CMAT 2026: Exam Date (Jan 25), Admit Card, Syllabus, Pattern, Previous Year Papers, Prep Tips, Cutoffs

If you score between 80 to 85 percentile CMAT you need not worry about admission. There are a large number of MBA colleges that accept candidates with CMAT score in the range of 80 to 85 percentile. A number of government as well as private institutes with good infrastructure and placements are within your reach. Some of those popular colleges include, Welingkar Institute of Management-Mumbai, Welingkar Institute of Management-Bangalore, Indian Institute of Information Technology & Management, IFIM-Bangalore, IFMR- Chennai, NIBM-Pune, NL Dalmiya Institute of Management, IMT Hyderabad, IMT Nagpur, XISS Ranchi, ITM Navi Mumbai, Jaipuria Institute of Management Noida, Xavier Business School-Xavier University, Great Lakes Institute of Management-Gurgaon, BIMTECH-Greater Noida, XIME-Bangalore, ISBM-Pune, Jaipuria Institute of Management Lucknow, KIIT School of Management, IPE Hyderabad, SIES College of Management Studies-Navi Mumbai and Chetana Institute of Management and Research-Mumbai among others.

CMAT has five subjects – Quantitative Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, English Comprehension, General Awareness and Innovation & Entrepreneurship and to cover all of them, one will need good enough time. Overall, 3 months are needed to cover syllabus of CMAT and about 2 to 3 months for practice and revision. So, overall 6 months are good for CMAT preparation. 

For preparation of an exam like CMAT will always be helpful as you will be provided with relevant study material and guidance from industry experts. It will help you in disciplined and focused study as coaching centres have time bound classes, lectures, practice sessions, mock tests, etc. So, if you feel that you will not be able to stay dedicated and motivated enough in self-study to crack CMAT will high scores, join a CMAT coaching institute.

Yes, there is a negative marking in CMAT exam. For each wrong answer, 1 mark will be deducted. However, no marks will be deducted for unanswered questions.

MAT and CMAT syllabi are same for Verbal Ability, Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. MAT also has GK like CMAT, but the nature of GK questions of MAT are slightly different from that of CMAT. The MAT GK section has more questions from economy and business.

Sectional weightage of CMAT is same. Since the Language Comprehension section of CMAT includes reading comprehension passages, it can be considered a lengthy section. However, any other section can also be lengthier due to nature of the questions.

There are 20 questions from General Knowledge in CMAT. All the questions are in MCQ format. Four options are given for each question to choose the right answer from. The General Knowledge section of CMAT is usually of a higher difficulty level but as it is a memory based section, it can be completed in maximum 15 minutes. The questions pertain to static GK and Current Affairs. Topics included in CMAT GK section are business, politics, awards, inventions, Science and technology, sports, society, world, advertising, trade, books and authors, arts, entertainment, history, geography and politics. Candidates should attempt the GK section in the end as the main criteria for MBA are English Quantitative Aptitude Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation. The candidate's main focus should be on getting maximum questions correct in these three sessions. GK can be handled at the end.

The Quantitative Aptitude section of CMAT has questions from Arithmetic, Geometry, Modern Math, Numbers, Algebra and Data Interpretation. The questions are of moderate difficulty level and one can prepare for it with the help of best books for CMAT recommended by experts and toppers. We have listed down some of the popular CMAT books that candidates usually refer: 1. NCERT Mathematics Books for Class 8, 9 and 10 2. The Pearson Guide to Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Exams 3. How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT Arun Sharma (Mc Graw Hill Education) 4. Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT Common Admission Tests for Admission into Iims by Sarvesh K Verma (Arihant) 5. Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha (Mc Graw Hill Education) 6. Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Exams by RS Aggarwal.

The syllabus of CMAT Innovation and entrepreneurship section includes Concepts of Entrepreneurship, Overview of Entrepreneurship, Evolution of Entrepreneurship in India, Role of Entrepreneurship in Economic Development, Theories and Models of Entrepreneurship, Framework of Entrepreneurship Theories, Models of Entrepreneurship, Emerging Models of Corporate Entrepreneurship, Dimensions of Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Society, Entrepreneurial Culture, Rural Entrepreneurship, Women Entrepreneurship, Emerging Trends in Social Entrepreneurship, Principles of Business Organisation, Motivation, Communication and Leadership To study these topics candidates should refer to books like: 1. Innovation & Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker 2. Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management by R Goal 3. Entrepreneurship - Robert D. Hisrich 4. Manorama Year Book - Mammen Mathew Apart from these books, candidates must solve last two years' CMAT question papers to know the type of questions asked in this section and their difficulty level. These questions will give you an insight into CMAT Innovation and entrepreneurship.

There is no particular number of CMAT mock test that you should target to solve during your preparation phase but on an average it has been seen that about 30-40 CMAT mock tests are good enough to score 99 percentile. Candidates must start solving CMAT mock tests after completing the syllabus as it will help them gauge which are the topics that they have understood well and which are the topics that require more work. 30-34 CMAT mock tests are recommended as, CMAT exam is all about speed and accuracy. The more questions you'll solve in an exam environment, the better you'll get at understanding, choosing and solving questions faster and correctly. Important point to note about practicing CMAT mock test is that one should analyse every mock test to understand the gaps and fissures and what to do to fill them. Another aspect to keep in mind is not to overdo it. When you start to score 98-99 percentile in CMAT mock tests consistently then you should stop and focus on revision, etc.

Candidates with CMAT score of 65-75 percentile, must not feel bad about their comparatively low score. There are number of good MBA colleges in India which accept CMAT scores in this range for their postgraduate management courses. Some of the college that accept CMAT score of 65-75 percentile include, BIMTECH-Greater Noida, BIT-Mesra, DY Patil School of Management-Pune, DY Patil School of Management-Pune, Calcutta Business School, New Delhi Institute of Management (NDIM) New Delhi, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship (XIME) Chennai, IES Management College And Research Centre, Mumbai, Jaipuria Institute of Management Noida, FIIB Delhi: Fortune Institute of International Business, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII Ahmedabad), VESIM Mumbai, Durgadevi Saraf Institute of Management Studies, Delhi School of Business, EMPI Business School New Delhi, Jaypee Business School (JBS) Noida, International Institute of Management Studies (IIMS) Pune among others.

Although there is no minimum graduation marks criterion for appearing in the CMAT exam, the criterion applies for admission through CMAT. As per the AICTE recommendation, the candidate must have completed graduation from a recognised university with a minimum score of 50 per cent in aggregate (45 per cent for Reserved category students) to be eligible for admission to a UGC recognised MBA/PGDM course. 

CMAT city intimation slip is available for download for 2-3 days only. Once the CMAT admit card is released, the city intimation slip is not required as the hall ticket carries complete details of test centre. However, registered candidates must download the city intimation slip once it is released to know the test city and make arrangements for exam day before hand. City intimation is very useful specifically for students from rural and far off areas, who have to come to cities to appear for entrance exams.

No. You cannot change the exam centre after the CMAT admit card has been issued. You cannot take the exam at any other centre other than the one mentioned in your admit card, either. So make an informed decision at time of selecting your test city in the CMAT application form. Select only those cities where you can make arrangement of stay on the CMAT exam day. Choose your home city or city of current residence as the first test city. The examination authorities try to allot the test centre to a candidate as per their first preference. However, sometimes if there are not enough number of applicants for a city, the centre may be cancelled there and candidates are allotted a test centre in the next city of preference. If at a particular exam centre in a city has already been filled with candidates, then the remaining students are allotted a test city in the next city of preference.

No, any electronic item including the watch, mobile phone, ipad, calculator, watch, smartwatch, etc. Is not allowed inside the CMAT examination centre. Any candidate found carrying such an item inside the exam hall will be disqualified. Candidates can check time on the onscreen timer on their computer systems during the CMAT exam. Apart from electronic items, stationary other than a blue/black ball point pen, metal accessories or metal jewellery and eatables are not allowed. Caps & headgear, goggles, hoodies, shirt with pockets, pants with pockets and closed shoes are also not allowed inside the test centre. Any candidate found carrying any such item or pieces of paper will be disqualified from the exam. Candidates must not carry bags and other valuables, as CMAT exam centres do not have any provision of bag deposit.

CMAT marking scheme is straightforward. If they can recall their attempts or have the answer key with them then they can calculate their CMAT raw score by adding and subtracting scores as per correct and incorrect attempts. Check CMAT marking scheme below: 1. For every correct attempt, 4 marks is awarded and for every incorrect answer, 1 mark is deducted. 2. For every unanswered question, the candidate will be marked zero. Given below is the process of calculating the CMAT score with the help of the CMAT answer key. Every section has 20 questions, so suppose in Quantitative Techniques section you got 14 questions right, 2 questions wrong and skipped 4 questions. So, your score will be 54 out of 80. Similarly, calculate the score of other sections. After the add all five to arrive as overall raw score. For example, you scored 54, 44, 75, 60 and 40 in five sections, then your sum total will be 203/400. You can read more about CMAT scoring process here: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/cmat-score-vs-percentile-how-to-calculate-blogId-19977 https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/what-is-cmat-score-normalization-process-blogId-53987.

The NTA will allow each CMAT test-taker to challenge the answer key, if they are unsatisfied with the official answer/s. Upon submission of the objections, the exam authorities will examine them and if any objection is found to be valid, they official answer key will be revised. Given below are step of filling up the online application form for challenging CMAT  answer key:

1. Log on to the official NTA-CMAT website
2. Click on CMAT Answer Key/Objection tab
3. Enter your CMAT Application Number and Date of Birth Enter Security Pin and Submit
4. All 100 questions for CMAT Paper IDs will appear in sequential order. 
5. To challenge a question, use the option IDs given against it by clicking the check box.
6. Click on Save your Claim and move to next screen.
7. All option IDs challenged will be displayed.
8. Now, select Choose File option and upload supporting documents in a single pdf file.
9. Click on Save your Claim Finally. 
10.  Click on fee payment option - Click here to Pay Fee and pay INR 200 per question through Debit/Credit Card/Net Banking.

With the help of official CMAT answer key and response sheet, the candidate can calculate their exam score which will give them an idea of how much percentile will they actually get. This in turn will help them in making decisions related to MBA Admission like which colleges to apply to, whether to reappear for CMAT or whether to opt of remaining entrance exams for current session. The CMAT result is released almost a month after the exam so with the help of answer key, candidates can take early decision.

After CMAT result has been declared, colleges accepting the exam score for MBA/PGDM admission will start the selection process. CMAT qualifying students will be required to fill the application forms of their target MBA colleges for admission. Colleges will select students on the basis of CMAT cut offs, and then will conduct GD/PI round for final selection. 

Since CMAT is usually conducted in two shifts, there are chances of the question paper of one shift being slightly tougher or easier in comparison to the question paper of other shift. In order to negate the possibility of any candidate having an advantage or disadvantage due to this, the exam authorities normalise the CMAT scores before percentile calculation. Once that is done, the authorities use the normalised score for percentile score calculation. CMAT percentile is basically a rank of a candidate vs the total number of candidates who appeared in the exam. Given below is the formula for calculating CMAT percentile prescribed by NTA: Formula to Calculate CMAT Percentile: If 10,000 candidates appeared in CMAT and only 1 candidate scored the highest marks (365/400). Since they have scored the highest in exam, their rank will be 1 and CMAT percentile score will be: 100 x 9999/10,000= 99.99.

There is no option of CMAT result evaluation. Scores mentioned on the CMAT scorecard are considered final. Candidates do have a chance to challenge the official CMAT answer keys on the basis of which results are prepared. CMAT provisional answer key is released a couple of days after the exam, and candidates can check offiicial answers. If they think any of the official answer is incorrect they can challenge it. The examination authority will review the answer key are revised the offiical answe key if required. The final scorecard will be prepared only after all objections have been reviewed. 

CMAT score is not accepted by the IIMs. These institutes accept only CAT score for their management programmes. CMAT is accepted by over 1300 MBA colleges in India which belong to mostly Tier 2 and Tier 3 status. You can seek admission with CMAT score to all AICTE approved institutions – private, government and government aided.

NTA does not release CMAT cut off. It has no role in release of CMAT cut off or admission through it. The CMAT cut offs are determined and released by score accepting colleges individually. The institutes either release CMAT cut off at the time of applications for admission or announce it during the PI shortlisting process.

No, there is no centralised counselling through CMAT. The national level entrance exam is conducted by the National Testing Agency for the AICTE. The role of NTA starts from framing exam pattern to registrations and ends with result announcement. After that, MBA colleges which accept CMAT score for shortlisting students start the selection process. There are about 1,300 MBA colleges in India which accept CMAT score for admission. All these colleges conduct admissions individually which includes, shortlisting of students on the basis of CMAT score, conduct of group discussion, written ability test and Personal Interview and final selection based on certain parameters. Some common parameters for admission through CMAT include: 1. CMAT score 2. Class 10 and 12 scores 3. Graduation scores 4. Performance in group discussion and personal interview 5. Work experience (if any) Final selection of candidates is based on these parameters. The admission cycle and application schedule of the CMAT accepting colleges can be different so aspirants are required to check admission related notification of the colleges regularly.

Candidates can choose up to four cities for allotment of CMAT exam centre in the application form. Candidates must take utmost care in selecting the cities as once the form is submitted, they can't change city preference. They should choose the first city of preference as their hometome or where they are residing as the exam authorities will strive to allot the test centres to candidates in their first city of preference. Candidates are allotted a test centre in second or third preference only in a situation where the seats have been filled or the exam has been cancelled at that location. Choose cities very carefully as once selected the change can be made only at the time of form correction.

Once you have submitted the CMAT application form, you cannot edit it. Thus, you will have to fill the CMAT form again by creating a new login ID and paying the fee again. However, if the mistake is in photo, signature or test centre fields, you can correct it at the time of form correction. The CMAT form correction window will be opened for three days after the conclusion of application form submission process. 

The CMAT registration and form filling process is incomplete without submission of certain documents. Candidates need the following documents to fill the CMAT application form. While photo, signature and Certificate are to be uploaded with the form, other documents are required for making entries in it. 1. Recent passport size photo (colour with white background) 2. Scanned signature on a white paper 3. Scanned copy of photo ID card such as Aadhaar card, PAN card, Voter ID card, Passport 4. Class 10 marksheet 5. Class 12 marksheet 6. Graduation marksheet 7. PG degree marksheet (if applicable) 8. Bank details Candidates belonging to Reserved category are required to upload caste Certificate and candidates belonging to PwD category have to upload a Certificate for the same. They also need to upload scribe Certificate to avail the facility on the exam day. These Certificate formats can be downloaded from CMAT website.

Candidates with CMAT score of 65-75 percentile, must not feel bad about their comparatively low score. There are number of good MBA colleges in India which accept CMAT scores in this range for their postgraduate management courses. Some of the college that accept CMAT score of 65-75 percentile include, BIMTECH-Greater Noida, BIT-Mesra, DY Patil School of Management-Pune, DY Patil School of Management-Pune, Calcutta Business School, New Delhi Institute of Management (NDIM) New Delhi, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship (XIME) Chennai, IES Management College And Research Centre, Mumbai, Jaipuria Institute of Management Noida, FIIB Delhi: Fortune Institute of International Business, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII Ahmedabad), VESIM Mumbai, Durgadevi Saraf Institute of Management Studies, Delhi School of Business, EMPI Business School New Delhi, Jaypee Business School (JBS) Noida, International Institute of Management Studies (IIMS) Pune among others.

Yes, you are eligible to apply for CMAT exam. Any candidate who has secured passing marks in graduation can apply for CMAT. Candidates must ensure that they have cleared graduation to be able to apply. Final year students planning to appear for the exam must ensure that they have passed the first two years of Bachelor's degree and must target passing marks in the final year as well. However, colleges accepting CMAT score for admission have a 50 per cent in graduation. The minimum score requirement for SC, ST, PwD candidates is 45 per cent as minimum criteria thus candidates must not target passing marks in graduation as even if they will clear CMAT. They might not get admission as they will not meet the institutes academic eligibility criteria.

It is quite unlikely that you can get admission if you do not meet the academic eligibility criteria for MBA. The basic criteria of selection are CMAT score and academic score. As per the AICTE, the minimum score required in graduation to qualify for MBA programme is 50 % (for SC/ST/PwD category, the minimum score requirement is 45%. So, MBA aspirants must ensure that they have scored at least 50 percent in their Bachelor's degree programme.

If you score between 80 to 85 percentile CMAT you need not worry about admission. There are a large number of MBA colleges that accept candidates with CMAT score in the range of 80 to 85 percentile. A number of government as well as private institutes with good infrastructure and placements are within your reach. Some of those popular colleges include, Welingkar Institute of Management-Mumbai, Welingkar Institute of Management-Bangalore, Indian Institute of Information Technology & Management, IFIM-Bangalore, IFMR- Chennai, NIBM-Pune, NL Dalmiya Institute of Management, IMT Hyderabad, IMT Nagpur, XISS Ranchi, ITM Navi Mumbai, Jaipuria Institute of Management Noida, Xavier Business School-Xavier University, Great Lakes Institute of Management-Gurgaon, BIMTECH-Greater Noida, XIME-Bangalore, ISBM-Pune, Jaipuria Institute of Management Lucknow, KIIT School of Management, IPE Hyderabad, SIES College of Management Studies-Navi Mumbai and Chetana Institute of Management and Research-Mumbai among others.

The provisional CMAT answer key is usually available for 2-3 days until the objection window is open. Candidates must download their CMAT response sheet and answer key within the objection window duration so that you don't miss the chance of having it, if the link is deactivated later. Post the result declaration, the provisional CMAT answer key may not be available for download.

No, you cannot appear for the CMAT exam at any test centre. You can appear for the test at the centre mentioned in your CMAT admit card. Entry at every CMAT test centre is given to candidates only after thorough scrutiny of the hall ticket and ID proof. If you attempt to gain entry in any other test centre, you will be disqualified. Thus, candidates must make sure that they check the location of their allotted test centre beforehand and reach there on exam day on time.  If they reach the test centre after the gates have been closed they will not be allowed entry under any circumstances. CMAT test centre gates close 15 minutes before the commencement of exam.

With the CMAT answer key candidate can calculate their raw score but calculating accurate CMAT percentile may not be possible as, several factors are considered for CMAT percentile calculation, most important being normalised CMAT score and number of test takers.

The CMAT answer key objection fee is non-refundable. However, it will be refunded to only those candidates whose objections will be accepted as valid. Thus candidates must raise objection on answer keys only after careful deliberation and discussion with mentors/teachers. The fee amount will be refunded within 5-7 working days.

CMAT answer key objection fee is INR 200 per question. The objection will be accepted only if the fee has been paid successfully. Since CMAT objection fee is to be paid per question, it is advised that candidate should raise objection to answer keys of only those which they know are incorrect. Don't raise objection on answer keys that you are not sure of.

CMAT answer key is released 3-7 days after the exam. The exact date of CMAT exam answer key release is shared by the NTA in after the exam has been conducted. After the release of CMAT answer key, candidates can assess their performance, by tallying their responses and official answers. They can also challenge the official CMAT answer key, by filling an online form and uploading supporting documents. The NTA-CMAT will examine the objections to see if they are genuine or not. In case, the ojection/s are found to be valid, the CMAT answer key is revised and released as the final answer key. The CMAT result is prepared only after examination of all te objections received from candidates.

Ideally, one would say that 99 to100 percentile is good for MBA Admission. However, it is not possible for all candidates to score so high. So, what shall be considered a good score in CMAT. A good CMAT score is basically a score that will get you a seat in your desired college. So, if you desire a Tier 1 college, a good score in CMAT will be 85 percentile and above. If you desire a Tier 2 college, a good score in CMAT will be 70 to 85 percentile and for a Tier 3 college, less than 70 percentile in CMAT will be good. Now, if you want to understand CMAT. Score in terms of percentile, so that while giving the exam you know how much raw score is needed to get the required percentile for the desired college, you need to know how much CMAT score is equal to percentile. About 340 to 350 score is equal to 100 percentile in CMAT About 281to 340 score is equal to 90 to 99.99 percentile in CMAT About 201 to 280 score is equal to 81 to 89 percentile in CMAT About 171 to 200 score is equal to 71to 80 percentile in CMAT About 140 to 171 score is equal to 61 to 70 percentile in CMAT About 116 to 140 score is equal to 51 to 60 percentile in CMAT.

The CMAT city intimation slip mentions only the name of city in which test centre has been allotted to the candidate. No other information is given on the CMAT city intimation slip. Details regarding the test centre, exam timings, reporting time. etc. are mentioned on the CMAT admit card only.

CMAT syllabus is somewhat same as CAT syllabus. It has two extra subjects, Innovation and Entrepreneurship and General Awareness. However, these two subjects are not tough and can be covered alongside Quantitative Aptitude, English and Logical Reasoning. Despite having less subjects CAT is tougher than CMAT.

There are 20 questions from General Knowledge in CMAT. All the questions are in MCQ format. Four options are given for each question to choose the right answer from. The General Knowledge section of CMAT is usually of a higher difficulty level but as it is a memory based section, it can be completed in maximum 15 minutes. The questions pertain to static GK and Current Affairs. Topics included in CMAT GK section are business, politics, awards, inventions, Science and technology, sports, society, world, advertising, trade, books and authors, arts, entertainment, history, geography and politics. Candidates should attempt the GK section in the end as the main criteria for MBA are English Quantitative Aptitude Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation. The candidate's main focus should be on getting maximum questions correct in these three sessions. GK can be handled at the end.

Yes, you should keep CMAT admit card safe even after exam, because you may be asked to present it at the time of admission. Signed and stamped CMAT admit card is a proof that candidate appeared in exam.

CAT cut offs hare higher than CMAT cut offs, due to various factors such as number of applicants, exam difficulty level, ranking of institutions, etc. CAT is conducted by IIM and is the toughest MBA entrance exam in India. Nearly 3 Lakh candidates appear for CAT exam and scores are accepted by some of the top ranking institutes. To select best of the best candidates CAT cut offs of IIMs and top colleges are very high. CMAT on the other hand is a moderate difficulty level exam and nearly 75000 candidates appear for it. It is accepted mostly by Tier 2 and Tier 3 colleges.