Top 12 B-school entrance exams beyond the CAT

With over 8,000 seats IIMs can only satisfy about three percent of the total aspirants for the elusive business degree. But over the years a host of other institutions have come into being, which are as good as IIMs. Read on to find out more.

Many of you may not know that one of best colleges in the country, JBIMS, is a state-level B-School. In other words it is a constituent department of Mumbai Univeristy and admits students through The Maharashtra State Entrance Test.

Nearly 85 percent of the seats in JBIMS is reserved for students of Maharashtra. So all is not lost when one could not crack the CAT and get admission into the coveted IIMs.

In fact, some the new IIMs are no match for established institutes like the TISS, XLRI, FMS and IIFT. So read on to find what other entrances you need to appear to get into these coveted institutions.

Some of them like TISS conduct their own admission tests. Some like XLRI accept GMAT and have their own group admission tests.

Most others accept scores from common entrances like the MAT, ATMA and GMAT. Most of the states also conduct State-level entrance exams for institutes within the State, and are affiliated to relevant State universities. Most of the State colleges though require that the aspirant or his parent lives within the state.

Click NEXT to know what the top 12 exams are

Management Aptitude Test (MAT) is conducted by the Centre for Management Services (CMS), a division of All India Management Association (AIMA).

The exam is usually held four times in a year (February, May, September and December).

The MAT score is valid for one year in case of most of the management institutes participating in it. The registration form is available for Rs. 1200.

Eligibility: Graduate in any discipline from a recognized university. Final year degree course students can also apply. Job experience is not necessary.

Test Pattern & Selection: MAT is an objective type test with multiple-choice questions. A candidate can take the test in two formats: Paper-based Test or Computer Based Test. Both the formats are of 2 hours.

Website: www.aima-ind.org

AIMS Test for Management Admissions (ATMA) is a test approved by Ministry of Human Resource Development of the Government of India for admission on all-India basis to the MBA/ PGDM and other Postgraduate Programmes like the MCA. ATMA scores are valid for one year.

ATMA will also be conducted online from this year onwards. Between September to April according to the demand, the test may be administered once every fortnight. Application form is available for Rs. 950.

Eligibility: Graduate in any discipline from a recognized University.

Test Pattern & Selection: The test contains 180 questions spread over six sections. Each section is timed separately. Total time for the Test is 3 hours. The questions cover Analytical Reasoning Skills, Quantitative Skills, and Verbal skills. For each correct answer 1 mark will be given and for each incorrect answer 0.25 marks will be deducted from the score.

Website: www.atmaonline.com

ICET is conducted annually for admission into MBA and MCA courses of all universities in Andhra Pradesh and their affiliated colleges.

Eligibility: Qualifying marks in ICET-2011 were 25 percent and no minimum marks are prescribed for SC/ST candidates.Candidates should possess a Bachelor's Degree of minimum three years duration.

Website: www.apsche.org

TANCET is conducted by Anna University, based in Chennai on behalf of the Government of Tamil Nadu for candidates who seek admission to approved MBA programmes in universities and affiliated institutions.

Eligibility: A pass in any recognised Bachelor's degree with (10 + 2 + 3) or 4 years or a pass in any degree with (10 + 3) years diploma + 3 years pattern (OR) BE, B.Tech, B.Arch, B.Pharm degree.

Website: www.annauniv.edu

Maharashtra-MBA/ MMS - Common Entrance Test (MAH MBA/ MMS CET) is conducted by the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Maharashtra for admission to postgraduation management degree MBA/MMS and PGDBM/ PGDM courses in Government, university-managed and unaided institutes of Maharashtra.

Eligibility: Bachelor's degree of minimum three years duration with minimum of 50% marks.

Test Pattern & Selection: The entrance exam will be of 150 minutes duration consisting of 200 objective type questions. Questions will be from the following topics: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude and Logical/Abstract Reasoning.

There is no negative marking in the examination. The cut-off marks in MAH-MBA/MMS-CET 2011 were 30 marks out of 200. In case of All India CET the cut-off in the percentile in these CET is equivalent to percentile corresponding to 30 marks in MAH-MBA/MMS-CET 2011.

Website: www.dte.org.in/mba

ICFAI Business Studies Aptitude Test (IBSAT) is an aptitude test conducted by the ICFAI Group with schools in most metros and business centres for students seeking admission to management programmes.

The test is held across various test centres all over the country. The application form is available for Rs. 1200.

Eligibility: Graduates (any discipline) in English medium with minimum 50% marks.

Test Pattern & Selection: IBSAT is a multiple-choice-questions-based test for 2 hours duration. It tests the applicant's ability in quantitative techniques, data interpretation, data adequacy, vocabulary, analytical reasoning and reading comprehension.

Website: www.ibsat.org

The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) conducts a written test for students seeking admission to International Business at the institute. At present, IIFT has two campuses: one in New Delhi and another in Kolkata.

It is also planning to set up another campus in Uganda, East Africa confirmed L.D Mago, Registrar, IIFT, New Delhi. IIFT has also applied with the Ministry of Education to become a nodal agency for conducting the IIFT test. However, the confirmation is pending from the government.

IIFT is an autonomous organisation set up by Government of India. The written test is conducted across different cities. The cost of the application form is Rs. 1500 (Rs.750 for SC/ST/PH candidates).

Eligibility: Recognised Bachelor's degree of minimum 3 years duration in any discipline.

Test Pattern & Selection: The entrance examination a multiple choice objective type written test of 2 hours duration. It consists of sections: 1. English Comprehension, 2. General Knowledge & Awareness, 3. Logical Reasoning, 4. Quantitative Analysis. Candidates will be short-listed based on the Written Test followed by Group Discussion, Interview and Essay Writing for final selection.

Website: www.iift.edu

NMIMS School of Business Management was awarded 'deemed to be university' status by the UGC in 2003.

The institute offers Two-year full-time programmes in MBA Core, MBA-Actuarial Science, MBA-Banking, MBA-Capital Market, MBA-HR, MBA-Pharmaceutical Management at Mumbai campus and PGDM at Bangalore & Hyderabad Campuses.

The test is conducted across various test centres in a time frame of 3 months allowing choice of two retakes to the students should any of them wish. In such cases, the best of three scores will be considered. The application form is available for Rs. 1650.

Eligibility: Graduate (any discipline) from a recognized University with a minimum 50% marks.

Test Pattern & Selection: The NMAT is a computer-based test of 2 hours duration consisting of multiple-choice questions where the candidate needs to select one of the correct answers.

The NMAT will comprise the following: The final selection is based on NMAT Score, Written Test marks (as applicable), Group Discussion, Personal Interview, Presentation (as applicable) and work experience.

Website: www.nmims.edu

The Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP) is a combined Written Test for students seeking admission the Postgraduate Institutes under Symbiosis International University. However, candidates need to apply separately to the desired individual institutes.

The application form is available for Rs. 1550. Candidates need to pay Rs. 1000 application fee for applying to each institute.

Eligibility: Graduate in any discipline with a minimum 50 % marks.

Test Pattern & Selection: SNAP Test is of 2 hours duration and is an objective test with each question having four responses. Candidate should choose an appropriate response. Each wrong answer attracts 25% negative marks.

Website: www.snaptest.org

XAT is conducted by XLRI Jamshedpur on behalf of Xavier Association of Management Institutes (XAMI). XAT score is accepted by 77 institutes across the country.

The test will be conducted by XLRI Jamshedpur on behalf of Xavier Association of Management Institutes. Some of the popular institutes that accept XAT score include Xaviers Institute of Management, Bhubhaneshwar, Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Chennai, XIMR, Mumbai and more.

XAT will be held in 38 cities across the country and four cities outside India for all the programmes. The information bulletin and application form is available for Rs. 850.

For more than 60 years XLRI has been conducting admission test on all-India level to select the most appropriate students for management education. There are more than 70-plus Management Institutes which use XAT scores for selecting students.

There are 33 cities in which XAT exam is conducted. Other prominent institutes which accept XAT are: SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Mumbai, Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar.

Eligibility: Graduate in any discipline from a recognised University.

Test Pattern & Selection: XAT 2011 had three sections: 1. Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning (VA), 2. Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation (QA), 3. Analytical Reasoning and Decision Making Ability (AR). A candidate may apply for a maximum of three programmes. Those who apply for multiple programmes may be called for multiple interviews and/or group discussions. Selection criterion and cut-offs vary across different programmes.

Website: http://xatonline.net.in

Tata Institute of Social Sciences conducts an entrance exam for admission to its Master's programmes.

TISS is a specialised institution known for social work programme and for long has offered a Master's in labour relations. It now also offers a well-recognised HR programme.

The test is conducted across various centres. A candidate can apply for a maximum of three programmes only.

Application fee for one programme is Rs. 820, two programmes is Rs. 1640 and for three programmes is Rs. 2460.

Eligibility: Graduate in any discipline from a recognised University.

Test Structure: The Written Test is in two parts and is for 45 minutes.

Part I is the Common Objective Test for all the programmes which consists of 3 sections: 1. General Awareness/Knowledge about Current/Contemporary social issues, 2. Analytical/Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Ability, 3. Verbal Reasoning.

Part II of the Written Test is the "Programme-Based" test and the duration is 60 minutes for all the courses.

The written test is followed by Group Discussion and Personal Interview.

Website: http://tiss.edu/

The All India Council for Technical Education will launch an online Common Management Admissions Test (CMAT) next year.

The test has been launched with a view to reduce the burden of multiple entrance tests taken by students so far. The scores will be valid for admission to AICTE-approved institutes.

The entrance is expected to commence from the next academic year.

Eligibility: Graduate in any discipline from a recognised University.

Website: www.aicte-india.org