MAT PBT was held on September 13 and MAT CBT was held on September 20. Read below for a comparison between MAT September PBT and MAT September CBT.
PBT vs CBT Difficulty & Good Attempt
MAT September 2026 Exam Analysis- Both PBT and CBT sessions were easy. AIMA continued to set a simple test paper for MAT covering majority of the topics from Language Comprehension, Mathematical Skills, Intelligence and Critical Reasoning, Data Interpretation and Economic and Business Environment.
MAT PBT was held on September 13 and MAT CBT was held on September 20. Both the papers had similar structure and topic wise composition. The questions were in MCQ format with four answer options. There were no TITA questions as always. Read below for a comparison between MAT September PBT and MAT September CBT.
⚡ Expected MAT Cut Offs for Top Colleges
Expected percentile thresholds for premier business schools accepting Management Aptitude Test scores.
- MAT 2026 Exam Analysis CBT: Section Wise
- MAT 2026 Exam Analysis PBT: Section Wise
- MAT September CBT vs PBT: Number of good attempts
MAT 2026 Exam Analysis CBT: Section Wise
MAT September 2026 CBT had easy to moderate level questions. The MAT exam questions were similar to previous sessions. Mathematical Skills has most of the questions from Arithmetic. English section had more questions from Grammar and Vocabulary than RC passages. Check the below table for MAT September 2026 CBT difficulty level and section wise topics.
| Section |
Difficulty level |
Key Topics |
|---|---|---|
| Language Comprehension |
Easy |
Reading Comprehension, Sentence Correction, Antonyms, Synonyms, Fill in the Blanks, One Word Substitution, Phrases & Idioms, Jumbled Paragraphs |
| Mathematical Skills |
Moderate |
Interest, Percentages, Time & Work, Profit & Loss, Partnership, Algebra, Geometry, Mensuration, Ratio & Proportion, Probability, Permutation & Combination |
| Data Analysis and Sufficiency |
Moderate |
Graphs, Pie Charts, Bar Diagrams, Line Graphs, Data Comparison, Data Sufficiency |
| Intelligence and Critical Reasoning |
Easy |
Blood Relations, Alphanumeric Series, Letter Series, Coding-Decoding, Venn Diagrams, Comparison, Distribution |
| Economic & Business Environment |
Easy |
Current Affairs related to Business, Economy, Politics, Trade, Medicine, Sports, Personalities, Awards |
Also Read: MAT cut off (expected and previous years)
Commonly asked questions
MAT has 2 sections which are completely Maths based – Mathematical Skills and Data Interpretation, so it is not possible to crack MAT without having a good control over this subject.
Ideal time to start MAT preparation is 6 months before the exam session. But if you have appeared for it before, you will need less time to prepare. So, plan your preparation accordingly.
It depends on the candidate's knowledge of MAT syllabus and whether they have appeared for the exam before or not. Someone who has prior experience of MAT will need about 4 hours daily to prepare as they will mainly need to do revision and practice mock tests. Those who are starting MAT preparation from the scratch, then they will need about 6-8 hours daily.
The overall difficulty level of MAT is easy to moderate. Despite having 150 questions, the test paper is usually doable and candidates can easily attempt 100-120 questions.
MAT 2026 Exam Analysis PBT: Section Wise
MAT September 2026 PBT paper was also similar to previous sessions of the exam. The questions were simple and straightforward. Some of the questions seemed familiar. Check the below table for MAT September 2026 CBT difficulty level and section wise topics.
| Section |
Difficulty level |
Key Topics |
|---|---|---|
| Language Comprehension |
Easy |
Reading Comprehension, Sentence Correction, Antonyms, Synonyms, Fill in the Blanks, One Word Substitution, Phrases & Idioms, Jumbled Paragraphs |
| Mathematical Skills |
Moderate |
Interest, Percentages, Time & Work, Profit & Loss, Partnership, Algebra, Geometry, Mensuration, Ratio & Proportion, Probability, Permutation & Combination |
| Data Analysis and Sufficiency |
Moderate |
Graphs, Pie Charts, Bar Diagrams, Line Graphs, Data Comparison, Data Sufficiency |
| Intelligence and Critical Reasoning |
Easy |
Blood Relations, Alphanumeric Series, Letter Series, Coding-Decoding, Venn Diagrams, Comparison, Distribution |
| Economic & Business Environment |
Easy |
Current Affairs related to Business, Economy, Politics, Trade, Medicine, Sports, Personalities, Awards |
Also Read: MAT 2026 exam analysis September PBT
Explore more MBA exams with upcoming dates
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MAT September CBT vs PBT: Number of good attempts
Since, AIMA keeps the difficulty level of both CBT and PBT papers same. So, the number of attempts for CBT and PBT do not vary. Check the below table for number of good attempts in MAT September 2026 CBT and PBT exams.
| MAT sections |
CBT |
PBT |
|---|---|---|
| Language Comprehension |
13-15 |
13-15 |
| Intelligence and Critical Reasoning |
12-15 |
12-15 |
| Data Analysis and Sufficiency |
12-14 |
12-14 |
| Mathematical Skills |
11-13 |
11-13 |
| Economic and Business Environment |
8-10 |
8-10 |
Also Read:
News & Updates
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered a week ago
Top management institutes accepting the MAT Exam generally expect a cutoff percentile between 75 and 90, while top-tier colleges may require 90+ percentile.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
Students interested in MBA at any of the Symbiosis Institutes need to take the Symbiosis National Aptitude (SNAP) Computer Based Test which will be conducted at designated test centres.
However, the institute does offer special pathways to Indian students allowing them to register for classes even i
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
GIBS Business School differentiates itself from other colleges because it is focused on creating professionals and not just giving degrees. It combines education with practical knowledge, interactions with industries, and personal development.
Why is GIBS different from other colleges?
- The curriculu
S
Contributor-Level 8
Answered a month ago
To be eligible for the MBA scholarship provided by the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology via MAT, candidates must have secured 95 Percentile and above (applicable for December 2025 MAT & February 2026 MAT) (centre based/offline examination).
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
You can still apply for an MBA at Chanakya University by taking the university's internal entrance exam, the Chanakya University Pravesha Pareeksha (CUPP). The university's Chanakya University Admissions portal allows applicants who missed CAT or MAT to use CUPP and a personal interview to fulfill t
R
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 2 months ago
Candidates who want to apply for Sharda University, Greater Noida MBA course must secure a CAT/ XAT percentile of 65% to skip SUAT. For MAT applicants, this score stands at 75% for MBA admissions at Sharda, Greater Noida.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8
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