The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will publish a list of b-schools accepting Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) scores only once the registration closes for the exam on January 9, 2012. Confirming this an AICTE official said: “We will present the list of colleges accepting CMAT scores on or a couple of days after January 9, 2012.”

This has definitely not gone down too well with candidates who often decide on entrance exams only after knowing the institutes which will accept its scores. With regard to CMAT, they are undoubtedly clueless.

Sarvadnya Arjunwadkar, a BE graduate from Sinhgad Institute of Technology says that she has already taken the Common Admission Test (CAT) and Symbiosis National Aptitude (SNAP) test and will be appearing for Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MAH-CET) in February. “If AICTE is not going to declare the colleges now, why even take the exam?”

Ankit Roy, an engineering graduate from Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata said that he has taken all the important exams including CAT. “The registration has closed for most premium colleges, so why should I sit for an exam when I don’t know where all I can apply through it. AICTE should come out with its list as soon as possible. Even the colleges need to be clear about their selection criteria for candidates coming in through CMAT. They should clearly mention the number of students they will take through CMAT, as most colleges declare their shortlist by early March. And from end of March till mid-April the interviews go on. With CMAT scheduled late February, the entire interview schedule will either get postponed or the b-schools will have separate interviews for CMAT students, which seems quite unlikely.”

A flabbergasted microbiology graduate from Mumbai, Dakshina Nair said, “I haven’t recovered from the SNAP disaster yet to talk about CMAT, but yes I have heard about it. I saw the advertisements but don’t plan to sit for it. AICTE should already have announced the list of colleges accepting CMAT scores, even I might have given it a thought then.”

But there are few aspirants who think CMAT is a brilliant idea if executed properly. According to Eshaan Ghosh, a final year instrumentation and control engineering student from Asansol, What AICTE has planned with CMAT is a very schematic decision and it can work if all management colleges come under the purview of one examination. It will then be like the All India Engineering Entrance Examination, after the results of which candidates can apply to various colleges.”