Dear Akshat, CAT, XAT and IIFT are the entrance examinations for admission to MBA, PGDM courses. They are not confined to any particular specialisation. You have to choose your specialisation during your 2nd year of the course. You have to select the entrance examination based on the college that you want to join. If IIMs are your target, then you should write CAT. If it is for top B schools then it is XAT. IIFT is the entrance examination for IIFT MBA (IB) programme. So it depends on your target colleges.

Hello

Cutoff is the minimum percentile a  candidate must obtain in order to qualify for the next round of selection process.

Cutoff depends on various factors such as:

• Difficulty level of the exam
• Total number of candidates appearing for the exam
• Total number of seats, etc.

Also, the cutoff varies from college to college. So, it would be difficult to predict the exact cutoff. However, you can go through the link below and check the previous year CAT and XAT cutoff for reference-

https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-cutoff
https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/xat-cutoff

Good Luck!

Dear Rahul, here I am explaining all the mentioned exams with their eligibility criteria-

1.CAT

The Common Admission Test (CAT)[2] is a computer based test for admission in a graduate management program. The test scores a candidate on the bases of Quantitative Ability (QA), Verbal Ability (VA) and Reading Comprehension (RC), Data Interpretation (DI) and Logical Reasoning (LR). The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) started this exam and use the test for selecting students for their business administration programs. The test is conducted every year by one of the IIMs based on a policy of rotation.

The candidate must satisfy the below specified criteria:

1.Hold a bachelor's degree, with no less than 50% or equal CGPA (45% for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PWD)/Differently Able (DA) classification).

2.The degree should be granted by ay recognized university.

3.Competitors appearing for the final year of bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification examination and the individuals who have finished degree prerequisites and are anticipating results can likewise apply.

2.XAT

XAT or Xavier Aptitude Test is an MBA entrance exam conducted by XLRI Jamshedpur. The exam scores are accepted by around 150 B-schools across India.

XAT is a computer based test of 3.5 hours duration. This will have 2 parts. First part will have 3 sections, Decision Making, Verbal and Logical Ability and Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation carrying 70-75 questions. The second part will have 2 sections, GK (25 questions) and essay writing. This is the only subjective type question.

XAT is considered to be one of the trickiest and toughest MBA entrance exams.

Eligibility criteria-

1.Candidate applying for XAT  must have a graduation degree from any stream from a recognized institute or university.

2.The graduation degree should be of a minimum of three years.

3.There is no specific cut off percentage or CGPA to be obtained during graduation.

Candidates who are in the final year of graduation are also eligible for XAT 2020, provided that they receive their graduation degree before the admission process of XAT is completed.

Age criteria-

There is no specified age limit for appearing in XAT .

3. MAT

Management Aptitude Test (MAT) is a standard aptitude test conducted in India since 1998 by the All India Management Association (AIMA). MAT is used for admission to Master of Business Administration (MBA) and allied programmes by over 600 business schools across India. It was approved by the Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2003.

Eligibility criteria-

1.To appear in MAT exam, you must have obtained recognized bachelor’s degree of minimum 3 years duration or Completed professional degree e.g. CA/CS/ICWA, or equivalent in any discipline. Those studying in their final graduation year may also apply.

If shortlisted by the B-school on the basis of MAT 2019 September exam score, such candidates will be allowed to join the programme provisionally, only if she/he submits a certificate from the Principal/ Registrar of the College/Institute stating that the candidate has completed all the requirements for obtaining the bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification on the date of the issue of the certificate.

2.According to AIMA Graduates in any discipline can apply for MAT exam

3.AIMA also does not restrict any candidate to seek MBA admission and appear in MAT on the basis of age bar.

4. NMAT

NMAT stands for Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) Management Aptitude Test.

NMAT by GMAC is an important National level MBA entrance exam conducted by Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). NMAT by GMAC exam is the mandatory entrance test for MBA admission to NMIMS Mumbai and its other campuses as well as 20 other MBA colleges across India.The total number of retakes allowed in NMAT 2019 exam is three including no-shows.

NMAT eligibility criteria -

1 Age limit: No age bar to attempt NMAT .

2.Candidates must be graduates in any stream from a recognized university.

3.The bachelor's degree holders must have scored at least 50% overall.

4.Candidates having 2-3 years of experience will have an edge over others.

5. Candidates who have already given their exam of the last year in graduation and have their results awaiting can also apply.

At the most, three attempts will be allowed to the candidate in order to perform his/ her best. The best out of three scores will be considered for admission. It should be kept in mind that the maximum three attempts include ‘no shows’ as well.

Apart from the eligibility requirements of NMAT, candidates must also ensure they pay the application fee before the deadline as well as submit all the valid and correct documents .

Hope all the exams are explained well.

dear aspirant,hope you are doing well.Now coming to your question if you appear for XAT in 2020 january then definitely you will get admission in 2020.XAT (Xavier’s Aptitude Test) is conducted for admission to Post-Graduate degree programme in Management at XLRI, XIM, XISS, LIBA etc. XAT is held in the month of January.

hope this will help.

• Candidates who are in their final year of Graduation can appear for CAT. So by 2020 if you are in your final year of Graduation, you are eligible to apply for CAT. By the time of completion of your Graduation, you should have scored a minimum aggregate of 50% if you belong to General Category and 45% if you belong to Reserved Categories. So if you appear for CAT in 2019 and you finish your Graduation by 2020, you can seek admission in 2020 with the help of 2019 score.

• On the other hand, if you have completed your Graduation but are awaiting your results, even then you are eligible for appearing in CAT. If you are qualified in CAT, you will be given a provisional admission. Your admission will be confirmed only if you provide a certificate from the Registrar/Principal of the Institution/University you are studying from mentioning that you have met all the necessary requirements to obtain your Bachelor's degree.

Hello Aspirant! 

Since you will be completing your graduation this year, you could have sat for the XAT 2019. But I am afraid the application dates for XAT 2019 have passed. But you need not worry because you can sit for the XAT 2020 which is scheduled to be held in January, 2020. The application process is expected to begin from August 2019 and will continue upto November 2019.

Hello aspirant,

• No upper or lower age limit is defined for XAT entrance exam.

• A graduation degree of 3 years duration is the minimum requirement.
• All backlogs must be cleared before admission through XAT is done.

XAT Eligibility Criteria as per Program :

1. Human Resource Management

·         Minimum 3 years of bachelor’s degree from a recognized institute.

·         Students in final year of examination can apply if their result will be declared by June 10, 2020.

1. Business Management

·         A bachelor’s degree of 3 years duration in any stream.

·         Students in the final year of their graduation, can apply but the result must be declared by June 10, 2020.

1. General Management programs (PGDM)

·         Recognized bachelors from any Indian or foreign university with 3 years of duration.

1. Business Management Program (Part-Time)

·         A Bachelor’s degree in any discipline with a minimum duration of three years of education after completing higher secondary education (10 + 2) or equivalent.

Thank You!

See your backlogs will actually not matter during MBA admissions , but you have to clear your backlogs first before joining MBA in any college . Regarding your educational background also it will matter in some colleges like IIM'S , but other than IIM'S there are also many good colleges in India . Never let your past ruine your future . You can appear for CAT /XAT exam if you have 50% in graduation and final year students can also apply for CAT .  Getting calls from top colleges will be difficult because they do complete evaluation before selecting the students . If you do well in CAT/ XAT exam like score above 95 percentile in CAT , you may get a call . But if you show any work experience for a year or two , there will be little more  changes to get a call . Also your category will also depend , if you are from SC or ST category you know their changes of getting admission is better than a general category student . But it is not end of the world , do well in your CAT first do not think of admissions . There are also students not getting in IIM'S or any top MBA  college but they even get package of RS 20 lakhs per annum. It is because of their knowledge and skills . So do well . All the best