of benefits, such as providing a solid theoretical foundation in business concepts and helping to develop essential skills such as leadership, management, communication, motivation, and negotiation. MBA, or Master of Business Administration, is one of the most prestigious and highly enrolled courses worldwide, given the professional opportunities the course provides and the personal benefits this degree offers. Especially in today’s time, when the business landscape is ever-changing, the allure of management degrees has increased, a testament to the fact that MBA degrees are in high demand. The charm of an MBA degree has made the MBA entrance examinations a tough nut to crack. If you are eyeing a certain college, then prepare for the relevant exam to avoid wasting time and effort.
Choosing the best entrance exam for MBA depends on your personal preference for the colleges. However, choosing national MBA entrance tests can open up a wide range of college options, which should be the goal in general. The most common entrance examination is CAT. While MBA entrance exams other than CAT include XAT, MAT, CMAT, SNAP, NMAT, and GMAT.
If you look at the competition in both CAT and CMAT, CAT has the highest competition, making it difficult to score in the high percentile. Moreover, the CMAT difficulty level is lower than the CAT difficulty level. These two things make CMAT a slightly easier option than CAT.
The top 5 MBA entrance exams for 2026 are:
You can join an MBA without CAT, by appearing for entrance exams other than CAT, such as XAT, SNAP, CMAT, GMAT, and more. However, if you are aim is to unlock IIMs, IITs, and some other top B Schools in India, then the preferred choice is CAT.
You can join an MBA without a CAT if you are planning for a hybrid or an online MBA. To get admission in an online MBA, you are evaluated on your academics, profile, and personal interview. Many colleges don’t conduct any MBA entrance test for admission in their online MBA programme.
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