How is the CAT Exam Different from other MBA Exams?

MBA is currently the most popular choice for higher studies in current times. And the CAT exam is one of the most famous entrance exams in India for MBA with more than two lakh candidates competing for seats in 20 IIMs and other renowned institutes such as FMS, DMS, etc. While this firmly establishes CAT as the most competitive entrance exam for MBA, there are also many other entrance exams such as XAT, IIFT, GMAT, CMAT, etc. for admission into many different management institutes in India or even abroad!!! 

Now in such a situation, it can be quite difficult to choose which entrance exams to appear for, especially considering the differences in their eligibility criteria, application process, syllabus, etc. To make this choice a little easier, this article sheds some light on the different MBA exams including CAT and also focuses on the all-important question “How the CAT Exam is different from other MBA Exams?”

Well, the syllabus of the CAT exam is more or less similar to the other MBA exams with some minor differences. An example of this is that CAT does not have the General Knowledge or Essay Writing sections like many other exams such as XAT do. The details about most of the important MBA exams including CAT are provided below so that you can understand and judge the differences between them. 

CAT

Common Aptitude Test or CAT is conducted by the various IIM’s in rotation for MBA admission into the IIM’s as well as other renowned institutes such as FMS, DMS, etc. Details about this exam are given as follows: 

• Eligibility Criteria: Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50% marks or equivalent CGPA in any stream from a recognized university. Final year students can also apply.
• Mode of Exam: Computer Based Exam
• Exam Syllabus: Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
• Marking Scheme: Correct Answer is +3 and Incorrect Answer is -1
• Exam Duration: 3 hours
• Validity of the exam score: 1 year
• Exam Fee: Rs. 1800 for General, Rs. 900 for Reserved

XAT

Xavier Aptitude Test or XAT is conducted by Xavier School of Management (XLRI-XSM) for MBA admission to XLRI as well as some other institutes. Details about this exam are given as follows: 

• Eligibility Criteria: Bachelor’s degree in any stream from a recognized university. Final year students can also apply.
• Mode of Exam: Computer Based Exam
• Exam Syllabus: Verbal and Logical Ability, Decision Making, Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation, General Knowledge
• Marking Scheme: Correct Answer is +1 and Incorrect Answer is -0.25
• Exam Duration: 3 hours
• Validity of the exam score: 1 year
• Exam Fee: Rs. 1650

IIFT

IIFT MBA Entrance Exam is conducted by the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade for admission to IIFT campuses located at Delhi, Kakinada, and Kolkata. Details about this exam are given as follows: 

• Eligibility Criteria: Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PWD) in any stream from a recognized university. Final year students can also apply.
• Mode of Exam: Paper Based Exam
• Exam Syllabus: Logical Reasoning, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability, General Knowledge, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude
• Marking Scheme: Correct Answer is +0.5 to 1 and Incorrect Answer is -1/3 of marks for the correct answer
• Exam Duration: 2 hours
• Validity of the exam score: 1 year
• Exam Fee: Rs. 1650

GMAT

Graduate Management Admission Test is a global test conducted by Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) for admission to top Business Schools abroad or in India like IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIM Bangalore, ISB, XLRI, etc. Details about this exam are given as follows: 

• Eligibility Criteria: Bachelor’s degree in any stream from a recognized university and proficiency in the English language.
• Mode of Exam: Computer Based Exam
• Exam Syllabus: Quantitative Aptitude Integrated Reasoning Verbal Ability Analytical Writing Assessment 
  
• Marking Scheme: The GMAT has a computer adaptive testing with different scoring scales for different sections
• Exam Duration: 3 hours and 30 minutes
• Validity of the exam score: 5 years
• Exam Fee: Rs. 18, 000

CMAT

Common Management Admission Test is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to all management programs that are approved by AICTE. Details about this exam are given as follows: 

• Eligibility Criteria: Bachelor’s degree in any stream from a recognized university. Final year students can also apply.
• Mode of Exam: Computer Based Exam
• Exam Syllabus: Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, Verbal Ability and General Awareness
• Marking Scheme: Correct Answer is +4 and Incorrect Answer is -1
• Exam Duration: 3 hours
• Validity of the exam score: 1 year
• Exam Fee: Rs 1400 for General and Rs 700 for SC/ST/Transgender/Women

Preparation for Various MBA exams

All the MBA exams provided above, including CAT, have some commonalities in their syllabus. Most of these exams share a common core of Quantitative Aptitude and Verbal Ability with differences such as the addition of Essay Writing or General Knowledge in some exams. So the core syllabus is the same which can be studied from a single source to prepare for multiple exams. 

Keeping this in mind, GeeksforGeeks has created the CAT Preparation Course 2019. This is a FREE course comprising of over 1500 questions on all three sections of the CAT exam which will provide more than adequate support for your CAT preparation. In addition to that, it can also be used as study support for all the MBA exams you wish to give in addition to CAT as the core syllabus remains the same. 

To learn more about it, read on… 

Course Overview

CAT Preparation Course 2019 is an online course that will help you get ready for India’s most coveted entrance exam for management. CAT has three sections namely Quantitative Ability (QA), Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR). The CAT Preparation Course 2019 will help you prepare for each of these sections individually and that will also provide an edge to your preparation strategy for other MBA exams. 

CAT Preparation Course 2019 will help the CAT aspirants track and improve the preparation through questions of various difficulty levels. There will be 3 full-length mock tests covering the whole syllabus of CAT. Tracks will cover the theory and quizzes related to all the topics while the Sectional Contests will have time-bound questions on those topics. The explanations for all the questions will be provided at the end of each quiz and tests. There will be 27 Sectional Mock Tests and 3 full-length Contests.

Register now for the CAT Preparation Course 2019 course by clicking on the button below. 

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