MBA, the only 2 years post graduate programme is full of so many USPs that apart from graduates from engineering, commerce, humanities, literature, pharma and medicine backgrounds, thousands of executives in reputed organizations aspire to pursue it. Entrance examinations like CAT/XAT fascinate the takers and they go on taking these tests to find their skill status. A few professors at IIMs still take CAT to know if there is any substantial change in the test.
While an engineering degree from a good institute can get you placed at an annual package of 5-7 lakhs, an MBA degree from equally good B school will get you placed in double digits of 10 to 30 lakhs depending upon your skills. To finally convert the call in top rated B schools like IIMs, XLRI, SPJIMR, JBIMS, FMS, MDI, IMT, a good volume of preparation is indeed needed to get shortlisted for final admission round.
If you appear in MBA entrance exam in 2014, you will get admission in 2015 and will be able to complete your MBA in 2017. The plan has got to be finalized now as the registrations for a number of MBA entrance tests would begin in the month of July 2014.
If you are serious and wish to pursue your MBA from a top rated B school, you must focus on following entrance examinations, diarize their probable dates and begin your preparation according to the exam pattern without wasting your time any further.
CMAT: Sep 2014
CMAT is one of the largest MBA/PGDM entrance examination conducted twice a year by AICTE and taken by around 90 thousand aspirants. More than 400 good B schools accept CMAT scores. The test is also a gateway for admission to MBA programmes under state universities in thirteen states of Chhatisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Next CMAT
Next CMAT is expected to be conducted in September 2014 and would be the first good entrance examination for management courses for admission session 2015-16. The admission opportunities based on this entrance test will open in 2015. Hundreds of B schools including top rated ones like JBIMS, KJ Somaiya, SIMSREE accept CMAT scores for All India seats through CAP round.
The registration for CMAT for September 2014 test is expected to open in the first week of July 2014 and is supposed to continue till Last week of August 2014.
Pattern and composition of CMAT
CMAT is a computer based online test with four major components. The test is conducted in a 4-5 days test window with 2 sessions every day. Candidate may appear in either of the two sessions. CMAT comprises 100 multiple choice questions to be solved in 180 minutes. The test is divided in 4 sections and each section has 25 questions.
The sections are Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation; Logical Reasoning; Language Comprehension and General Awareness.
The best part of the exam is that the students can attempt any question from any section till the test is over. 4 marks are awarded for every correct answer, while a penalty of 1 mark for each wrong answer will be imposed. The results contain core scored marks and not a calculated percentile.
For more information on CMAT, click here
CAT 2014: October
The most sought after MBA/PGDM entrance examination Common Admission Test(CAT) 2014 for admission to top rated B schools like 13 IIMs, FMS, MDI, SPJIMR, IMI, IMT, BIMTECH is expected to be conducted in the month of October 2014. The admissions on the basis of CAT scores will be allowed in 2015. CAT, conducted by IIMs, is a yearly test, taken by around 2 lakh aspirants.
Almost all the top B schools except XLRI accepts CAT scores across the country. The registration for CAT 2014 is expected to open in the first week of August, 2014 and would continue till 1st week of September 2014.
Pattern and composition of CAT 2014
CAT is also a computer based online test. The test is conducted in a 16 to 21 days test window with 2 sessions every day. Candidate may appear in either of the two sessions. CAT comprises 60 multiple choice questions to be solved in 140 minutes. The test is divided in 2 sections containing Quantitative Ability+Data interpretation; and Verbal Ability+Logical Reasoning. Each section has 30 questions to be solved in 70 minutes.
Students taking CAT are not allowed to move to second section before completion of time for first section nor they can move back from 2nd section to first section once the time for first section is over.
3 marks are awarded for every correct answer, while a penalty of 1 mark for each wrong answer will be imposed. Besides CAT awards percentile scores on the basis of equated system. It means even if a person scores marks in negative he will be awarded a percentile score and the person scoring the maximum minus marks in CAT would be awarded ‘zero’ percentile and a candidate with lesser marks in minus may have ‘non zero’ percentile. Percentile is awarded section wise as well as overall.
The word of caution is to score high sectional percentile which will automatically improve the overall percentile. The role of sectional percentile score is greater than overall high percentile in order to be shortlisted for final admission round.
For complete information on CAT 2014 Exam, clcik here
IIFT : November 2014
Entrance examination to Indian Institute of Foreign trade (IIFT) is another very important milestone after CAT that most of the management aspirants would like to achieve. Getting into MBA(IB) 2015 at Indian Institute of Foreign Trade is probably more important than getting into any of more than 150 B schools accepting CAT scores and offering numerous management programmes. This is the reason while there are around 2 lakh CAT takers for a few thousand seats, the test takers to IIFT for appx.220 seats are near about 60 thousand.
IIFT has two campuses located in Delhi and Kolkata. The entrance test in 2014 for admission year 2015 in IIFT is expected to be conducted in the last week of November 2014 (Most probably a Sunday). The test is conducted in a single day across the country.
Registration for admission is expected to open in the middle or last week of July 2014 and may continue till the end of August 2014.
Composition of IIFT entrance test
Entrance test to IIFT 2014 MBA programme is a paper pencil based multiple choice question type examination. It is expected to be composed of 4 sections, although one section might be clubbed to another and can be sub divided in part 1 and part 2. Number of questions can be from 115 to 130 in all to be solved in 2 hours. So the time management is another crucial factor as you have approximately one minute per question to answer.
Another feature about this test is that there has been varying number of questions in different years with varying marking system in the range of 0.5 to 1. The aspirants can expect to get through if they score 45 to 50 percent. One fourth negative marking is also very important factor to keep you on your guard and avoid any wrong or doubtful attempt.
Sectional composition is expected as follows, section-1 – English comprehension & RC passages; Section-2- Quantitative Ability; Section-3- Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation ; Section-4-General Awareness
For more information on IIFT Exam, click here
NMAT: Oct to Dec 2014
NMAT is the MBA entrance test for Narsee Monjee Institute Of Management Studies (School Of Business Management) Mumbai. Total intake is 360 seats. Thousands of candidates appear in this test to take admission in NMIMS.
NMAT is an online test which can be scheduled during a test window of October to December. Registration for this exam is expected to begin in the first of July 2014 and may continue till middle of September, 2014. NMAT in 2013 was conducted at 18 major centres in India.
Composition of NMAT
NMAT is an objective type multiple choice test with 3 sections to be solved in 2 hours. The 3 sections are Language skills, Quantitative skills and Logical Reasoning. All the sections taken together comprise 120 questions. Number of questions are maximum in Quantitative section followed by Logical reasoning and Language skills. NMAT however, has no system of negative marking.
Get more details on NMAT 2015 Exam, click here.
SNAP : Dec 2014
Termed as an important MBA entrance examination, SNAP is proposed to be held sometime in December 2014. The entrance test is conducted for MBA admission in 13 Symbiosis B schools offering various management courses.
Registration for SNAP is expected to open sometime in the month of September, 2014 and may continue till November 2014. SNAP is conducted across 30 cities in India in paper pen mode.
Composition of SNAP
SNAP is a paper pen and Multiple Choice Questions(MCQs) based examination of two hours duration. Candidates are allowed with blue or black ball pen, preferably black as the OMR sheet in black ink can be better read by the system. The test comprises 180 questions divided in 4 sections of Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension; General Knowledge and Current Affairs; Quantitative Ability and data interpretation; Analytical and Logical Ability. Maximum marks are 180 and there is a provision of 25% negative marking for wrong answers. Although candidates are allowed to attempt any section in any order, sectional cut off is also there. One has to score at least a minimum cut off score in each of the four sections.
XAT : Jan 2015
Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) is a national level aptitude test conducted in India by XLRI, Jamshedpur. It is another prestigious entrance examination which is conducted for admission to XLRI and other associated B schools. Around 80-90 thousand candidates appear every year in XAT to get admission in more than 100 B-schools who have been shaping the career aspirations of thousands of candidates every year.
The exam is conducted in the first week of January (preferably first Sunday) across the country. It’s a one day exercise. Registration for XAT begins in the 2nd week of August and ends in the last week of November or first week of December.
Exam pattern
XAT is based on conventional paper pencil mode. Candidates have to mark their answers with ball point pen on OMR sheet. Ink or gel pens are not allowed.
The test is divided in 5 sections of Verbal and logical Ability; Decision making; Quantitative Ability; General awareness and Essay writing. Except essay writing all the other questions are of objective type. Entire test comprising about 102-108 MCQs and essay writing has to be attempted in 180 minutes.
The results are percentile based and are declared in the last week of January or first week of February.
For complete information on XAT 2015 Exam, click here.
Get ready to begin
Prof S K Agarwal, Verbal Ability expert on CAT/XAT preparation suggests the candidates not to miss any important MBA entrance test and begin their systematic preparation now. MBA aspirants should register for all the above important entrance examinations as each one sharpens your skills. He advises to watch for the registration opening date for the above entrance examinations and take following steps
- Avoid late registration especially for the online tests where you have to choose the testing centre. You may miss your preferred testing centre, if you register late especially for CAT 2014
- Don’t linger on your examination date for the last few testing days in CAT. The difficulty level gradually goes on increasing; the mounting tension affects your performance level adversely. Rumors spread on one or other aspect of test and all this further aggravates the situation. It is advisable to take CAT in the starting days may be within a week.
- Don’t delay the serious preparation. It takes not less than 3-4 months to have focused preparation for CAT.
- Remember all the sections are important in the test. High sectional percentile in CAT is more important than only high overall percentile
- General awareness is joining many entrance tests very fast and this cannot be prepared like Quant/DI/Verbal or LR in a few days. Preparing GA is a consistent process so make full use of internet, newspapers, TV news and keep yourself updated for current affairs.
Time to give direction to your MBA Exam preparation
MBA aspirants find it difficult to understand what should be the level of preparation for each examination according to its weightage and level of difficulty. Prof S K Agarwal has rated various entrance examinations on a scale of 10 with CAT being rated at 10 out of 10. According to the LOD weightage now it will be easier for the aspirants to decide preparation strategy for other examinations proposed to be held for MBA admission 2015
Test |
LOD Weightage on a scale of 10 |
Type of test |
Testing Duration |
|
CAT |
10 |
On-line |
140 minutes |
|
CMAT |
6 |
On-line |
180 minutes |
|
IIFT |
8 |
Paper-pencil |
120 minutes |
|
NMAT |
7 |
On-line |
120 minutes |
|
SNAP |
7 |
Paper pencil |
120 minutes |
|
XAT |
12 |
Paper pencil |
180 minutes |
It will make you proud if you get through multiple entrance examinations. It will boost your confidence level as well as more options will be available before you.
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Introduction To Course Material Quantitative Aptitude |
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Introduction To Course Material Verbal Ability |
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Click below for CAT previous year paper |
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For Verbal Section Mock Test Get Question of the Day
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Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on forthcoming MBA entrance tests
