Myths and Facts About MAT Exam

The examination dates for Management Aptitude Test (MAT) December 2022 have been announced by the All India Management Association (AIMA). While the paper-based test is scheduled to be conducted on 11th December 2022, the online test will take place on 17th December 2022.

Management Aptitude Test (MAT) is conducted by AIMA at the national level for candidates seeking admission in management programmes offered at various B-Schools in India. Apart from India, a lot of B-Schools abroad screen candidates for admissions basis their MAT scores.

Over a period of time, Management Aptitude Test (MAT) has become the second most preferred exam after the Common Admission Test (CAT) for admission to B-schools in India. Though the common notion is to keep MAT as a second option after CAT exam to get into a good MBA college, slowly this attitude is changing. MAT is an alternative exam to get access to a range of good B-schools in India. 

Contrary to popular belief, some of you may consider MAT to be a relevantly difficult exam, but the complexity level of the exam differs for individual students and a lot depends on your level of preparation. You may also feel that choosing a later date will give you an edge of learning about other's experiences during the MAT exam, whereas, in reality, it is virtually impossible for anyone to memorize the question paper to assist another candidate at a later date. We have decoded some of the common myths about MAT exam here, while trying to provide a direction towards you MAT exam.

Questions in MAT exams are relatively easier than CAT, but that doesn’t make MAT an easy exam to crack. Because of the easy nature of question paper, a lot of effort and emphasis goes onto speed and accuracy in solving the questions. Normally, for getting into top colleges accepting MAT scores, you need to score more than 700 or more (in the least) to get good colleges. And the key to this is practice, which you should not take lightly while preparing for MAT exam.

The number of institutions participating in MAT is huge compared to the CAT exam, though some of these institutes also accept CAT scores for admissions. So, many students prefer having high MAT score as well as CAT scores to get admissions into such institutes.

Numbers of participating institutes also vary for different MAT exams. Most of the participating institutes in MAT are through the December MAT followed by other MAT exams.

If you conduct some research, you will find both government & private colleges accept MAT scores. Most of the colleges in the list of participating colleges as specified in the MAT bulletin or on AIMA websites are AICTE approved colleges and offer PGDM courses. But then again, there are also private colleges that accept MAT scores, but are not mentioned in the AIMA website or MAT bulletin. This makes the scope of getting into a B-school much wider and larger compared to any other MBA exam.

Though, most of the colleges participating in MAT adhere by the eligibility criteria of the exam, some of the B-schools might have their own criteria to take admissions. So if you are eyeing that institute located in your area, you may want to find out the eligibility criteria for admission.

In recent times, there was a rumor that MAT might be omitted. However, students must know that AIMA has confirmed that it’s not shutting down MAT exams. Against all speculations, MAT continues to be very popular across India and as a result there is a very high percentage of B-schools accepting MAT scores. And the biggest testimony to this that in spite of CMAT being conducted on an annual basis, MAT has not lost the top participating b-school from its list.

Key Differentiators:

MAT scores don’t work on sectional cut-offs as compared to other national level entrance exams. B-schools accepting MAT look for the overall MAT score of the student irrespective of section wise scores break up.

Unlike many other management entrance exams, the eligibility criteria for MAT is very simple. A student needs to have graduated with 50% of aggregate marks in any discipline, from a recognized university to apply for MAT exams. Students in final year of graduation can also apply for MAT exams, provided they submit the original graduation documents during the time of admission.

There is no age bar or work experience required to take MAT exam. One can choose from Computer Based Test or Paper Based Test to take the exam. Unlike paper based test, which is conducted on the same day for all students opting for it, students opting for computer based test get options to choose their date and center venue for taking the test.

Conclusion:

With a procedure so simple, giving a wide variety of choice to aspirants and applicable to so many colleges, the Management Aptitude Test or MAT is really, the people’s exam. No wonder, with every passing year, there has been a rise of MAT takers in India and abroad. Students have immensely benefitted by getting into structured curriculums in reputed B-school with promising returns in terms of placements.

While the ultimate card is in your hands, in terms of how you present yourself, how you convince the recruiters of your competency and how you best leverage the opportunities present to you…we can just say that MAT provides you with a platform to experience all of this and make the best of it.

Good luck!