One of the most confusing yet common questions that MBA aspirants often have is regarding the test to appear for, which would open the gateway to their dream B-school. With numerous options available, every aspirant will face the problem of choice. Even though there is no harm in appearing for more than one exam, it is always a good idea to set a goal from before that will direct you to your preferred college, and to get the best results; it is a prerequisite to know which test is accepted by which colleges.

National Level Examinations

• Common Admission Test (CAT)– it is the most common MBA entrance examination widely accepted by the majority of colleges. The colleges that accept CAT’s scores are all the IIMs, FMS, SPJIMR, MDI, MICA, all the IITs, IMT, BITS, and many more. The date of examination is usually towards the end of November.

• Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT)– XLRI conducts this test for admission to their college. But, over time, different colleges have started to accept XAT as a qualifying test. Such colleges include- XIM, IMT, VPSM, MICA, BIMTECH, GIM, VIT, etc. This exam takes place around January.

• NMAT by GMAC– This exam is taken by Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies Mumbai and is accepted by other colleges like Athena School of Management, ISBR, Thapar School of Management, Shiv Nadar Institute of Management Studies and SRM University. The date of examination is from October to December.

• Symbiosis National Aptitude Online Test (SNAP)- This exam is accepted by all the Symbiosis Institute starting from SIBM, SCMHRD, SIIB, SIBM, SIOM, to SICSR. The exam is conducted in December.

• Common Management Admission Test (CMAT)- This exam is accepted by institutes like JBIMS, SIES, IMT, ISBN, Praxis Business School, and others. The date of examination is around February.

• Management Aptitude Test (MAT)- Colleges that accept the grades of MAT are VPSM, JAGSoM, SIESCOM, ITM, NDIM, JIMS, BIIB and many more. This exam takes place anytime from August to September.

• AIMS Test for Management Admission (ATMA) – Numerous colleges accept ATMA scores, such as AIMS, Christ university, FIIB, IMS, and Welinger Mumbai. The month of examination in July.

• Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)- Even though GMAT is popularly used for MBA admission abroad, it is also accepted by a few Indian B-schools such as ISB, SP Jain, and Amity School of Business IMT, Universal Business School, Etc. This exam can be taken any time of the year.

State Level Examination

• MAH CET MBA 2021: This exam is conducted by Maharashtra Government and is accepted by the majority of the B-schools in Maharastra. The exam is performed around the third week of August.

• Karnataka PGCET- This exam is conducted by Karnataka Government and is accepted by the B-schools under Karnataka. This exam is scheduled for around the third week of August. 

• TANCET: The Tamil Nadu government conducts this exam, and the B-schools in Tamil Nadu accept the exam scores. It is usually performed in March.

• KMAT 2021- This is taken by the Private Post Graduate College Association of Karnataka for the private colleges in the state. It is usually conducted in September.

Institute Level Examination

• IIFT MBA- The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade takes this exam, and the exam is usually conducted in January every year.
• TISSNET- This exam is conducted for Tata Institute for Social Sciences, and it usually takes place around the last week of February.
• IBSAT- This exam is taken by ICFAI Business school during the last week of December every year.

• MICAT: MICA takes this examination as their entrance test, which takes place anytime from December to January.

• KIITEE Management– The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology conducts this examination in the third week of January.

• IRMASAT- Institute of Rural Management Anand has this entrance exam usually around February.

Tentative Exam Dates:

Entering into an MBA college is a challenging yet achievable task. All you need to do is understand which exam is accepted by your aspired B-school and kick start your preparation!

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