MBA Entrance Exams

Everything About MBA Entrance Exams

Master of Business Administration (MBA) is one of the most sought-after postgraduate degrees among graduates and working professionals. Every year lakhs of students and professionals write MBA entrance exams to get into top B-Schools in India. An MBA program covers core business areas such as applied statistics, accounting, business communication, business law, finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, managerial economics, management and operations in a manner that is relevant to management analysis and strategies. The MBA degree was originated in the early 20th century when the countries were industrialized and companies sought scientific approaches to management.

In the current scenario, an MBA degree from a reputed B-school adds credibility to students and professionals profile. MBA graduates from top universities are high in demand in the job market as MNCs across the world look for high-value students and professionals with a management degree from well-known B-schools.

There is no upper age limit to write an MBA entrance exam. Anyone can write a management entrance exam who meets the eligibility criteria set for an entrance exam. There are many MBA entrance exams organized by different educational institutions and government bodies. Of the many, CAT, XAT, SNAP, CMAT, MAT is popular among management test takers. MBA entrance exams are conducted on a national and state level. Most of the management entrance tests are scheduled from August onwards which are conducted until January of the following year. However, many state-level management entrance exams are conducted during January to July period as well.

Common MBA Entrance Exams in India

• CAT (Common Admission Test) - CAT is a computerized test conducted across India. The test evaluates test takers based on Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. The Indian Institutes of Management started and conducts CAT exam yearly to select best management students for all the IIMs in India.


• XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test) - XAT is conducted by XLRI across India. For more than 60 years, XLRI has been conducting XAT exam. XAT scores are accepted by 150+ management institutes in India. The exam is conducted Online and evaluates test takers based on their Verbal and Logical Ability, Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation and General Knowledge.


• CMAT (Common Management Admission Test) - CMAT is an online computer-based test conducted by AICTE. CMAT was conducted in 2012 for the first time. CMAT is conducted once in every year and is a national level admission test.

How to crack MBA entrance exams depends on your abilities to solve quant and reasoning problems, comprehension abilities, decision-making capacity, ability to understand data and draw insights from them and interpersonal ability. Practice is key when it comes to cracking MBA entrance exams.