Planning to build your future in business management?
The journey to establish your career in business management is through pursuing MBA. It is an advance degree, which enables student to boost their skills and knowledge in business dynamics. A post graduate degree in MBA offers students a comprehensive understanding of business administration, management and leadership.
Key Highlights of top MBA entrance exams
Two years from now, if you are nurturing a dream to see yourself in an eminent MBA college then you need to start now by preparing for top MBA entrance examinations such as CAT 2025, XAT 2026, NMAT 2025, SNAP 2025, CMAT 2026 and IBSAT 2026. Following are the key highlights of top MBA entrance exams with their difficulty level and top colleges accepting their exam scores:
| Sr.No. | Entrance exam | Examination Organizing Body | Top colleges accepting exam scores | Difficulty level |
| 1 | Common Admission Test (CAT 2025) | Indian Institute of Management | All Indian Institute of Management (IIMs), Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Department of management (IITs) and KCC Institute of Technology and management (KCC-ITM) | Most difficult admission test for MBA admissions. |
| 2 | Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT 2026) | Xavier Institute of Management, Jamshedpur | Xavier Institute of Management, Jamshedpur(XLRI) , Bangalore (XIME) and Bhubaneswar(XIMB), Goa Institute of Management (GIM) | Moderate to difficult |
| 3 | Narsee Monjee Management Aptitude Test (NMAT 2025) | Graduate Management Admission Council | Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), K J Somaiya Institute of Management and Indian School of Business (ISB) | Moderate |
| 4 | Symbiosis National Aptitude Test(SNAP 2025) | Symbiosis International University | Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune , Bangalore and Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management, Nasik (SIOM) | Moderate |
| 5 | Common Management Admission Test (CMAT 2026) | National Testing Agency | K J Somaiya Institute of Management, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) and Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai. | Moderate |
| 6 | ICFAI Business School Aptitude Test (IBSAT 2026) | Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India foundation for Higher Education | Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India Business School, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore and Gurgaon. | Moderate |
Details of MBA entrance examinations: CAT 2025, XAT 2026, NMAT 2025, SNAP 2025, CMAT 2026, and IBSAT 2026
Any graduate student who wishes to join top MBA colleges like IIMs, IITs, XLRI, Symbiosis, KCC-ITM, or any eminent MBA college needs to be aware of the examination pattern of the above-mentioned entrance examinations. Following are the details of the MBA entrance examination, which will help students in clearing one of these examinations.
1. Common Admission Test (CAT 2025):
The official notification and examination months are July and November, respectively. The information of the same is mentioned on the official website of CAT https://iimcat.ac.in. The duration of the examination is 2 hrs, which consists of three sections:
• VARC—Verbal Ability and reading comprehension
• DILR—Data Interpretation and logical Reasoning
• QA-Quantitative Ability
There will be a total of 66 questions. The section-wise break of the number of questions is 24 questions of VARC, 20 questions of DILR and 22 questions of QA.
The total marks are 198, out of which the correct answer will be rewarded with 3 marks, and negative 1 mark will be deducted for every wrong answers and there will be no negative marking for Type in Answer (TITA) and for unattempted questions.
2. Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT 2026):
The official notification and examination months are July and January, respectively. The information of the same is mentioned on the official website of XAT https://xatonline.in. The duration of the examination is 3 hrs 30 mins, which consists of five sections:
Part-1
• VALR—Verbal Ability and logical reasoning
• DM-Decision making
• QA & DI—Quantitative Ability and Data interpretation
Part-2
• GK- General Knowledge
• Essay
There will be approximately 100 questions. The section-wise break of the number of questions is 26 questions of VA and LR, 21 questions of DM, 28 questions of QA & DI, 25 questions of GK and 1 essay. For the XAT exam score, only part 1 marks is taken into consideration while part 2 is evaluated during interview.
The total marks is 75, out of which a correct answer will be rewarded with plus 1 marks and a negative 0.25 marks will be deducted for every wrong answers and negative 0.10 marks will be deducted if there are more than 8 unattempted questions, only in part 1.
3. Narsee Monjee Management Aptitude Test (NMAT 2025):
The official notification and examination month is August and October respectively. The information of the same is mentioned on the official website of NMAT https://nmat.nmims.edu. The duration of the examination is of 2hrs, which consist of three sections:
• Language Skills
• Quantitative Skills
• Logical Reasoning
There will be total 108 questions. Section wise break of number of questions is 36 questions of language skills, 36 questions of quantitative skills and 36 questions of logical reasoning.
Total marks is 360, out of which correct answer will be rewarded plus 3 marks and no negative marking for incorrect answer and unattempted questions.
4. Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP 2025):
The official notification and examination month is August and October respectively. The information of the same is mentioned on the official website of SNAP https://www.snaptest.org. The duration of the examination is of 1hrs, which consist of three sections:
• General English and Verbal Reasoning
• Analytical and Logical Reasoning
• Quantitative and Data Sufficiency
There will be total 60 questions. Section wise break of number of questions is 15 questions of General English and Verbal Reasoning, 25 questions of Analytical and Logical Reasoning and 20 questions of Quantitative and Data Sufficiency.
Total marks is 60, out of which correct answer will be rewarded plus 1 marks and negative 0.25 marks will be deducted for every wrong answers and there will be no negative marking for unattempted questions.
5. Common Management Admission Test (CMAT 2026):
The official notification and examination month is February and May respectively. The information of the same is mentioned on the official website of CMAT https://cmat.nta.nic.in. The duration of the examination is of 3hrs, which consist of five sections:
• Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation
• Logical Reasoning
• Language Comprehension
• General Awareness
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship
There will be total 100 questions. Section wise break of number of questions is 20 questions of Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation, 20 questions of Logical Reasoning, 20 questions of Language Comprehension, 20 questions of General awareness and 20 questions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Total marks is 400, out of which correct answer will be rewarded plus 4 marks and negative 1 marks will be deducted for every wrong answers and there will be no negative marking for unattempted questions.
6. ICFAI Business School Aptitude Test (IBSAT 2026):
The official notification and examination month is July and December respectively. The information of the same is mentioned on the official website of IBSAT https://general.ibsindia.org. The duration of the examination is of 2hrs, which consist of four sections:
• Verbal Ability
• Quantitative Aptitude
• Reading Comprehension
• Data Adequacy and Data Interpretation
There will be total 140 questions. Section wise break of number of questions is 50 questions of Verbal Ability, 30 questions of Reading Comprehension, 30 questions of Data Adequacy and Data Interpretation and 30 questions of Quantitative Aptitude.
Total mark is 140, out of which correct answer will be rewarded plus 1 marks and there will be no negative marking for incorrect answer and unattempted questions.
Conclusion
The mentioned list of top MBA entrance exam is the access point to eminent MBA colleges. The mentioned key highlights and details of the examination pattern of- CAT 2025, XAT 2026, NMAT 2025, SNAP 2025, CMAT 2026 and IBSAT 2026 will guide the aspiring MBA students. Colleges like KCC-ITM offers excellent MBA program, as it offers dual specializations in the 2yrs MBA course. It is advised to all MBA aspirants to be active on the given official website of their choice of entrance examination for keeping themselves updated with the notification of the exams.
All the Best!
FAQs:
1. How many exam attempts a student is allowed to give for CAT 2025?
There is no attempt limit, aspiring student can give as many attempt as they want to improve their score.
2. Is there any eligibility for appearing in top MBA entrance exam?
MBA aspirants need to have graduation degree with atleast 45%-50% marks from any recognized institute/college.
3. What is the examination fee of NMAT?
The registration fees for NMAT 2025 is Rs. 3000/- per attempt.
4. Is a graduate final year, appearing student can apply for MBA entrance exam?
Yes, any final year appearing student can appear for CAT 2025, XAT 2026, NMAT 2025, SNAP 2025, CMAT 2026 and IBSAT 2026, provided they complete their degree timely.
5. What is the selection criterion in MBA for KCC-ITM?
The selection process for KCC-ITM in MBA program is a combination of 10th, 12th, graduation score and CAT score. Along with these scores, sop-statement of purpose and interview on general awareness is conducted for the final selection.