The two of the toughest Management exams in India- Common Admission Test (CAT) and Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies-Management Aptitude Test (NMAT) - both are the gateway into India’s well-known Institutions. But there are many different aspects to study before opting for any one/both the exams. This article will provide you a clearer idea in detail about CAT & NMAT for strategic preparation for your higher education.
CAT:
Common Admission Test (CAT) is a national level Management entrance examination offering admission into IIMs and 100 other B-schools which accept CAT score. It is considered that cracking the CAT exam is very hard and with the passing time CAT is getting all the more difficult. It is even harder to make your path into the 20 IIMs.
NMAT:
NMAT is also a national level entrance test conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) every year. Over a period of the last 2 years, the difficulty level of NMAT has increased and is considered to be tougher than CAT. The NMAT score is accepted by 22 B-schools in India.
Pros and Cons:
Cracking CAT in one attempt in the market full of competition is really a tough call, but NMAT is equally tough and has its plus point of 3 attempts a year. Being held within a period of 3 months, NMAT provides a scope for the students to re-appear in the exams to improve their score in their 1st or 2nd attempt. This gives the golden opportunity to the students to schedule their own exam by selecting date, time and center as per their convenience. Both the exams are held through online mode. CAT includes both objectives as well as subjective type questions, whereas in NMAT entrance only objective type questions are asked. Both CAT and NMAT don’t include the General Awareness and unlike CAT, NMAT is less calculation intensive test. Each section in CAT is conducted for an hour, but NMAT includes different and less sectional timing- Verbal Ability is of 22 minutes, Quantitative Skills is of 60 minutes and Logical Reasoning is of 38 minutes.
| Section | CAT | NMAT |
| No. of attempts | Once in a year | 3 times in a 75 day window with an extra fee for each attempt |
| Exam Pattern |
|
|
| Marking |
|
|
| Time Duration | 180 minutes |
120 minutes Tests your speed (2hrs for 120 question) |
| Preference for choosing order of section | No such opportunity as it is held once in a year | You have the chance of scheduling your own exam |
| Application fees |
|
Rs 1900-2000 + inclusive tax |
IIM institutes:
| Institutes | Programmes |
| IIM Ahmedabad | PGP, PGP-FABM, ePGP |
| IIM Amritsar | PGP |
| IIM Bangalore | PGP, PGPEM, PGPPM |
| IIM Bodh Gaya | PGP |
| IIM Calcutta | PGP-PGDM |
| IIM Indore | PGP (Indore, Mumbai), EPGP, PGP-HRM |
| IIM Jammu | PGP |
| IIM Kashipur | PGP, EPGP |
| IIM Kozhikode | PGP |
| IIM Lucknow | PGP, PGP-ABM, PGP-SM |
| IIM Nagpur | PGP |
| IIM Raipur | PGP, PGPWE |
| IIM Ranchi | PGDM, PGDHRM |
| IIM Rohtak | PGP, EPGP, EPGPX |
| IIM Sambalpur | PGP |
| RGIIM Shillong | PGP, PGPEX |
| IIM Sirmaur | PGP |
| IIM Tiruchirappalli | PGP, PGPBM |
| IIM Udaipur | PGP |
| IIM Visakhapatnam | PGP |
Institutes accepting NMAT score:
- SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad
- Xavier University, Bhubaneswar
- MISB Bocconi, Mumbai
- ICFAI Business School (IBS), Hyderabad and other locations
- Alliance University, Bangalore
- BSE Institute Limited
- Amity University, Delhi NCR
- Thapar School of Management, Chandigarh
- SRM University, Chennai, Delhi NCR Sonipat
- Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida
- University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun
- Woxsen School of Business Management, Hyderabad
- BML Munjal University, Delhi
- VIT University, Vellore
- ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai
- Mody University, Rajasthan
- GITAM School of International Business, Visakhapatnam
- Hyderabad Business School
- GITAM University, Hyderabad
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