CMAT

The CMAT or the Common Management Admission Test is an exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for selecting candidates for the MBA/PGDM courses in all the management colleges/institutions recognized by the AICTE. There are nearly a thousand management colleges that accept CMAT scores for selection. The eligibility criterion for CMAT varies as per the course the candidates apply for. The details are given below.

For PGDM/MBA:

• Candidates should have a bachelor’s degree of minimum 3 year’s duration from a recognized institution.
• The candidate should have secured a minimum of 50% marks (45% in the case of reserved categories) in the qualifying exam of the degree.

For PGCM:

• The candidate should have a three year Bachelor’s degree in a discipline related to the program chosen.

For Executive PGDM:

• A Bachelor’s degree of minimum 3 year duration.
• Must have secured 50% marks (45% in the case of reserved category candidates).
• Candidates must have minimum 5 years managerial/supervisory experience.

The reservation categories for institutes run by the central government are as follows.

• 15% seats are reserved for candidates belonging to SC (Scheduled Caste).
• 7.5% seats are reserved for ST (Scheduled Tribe).
• 27% seats are reserved for OBC-NL (Other Backward Classes – Non Creamy Layer)
• 5% seats are reserved for PwD (Persons with Disability).

The CMAT is a computer based test. The exam is conducted in English only. The questions are objective type and the duration of the exam is 180 minutes. There are 25 questions of 4 sections each making a total of 100 questions. The total number of marks is 400. Each correct answer carries 4 marks and there is one negative mark for each wrong answer. The 4 sections of CMAT include Quantitative Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, English and General Awareness. The section on English includes grammar, syntax and language usage and several other areas. Quantitative skills include data interpretation, data sufficiency, arithmetic, geometry and so on.

Numeric reasoning usually has questions on series, numeric grid etc. General awareness has questions from History, Sports, Current affairs and several other areas. For preparation the best bet is to solve the question papers of previous years in a genuine exam type atmosphere. There are mock tests available in the market. Being thoroughly prepared in the various topics is the key to success in CMAT.