The MAT exam or the Management Aptitude Test is a national level entrance test which is conducted by the All India Management Association every year. The exam is a prerequisite for admission to many management courses in the country (MBA/PGDM). The examination is conducted four times each year in the months of February, May, September, and December.

Candidates that clear the MAT examination are eligible for admission to over 800 Business schools in the country (which accept MAT scores). Unlike many other entrance exams which are computer-based or online, the MAT exam is both offline and online. This means that candidates can choose to give the exam on paper or online (computer-based).

10 Things to Know About the MAT Exam Pattern

MAT exam scores are accepted by many different Business schools in the country for their management programs, and thus it becomes important to clear the exam with high scores. Not only must one be aware of the syllabus for the exam, but one should also know how the question paper is designed so as to be fully prepared.

Here are ten things that should be known about the MAT examination pattern:

1. Sections Covered in the Exam: The MAT exam covers five sections, which include Intelligence and Critical Reasoning, Language Comprehension, Mathematics, Data Analysis and Sufficiency, and Indian and Global Environment.

2. Total Number of Questions: There are a total of 200 questions in the MAT exam.

3. Division of Questions: All the five sections of the paper include 40 questions each.

4. Duration of the Exam: Candidates will have 150 minutes or two and a half hours to complete the examination. 30 minutes are allotted to Intelligence and Critical Reasoning, 30 minutes to Language Comprehension, 35 minutes to Data Analysis and Sufficiency, 40 minutes to Mathematics, and 15 minutes to Indian and Global Environment.

5. Section-wise Questions: Each of the five sections covers different types of questions, and they are as follows-

• Intelligence and Critical Reasoning: Blood relations, Direction sense, Input-output analysis, Data arrangement, etc.
• Mathematics: Arithmetic, Geometry, Business mathematics, etc. Candidates must know the basic formulae.
• Language Comprehension: Candidates shall be assessed on the basis of their comprehension as well as reading skills and would have to answer passage-based questions.
• Data Analysis and Sufficiency: Direction sense, Blood relations, Coding and decoding, Input/output analysis, etc.
• Indian and Global Environment: Questions on General Knowledge as well as national and international current affairs, shall also be included.

6. Total Score: The MAT exam carries a total scale score of 800.

7. Marking Scheme: Candidates will be awarded one mark for every question they get right, while there is a negative marking of 0.25 for every incorrect answer.

8. Type of Questions: All the 200 questions are in the MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) format.

9. There will be four answer options for each question.

10. Language of the Paper: The MAT exam paper is in the English language to ensure uniformity.

The MAT exam is commonly taken by a large number of students and is important in order to get into a Management program. This means they should understand the exam pattern and the syllabus, and also practice a lot before appearing for it.

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