22Sep 2026
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Entrance exams: what is live
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Entrance Exams
MBA
Seven management entrance tests, all measuring roughly the same broad ability, and differing almost entirely in structure. Whether sections are separately timed, whether you may return to a question, whether wrong answers are penalised, whether unattempted ones are, and whether you may sit the test more than once — those rules decide strategy far more than any syllabus difference.
That structural variety is genuinely useful to a candidate. Some of these tests suit a fast, accurate worker; others suit a deep problem solver; two of them let you attempt more than once and count your best score. Choosing which to target is worth as much thought as preparing for them.
Entrance exams · checked 19 September 2026
Entrance exams this month, from the official portals
Notifications, application windows, exam dates, answer keys and results as the conducting bodies published them, each with its source and a link to the exam guide.
Comparing
The structural differences that matter
| Exam | Sectional timing | Negative marking | Multiple attempts |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAT | Yes — 40 minutes per section, no return | Yes on MCQs, none on TITA | No — once a year |
| XAT | No | Yes, plus a penalty for excessive blanks | No — once a year |
| NMAT | Yes, in a chosen order | None | Yes — up to three, best counted |
| SNAP | No — one 60-minute paper of four sections | Yes — 25 per cent | Yes — up to three tests, best counted |
| CMAT | No | Yes | No |
| MAT | No | Yes — 0.25 | Several sessions a year, two modes each |
| GMAT | Yes, order chosen | Adaptive scoring | Yes, after an interval |
2026 cycle
MBA entrance notifications 2026: where each test stands
Checked 15 September 2026 against iimcat.ac.in, xatonline.in, mba.com and gmac.com, snaptest.org, cmat.nta.nic.in and mat.aima.in.
| Test | Registration | Examination | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAT 2026 (IIM Indore) | 3 August – 22 September 2026, 5 p.m. (extended from 15 September) | Sunday 29 November 2026, three slots | Registration closing; admit cards 4 November; result expected first week of January 2027 |
| XAT 2027 (XLRI) | 15 July – 10 December 2026; edit windows 28–29 September and 7–8 December | Tuesday 5 January 2027, 2 – 5:30 p.m. | Registration open; admit cards from 26 December; XLRI results 25 April 2027 |
| NMAT 2026 (GMAC) | 20 August – 10 October 2026; scheduling to 22 October | Window 2 November – 20 December 2026 | Registration open; up to three attempts 15 days apart |
| SNAP 2026 (Symbiosis) | To 25 November 2026 | 13, 19 and 26 December 2026 | Registration open; new Ethics section; result 12 January 2027 |
| CMAT 2026 / 2027 (NTA) | CMAT 2026: 17 October – 17 November 2025 | CMAT 2026: 25 January 2026 | Result 17 February 2026 (41,872 appeared); CMAT 2027 notice expected October–November |
| MAT September 2026 (AIMA) | PBT to 7 September; CBT to 14 September 2026 | PBT 13 September; CBT 20 September 2026 | Results by the last week of September; December session next |
| GMAT (GMAC) | Year-round | On demand at centres and online | Five attempts in a rolling 12 months; see the GMAT guide |
| Test | Paper | Marking | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAT | 68 questions, 120 minutes — VARC 24, DILR 22, QA 22, 40 minutes each in fixed order | +3 / −1 on MCQs; TITA no deduction | ₹2,700; ₹1,350 SC, ST, PwD |
| XAT | Part 1 about 75 questions in 170 minutes — VA-LR, Decision Making, QA-DI; Part 2 GK 20 in 10 minutes | +1 / −0.25; −0.10 per unattempted after eight; GK no deduction | ₹2,200 (2026 bulletin); ₹200 per XLRI programme |
| NMAT | 108 questions, 120 minutes — three sections of 36 in chosen order, adaptive | No negative marking; 36–360 scaled | ₹3,000 plus taxes; ₹3,000 per retake |
| SNAP | 60 questions, 60 minutes — English 10, Reasoning 20, Quant-DI-DS 20, Ethics 10 | +1 / −0.25 | ₹2,550 per test; ₹1,000 per programme |
| CMAT | 100 questions, 400 marks, 180 minutes — five sections of 20 including GA and Innovation and Entrepreneurship | +4 / −1 | ₹2,500 General male; ₹1,250 others |
| MAT | 150 questions, 120 minutes — five sections of 30 including Economic and Business Environment | +1 / −0.25 | ₹2,300 one mode; ₹4,000 both |
| GMAT | 64 questions, 2 hours 15 minutes — Quantitative, Verbal, Data Insights | Adaptive; 205–805 | USD 275 centre / 300 online plus GST |
The season runs from CAT on 29 November through SNAP in December, XAT on 5 January and CMAT in late January, with NMAT’s window and the MAT sessions around them; a single CAT preparation covers the aptitude content of all of them, and the additions are the marking arithmetic of each test, XAT’s Decision Making, SNAP’s new Ethics section and the knowledge sections of CMAT and MAT. The exam guides below carry the full pattern tables, dates, fees, eligibility, the procedure from registration to interview and free mock tests on the current patterns.
Choosing
Which suits how you work
- If you work fast and accurately on routine questions — SNAP and NMAT reward that directly, and both are gentler on difficulty than CAT.
- If you are a deep problem solver under pressure — CAT rewards set selection and multi-step reasoning more than any of the others.
- If you have strong general knowledge and business awareness — CMAT, MAT and XAT all carry knowledge sections that CAT does not.
- If you want more than one chance — NMAT allows three attempts within a window with the best counted, MAT runs several cycles a year, and the GMAT can be retaken after an interval.
- If you are applying abroad as well — the GMAT serves both international and some Indian executive programmes.
Planning
One preparation, several tests
Prepare for CAT as the base — its difficulty exceeds most of the others and its content is a superset of theirs. Then add each test’s specifics in the weeks before it: Decision Making and general knowledge for XAT, business environment for MAT, innovation and entrepreneurship for CMAT, data sufficiency for NMAT and SNAP, and the correct attempt discipline for each marking scheme.
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Questions
MBA — FAQs
What are the MBA entrance exam dates for 2026-27?
CAT 2026 is on Sunday 29 November 2026 with registration closing at 5 p.m. on 22 September; XAT 2027 is on Tuesday 5 January 2027 with registration to 10 December; NMAT 2026 runs in a window from 2 November to 20 December with registration to 10 October; SNAP 2026 is on 13, 19 and 26 December with registration to 25 November; MAT’s September session is on 13 September (paper) and 20 September (computer) with the December session next; CMAT 2027 should be notified by NTA in October or November for a January examination; the GMAT is available year-round.
What is the MBA entrance exam syllabus?
There is no published syllabus for CAT, and the others publish only section outlines, but the tests draw on the same pool: quantitative ability (arithmetic, algebra, geometry, numbers, modern mathematics at the class 10 level), data interpretation and logical reasoning (tables, charts, caselets, arrangements, puzzles), and verbal ability and reading comprehension (passages, para-jumbles, summaries, grammar and vocabulary). XAT adds Decision Making and general knowledge, CMAT innovation and entrepreneurship and general awareness, MAT a business-environment section, and SNAP and NMAT data-sufficiency and reasoning variants. Prepare for CAT’s depth and the rest is coverage; the exam guides here carry each test’s section-wise breakdown.
Which MBA entrance exams are held in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra?
Each state runs a common entrance test for the MBA and MCA seats in its universities and affiliated colleges, held in May–June for the July session: TG ICET in Telangana and AP ICET in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka PGCET and the private-college KMAT in Karnataka, MAH MBA CET in Maharashtra and TANCET in Tamil Nadu. They are easier than CAT and carry no sectional time limits, and their scores are used only inside the state; the autonomous and private institutes in the same states take CAT, XAT, CMAT or MAT, so a candidate aiming at both sets sits the state CET as a second route rather than a replacement.
Which MBA entrance exams have no negative marking?
Only NMAT among the Indian tests — it is adaptive with no deduction, so every question is answered — and the GMAT, which is adaptive too. CAT deducts one mark for a wrong MCQ (none on TITA), CMAT one against four, XAT a quarter plus a tenth for each unattempted question beyond eight, and SNAP and MAT a quarter of a mark. The right attempt discipline differs test by test.
Which MBA entrance exam should I take?
Start from the schools you want, since acceptance differs — the IIMs use CAT, XLRI uses XAT, the Symbiosis institutes use SNAP, NMIMS uses NMAT, and a wide range of AICTE-approved institutions accept CMAT and MAT. Beyond that, consider how you work: SNAP and NMAT reward fast accurate work on routine questions, CAT rewards deep problem solving and set selection, and XAT, CMAT and MAT reward knowledge sections that CAT does not test at all.
Can I take MBA entrance exams more than once?
Some of them. NMAT permits up to three attempts within its testing window with the best score counted, MAT runs several cycles a year, SNAP has permitted multiple attempts in recent cycles, and the GMAT can be retaken after a specified interval with scores sent selectively. CAT, XAT and CMAT are once-a-year tests. Where multiple attempts exist, they are the most under-used advantage those exams offer — an early attempt becomes calibration rather than a decisive event.
Can one preparation cover several MBA entrances?
Largely yes. Prepare for CAT as the base, since its difficulty exceeds most of the others and its quantitative, verbal and reasoning content is a superset of theirs. Then add each test’s specifics in the weeks before it: XAT’s Decision Making section and general knowledge, CMAT’s innovation and entrepreneurship section, MAT’s business environment section, data sufficiency for NMAT and SNAP, and — most importantly — the correct attempt discipline for each marking scheme, since they differ considerably.
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