The course of the Master of Business Administration(MBA) is one of the most sought after courses in the world. Anyone who finds the science of management interesting goes on to pursue this esteemed degree. Admission to a reputed MBA college in India is merit-based, and various competitive entrance exams serve as a precondition to select candidates for an institution. Of all the MBA entrance tests, CAT and XAT are regarded as the leading choices of all MBA aspirants. The Common Aptitude Test (CAT) and Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) are the two most prestigious MBA entrance exams for which more than two lakhs of students appear every year. Both CAT and XAT have different exam patterns but are the best options to secure admission in the top MBA colleges of India.
- CAT 2019 Exam Date – 24th November 2019
- XAT 2020 Exam Date – 5th January 2020
- CAT 2019 Result Date(Announced) – 4th January 2020
- XAT 2020 Result Date(Tentative) – 31st January 2020
- The Validity of CAT 2019 Score – December 31, 2020
- The Validity of XAT Score- One Year
Colleges accepting CAT Score
The CAT exam is conducted annually by an IIM affiliated member institution. The score can be used by the non-IIM institutions listed on the official CAT website to screen candidates for the second stage.
- All Indian Institute of Management (IIM) colleges accept only CAT index score. To secure a seat in any IIM college, one has to appear for the CAT exam.
- List of IIMs accepting CAT are as follows:-
| Ahmedabad | Kashipur | Sambalpur |
| Amritsar | Kozhikode | Shillong |
| Bangalore | Lucknow | Sirmaur |
| Bodh Gaya | Nagpur | Tiruchirappalli |
| Calcutta | Raipur | Udaipur |
| Indore | Ranchi | Visakhapatnam |
| Jammu | Rohtak |
- The top public schools accepting CAT scores apart from IIMs are:-
- FMS Delhi University
- DMS, IIT Delhi
- IME, IIT Kanpur
- VGSoM, IIT Kharagpur
- SJMSoMIIT Bombay
- DoMS, IIT Madras
- DMS, IIT Roorkee
- DMS, IMS Dhanbad
- IMT Ghaziabad
- JBIMS Mumbai
- National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai
- Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal
- National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, Hyderabad
- Delhi School of Management, Delhi Technological University, Delhi
- NIT Trichy
Top Private MBA colleges accepting CAT 2019 score
- S. P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai
- KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai
- Management Development Institute, Gurgaon
- Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai
- Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar
- T. A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal
- Fore School of Management, New Delhi
- Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad
- Goa Institute of Management, Goa
- Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Chennai
Colleges accepting XAT score
The Xavier Aptitude Test conducted by the Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) is another reputed entrance exam undertaken by MBA aspirants. Considered to be a bit tougher than the CAT exam, a good XAT percentile will give you the chance of getting admission in a premier business school. All Xavier Association of Management Institutes (XAMI) affiliated institutes accept XAT score. Other top MBA colleges like SPJIMR, VIT, etc. accept XAT score to shortlist candidates for the GDPI stage.
Colleges accepting both CAT and XAT score
Most colleges that aren’t affiliated to IIM or XLRI accept both CAT and XAT scores. The top colleges accepting both CAT and SAT scores are as follows-
- S. P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai
- KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai
- Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar
- Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai
- Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar
- T. A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal
- Fore School of Management, New Delhi
- Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad
- Goa Institute of Management, Goa
- Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Chennai
- Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi
- Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship, Bangalore
CAT & XAT cut-offs released by Various Colleges
The following colleges have released the minimum CAT and XAT cut-off
| Name of Institute | CAT 2019 Score Percentile | XAT 2020 Score Percentile |
| TAPMI Manipal |
85 |
85 |
| S. P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai | Sectional(QA,VA & DILR)- 75 each in all three sections
Overall- 85 |
Sectional(DM,QA, English+LR)- 75 each in all sections
Overall-85 |
| Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship, Bangalore |
75+ |
75+ |