BIMTECH PGDM Admissions 2026
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CMAT or CAT? Wondering which exam to give? When it comes to pursuing an MBA in India, two of the most popular entrance exams are the Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) or known as NTA CMAT and the Common Admission Test (CAT). These tests serve as a gateway to some of the top management institutes in India. Still, they differ significantly in their pattern, difficulty level, conducting bodies, and the institutions that accept their scores. Here’s a detailed comparison to check CAT vs CMAT: which is better?
Latest: CAT college predictor | Colleges accepting 70-90+ percentile
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The full form for CAT in MBA is the Common Admission Test. The CAT 2026 is a national-level entrance exam conducted annually by Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) on a rotational basis in online mode. CAT scores are accepted by IIMs and other top B-Schools than IIMs. Candidates who qualify for the entrance exam with good marks based on the cutoff of CAT are called upon for further rounds as a part of the IIM admission process
CMAT exam full form is a Common Management Admission Test which is a national-level entrance test. CMAT 2026 is conducted in online mode by the National Testing Agency i.e. NTA. Until 2018, CMAT was administered by the All India Council for Technical Education yearly as per the regulations of MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource Development), Government of India.
Here is an overview comparison of CMAT vs CAT through different parameters.
CAT vs CMAT | CAT | CMAT |
Conducting Body | IIMs | NTA |
Type of Questions | MCQs and TITA | MCQs only |
Exam Month | November | January |
Number of Section | 3 sections | 5 sections |
Difficulty Level | high | moderate |
Marks per questions | +4 | +4 |
Official Website | ||
CAT vs CMAT Exam Fee | INR 2,500 (General category) and INR 1,250 (Reserved category) | INR 2,500 for General (Male) and INR 1,250 for rest of the students |
Mode | Online mode | Online mode |
Number of applications | More than 3 lakhs | More than 1 lakhs |
To ace in both exams, you should be aware of the sections and number of questions that can come in the final exam. Here is a comparison of the CAT and CMAT exams according to their sections and number of questions. The CAT exam pattern was revised last year, The total number of questions asked in the previous CAT exam was 68 questions, added 2 additional questions in the DILR section.
Section | Number of Questions | Maximum marks | Time Limit |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 | 72 | 40 minutes |
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 22 | 66 | 40 minutes |
Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 22 | 66 | 40 minutes |
Total | 68 questions | 204 marks | 160 minutes |
Section | Number of Questions | Maximum marks | Time Limit |
Language Comprehension | 20 | 80 | No time limit |
Logical Reasoning | 20 | 80 | No time limit |
Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation | 20 | 80 | No time limit |
General Awareness | 20 | 80 | No time limit |
Innovation & Entrepreneurship | 20 | 80 | No time limit |
Total | 100 | 400 | 180 minutes |
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CMAT: More than 1000 institutes across India accept CMAT scores. Some of the prominent ones include Great Lakes Institute of Management, K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, and Goa Institute of Management.
CAT: All 21 IIMs in India use CAT scores for admission, making it the more prestigious of the two exams. Besides the IIMs, other top-rated institutions like Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, and Management Development Institute (MDI) Gurgaon also accept CAT scores.
Also Read
Top MBA Colleges in India accepting CAT score
Top B-schools Accepting CMAT Scores
Choosing between CMAT and CAT largely depends on a candidate’s career goals, preferred colleges, and comfort with the respective exam formats. While CAT opens doors to the elite IIMs and is suitable for those looking for a rigorous challenge, CMAT offers a broader array of options and might be preferable for those who are also interested in exploring opportunities in mid-tier management schools. Aspiring MBA students should consider their academic strengths, preparation levels, and career objectives when deciding which exam to pursue.
Given below are the best mock test series by Careers360 for CMA and CAT exam preparation.
On Question asked by student community
Hi there,
The minimum eligibility criteria for a general candidate to receive a call from IIM Sambalpur are as follows:
VARC: 65%ile
QUANTS: 65%ile
LRDI: 65%ile
Overall: 90%tile
Keep practising and aim to improve your score. You can also focus on other management exams where you may secure a strong
Hi there,
With a B.tech in industrial engineering from IIT Roorkee and a CAT 2025 score of 98.89 percentile and strong sectionals your profile is solid for top B-schools. For the top IIMs like Ahmedabad and Bangalore, calls for engineers usually go to candidates with near perfect percentiles. Your score
Hello,
The IIT Guwahati cutoff for SC and EWS categories depends on the branch, year, and JoSAA counselling round, but you can get a general idea from recent trends.
For the SC category, closing ranks usually range from 4,000 to 9,000 for popular branches like CSE, ECE, and Mechanical, while
with this percentile, you can get into tier 2 or tier 3 college, the list of the few notable college is given below-
1) FLAME university, Pune
2) AIMS institute, Bangalore
3) Doon business school, Dehradun
4) Christ university, Bangalore
5) NIT Trichy
6) KIIT school of management, Bhuvneshwar
A CAT percentile of 99.64 is an excellent score and definitely places you in a strong position for top IIM calls, including IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, and IIM Calcutta. However, admission to these institutes is not based on CAT score alone. Each of these IIMs follows a holistic selection process
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