The difference between CAT and CMAT

Planning to write MBA entrance test next year. Can you please tell me the difference between CMAT and MAT and also CAT and CMAT. -Pradeep Kumar, Bhoiguda

Anyone who wants to get admission into an MBA programme— the most sought after programme in India or abroad— one has to write either CAT, CMAT, GMAT, MAT or OMAT(other management aptitude test)

CMAT (Common Management Aptitude Test) was first held in February 2012 and its main objective was to reduce the stress of multiple exams for many candidates. Students give around 5-7 entrance exam each year and this adds up to their preparation stress, coaching fees, cost of books, etc. Now they can be more focussed and write just one exam for admission to approximately 4,000 AICTE approved MBA institutes and 500 colleges that offer Post Graduate Diploma in Management programme. It provides access to 1.6 lakh seats across the country and thereby makes it by far the largest coverage of any MBA exam.

It is conducted by All india Council of Technical Education (AICTE) with support from Aptech, two times a year.

One can appear in both the exams and the best of the two scores are taken for admission.

It is a computer-based examination There are 100 questions divided into four sections, each section comprising of 25 questions. Time limit is 3 hours, i.e.180 minutes There is negative marking for each wrong answer. 4 marks will be awarded for each correct answer and 1 mark will be deducted for wrong answer.

All India Management Aptitude Testing Service (AIMATS) conducts MAT (Management Aptitude test), for admission to MBA and equivalent programmes.

AIMA-MAT is conducted 4 times a year— in February, May, September and December.

Around 300 B-Schools accept MAT scores for its admission and the list of institutes that use the AIMA-MAT results varies from test to test.

It has 200 questions divided into 5 sections, 40 in each section Time given is 2 hours and 30 minutes, i.e. 150 minutes It is held in two formats, it is paper based and computer based test both

Even though the paper has a section on general awareness, the score in this section is rarely used by any B-School for short listing candidates for the GDPI process.

If we have to compare the two then CMAT would be better because ample time is given to spend on a particular question/section. Also, many top B-Schools accept the CMAT score, like the JBIMS, SIMSREE, Goa Institute of Management, PUMBA, Welingkar, etc

Now comparing CAT and CMAT:

CAT is the entrance exam for more than 160 management institutes across India, including the 13 IIMs. It is one of the most prestigious, all-India level management entrance examinations, conducted by Indian Institutes of Management.

CAT is held once in a year whereas CMAT is held twice a year Cat has 100 questions and 2 sections comprising of 50 questions in each section; CMAT has 100 questions divided into 4 sections, 25 questions in each section

Time limit for CAT is 2hrs 50min; For CMAT it is 3 hrs. Time given for each question in both is approximately the same, a little more for CMAT (negligible)

Major institutes that accept CAT are:

• 13 IIM’s of India
• NITIE
• Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai
• Jamnalal Bajaj institute of Management Studies, Mumbai
• MDI
• SPJIMR
• Symbiosis institute of Business Management, Pune

Refer link: http://cat.learnhub.com/lesson/18136-top-100-mba-colleges-in-india

Major institutes that accept CMAT are:

• JBIMS – Mumbai,
• SIMSREE – Mumbai,
• GIM – Goa,
• KJ SOMAIYA – Mumbai,
• PUMBA – Pune, XISS ( RANCHI ),
• IMT – Nagpur,
• XISS, Ranchi
• Hyderabad, BIT
• WELINGKAR – Mumbai,
• Banglore, ITM – Mumbai,
• GREAT LAKES – Chennai
• IFIM, Banglore,
• Amrita School of business, Coimbatore
• Asia Pacific Institute Of Management – New Delhi

If we have to mention the major differences, it would be:

CMAT has GK sections whereas CAT does not. The general awareness has syllabus that has no limits and therefore becomes a tricky preposition.

CAT with Tata Consultancy Services TCS, roping as the new online testing partner, has increased its test cities from 40 to 99 this year and the registration form in 2014 would only be online (it is online for CMAT too).

CMAT has 4 sections with 25 questions in each section and no sectional time limit.

CAT has 2 sections with 50 questions in each section and similar to CMAT there is no sectional time limit

The two sections of CAT are, first section is Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation; the second section is Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning.

In CMAT, questions are based on quantitative techniques & data interpretation, logical reasoning, language comprehension and general awareness.

All management entrance tests are vital, and it is essential that you prepare hard for CAT, CMAT or MAT in the best possible manner to earn a competitive edge over others. All the best!

2. I want to pursue marine engineering after my Class XII in MPC. Which colleges are the best that offer this course also what are the various entrance exams for marine engineering? -Rajiv Gupta, Medchal Road

Marine Engineering is a four years bachelor’s degree and requires that the candidate should possess strong and vigorous health with a height of 150cms and eyesight of 6/6. Some institutes like Hindustan Institute of Maritime Training (HIMT) specify that the applicant must be unmarried.

The two different courses are:

• Bachelor of Engineering (BE) Marine Engineering
• Bachelor of Technology (B Tech) Marine Engineering

The list of entrance exams for this course is:

• IMU CET- Indian Maritime University Common Entrance Test
• MERI- Marine Engineering and Research Institute Entrance Test
• IIT JEE- IIT Joint Entrance Examination
• AICET-All India Common Entrance Test
• GATE – Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering

Top Marine engineering colleges in India are:

• Indian Maritime University, Kolkatta
• Indian Maritime College, Chennai
• Hindustan Institute of Maritime Training, Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu
• Samundra Institute of Maritime Studies, Lonavla, Maharashtra
• IIT, Mumbai
• Tolani Maritime Institute, Pune
• The Department of Marine Engineering, College of Engineering, Andhra University, Vizag
• International Institute of Maritime Science , Haldia, West Bengal
• Cochin University
• Mangalore University