Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are conducting the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2020 on November 29, 2020. Registration for the largest entrance exam for Master of Business Administration (MBA) is now closed. However, there are other MBA entrance exams conducted across the country for the year 2021 with admission opportunities in reputed institutes. These entrances include XAT, SNAP, AIMA MAT, and IBSAT. Here are the latest updates for students who wish to appear for these entrance tests.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IIM Indore issued a media release announcing the important changes made in the CAT examination. The exam shall be conducted in three sessions, each of 2 hours duration instead of three. These three sessions (morning, afternoon, and evening) are planned to accommodate more students while maintaining social-distancing protocols. The paper shall be divided into three sections and each section is allotted 40 minutes as against 60 minutes given in previous years. Registered candidates can download CAT 2020 admit card under their respective login at iimcat.ac.in.
Apart from CAT here are the top MBA entrance exams:
One of the most sought after MBA entrance exams is the Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP). The SNAP 2020 application process is open and the last date to apply is November 28, 2020. The exam shall be conducted online on three different dates – December 20, 2020, and January 6 & 9, 2020. Candidates are given the option to give the exam up to two times. However, they will have to decide well in advance whether they want to give it once or twice. The test duration shall be 1 hour from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. The best of two scores shall be considered for percentile calculation in case the candidate gives SNAP twice. The application fee for each SNAP attempt is Rs.1750.
ICFAI Business School (IBS) has also released online application form to apply for IBSAT 2020, and the last date to apply is December 16, 2020. The exam will be held on December 26 – 27, 2020 for admission in MBA / PGPM / Ph.D. courses offered by IBS. The candidates who have GMAT /NMAT /CAT scores do not have to appear for IBSAT 2020 and they can apply for admission directly. The selected candidates have to appear for Group Discussion and Personal Interview. Final admission is based on the past academic record and performance of the candidates in GD and PI.
Right now the application process is open for Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2021 by Xavier School of Management. The application fee has increased to Rs. 1750 and the exam shall be conducted in a computer-based format. The last date to apply is November 30, 2020. The exam will be held on January 3, 2021. It is going to be a single-slot exam conducted from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm rather than 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. Instead of essay writing test, the exam shall only include MCQ-type questions and newly introduced Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions. Each question shall be allotted 1 mark whereas ¼ marks shall be deducted for every wrong answer. All MCQs shall have five options with one correct answer. The GK section shall not be considered for the percentile calculation and this section shall not have negative marking. Visually impaired students shall be given 25 extra minutes to complete the examination.
Lastly, but not the least, All India Management Association (AIMA) will hold the Management Aptitude Test (MAT) on February 7 in pen and paper mode. The registration for the same will be starting from December 16, 2020, at mat.aima.in. This exam is held throughout the year. The score of MAT is accepted over 600 B-Schools across India for admission in MBA and allied programmes.