In today’s scenario in India, we can see that after completing a bachelor’s degree, students are confused about what to do next. They have many options like,

B.A. students can do M.A., B.tech./B.E. students can go for M.tech./M.E., B.Sc. students can go for M.Sc., B.C.A. students can do M.C.A. and many more. 

But today, we will see about the career that is always in high demand: MBA. The full form of MBA is Master of Business Administration, also known as master’s in business administration. Many students want to pursue MBA, but they don’t know about it and are also confused about it, so today we will see in-depth what MBA is, how to get admission to a top MBA college/university, and how to prepare for an MBA entrance? Etc.

Top MBA entrance exams in India and How to prepare for MBA Entrance?

Before starting preparation for MBA, we must get the basic knowledge about some MBA-related questions.

What is MBA?

A Master of Business Administration is a postgraduate program focused on business administration. It includes various areas of business administration such as accounting, human resources, business communication, business law, business strategy, finance and many more.

What is the Basic requirement for an MBA, or Who can prepare for an MBA?

An applicant must have a graduate degree from a recognised university with at least 50% marks in aggregate.

What is the Difference Between PGDM Vs PGPM?

PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) is a diploma degree provided by AICTE-approved institutions in a 2-year full-time programme.

PGPM (Post Graduate Programme in Management) is not a degree course, but it is a certification course, which has a duration of 1-2 years and does not possess any recommendation as colleges generally offer it without affiliations.

Now we are ready to get in-depth knowledge about MBA. So let’s start.

How to get admission to MBA colleges/ universities in INDIA?

To get admission to top MBA colleges/universities in India, you have to clear the entrance examination. There are different entrance exams in India for various colleges/universities, which we will see in this article. These different entrance exams include different subjects and strategies, so now we are ready to go in-depth.

Top MBA Institutions in India

Many MBA institutions in India provide the best knowledge, but here we will see the top 3 MBA Institutions.

1. Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM, Bangalore)

The popular management program provided by IIM Bangalore is

• Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (EPGP)
• Fellow Program in Management (FPM)
• Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP)

2. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM, Ahmedabad)

• Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (EPGX)
• Fellow Program in Management (FPM)
• Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP)

3. Indian School of Business (Hyderabad and Mohali)

• Young Leaders Programme (YLP)
• Post Graduate Programme in Management for Senior Executives (PGPMAX)
• Fellow Program in Management (FPM)
• Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP)

Types of Entrance exams in India

The entrance exams in India are mainly divided into 3 parts:

1. National level MBA Entrance Exams

National level MBA Entrance Exam includes exams like CAT, CMAT, XAT, IIFT, SNAP, NMAT, IBSAT etc.

2. Institute/University level MBA Entrance Exams

Institute/University level MBA Entrance Exam includes exams like B-MAT, NIPER JEE MBA, CUSAT CAT etc.

3. State-level MBA Entrance Exams

State-level MBA Entrance Exam includes exams like TS ICET, AP ICET, JEMAT, MAH MBA CET etc.

Top 8 entrance exams for MBA in India

There are many entrance exams in India for getting admission to MBA colleges, But here we will see the top 8 entrance exams by which you can take admission to Top B-School.

(i) CAT: Common Admission Test

(ii) CMAT: Common Management Admission Test

(iii) MAT: Management Aptitude Test

(iv) XAT: Xavier Aptitude Test

(v) NMAT: NMIMS Management Aptitude Test

(vi) SNAP: Symbiosis National Aptitude Test

(vii) ATMA: AIMS Test for Management Admissions

(viii) GMAT: Graduate Management Admission Test

Above are the details of the Top 8 entrance exams for MBA in India in their full form; now, we will see them in full detail.

(i) CAT

The full form for CAT is the Common Admission Test. CAT is the most popular entrance exam in India for management Admission, and it is conducted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). A score of the CAT exam is used by 20 IIMs and more than 1000 other management Institutes in India.

The CAT exam started in 1950, and at that time, the exam was completely offline, but in 2009 exam turned out online. Generally, the CAT exam includes 100 questions (MCQs) which have to be solved in 180 minutes. One Interesting fact is that in 2021, due to COVID, the CAT (Common Admission Test) was held in three sessions instead of two sessions and was also for 120 minutes.

The CAT (Common Admission Test) exam is divided into three sections.

• Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
• Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
• Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VARC)

(ii) CMAT

The full form of the CMAT exam is the Common Management Admission Test. CMAT is the 2nd largest entrance exam in India for management Admission, and the National Testing Agency conducts it. More than 1000 MBA Institutes accept the CMAT exam score, and this exam is held between January and March.

CMAT is a computer-based exam (held for 180 minutes); conducted in four sections.

• Quantitative Technique
• Logical Reasoning
• Language Comprehension
• General Awareness
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship

(iii) MAT

The full form of the MAT exam is the Management Aptitude Test. This exam is conducted by the All India Management Association (AIMA), and it is held four times in a year-February, May, September and December. More than 600 Management Institutes accept MAT exam scores. MAT (Management Aptitude Test) is held in 3 Modes, and the duration is 150 minutes for 200 questions.

(i) Computer Based Test (CBT)

(ii) Paper-Based Test (PBT)

(iii) Internet Based Test (IBT)

Aspirants have to prepare for these subjects for MAT (Management Aptitude Test);

• Indian and Global Environment
• Language Comprehension
• Data Analysis and Sufficiency
• Mathematical Skills
• Intelligence and Critical Reasoning

The full form of the XAT exam is Xavier Aptitude Test. It is Computer based management test Conducted by Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) Jamshedpur. Annually more than lakh students give this exam. This exam is held on the first Sunday of January. The Score of XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test) is accepted by XLRI Jamshedpur and more than 800 management institutes.

(iv) XAT

This exam has four different sections for candidates to test.

• Quantitative Ability
• English Language & Logical Reasoning
• Decision Making
• General Knowledge

(v) NMAT by GMAC

The full form of the NMAT exam is NMIMS Management Aptitude Test. NMAT (NMIMS Management Aptitude Test) is also one of the popular MBA entrance exams. GMAC acquired this exam in 2015 and rebranded it as NMAT by GMAC. It is a computer-based test conducted between October and December throughout a 75-day testing period. The candidates for NMAT (NMIMS Management Aptitude Test) exam have to attempt 108 MCQs by the time of 120 minutes. Due to the COVID situation, the NMAT exam is also given remotely.

The most exciting thing about this exam is that it is a very candidate-friendly exam as students can give it a total of three times, and the best of three scores of this exam will be used for admission. NMAT exam has three main sections: 

• Language Skills,
• Quantitative Skills,
• Logical Reasoning

(vi) SNAP

The full of this exam is Symbiosis National Aptitude Test, which is also National level management entrance exam. A Score of the SNAP (Symbiosis National Aptitude Test) exam is primarily used for Admission to 16 institutes under Symbiosis International University; however, many other Institutes also take admission via SNAP score. Registration for the SNAP exam takes place from August to November, and the exam is held in December.

SNAP (Symbiosis National Aptitude Test) is a computer-based Aptitude test; candidates have two hours for this. It has mainly divided into three sections;

• General English
• Quantitative, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency
• Analytical & Logical Reasoning

(vii) ATMA

The full form of the ATMA is AIMS Test for Management Admissions, and it is also a national-level management test. It is an internet-based test held four times a year-February, May, July and August. The Score of ATMA is used for admission by several management programs in over 500 MBA institutes. This exam is held for three hours. ATMA question paper consists of the following sections:

• Analytical Reasoning Skills Part 1
• Analytical Reasoning Skills Part 2
• Quantitative Skills Part 1
• Quantitative Skills Part 2
• Verbal Skills Part 1
• Verbal Skills Part 2

(viii) GMAT

The form of the GMAT exam is Graduate Management Admission Test. GMAT and NMAT are conducted by the same agency, GMAC. Both exams are adaptive tests, and their scoring pattern is similar, but there are several differences between them. 

Like, GMAT has 90 (187 minutes) questions while NMAT has 108 (120 minutes) questions, and many more small differences are there, which you can see through these websites. – shiksha.com.

Cost of MBA entrance exams Registration and Application form in India

MBA entrance exams syllabus

Subjects for MBA entrance exams are detailed above. For a detailed syllabus for MBA entrance, look at the below links.

CAT Syllabus

IIFT Syllabus

XAT Syllabus

NMAT Syllabus

TISSNET Syllabus

SNAP Syllabus

CMAT Syllabus

MBA Subjects

Master of Business Administration (MBA), including business administration, management analysis and strategy subjects. Here are a few Subjects related to MBA,

• MBA in Accounting,
• MBA in Human Resources Management,
• MBA in Business Planning,
• MBA in Business Law,
• MBA in Business Ethics,
• MBA in Business Communication,
• MBA in Applied Statistics,
• MBA in Business Strategy,
• MBA in Entrepreneurship,
• MBA in Management
• MBA in Finance
• MBA in Supply-chain Management
• MBA in Managerial Economics
• MBA in Marketing
• MBA in Business Analytics
• MBA in Hospital Management
• MBA in Pharmaceutical Management

And many more…,

MBA jobs and career opportunities in India

The following are some of the industries where an MBA graduate can do work:

• Private Equity
• Data Analytics
• Entrepreneurship
• Banking & Finance
• Investment Banking
• Management Consulting
• Information System Management

Note: These are the top field to work for MBA graduates, but there are many more fields where you can work.

MBA graduate’s salary

In India, we have a culture of knowing the outcome of any courses/degrees before enrolling in them. The salary of MBA graduates also depends on several factors like experience, posts etc. Now we will see the salary of MBA graduates.

• Risk Manager: 9.5 – 10
• Retail Manager: 4.5 – 5
• Sales Manager: 10 – 10.5
• Infrastructure Manager: 10 – 11
• International Business Manager: 9
• Digital Marketing Manager: 4.5 – 5
• Advertising Sales Manager: 8 – 8.5

Note: This data is taken from manyagroup.com website.

MBA Entrance Exam preparation guidelines / How to prepare for MBA Entrance?

There are the following rules/tips for passing the MBA entrance exam in India. A few of them are

1. You must have to understand the exam pattern and syllabus.

2. Effective time management to improve preparation.

3. Online Coaching can help to reduce wastage of time.

4. The most important thing to clear any exam is to practice and practice.