Top MBA Entrance Exams 2025: Explore the Details of Management Entrance Tests in India

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Author Name

Aparajita Debnath

Updated on Mar 15, 2025 12:23


Top MBA entrance exams across India are CAT, MAT, XAT, CMAT, NMAT, and SNAP. To pursue an MBA program, you must appear for an entrance exam. For some top business schools, you must meet the specific cutoff criteria in the above-mentioned exams.

top-mba-entrance-exams

Most of the B-schools in India such as IIMs prefer the candidates who opt for popular MBA entrance exams. Many tier II and II institutes also offers their own monument Entrance Exams. There many colleges that accepts the MBA admission without an entrance exam, such as Sikkim Manipal University, Delhi; GD Goenka University, Andhra Loyola College, etc.

You can appear for all those top MBA entrance test if you have a graduation degree with a minimum of 50% marks. If you are an aspirant aiming for the IIMs, then should appear for the CAT exam. However, you are an aspirant aiming for the Tier-2 private MBA colleges, then they should appear for the CMAT or MAT exam.

Every year, more than 300,000 learners graduate with a Master of Business Administration in India. According to the report of Graduate Management Administrations Council of 2021, India is the second only to Chian which manages the GMAT exam. Check the exam dates and other details of all the top entrance exams for MBA in India in this article.

Best MBA Entrance Exams 2025: Important Dates

There are top 15 management entrance exams conducted for admission to MBA programs across the country. There are also, state-wise, college-wise, university-wise specific MBA entrance tests. Check out the table below for the top MBA entrance exams in 2025:

Entrance ExamExam DurationNo. of QuestionsExam Timeline (Tentative)Official Website
CAT 2025  120 minutes68Last week of November 2025Iimcat.ac.in
XAT 2026180 minutes95First week of January 2026xatonline.in
NMAT 2025120 minutes108

Phase 1: November 2025 to December 2025

Phase 2: January 2026

mba.com/nmat
SNAP 202560 minutes60December 2025snaptest.org
MICAT 2026165 minutes234

Phase 1: December 2025

Phase 2: January 2026

mica.ac.in/pgdm
MAH MBA CET 2025150 minutes200April 1 to 3, 2025cetcell.mahacet.org
CMAT 2026180 minutes100January 2026cmat.nta.nic.in
IBSAT 2025120 minutes140December 2025admissions.ibsindia.org/ibsat
MAT 2025120 minutes150December 2025mat.aima.in
TANCET 2025120 minutes100March 22, 2025tancet.annauniv.edu/tancet
CUET PG 2025150 minutes75

March 13, 2025

March 31, 2025

nta.ac.in

Overview of CAT

CAT is a national MBA entrance exam, conducted by IIMs on a rotational basis. IIM will conduct the CAT 2025 exam on November 30, 2025. CAT admit card 2025 will be available to download on the official website at iimcat.ac.in.

As per the latest CAT exam pattern, the total exam duration is two hours, and you have to answer 68 questions. The questions will be asked from VARC, DILR, and QA. This exam has a sectional time limit for every section.

ParticularsDetails
Exam Duration120 minutes
No. of Questions68
Exam Timeline (Tentative)Last week of November 2025
Official Websiteiimcat.ac.in

CAT Registration

ParticularsDetails
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration StartsAugust 2025
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration EndsSeptember 2025
MBA Entrance Exam FeesINR 2500/-

Top Colleges Accepting CAT Score

Institute Name
IIM AhmedabadIIM Jammu
IIM BangaloreIIM Sirmaur
IIM CalcuttaIIM Tiruchirappalli
IIM LucknowIIM Nagpur
IIM KozhikodeXLRI Jamshedpur
IIM IndoreFMS Delhi
IIM RanchiSP Jain Mumbai
IIM RohtakMDI Gurgaon
IIM RaipurIMT Ghaziabad
IIM KashipurIIFT Delhi
IIM SambalpurJBIMS Mumbai
IIM VisakhapatnamSIBM Pune
IIM UdaipurNMIMS Mumbai
IIM Bodh GayaSIBM Bangalore

All About CAT Exam

CAT
CAT DetailsCAT Eligibility
CAT SyllabusCAT Dates
CAT Admit CardCAT Exam Pattern
CAT Question PaperCAT Answer Key
CAT CutoffCAT Result

Also Read:

Overview of CMAT

CMAT is a national-level entrance exam, conducted for admission to the MBA programs. For the admission to 2026 batch, the exam will be conducted by NTA in online mode. As per the latest exam pattern, the question paper has four sections, which you have to answer within three sections.

ParticularsDetails
Exam Duration180 minutes
No. of Questions100
Exam Timeline (Tentative)January 2026
Official Websitecmat.nta.nic.in

CMAT Registration

ParticularsDetails
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration StartsNovember 14, 2024
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration EndsDecember 25, 2024
MBA Entrance Exam FeesINR 2000/-

Top Colleges Accepting CMAT Score

Institute Name
K J SomaiyaGuru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
GIMJaipuria Noida
BIMTECHMNIT Jaipur
Great LakesChandragupt Institute of Management
VITTezpur University
Amity University, NoidaChrist University
LPU - Lovely Professional University

All About CMAT Exam

CMAT
CMAT DetailsCMAT Eligibility
CMAT SyllabusCMAT Dates
CMAT Cutoff

Read More:

Overview of XAT

Xavier Aptitude Test simply known as XAT is conducted by Xavier School of Management. This exam is conducted every year for admission to the MBA and PGDM programs. This exam will be held in a computer-based test.

As per the latest XAT exam pattern, the question paper will have a total of four sections, which you can answer within three hours. XAT 2026 exam is scheduled for January 3, 2026.

ParticularsDetails
Exam Duration180 minutes
No. of Questions95
Exam Timeline (Tentative)First week of January 2026
Official Websitexatonline.in

XAT Registration

ParticularsDetails
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration StartsJuly 2025
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration EndsDecember 2025
MBA Entrance Exam FeesINR 1750/-

Top Colleges Accepting XAT Score

Institute Name
XLRIGIM
Great LakesXIMB
IMTTAPMI
XIMEFORE
LIBA

All About XAT Exam

XAT
XAT DetailsXAT Eligibility
XAT SyllabusXAT Dates
XAT RegistrationXAT Admit Card
XAT Exam PatternXAT Answer Key
XAT CutoffXAT Result

Also Read: 

Overview of SNAP

SNAP is a national-level MBA entrance exam, conducted by Symbiosis International University. After qualifying exam, you will be able to take admission to 16 Symbiosis institutes. Before you proceed with the registration, make sure to check the SNAP Eligibility Criteria. The exam is scheduled for December 2025.

ParticularsDetails
Exam Duration60 minutes
No. of Questions60
Exam Timeline (Tentative)December 2025
Official Websitesnaptest.org

SNAP Registration

ParticularsDetails
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration StartsAugust 2025
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration EndsNovember 2025
MBA Entrance Exam FeesINR 1950/-

Top Colleges Accepting SNAP Score

Institute Name
SIBMSIIB
SIMSSCMHRD
SICSRSIOM
SIMCSIDTM
SCIT

All About SNAP Exam

SNAP
SNAP DetailsSNAP Eligibility
SNAP SyllabusSNAP Dates
SNAP RegistrationSNAP Cutoff

Read More:

Overview of NMAT

NMAT 2025 exam is a national-level MBA entrance exam, conducted by the GMAC. This is the only exam that allows you to attempt the exam three times.

According to the last year?s NMAT exam pattern, the total number of questions asked was 108. Apart from 29 institutes in India, 7 in South Africa and 5 in the Philippines accept the exam score of NMAT. The NMAT exam is held between November 5 to December 20, 2025.

ParticularsDetails
Exam Duration120 minutes
No. of Questions108
Exam Timeline (Tentative)

Phase 1: November 2025 to December 2025

Phase 2: January 2026

Official Websitemba.com/nmat

NMAT Registration

ParticularsDetails
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration StartsAugust 1, 2025
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration EndsOctober 10, 2025
MBA Entrance Exam FeesINR 2800/-

Top Colleges Accepting NMAT Score

Institute Name
NMIMS MumbaiK J Somaiya
SPJIMRXIM
SDA Bocconi Asia CenterICFAI business school

All About NMAT Exam

NMAT
NMAT DetailsNMAT Eligibility
NMAT SyllabusNMAT Dates

Overview of IBSAT

IBS Aptitude Test is a national-level MBA entrance exam, conducted by IBS Hyderabad. After qualifying for the exam, you will be able to be admission to any of the nine IBS campuses. A total of 140 questions will be asked in the computer-based test as per the latest IBSAT exam pattern.

ParticularsDetails
Exam Duration120 minutes
No. of Questions140
Exam Timeline (Tentative)December 2025
Official Websiteadmissions.ibsindia.org/ibsat

IBSAT Registration

ParticularsDetails
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration StartsJuly 1, 2025
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration EndsDecember 2025
MBA Entrance Exam FeesINR 1800/-

Top Colleges Accepting IBSAT Score

Institute Name
IBS Hyderabadand all the other 8 campuses of ICFAI

All About IBSAT Exam

IBSAT
 IBSAT Details IBSAT Eligibility
 IBSAT Syllabus IBSAT Dates

Overview of TS ICET

MGU on behalf of the Telangana State Council for Higher Education has published TS ICET 2025 notification. This exam is also referred to as TS ICET. It is scheduled for June 8 and 9, 2025.

ParticularsDetails
Exam Duration150 minutes
No. of Questions200
Exam Timeline (Tentative)First Week of June, 2025
Official Websiteicet.tsche.ac.in

TS ICET Registration

ParticularsDetails
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration StartsMarch 10, 2025
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration EndsMay 3, 2025
MBA Entrance Exam FeesINR 650 + Charges

Top Colleges Accepting TS ICET Score

Institute Name
Malla Reddy Engineering CollegeKakatiya Institute of Technology & Science
Vivekvardhini College School of Business ManagementGuru Nanak Institute of Technology
St Xaviers PG College 

All About TS ICET Exam

TS ICET
TS ICET DetailsTS ICET Eligibility
TS ICET SyllabusTS ICET Dates

Overview of AP ICET

Sri Krishnadevaraya University conducts the AP ICET 2025 on behalf of the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education. AP ICET 2025 is scheduled for May 7, 2025. After clearing this examination, you will get the chance to be admission to the colleges in Andhra Pradesh.

ParticularsDetails
Exam Duration150 minutes
No. of Questions200
Exam Timeline (Tentative)May 7, 2025
Official Websitecets.apsche.ap.gov.in/ICET/

AP ICET Registration

ParticularsDetails
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration StartsMarch 2025
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration EndsApril 2025
MBA Entrance Exam FeesINR 650+INR 29.50/-

Top Colleges Accepting AP ICET Score

Institute Name
Sri Balaji PG CollegeAbhinav Institute of Management & Technology
Kakatiya Institute of Technology & ScienceGuru Nanak Institute of Technology
St Xaviers PG College

All About AP ICET Exam

AP ICET
AP ICET DetailsAP ICET Eligibility
AP ICET SyllabusAP ICET Dates

Overview of MAH MBA CET

MAH MBA CET 2025 is state state-level entrance exam, conducted to provide admission to colleges in Maharashtra state. MAH CET 2025 is scheduled for April 1, 2, and 3, 2025.

ParticularsDetails
Exam Duration150 minutes
No. of Questions200
Exam Timeline (Tentative)April 1 to 3, 2025
Official Websitecetcell.mahacet.org

MAH MBA CET Registration

ParticularsDetails
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration StartsDecember 25, 2024
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration EndsFebruary 10, 2025
MBA Entrance Exam FeesINR 1000/-

Top Colleges Accepting MAH MBA CET Score

Institute Name
KJ SomaiyaWelingkar Institute of Management Development and Research,
FLAME UniversityITM Business School Navi Mumbai
Balaji Institute of International BusinessTathawad

Overview of B-MAT

B-MAT 2025 is a university-level entrance exam conducted by Bhartiya Vidyapeeth Deemed University. This exam is conducted for admission to MBA and MBA (HR) across throughout all campuses.

ParticularsDetails
Exam Duration135 minutes
No. of Questions64
Exam Timeline (Tentative)April 2025
Official Websitebvuniversity.edu.in

B-MAT Registration

ParticularsDetails
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration StartsDecember 2024
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration EndsApril 2025
MBA Entrance Exam FeesINR 2000/-

Top Colleges Accepting B-MAT Score

Institute Name
Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Pune

All About B-MAT Exam

B-MAT
B-MAT DetailsB-MAT Eligibility
B-MAT Syllabus

Overview of NIPER JEE MBA

NIPER Hyderabad conducts the NIPER JEE MBA is a university-level entrance exam. The total duration of the NIPER JEE MBA is 120 minutes. If you qualify for the exam, then you will be offered admission to the MBA in Pharmaceutical Management.

ParticularsDetails
Exam Duration180 minutes
No. of Questions95
Exam Timeline (Tentative)First week of January 2026
Official WebsiteNIPER JEE MBA online.in

NIPER JEE MBA Registration

ParticularsDetails
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration StartsJuly 2025
MBA Entrance Exam 2025 Registration EndsDecember 2025
MBA Entrance Exam FeesINR 1750/-

Top Colleges Accepting NIPER JEE MBA Score

Institute Name
XLRIGIM
Great LakesXIMB
IMTTAPMI
XIMEFORE
LIBA

All About NIPER JEE MBA Exam

NIPER JEE MBA
NIPER JEE MBA DetailsNIPER JEE MBA Eligibility
NIPER JEE MBA Syllabus

MBA Entrance Exam Difficulty Level

Check out the table below for the for the difficulty level of the MBA entrance exams:

Difficulty LevelMBA Entrance Exams
Highly DifficultCAT, XAT
Moderate to HighSNAP, NMAT, CUET PG MBA, ATMA
EasyMAT, CMAT, IBSAT

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Ans: If it comes to the MBA entrance exam, the CAT exam is the foremost choice for most of the candidates. Apart from that, XAT, CMAT, and SNAP are also some of the best MBA entrance exams that a candidate looks to crack.

Ans: These are some common eligibility criteria to appear for most of the MBA entrance exams:

  • Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50% marks (45% in case of SC/ST/PwD candidates) marks from a recognized University.
  • You will get the preferences with the work experience.
  • There are no age limit criteria to appear for the MBA entrance exams.

Ans: Common Admission Test (CAT) is one of the best  and the toughest MBA entrance exams with over two lakh registration  every year. By qualifying for the CAT, you will get the opportunity to join prestigious institutions like SPJIMR , FMS Delhi, IIMs, etc. Apart from the CAT, these are some alternate entrance exams, such as XAT, CMAT, IBSAT, SNAP, MAT, etc. for admission to the prestigious MBA colleges. 

Ans: No, there are no MBA entrance exams without Mathematics. However, there are a few MBA exams that have low weightage for the mathematics section, such as CMAT, SNAP, and NMAT.

Ans: You can take the NMAT 2025 exam up to three times within the testing window. The best score out of the three attempts will be considered for admission.

Ans: XAT 2025 exam includes the Verbal & Logical Ability, Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation, Decision Making, and General Knowledge.

Ans: Firstly, you have to understand the exam pattern and exam syllabus. Practice previous year’s questions, take mock tests as many as possible, and join coaching classes if required.

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