CMAT Vs CAT Exam - Know Difference Between CAT and CMAT

India's premiere b-schools accept CAT for MBA admissions. More than 2.5 lakh candidates fighting for limited seats at these institutes make the exam tough to crack.

CAT exam is held in about 170 cities across India. Candidates can choose up to six cities as their preferred test location. The list of test cities for CAT is available in application form. Candidates should choose the test city carefully as the request to change the test city later may or may not be accepted due to non-availability of seats at the centres in that particular city. Given below are the cities where CAT exam is usually held.

 

The Quantitative Aptitude section of CAT is the third and the last section of the question paper. It has 22 questions and the total marks is 66. This section of the CAT exam is usually dominated by Arithmetic and Algebra. Most of the questions out of 22 are asked from these two topics. There are about 7-9 Algebra questions and 7-9 Arithmetic questions (the exact number varied for all three slots). Apart from these two topics, there are questions from Mensuration Modern Math and Number System in the Quantitative Aptitude section CAT. Some of the important sub topics in this section include: Arithmetic topics: Ratio and Proportion, Simple and Compound Interest, Profit and Loss Mixtures and Allegations Averages, Percentages, Mean Median Mode, Time and Work, Time Speed and Distance Algebra topics: Basics Algebraic Formulae, Number of integer solutions, Quadratic Equations, Finding out roots, Maxima and Minimal, Higher Degree Equations, Linear Equations, Problems on ages, Descartes Rule of Signs, Inequalities, Logarithm, Functions, Modifications of Graphs, The smallest Value in a Maximum Function Number System topics: Finding Out Last Two Digits, Number of Trailing Zeroes, Finding out Remainders based on, Basic Divisibility Rules, Binomial Theorem, Simplifying the Dividend (Single and/or Multiple Divisors), Basics of Numbers, Properties of Numbers, Divisibility Rules, Divisibility and Factors, the highest Common Factor and the lowest Common Multiple, Finding Out the Last Digit, Fermat's Theorem, Euler's Theorem, Pattern Recognition and Cyclicity of Remainders, Wilson's Theorem, Base Systems, Conversion of Bases, Addition/Subtraction/ Multiplication in different bases Geometry Topics: Lines and Angles, Triangles Basic Concepts, Area, Angles, Similar Triangles Polygons, Circles, Solids / Mensuration 3D Geometry, Coordinate Geometry, Trigonometry Modern Math topics: Sequence and Series Binomial Theorem, Set Theory, Permutation and Combination, Probability.

The total number of questions in the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section of CAT exam is 22 (as per CAT 2024 question paper). Earlier, the number of DILR questions was 20.

There is equal number of question distribution between Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, which means both sections have 11 questions each. The total marks for DILR is 66. The questions on Data Interpretation as based on Tables, Graphs, Pie Charts, Venn Diagram, whereas Logical Reasoning questions are based on Blood Relation, Seating Arrangement, Caselets and Syllogism. This section of the CAT is usually moderate in terms of difficulty level and about 12-14 correct attempts are good enough to score high marks. Some of the other important topics include Series, Proposition, Direction Sense, Coding-Decoding, Assumptions, Clocks and Calendars, Statements, Binary Logic, Data Structures, Data Sufficiency and Data Arrangement. To score high in this section, candidates must practice a good number of practice tests and sectional mock tests. The better you learn to interpret given data and apply reasoning to a given situation, the better you get at solving related questions.

The CMAT exam is conducted for three hours or 180 minutes. There is no sectional time limit in CMAT unlike in CAT or XAT. No break is given to candidates in between the exam. Extra 30 minutes are granted to PwD candidates for completing the paper. Candidates must manage the three hours in such a way that they get enough time to spend on every section of CMAT exam. Candidates can divide time among all five sections of the CMAT question paper according to their convenience. They must make a time management strategy ahead of the exam so that they are able to solve a good number of questions in each section and reach the sectional cut off. GK is a memory based section and you need to get 8-10 questions correct to get meet the sectional cut off. So attempt it in the end and not spend more than 10 minutes on it.

CA exams are held in over 150 cities across India and in 8 overseas locations – Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, Kampala, Kathmandu, Kuwait and Muscat. 

Indian cities where the CA exams are held include Port Blair, Anantapur, Eluru, Guntur, Kadapa, Kakinada, Kurnool, Nellore, Ongole, Rajamahendravaram, Srikakulam, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Silchar and Tinsukia, Bilaspur, Durg, Raigarh, Raipur, Rajnandgaon, Chandigarh, Delhi, Mapusa, Margao, Ahmedabad, Anand, Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Bhuj, Gandhidham, Gandhinagar, Himatnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Mehsana, Nadiad, Navsari, Palanpur, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surat, Surendranagar, Vadodara and Vapi, Ambala, Bahadurgarh, Bhiwani, Faridabad, Fatehabad, Gurgaon (Gurugram), Hisar, Jind, Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Narnaul, Panipat, Rewari, Rohtak, Sirsa, Sonepat and Yamuna Nagar, Shimla, Jammu, Srinagar, Bokaro Steel City, Deoghar, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Jamshedpur, Ramgarh and Ranchi, Bagalkot, Belgaum, Bellary, Bengaluru, Chikkaballapur, Chitradurga, Davangere, Gadag, Hassan, Haveri, Hubli, Kalaburgi (Gulbarga), Kolar, Koppal, Mandya, Mangalore, Mysore, Raichur, Shimoga, Sirsi, Tumakuru, Udupi, Vijayapura, Adoor, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kalpetta, Kannur, Kasaragod, Kollam (Quilon), Kottayam, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur, Bhopal, Burhanpur, Chhindwara Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Katni, Khandwa, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Ratlam, Rewa, Sagar, Satna and Ujjain, Ahmednagar, Akola, Amravati, Aurangabad, Badlapur, Beed, Bhiwandi, Khamgaon (Buldhana), Chandrapur, Dhule, Gondia, Ichalkaranji, Jalgaon, Jalna, Kolhapur, Latur, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nanded, Nandurbar, Nasik, Navi Mumbai, Palghar, Panvel, Parbhani, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg, Solapur, Thane, Vasai, Wardha and Yavatmal, Shillong, Balangir, Berhampur (Brahmapur), Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jharsuguda, Rayagada, Rourkela and Sambalpur, Puducherry, Amritsar, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mandi Gobindgarh, Pathankot, Patiala, Sangrur, Ajmer, Alwar, Banswara, Beawar, Bharatpur, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Bundi, Chittorgarh, Churu, Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Jodhpur, Kishangarh, Kota, Nagaur, Pali, Marwar, Rajsamand, Sikar, Sirohi, Sri Ganganagar and Udaipur, Gangtok, Chennai, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Erode, Hosur, Kancheepuram, Karaikudi, Karur, Kumbakonam, Madurai, Nagapattinam, Nagercoil, Namakkal, Pudukkottai, Salem, Sivakasi, Theni, Tiruchirapalli, Tirunelveli, Tirupur, Tiruvallur, Tiruvannamalai, Tuticorin, Vellore and Villupuram, Adilabad, Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda, Nizamabad and Warangal, Agartala, Agra, Aligarh, Allahabad (Prayagraj), Bareilly, Bulandshahr, Firozabad, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mathura, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Noida, Saharanpur and Varanasi, Dehradun, Haldwani, Haridwar and Kashipur, Asansol, Durgapur, Hooghly, Kharagpur, Kolkata, Raniganj and Siliguri.

IIM CAP is a common selection process for newer Iims. Under the CAP candidates eligible for admission to the nine new Iims - IIM Bodhgaya, IIM Kashipur, IIM Sambalpur, IIM Sirmaur, IIM Jammu, IIM Ranchi, IIM Trichy and IIM Udaipur are shortlisted for What-PI round by a single IIM, the one who is given the responsibility to conduct the CAP round in a particular academic year. CAT cut offs, admission parameters and their weightage are same for all CAP Iims. The participating Iims send the list of candidates shortlisted by them for the What-PI process to the institute conducting CAP. The CAP conducting IIM conducts the What-PI round for all the participating Iims. The IIM CAP conducting institute then share the What-PI scores and results of the candidates with the participating institutes. Those institutes then prepare the final shortlist for admission. Those who are selected for admission are informed by the Iims via email. The offer of admission is sent to selected candidates which they have to accept within the given time limit. For more details of IIM CAP, read this article: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/what-is-iim-cap-know-admission-process-selection-criteria-and-participating-institutes-blogId-51225.

Written Ability Test or WAT is a 30-minute essay-writing test on topics from fields like socio-political, economic and business affairs, sports, etc. PI refers to Personal Interview held on the same day as WAT. The WAT-PI round of all IIMs is conducted after CAT result declaration. The shortlisting for WAT-PI is done on the basis of CAT cut off, which is fixed by the institutes. The IIM cut offs range between 95-100 percentile, which means candidates scoring in this range get shortlisted for WAT-PI. The CAT cut offs for Reserved category students are lower. In the WAT round, candidate has to write a short essay of about 250 words on a given topic. The topics can be from any field. For example, one candidate at IIM Ahmedabad got 'writer was facing some health issues, he got cured because of laughing' as a WAT topic this year. The purpose of Written Ability Test is to assess the candidate's general awareness, clarity of ideas and ability to make a convincing argument. The Personal Interview or PI is all about personality assessment. In PI, a panel of professors and admission officials meet the candidates one by one. They assess the on their knowledge, confidence, communication skills, managerial skills and leadership qualities, etc.

Yes, CMAT is much easier that CAT exam. Despite the fact that CMAT and CAT syllabus are same and that CMAT has two more sections than CAT the former is much easier than the latter. The CAT exam is usually of moderate to high difficulty level, whereas the CMAT exam is of easy to moderate difficulty level.

There are key differences between CMAT and CAT which make the former easier. There is no sectional time limit in CMAT so candidates do not face the pressure of completing a given section within certain time limit. In CAT there are 4-5 Reading Comprehension passages which are 500-600 words, and 12-14 question.

In CMAT there is usually, only one Reading Comprehension passage, having 4 questions. The Quantitative Aptitude questions of CMAT are also easier than CAT and so are Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation questions. It is easier to score high percentile in CMAT as the number of applicants is more than one Lacs less in CAT.

Validity of CMAT score is one year in most of the colleges. There are a very few and Tier 3 colleges that may accept CMAT score from previous years. So, if they wish to drop a year, they should appear for the exam again in the next session.

MAT and CMAT both are moderately difficulty exam, but have their own challenges. While, CMAT has one extra section Innovation and Entrepreneurship, MAT has a separate section for Data Interpretation having 30 questions. With focused preparation, you can crack either of the two that you choose.

Verbal Ability, Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning topics of CMAT syllabus are same as CAT syllabus. So, an MBA aspirant can prepare for CAT and CMAT simultaneously with the same study material. However, they will need CMAT specific books and resources to study Innovation and Entrepreneurship and GK section. CAT doesn't have these two sections.