What is CAT Exam for MBA?
CAT exam is a highly competitive exam and almost a quarter of a million students appear for it every year. Only a handful of the total applicants make it their preferred institute. CAT Exam (Common Admission Test) is a computer-based selection test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as a prerequisite for admissions to their business administration programs. Apart from the IIMs, the CAT is also a prerequisite for admissions into numerous other prestigious management colleges across India.
If we talk about the Top-Rated MBA colleges in India such as SPIJMR, MDI, XLRI, IIMs and others, the MBA admissions for the 2023 batch are already underway in all these institutions. While some of the top-level business schools might have already closed their application process by the time you read this piece, many others could be still accepting applications.
Most of the top-rated MBA colleges accept scores of various MBA entrance exams. Let’s take you through the admission process in all these institutes and tell you about all the important MBA Admissions 2023 dates. Apart from that we’ll also touch upon whether you can get admission in MBA without entrance exam. Let’s start with the MBA Admission process first.
MBA Admission process
The admission process for majority of MBA colleges normally opens around July and August every year, and thereafter closes in around 2 to 3 months’ time. While the top-rung institutes such as IIMs, IIFT, XLRI, SIBM, NMIMS and others begin their MBA admission process around July August, the other similar institutes such as IMT, SPJIMR, FMS, IMI, MDI etc. don’t start their admission process until September-October and close it down sometime in December. Therefore, if you’re planning to enroll into MBA program of one of these top colleges, you should know the time they start their admission process, apart from being well acquainted with what all constitutes it.
All of the top-level MBA colleges have a certain criteria to determine the eligibility of candidates for their MBA programs, followed by a distinct MBA admission process. The first and foremost aspect of MBA admissions is the entrance examination. You will need to appear in multiple MBA entrance examinations to stand a good chance of getting through one of the top business schools. While a great number of these MBA colleges have the same process after the entrance examination, the main difference lies in the MBA entrance exam scores they accept. For instance XLRI accepts only marks scored in XAT exam, Symbiosis accepts only SNAP score, IIMs accept CAT score, NMIMS accepts marks scored in NMAT exam while IIFT also conducts its own entrance exam and accepts its score. Some institutes might also accept scores of different MBA entrance examinations, for instance, TAPMI, IMT, SPJIMR, XIMB and many more accept scores of both XAT and CAT examinations.
Broadly speaking, most of these top MBA colleges like MDI Gurgaon, FMS Delhi, FORE, IMT Ghaziabad, NMIMS Mumbai, IBS, XLRI Jamshedpur, Tapmi, IIFT Delhi, Goa Institute Of Management and others have a step-by-step MBA admission process for their main PGDM/MBA courses.
This step-by-step process includes applying for the entrance exam and appearing in it. Thereafter the shortlisting and final MBA admission process is more or less similar in all the business schools. Below provided is a list of some top-level MBA colleges along with their acceptable entrance exam scores, shortlisting process and the final MBA admission process:
MBA College Name |
Score Accepted |
Shortlisting Criteria |
Final Admission Process |
XAT |
Overall and sectional XAT score |
Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI) |
|
CAT |
CAT score, academic profile, academic diversity, gender, work experience etc. |
GD, Written Ability Test (WAT) or PI |
|
FMS Delhi |
CAT |
Overall and sectional CAT score |
Extempore speech, PI, GD |
XAT and CAT |
Overall and sectional CAT / XAT score and based on profile |
PI |
|
Symbiosis Institutes |
SNAP |
Overall and sectional SNAP score |
GD / PI / WAT depending upon institute’s policy |
CAT |
Overall and sectional CAT score |
PI / GD |
|
NMAT |
Overall and sectional NMAT score |
WAT / GD / PI |
|
XAT and CAT |
Overall and sectional CAT / XAT score and based on profile |
2 rounds of group interviews |
|
CMAT, XAT and CAT |
Overall and sectional CAT / XAT / CMAT score |
PI / GD |
|
XAT and CAT |
Overall and sectional CAT / XAT score |
PI, GD and MICAT |
|
CAT |
Overall and sectional CAT score |
PI, GD and Psychometric tests |
|
XAT and CAT |
Overall and sectional CAT / XAT score |
PI / GD |
|
XAT and CAT |
Overall and sectional CAT / XAT score |
GD, PI and IRMASAT |
MBA Admission Process Steps
The MBA admissions process involved in gaining entry into one of the top MBA colleges in India is essentially a four-step process. You will need to follow these four steps for all the MBA colleges you plan to apply to, including the popular IIMs that have a fairly rigourous selection procedure.
Step 1 – Register for the MBA entrance exam
As also mentioned earlier, the MBA admission process for a large majority of MBA colleges opens up around July-August and closes around November last week. Anyone seeking admission into these colleges must register and apply for their corresponding MBA entrance examination (XAT, CAT, SNAP, NMAT, IIFT etc.) in time, within the provided registration time frame. The MBA entrance examinations held at the national level like XAT and CAT close registrations around September/November. The CAT registration process in particular stays open for no more than 45 to 50 days.
Step 2 – Appear for the MBA entrance exam
After registering for the MBA entrance exam, you will need to prepare and appear for it. The Common Admission Test (CAT) normally happens in the last week of November each year, while XAT is conducted in early January. So, if you’re planning admission in MBA 2023 batch, the CAT for it was held in 27th November 2022 and XAT in 8th January 2023.
Step 3 – Get shortlisted
Once the results of your MBA entrance examinations are out, the business schools you have applied to will need to shortlist you, for you to be eligible for the final admission round. This shortlisting happens based on multiple criteria including the academics, exam scores, work experience and diversity. Different business schools have different shortlisting criteria, and each one of them completes this process individually based on their own admission policies.
Step 4 – Get through the final admission process
After getting shortlisted for the final admission round, you will need to appear for the personal interview (PI) and/or written ability test (WAT) and/or group discussion (GD) and/or any other specific test conducted by the Institute. Some business schools such as FMS, Delhi also have an extempore speech round in the final admission process. Others like MDI conduct both group discussion and personal interview. A few institutes like IMI, New Delhi might also conduct psychometric tests during this round. Based on how you perform in the final admission round, your entrance exam score, work experience, gender, academic profile etc., you might find a place in the final merit list released by the business school. As a result, you might then be offered admission into the respective institute.
MBA Admission 2023 Dates
Below provided are the important MBA admission 2023 dates of some of the premier MBA colleges:
MBA College Name |
Last date of application |
IIMs |
Late October 2022 |
MDI Gurgaon |
25th November 2022 |
XLRI Jamshedpur |
31st December 2022 |
TAPMI Manipal |
31st January 2023 |
SPJIMR Mumbai |
25th November 2022 |
IMI New Delhi |
30th January 2023 |
IMT Ghaziabad |
31st January 2023 |
FORE New Delhi |
31st January 2023 |
MICA Ahmedabad |
17th January 2023 |
GIM Goa |
19th January 2023 |
Symbiosis |
8th December 2022 |
IIFT Delhi/Kolkata |
18th December 2022 |
NMIMS Mumbai |
31st October 2022 |
Admission in MBA without entrance exam
It’s highly unlikely, rather impossible to get admission in the top-rated MBA colleges without entrance exam. Do you know that Direct MBA Admission without Entrance Exam is available in many MBA colleges in India? Although admission in MBA without entrance exam happens, but it is normally offered only in case of private universities/colleges or in cases wherein you get direct MBA admission through the Management quota (in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and other states) or through the seats reserved for Foreign National, PIO and NRI candidates. Below provided are some key facts related to admission in MBA without entrance exam:
- Several MBA colleges such as Bridge School and SOIL offer specialised courses that don’t require any examination for admission.
- There are many MBA colleges outside of the top hundred that might offer direct admission to their MBA programs without any entrance exam, just to fill their seats quota.
- Various private and government universities such as Manav Rachna University, UPES, Shiv Nadar University and Amity University hold their own MBA entrance tests a number of times per year. You’re free to take their tests at any point of time after applying.
- Almost all the top-rated MBA schools in India including the IIMs accept scores of one or more of the following entrance tests: CAT, ATMA, XAT, GMAT, Mat and CMAT. Some top private universities such as Symbiosis International University, NMIMS and XUB conduct their own examination.
- In case you too are seeking admission in MBA without entrance exam, make sure that you stay away from admission consultants or agents. It would be better that you directly enquire with the concerned colleges.
Below provided is a list of some colleges where you can get admission in MBA without entrance exam:
- Bridge School of Management
- Amity Global B-School
- School of Management and Entrepreneurship, Shiv Nadar University
- Faculty of Management Studies, MRIIRS, Faridabad
- Birla Global University Bhubaneswar
- IIBS Bangalore
- School of Management, GD Goenka University
- GIBS, Bangalore
- VYASA Business School, Bangalore
- Vanguard Business School, Bangalore and many more.
Direct MBA Admission Process: Eligibility Criteria, Required Documents
Direct MBA admission process differs only on one count that you either get MBA admission without entrance exam score or the admission is offered with moderate score in entrance exam. Rest other points to apply and go through the Direct MBA admission process is more or less same as detailed below:
Direct MBA Admission Eligibility Criteria
- You must be a graduate or should be in final year of graduation in any discipline preferably with at least 50% marks.
- Merit will be prepared on your graduation Marks for Direct Admission in MBA Colleges without Entrance Exam
- If you have some work experience between 1-3 years, you will be a preferred candidate
- If you are an achiever in sports at State or National level or have excelled in extracurricular activities it will add value to your eligibility for direct MBA admission
Application and Selection Process for Direct MBA admission
The direct MBA admission process and the key required documents for direct MBA admission are as under:
- Register at MBA college website and Fill up Application
- Submit Application with requisite Application Fee
- Keep ready your class X, XII and graduation mark sheets, certificates (if applicable) with copies
- On receiving call from the respective MBA college, attend GD-PI-WAT as required
- On receiving final admission offer, pay acceptance fee
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