Students' Speak: Is CAT exam is different from MAT and CMAT?

By: Shaurya Shaktiman

CAT is a tough nut to crack, competitions are humongous and questions are challenging whereas MAT and CMAT come as a pleasant surprise to candidates as they keep your chances alive says Shaurya.

Common Admission Test (CAT) is arguably the most reputed MBA entrance exams in India, offering the students a chance to pursue their Management Degree from the best management colleges in India. B-Schools including all the IIMs, IITs, MDI Gurgaon and Murshidabad, SPJIMR Mumbai, JBIMS Mumbai,FMS Delhi, etc., require prospective students to submit their CAT score as part of their application process. The importance of CAT is evident from the fact that every year, over 2.4 lakh candidates appear for this exam and compete for a chance to study in their dream MBA College.

Common Admission Test (CAT) is a standardized test, with three separately timed sections on which students are tested – Quantitative Ability (QA), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC). Common Admission Test (CAT) gauges the skill that is important to a successful study of management at the graduate level, and a good cat score is indicative of your preparedness for the academics in a graduate management program. 

Common Admission Test (CAT) is an online test, which is conducted once every year, in October or November. The verbal section of CAT tests your ability to reason and evaluate arguments, read and comprehend written material, and correctly identify the materials to conform to Standard English. Quantitative Ability (QA) section tests your mathematical aptitude and problem-solving skill. In contrast, Data interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) section assesses your approach to solving a data-intensive problem, and to segregate useful data from scrap and arrive at a logical solution. Time constraint is given in all the three sections to test your performance under exam pressure, and showcase how quickly and precisely you attack a problem and produce accurate results.

Management Aptitude Test (MAT) is conducted four times a year, under the aegis of All India Management Association (AIMA), which is the apex body for the promotion of management professionalism in the country. Institutes such as SPJIMR, Christ University, VIT University, Vellore, NIT Warangal, LN Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research Mumbai, etc., are among many reputed colleges that accept MAT score for admission in their MBA curriculum.

MAT is conducted in two formats, a paper-based test (PBT) and a computer-based test (CBT). The applicants are allotted Roll Numbers on specific dates, which are made available on their website https://mat.aima.in/feb20/. Candidates appearing for MAT 2020 can check the website after 11 February 2020 for PBT mode and 28 January 2020 for CBT mode. AIMA reserves the right to ascertain test centre and test venue of a candidate as it deems fit.

MAT is an objective type exam with five sections having forty questions each, and a total time limit of 150 minutes. Each section is sequential in the following order: Language Comprehension, Mathematical Skills, Data Analysis and Sufficiency, Intelligence and Critical Reasoning, and Indian and Global Environment. Unlike CAT, all the sections of MAT can be accessed at all points in time, which means time saved in any one section can be utilized in the other section, which provides more flexibility to students to focus in areas they are strong at and answer questions selectively to maximize their score. The difficulty level of the Management Aptitude Test (MAT) is low to medium, especially when compared to the Common Admission Test (CAT).

Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) is another national level MBA entrance exam, which is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) every year. CMAT is a three-hour computer-based online test conducted in a single session across four segments viz. Quantitative Technique, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension, and General Awareness. The CMAT score is accepted by all AICTE-Approved Institutions/University Departments/Constituent Colleges/Affiliated Colleges, which accounts for over 400 B-Schools in India, including JBIMS, SIMSR , BIMTECH, GIM, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, IFIM Bangalore, etc. The level of difficulty is once again easy to medium, as compared to that of CAT, in which the difficulty level ranges from medium to hard.

In summary, a candidate needs to focus on the basic aptitude, and brace for the fact that the actual performance in CAT may not be at par, firstly because luck plays a major role one’s success in Common Admission Test, and secondly, it’s a really tough nut to crack, competitions are humongous and questions are challenging. MAT and CMAT come as a pleasant surprise to candidates as they keep your chances alive and give you a decent chance to pursue your career goals in management.

About the Author:

Shaurya Shaktiman is an MBA student at Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi (IIM). He has a work experience of four years as an IT analyst and a specialist in Banking and Financial Services and Insurance for Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. His area of expertise is in RFI and RFP of projects related to Financial Regulations, Risk Management, Information Management, and Capital Marketing Instruments. Currently, he is an Executive Member of Media and PR Cell, and Representative in the Council of Student Affairs at IIM Ranchi.