Symbiosis SET vs MAH BBA CET: Which Exam is Better for BBA Admission in 2026?

Aspirants should start preparing for the SET exam at least six months before the test date. SET preparation requires planning thus one must start early. They can also join coaching institutes for focused preparation. Starting early will also help you assess that whether you need to join a coaching institute or not. Divide your preparation into three phases - 1. Covering the syllabus 2. Practicing mock tests, sample questions and 3. Revision.

The SET syllabus includes the following topics:

General English: Parajumbles, Sentence Completion, Grammar, Comprehension Passages, Synonyms and Antonyms, etc.

Logical Reasoning: Tables, Graphs, Pie Charts, Blood Relation, Seating Arrangement, Strong and Weak Arguments, and Syllogism

Quantitative Aptitude: Geometry, Algebra Number System Arithmetic, Mensuration etc.

General Awareness: Companies and Founders, Awards, Books and Authors, Sports, Politics, Current Affairs, etc.

You can read the following SET books for exam preparation:

• A New Approach to Reasoning by BS Sijawali
• Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
• Multi-Dimensional Reasoning by Mishra Kumar and Dr Lal
• Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
• High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren & Martin
• How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma
• Class 9 and Class 10 NCERT Mathematics books
• Quantitative Aptitude by R. S Aggarwal
• Manorama Year Book

Syllabus of MAH BBA CET exam is based on Class 12 and students need not study advanced topics beyond Class 12. MAH CET BBA syllabus assesses knowledge of students and skills at Class 12 level. 

SET is conducted for BBA admissions at Symbiosis International University. SET is considered easy to moderate in terms of the difficulty. 

The important topics to focus on in MAH BBA CET exam are:

• Reasoning: Syllogims, Arrangements, Arithmetic, Blood Relations, Family Tree, etc. 
• Computer Basics: CPU, organisation of computer, hardware, System Software and Application Software, basics of internet
• English: Vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, prepositions, parts of speech, sentence correction.
• General knowledge: Current Affairs, discoveries, politics, economics, trade, sports, awards

MAH BBA CET exam was conducted for the first time in 2024. The questions in the MAH BBA CET exam are mostly based on the Class 12 syllabus. The English language section can be a bit difficult because of lengthy comprehension passages. The General Knowledge section was the easiest. Rest of the sections are usually of the easy to moderate difficulty level but are easily doable. 

Common mistakes to avoid in SET exam include:

• Poor Time Management
• Neglecting Planning
• Procrastination
• Lack of Conceptual Clarity
• Overlooking Sectional Preparation 
• Ignoring Previous Years' SET Question Papers

Symbiosis Entrance Test (SET) is a national-level entrance exam which is conducted only once a year. The exam is usually conducted in the computer-based test mode in about 80 test cities across the country. This year, the SET exam 2026 was conducted on May 2 and May 10. The students who wish to appear for SET exam had to apply online by filling the SET application form.

SET exam will be conducted in computer-based test mode this year. In 2021, the exam was conducted in the internet-based test mode because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, the exam was conducted in the paper-based test mode but that changed to online mode only.

SET and UGAT are undergraduate entrance exams conducted for BBA admissions. 

• SET exam is conducted by Symbiosis International University for admission to the BBA course at its institutes. Eight SIU colleges accept SET scores for admissions. The duration of the exam is one hour and students have to take the exam in the CBT format. 
• UGAT is another BBA entrance exam conducted by AIMA. With UGAT scores, students can get admission to various courses and colleges under AIMA. The exam is conducted in the PBT format.

MAH BBA CET has four sections – English, Reasoning, Computer-Basics and General Knowledge. Section wise, the Englishs section has the maximum weightage and Computer-basics and General Knowledge has the minimum weightage. Check below the sectional weightage of MAH BBA CET 2026:

• English: 30 questions
• Reasoning: 30 questions
• General Knowledge: 20 questions
• Computer-Basics: 20 questions

The SET exam is held for only one hour or 60 minutes. There is only one slot for the SET exam. SET exam does not have any sectional time limit as well. However, the candidates need to solve the question paper in 60 minutes and this means that the candidates will have approximately one minute to solve each question. Candidates must take care of saving their answers at every step as the moment 60 minutes will get over, the screen will automatically end the test. The SET exam is conducted in the afternoon shift, I. e. from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Also, there is no provision for changing the exam slot. Candidates must make sure that they reach the SET exam centre by 10:30 AM in order to complete the frisking formalities at the entry GATE. Candidates will not be allowed to enter the exam centre beyond 11:15 AM.

The SET exam is conducted by the Symbiosis International (Deemed-to-be) University (SIU). SIU is responsible for organizing the exam, setting the exam pattern, conducting the test, and releasing the results. They are also involved in coordinating the admission process based on the SET scores for various undergraduate programmes offered by participating institutes. The exam is a gateway for admissions to various UG courses such as BBA. 

SIU also conducts entrance exams for courses such as Management, Law, Engineering, Economics, Mass Communication, Computer Studies and Liberal Arts. Earlier, the exam was also conducted for B.Sc Culinary Arts but this exam was scrapped in the year 2021 for this course.