Are there any other exams apart from CAT, CMAT and XAT that I can give? Yes there is. This exam is known as MAT stands for Management Aptitude Test, conducted by AIMA (All India Management Association) where AIMA is a federation of LMAs, in present it is associated with more than 60 LMAs (Local Management Association) across India. This exam began in 1988 and ensures top B-schools are given to top candidates looking for a career in MBA/PGDM.
Generally you give management entrance exams once a year and if you are not able to clear exams, you need to wait for another year but in case of MAT you can give multiple times in a year. This entrance exam happens every 3 months, so you can give this exam four times in the months of February, May, September, and December.
Note: Read more about MAT on their Official website:- https://mat.aima.in/
Some of the Business schools that accept MAT scores.
There are more than 600 B-Schools that accept MAT scores, you can check out your ideal college below or on the official website of MAT.
| Business Schools/College | CITY |
| TERI School of Advanced Studies | New Delhi |
| Birla Global University | Bhubaneswar |
| AIMS Institutes (Acharya Institute of Management and Sciences) | Bengaluru |
| Swami Vivekananda Institute of Management and Computer Science | Kolkata |
| Balaji Institute of International Business | Pune |
| Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship, Chennai | Chennai |
| BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus | Dubai |
| Indian Institute of Forest Management | Bhopal |
| Institute of Rural Management | Jaipur |
| Taxila Business School | Jaipur |
| ABSS Institute of Technology | Meerut |
| Institute of Marketing & Management Business School | New Delhi |
| Jindal Global Business School | Sonipat |
Note: You can look more of college from Participating B-Schools on MAT Official Website.
MAT Exam Pattern
This exam has a duration of 2 hours, so you will have 120 minutes to complete your exam. Format of question paper will be MCQs and you will have 150 questions in total 5 sections with negative marking. You will get +1 mark for correct answer and -0.25 marks for incorrect answer, there is no marking for unanswered question. So keep that in mind to not attempt unnecessary questions.
You can use following question paper format for MAT Exam:
| S.No. | Section | No. of Questions | Time Suggested (Minutes) |
| 1 | Language Comprehension | 30 | 20 |
| 2 | Mathematical Skills | 30 | 35 |
| 3 | Data Analysis and Sufficiency | 30 | 25 |
| 4 | Intelligence and Critical Reasoning | 30 | 25 |
| 5 | Economic & Business Environment | 30 | 15 |
| 6 | Total: | 150 Question | 120 Minutes |
Mode of MAT Examination
There are two modes in which an candidate can give exam:
- PBT (Paper Based Test)
- CBT (Computer Based Test)
PBT (Paper Based Test):
Where you need to give a test via an old method using OMR sheet. This PBT exam gives a familiar and comfortable experience for most candidates. You will receive a sealed questionnaire and an OMR Sheet. Before starting the test, fill in your Details on both the questionnaire and the OMR Sheet. To answer a question you need to darken the correct oval completely using a Blue or Black ballpoint pen. One thing is to keep in mind that once you darken an oval, you can’t change your answer.
CBT (Computer Based Test):
A CBT is an exam taken on a computer using a user ID and password. First you will need to read the exam instructions carefully then the CBT exam will start. In the CBT exam each computer is connected to a central server that delivers your unique question set. Questions will appear on the screen, click the option you think is correct. You can also change your answer anytime by clicking another option. You can move freely between questions and sections also this mode gives you a feature to keep a track of your time on screen. Make sure you complete all the sections, and finish your exam on time.
During the exam the answers are saved instantly in the system for faster processing, also ensuring smooth working with technical support and backup systems are available on exam day.
MAT CBT is conducted in major cities across India, so you can choose the test city closest to your home and give your MBA entrance exam without any issue.