MBA Entrance Exams in India 2023 - Exam Dates, Registration, Admission, Syllabus, Pattern

Shivangi AhirwarUpdated On: January 11, 2023 10:56 am IST

Seeking MBA admissions in India? Here's everything you need to know about top MBA entrance exams in India, including important dates, exam pattern, syllabus, MBA colleges accepting their scores, and more!

Table of Contents

List of Top MBA Entrance Exams in India 2023
Application Form for MBA Entrance Exams 2023
Exam Pattern for MBA Entrance Exams 2023
Syllabus for MBA Entrance Exams 2023
Top Colleges Accepting Scores of MBA Entrance Exams in India

MBA Entrance Exams in India -Master of Business Administration (MBA) is one of the most promising management degrees offered by various B-Schools across the country. Admission into top MBA colleges in India is based on the candidate's score in an MBA entrance exam that is conducted by different bodies. There are 8 main national-level MBA entrance exams in India. These are CAT, CMAT, MAT, GMAT, NMAT, XAT, SNAP, and ATMA. Many state-level exams are also conducted for MBA admissions, such as MAH MBA CET, KMAT, AP ICET, TS ICET, etc. by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana respectively.

Usually, the MBA entrance exam season begins in September or October every year and continues until March of the following year. Popular national-level management exams like CAT, CMAT, XAT, SNAP, MAT etc take place in November, December, and January. If you are aspiring to appear for these exams, the following details and schedule of MBA entrance exams 2023 will be very helpful for you!

Also Read:

CAT 2022 Result Link	CAT 2022 Score Requirement for IIMs
CAT 2022 Topper List	CAT 2022 100-Percentile Scorers

List of Top MBA Entrance Exams in India 2023

Check out the table below for a detailed schedule of MBA entrance examinations in 2023.

Name of the Exam	Conducting Body	Application Open	Application Close	Exam Date	Result
Common Admission Test (CAT)	Indian Institutes of Management	August 2023	September 2023	November 26, 2023 (Tentative)	December 2023
Karnataka Management Aptitude Test (KMAT)	Karnataka Private Post Graduate Colleges Association (KPPGCA)	Second week of April 2023	Third week of April 2023	May 2023	TBA
NMAT by GMAC	Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC)	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
IIFT Entrance Exam	Indian Institute of Foreign Trade	October 1, 2022	November 24, 2022	December 18, 2022	First week of February 2023
Common Management Admission Test (CMAT)	All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)	First week of February 2023	Third week of March 2023	Second week of April 2023	Fourth week of April 2023
Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT)	Xavier School of Management	August 10, 2022	November 30, 2022 (Till 12 midnight)	January 8, 2023	January 31, 2023
Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP)	Symbiosis International University (SIU)	August 4, 2022	November 24, 2022	December 10 18, 23, 2022	January 10, 2023
AIMS Test for Management Admissions (ATMA)	Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS)	December 24, 2022 (February Session)	February 18, 2023 (February Session)	February 25, 2023 May 28, 2023 July 23, 2023	February 20, 2023 (February Session)
MICA Admission Test (MICAT)	Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad	MICAT I: October 2022 MICAT II: November 22, 2022	MICAT I: November 19, 2022 MICAT II: January 16, 2023	MICAT I: December 3, 2022 MICAT II: January 28, 2023	MICAT I: Released MICAT II: February 17, 2023
ICFAI Business Studies Aptitude Test (IBSAT)	ICFAI Business School	July 2023	Second Week of December 2023	Third Week of December 2023	Last Week of December 2023
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Management Entrance Examination (KIITEE)	Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT)	December 2022	January 10, 2023	January 15-January 17, 2023	January 23, 2023
MAH MBA CET	Directorate of Technical Education, Maharashtra	March 2023	May 2023	August 2023	September 2023
AP ICET	State Council for Higher Education, Andhra Pradesh	Second week of May 2023	Second week of June 2023	July 2023	August 2023
TS ICET	State Council for Higher Education, Telangana	First week of April 2023	Last week of July 2023	Last week of July 2023	Third week of August 2023
OJEE MBA	Odisha Joint Entrance Examination Board	Second week of May 2023	TBA	June 2023	July 2023
IRMA Social Awareness Test (IRMASAT)	Institute of Rural Management (IRMA)	Last week of September 2022	December 31, 2022	Online: Written Ability Test and Online Personal Interview for Indian Nationals: February 13 to March 5, 2023 Offline On campus: On-Campus Personal Interviews and WAT at IRMA for Indian Nationals: February 13 to March 5, 2023	Announcement of final results for Indian Nationals: 4th week of March 2023 Announcement of final results for NRIs: 4th week of March 2023
TISS National Entrance Test (TISSNET)	Tata Institute of Social Sciences	December 14, 2022	January 15, 2023	January 28 to February 28, 2023	Fourth week of March 2023
TANCET MBA	Anna University (Tamil Nadu)	January 2023	First week of February 2023	February 26, 2023 (for MBA and MCA courses) February 25, 2023 ( for M.Tech/M.Arch/M.Plan/ME courses)	April 2023

*MAT is conducted four times a year - in September, December, February, and May.

**ATMA is usually conducted 4 times every year. However, in 2017 and 2018, it was conducted five times.

Also Read: Reservation in MBA Entrance Exams: Criteria and Guidelines

Application Form for MBA Entrance Exams 2023

The following links can be checked for details about how to fill out the application form for MBA entrance exams in India 2023.

CAT Application Form	KMAT Application Form
NMAT Application Form	IIFT Application Form
MAT Application Form	CMAT Application Form
XAT Application Form	SNAP Application Form
ATMA Application Form	MICAT Application Form
IBSAT Application Form	KIITEE MBA Application Form
MAH MBA CET Application Form	AP ICET Application Form
TS ICET Application Form	OJEE MBA Application Form
IRMA SAT Application Form	TISSNET Application Form
TANCET Application Form	--

Also Read: CAT vs CMAT, NMAT, XAT, SNAP, IIFT & Other MBA Entrance Exams

Exam Pattern for MBA Entrance Exams 2023

The following links can be checked for details about the exam pattern of various MBA entrance exams in India 2023.

CAT Exam Pattern	KMAT Exam Pattern
NMAT by GMAC Exam Pattern	IIFT Exam Pattern
MAT Exam Pattern	CMAT Exam Pattern
XAT Exam Pattern	SNAP Exam Pattern
ATMA Exam Pattern	MICAT Exam Pattern
IBSAT Exam Pattern	KIITEE MBA Exam Pattern
MAH MBA CET Exam Pattern	AP ICET Exam Pattern
TS ICET Exam Pattern	OJEE MBA Exam Pattern
IRMASAT Exam Pattern	TISSNET Exam Pattern
TANCET Exam Pattern	--

Syllabus for MBA Entrance Exams 2023

The first step in the preparation for MBA entrance exams is knowing their syllabus. Click on the links given below to know the syllabus of various MBA entrance exams in India 2023.

CAT Syllabus	KMAT Syllabus
NMAT by GMAC Syllabus	IIFT Syllabus
MAT Syllabus	CMAT Syllabus
XAT Syllabus	SNAP Syllabus
ATMA Syllabus	MICAT Syllabus
IBSAT Syllabus	KIITEE MBA Syllabus
MAH MBA CET Syllabus	APICET Syllabus
TSICET Syllabus	OJEE MBA Syllabus
IRMA SAT Syllabus	TISSNET Syllabus
TANCET Syllabus	--

Also Read: Tips to Prepare for MBA Entrance Exams

Top Colleges Accepting Scores of MBA Entrance Exams in India

All MBA entrance exams are not the same. Some help you get admission into colleges at the national level, some at the state level, and some are conducted for MBA admissions by select institutes. Depending on the level of difficulty and competition you are willing to face, you can go for any of the three options. However, the number of colleges that you can take admission into based on the exam results decreases as you move towards the latter.

Read on to find out more about the national-level MBA exams, state or regional-level MBA exams, and institute-level MBA exams that are accepted for MBA admissions in India.

Colleges Accepting Scores of Top 5 National MBA Entrance Exams

Name of the Exam	Top Participating Colleges
Common Admission Test (CAT)	20 IIMs, MDI Gurgaon, IIFM Bhopal, TAPMI Manipal, IMI Delhi, etc.
NMAT by GMAC	NMIMS Mumbai, Amity University, ICFAI Business School, etc.
Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT)	XBS, XIME, XIMR, Loyola IBA, GIM Goa, K J Somaiya, BIMTECH, etc.
Common Management Admission Test (CMAT)	ISBS Pune, DBS Dehradun, GLIM Chennai, JIM Noida, IISWBM, etc.
Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT)	ISB, GLIM Gurgaon, XLRI Jamshedpur, FMS Delhi, NISM Mumbai, etc.

MBA Colleges Accepting Scores of Top 5 State-Level Entrance Exams

Name of the Exam	Top Participating Colleges
Tamil Nadu Common Entrance Test (TANCET)	Anna University, PSGIM, TSM Madurai, Sona SOM Salem, SRM University Chennai, etc.
Karnataka PGCET	PES University, PIMS Bangalore, SJES, KJC Bangalore, etc.
Maharashtra CET (MHT MBA CET)	JBIMS Mumbai, K J Somaiya, BIMM Pune, ITM Business School, etc.
Orissa Joint Entrance Exam (OJEE)	KSOM, Astha School of Management, GITA Bhubaneswar, IPSAR Cuttack, etc.
Andhra Pradesh ICET (AP ICET)	Andhra University, IFMR, Rayalaseema University, GITAM Insitute of Management, etc.

Top 5 Institute-Level MBA Entrance Exams

Exam	Conducting Institute
IIFT MBA Entrance Exam	Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
KIITEE	KIIT School of Management Bhubaneswar
MICAT	MICA Ahmedabad
SNAP	Symbiosis Institutes including SIBM, SIMS, SCIT, etc. Full list and cut-off.
TISSNET	Tata Institute of Social Sciences

Once you have decided which MBA college you wish to join, you can check the MBA entrance exams it accepts for admission in India. Most colleges accept scorecards of multiple examinations. If you are confused about which exam you should take, you may find it helpful to go through this detailed comparison of top MBA entrance exams in India.

After the results of these MBA entrance exams are out, you can estimate your score by using tools such as the CAT 2022 Percentile Predictor, XAT 2023 Percentile Predictor, etc.

You can fill out our Common Application Form or call on our toll-free number for free student counselling. For any queries, call us on our toll-free number- 1800-572-9877 or send us an email at hello@collegedekho.com.

Related Articles:

Best MBA Specializations in India	Distance MBA in India: Top Distance MBA Colleges, Courses & Fees
List of Non-IIM MBA Colleges to Apply to Before and After CAT 2022 Exam	MBA Fees in India: Check Fees of Top MBA Colleges in India
Direct MBA Admission Without Entrance Exam	MBA Admissions 2023 - Complete Details

FAQs

Are all MBA entrance exams in India designed in the same manner?

No, all MBA entrance exams in India are not designed in the same manner. The exam pattern, subjects, and scoring pattern differ for varying entrance exams. Yet they are all aimed at assessing the aptitude level of candidates for management courses, hence, you will find them quite similar to each other. The similarity makes it easier to prepare for multiple exams simultaneously.

Can I apply at IIMs with MBA entrance exams other than CAT?

No, you cannot apply at IIMs with MBA entrance exams other than CAT. CAT has been specifically designed for admissions to IIM-offered courses. Moreover, IIMs are the top institutes in India and have a proper reason to rely on their system of selection rather than others. That said, you may inquire at the applied IIM about the acceptability of GMAT scores, however, no other scores shall be acceptable.

Is studying abroad a better option than IIMs?

IIMs are at first glance and introspection a better option in comparison to studying abroad. If you can manage to get admission at any of the IIM then you must reassess your choices as the opportunity is quite rare. You can apply for both abroad business schools and IIMs and on basis of the final offer make the decision. If you manage to gain an offer from IIM Bengaluru, IIM Ahemdabad, or IIM Calcutta, then you are advised to forego even Harvard Business School’s offer letter, especially if it comes without a scholarship.

Are MBA entrance exams in India more difficult than UPSC?

It is a general notion that UPSC is the most difficult exam to crack in India. However, if a candidate can crack UPSC then they have varying offices and positions available for choice of application. It is simply the highest positions of IAS, IFS, and IPS officers that pose the greatest challenge. In contrast, MBA entrance exams require students to have an attitude specifically for management courses and they need to do the same in a single attempt, which is then followed by differential selection processes. Hence, in terms of overall competition MBA entrance exams are more difficult.

How to decide which MBA entrance exam in India is best to apply for MBA courses?

Making a good decision about which entrance exam in India is best to apply for MBA courses is based on strategic planning. You need to first explore and finalise the registration deadlines and exam dates of all the main examinations. You need to match them with your shortlisted institutes and explore their exam pattern and sections. The exams which match the most in pattern and subjects must be attempted to maximise the scope of application.

Are there different MBA entrance exams in India for different MBA specialisations?

No, there are no different MBA entrance exams conducted in India for different MBA specialisations. All the MBA courses, irrespective of specialisation, need to be applied for with aptitude exam scores. There are different entrance exams available in India but they differ on basis of conducting authority and the institute(s) they are primarily designed for. The exam structure and scoring system are based on the primary institutes for whom they are designed.

In case of the presence of an institutional entrance exam is it all right to apply with the CAT exam score?

In case the institute you are applying to has its institutional entrance exam then it is preferable to apply with the said exam rather than with CAT exam scores. While CAT is accepted by all the institutes in India offering MBA courses, it is better to apply with indigenous entrance exams if one exists. That said, even if you apply with CAT scores, your application will be reviewed by the institute in a manner equivalent to its separate entrance exam scores.

Which is better CAT or GMAT?

Your future goals and the institutes where you wish to apply to denominate the choice between CAT and GMAT. Hence, it cannot simply be said that either CAT or GMAT is better than the other. Both GMAT and CAT are accepted across Indian institutes offering MBA courses, however, if you wish to apply abroad CAT will be of little to no help, and if you wish to apply to IIMs then GMAT shall be no help. You need to decide between the two entrance exams based on the institutes you plan to apply to.

Is XAT more difficult than CAT?

No, XAT is not more difficult than CAT. CAT is the most difficult entrance exam for management courses in India. The IIMs are government-established management institutes. CAT is primarily designed to cater to the aptitude assessment requirements of these management institutes, three of which are among the top 100 business schools around the world. While XLRI institutes are also highly regarded and are a close second to IIMs, XAT is still an easier exam than CAT.

Which is the best MBA entrance exam in India?

The best entrance exam in India is the Common Admissions Test or CAT. It is designed to assess the aptitude of students interested in pursuing higher studies in management courses with the Indian Institute of Management. All 20 IIMs require the students to provide CAT scores while applying for admission. While the cut-off percentile of different IIMs differs, it is primarily expected from the candidates to have a 97 or above percentile for successful admission.

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I want to do MBA in distance and I have not appeared in any management exam, can i get admission, or is there any exam conducted by college to get admission.

-vidhisha mehtaUpdated on January 24, 2023 05:16 PM

1 Answer

Ashish Aditya, Student / Alumni

Dear Vidhisha,

Jaipur National University offers an MBA programme in Distance Education mode. The programme is designed for students who wish to pursue a career in business and management. To be eligible for the programme, candidates must have passed a Bachelor's Degree in any discipline or equivalent Degree from a UGC-recognised university.

There is also a provision for lateral entry into the MBA programme for students who have completed a Diploma in management after graduation from JNU or an MBA degree from a UGC-recognised university. Under the lateral entry scheme, these students will be eligible for admission in the III …

Is there a two-year PGDM MBA programme at ISB?

-Prabhas DUpdated on January 24, 2023 03:08 PM

2 Answers

Sanjukta Deka, Student / Alumni

ISB Hyderabad offers a wide range of management programmes like Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) which is a one-year full-time programme, Post Graduate Programme in Management for Senior Executives (PGPMAX) which is a one-year part-time programme and Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM) which is a 15 months full-time programme.

The PGP is designed for candidates with work experience, and the PGPMAX is designed for senior executives. The PGPEM is a specialised programme for entrepreneurs and family business owners. All these programmes are designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the various functions of a business, …

How to contact GITAM Vizag?

-Raha TabassumUpdated on January 24, 2023 12:54 PM

1 Answer

Sanjukta Deka, Student / Alumni

There are several ways to contact GITAM Visakhapatnam (Vizag) for any queries or concerns:

Official Website: The most convenient and reliable way to get in touch with GITAM Vizag is through their official website. The website provides detailed information about the university, its programs, admission process, fee structure, and contact details. You can also find links to various departments and services offered by the university.
Telephone: You can also contact GITAM Vizag by telephone. The university has a dedicated telephone line for general queries, as well as separate lines for different departments and services. The contact numbers are available on …