CMAT 2023 is one of the important national level MBA entrance exams for admission to MBA/PGDM 2023-25 batch in the AICTE approved management institutes. CMAT 2023 will be conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) as computer based test of three hours duration. The high score in CMAT 2023 offers MBA admission opportunity in 1000 AICTE approved MBA/PGDM colleges.
The three hour computer based online CMAT exam 2023 will be divided in five sections. It will evaluate a candidate’s ability in Quantitative Technique, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension, General Awareness and Innovation and Entrepreneurship areas.
Read this comprehensive article, prepared by MBA Exam experts, to know more about Key Facts like CMAT 2023 eligibility, registration process, CMAT 2023 exam pattern & syllabus, Key changes in exam, Admit Card Download process, how to prepare for CMAT 2023, CMAT 2023 score accepting colleges, CMAT cut offs in various MBA colleges among other key details.
Table of Contents
- What is CMAT?
- CMAT Exam 2023 Highlights
- Why to Appear in CMAT 2023 Exam? Check Key Benefits
- CMAT 2023 Important Dates
- CMAT 2023 Exam Cities
- CMAT 2023 Exam Pattern: Duration, Sectional Composition & Scoring pattern
- How to Prepare for CMAT 2023 Exam?
- CMAT 2023 Syllabus: At par with other MBA entrance exams
- MBA Colleges Accepting CMAT 2023 Exam Score
- MBA Admission Process with CMAT 2023
- CMAT 2023 Registration Process
- CMAT Admit Card 2023 Download
- CMAT Exam Difficulty Level
- CMAT Result Declaration
- CMAT Cut off Score for Top MBA colleges
- JBIMS, PUMBA among 330+ MBA Colleges in Maharashtra to Accept CMAT Exam Score
- National Testing Agency: CMAT Conducting Body
- AICTE Approved MBA/PGDM Colleges to Accept CMAT Score
- CMAT Exam Training
- Important Changes in CMAT exam
- CMAT-2023 Exam day Guidelines
- What is CMAT?
CMAT full form is Common Management Admission Test (CMAT). It is a government organized computer based national level MBA entrance examination for entry into 1000 AICTE approved management programmes (MBA/PGDM) all over India. Till 2018, CMAT was conducted by AICTE, now the Test is conducted by the National Testing Authority (NTA) constituted by Government of India. More than 70,000 candidates apply for CMAT every year. CMAT offers unique opportunity to all the test takers as none of them is disqualified in its result.
- CMAT Applicants Last Year
Category wise and gender wise CMAT 2022 applicants were
| Category | Number |
| Male Candidates | 32475 |
| Female Candidates | 26480 |
| Third Gender | 1 |
| Total | 58956 |
1.1.2 Actual CMAT Test Takers Last Year
Category wise and gender wise CMAT 2022 test takers were
| Category | Number |
| Male Candidates | 28513 |
| Female Candidates | 22630 |
| Third Gender | 1 |
| Total | 51144 |
- CMAT Exam 2023 Highlights
CMAT 2023 exam offers MBA admission opportunity in more than 1000 MBA colleges in India and among them are some of the prominent management institutes. It is an important but an easier MBA entrance exam. Following are the key Exam highlights and other important details:
| CMAT Exam Conducting Body | National testing Agency (NTA) |
| CMAT Full Form | Common Management Admission Test |
| Number of MBA colleges under the Exam | 1000+ |
| Exam Date | February 26, 2023 (Expected) |
| Exam Slots | Single Slot Exam of 3 Hrs Duration from 3PM to 6.00 PM |
| Mode of CMAT Entrance exam 2023 | Online Computer Based Test |
| CMAT Entrance exam full form | Common Management Admission Test |
| CMAT 2023 Score Validity for MBA Admission | 2023-2024 academic session |
| Total Questions in CMAT Entrance Exam | 100 |
| Sectional Division of Questions | 5 Sections with 20 Questions in Each Section |
| Exam details section wise | Quantitative Technique; Logical Reasoning; Language Comprehension; General Awareness; Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Optional) |
| CMAT 2023 Medium of Question Paper | English |
| Exam Difficulty Level | Easy to Moderate |
| Maximum Score | 400 Marks for 100 questions |
| Negative Marking | – 1 mark for each wrong answer |
| CMAT Percentile Calculation | Since 2022, NTA has stopped awarding percentile. Instead test takers are awarded Rank and Score |
| Required Rank/Score for MBA admission in Top Colleges | Score of 240+ Rank within 5000 |
| Importance of Taking the exam | Top MBA colleges like JBIMS, SIMSREE, K J Somaiya, GIM Goa, PUMBA, Great Lakes, BIMTECH, Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab, among others accept CMAT score |
| Application process | Online |
| Exam Application Fee for Boys | Rs.2000/- |
| Application Fee for Girls | Rs.1000/- |
| Application Fee for EWS/OBC-NCL | Rs.1000/- |
| Application Fee for SC/ST/PwD | Rs.1000/- |
- Why to Appear in CMAT 2023 Exam? Check Key Benefits
MBA aspirants find so many MBA entrance exams which are conducted at national, state and institute level and get confused which MBA entrance exam they should apply and appear. While the comparison among top MBA entrance exams with CMAT is shared at the end of this article, the key USPs of CMAT exam below will guide you why you should appear in CMAT 2023
- Moderate difficulty MBA entrance exam
- No test taker is disqualified in CMAT exam even if he/she scores zero marks
- CMAT offers MBA/PGDM admission opportunity in AICTE approved management Institutes
- By the time CMAT is conducted, you will have already appeared in other top MBA entrance exams like CAT; IIFT, XAT; NMAT; SNAP among others. So, no extra efforts to prepare for CMAT are required as CMAT exam has same sectional composition and has lower difficulty level
- Most of the top MBA/PGDM colleges in India accept CMAT score for admission. They include K J Somaiya, Welingkar, PUMBA, Great Lakes, GIM Goa, IMT Nagpur, BIMTECH Greater Noida and 330 MBA/MMS colleges in Maharashtra, among others. CMAT 2023 score will be accepted by all AICTE-Approved Institutions/University Departments/ Constituent Colleges/Affiliated Colleges for admission 2023.
- CMAT Exam 2023: Good Opportunity to Score High
There are 1000+ AICTE approved MBA/PGDM institutes that will accept CMAT 2023 score for admission to their flagship MBA/PGDM 2023-25 batch. Earlier the exam was conducted in December or January, but during last two years CMAT was conducted in March and April, so in case CMAT 2023 is also delayed, it will offer good opportunity to prepare well for the exam and score high to get shortlisted by some of the top MBA colleges accepting CMAT 2023 score.
- CMAT 2023 Important Dates
CMAT registration process is likely to open from November 2022. Detailed schedule of CMAT Exam 2023 dates and other CMAT 2023 important dates and details are as under:
| Exam Activity | CMAT 2023 | Remarks |
| CMAT Notification 2023 Release | November 15, 2022 | Release on official NTA-CMAT website |
| Exam Registration starts | November 15, 2022 | Online Process |
| Last date to apply | January 15, 2023 | Application form submission closes at midnight |
| Last date of successful transaction of fee through Credit/Debit Card/NetBanking/UPI / Paytm Wallet | January 16, 2023 | Upto 11.50 PM |
| Correction in Particulars of Application Form on the website only | From January 17 to 19, 2023 | Upto 5 PM |
| Admit Card Download start date | February 15, 2023 | No Hard copy of the Admit Card will be sent |
| Last date to download CMAT Admit card | February 26, 2023 | Download Admit Card latest by the exam date |
| CMAT Exam Date | February 26, 2023 | From 3 PM to 6 PM |
| Exam Duration | 3 Hours | In Single session in Afternoon |
| Result Date | March 10, 2023 | Score card download starts in afternoon |
- CMAT 2023 Exam Cities
CMAT 2023 exam will be held in single shift from 3PM to 6 PM in 124 cities all over India as online computer based test. CMAT 2023 Exam will have 100 questions equally divided into 5 sections of 20 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) in each section. Check details below
- CMAT 2023 Exam Pattern: Duration, Sectional Composition & Scoring pattern
- CMAT 2023 test paper has time duration of 3 hours and consists of 5 sections
- The Exam is divided in 5 sections with 20 questions in each section. The sections are Quantitative Technique, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension, General Awareness and Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- There will be 100 questions for 3 hours exam
- All are of objective type questions in MCQs form.
- Question difficulty level is easy to moderate
- Each correct answer is awarded +4 Mark
- Each wrong answer is penalized with negative marking of -1 mark
- No Individual Time limit to attempt question paper. Candidates can attempt any question from any section within the overall CMAT exam time limit
- Merit Score and percentile is calculated on the basis of all the sections.
- CMAT score card displays Actual score obtained out of 400 Marks, Sectional score obtained and the sectional and overall Rank obtained in the Exam
6.1 CMAT Exam 2023 Pattern: Sectional Composition
CMAT exam during last three years has gone with some key changes. The updated CMAT 2023 pattern with sectional composition is as below:
| CMAT 2023 Exam Sections | Number of Questions | Maximum Marks Section-wise |
| Language Comprehension | 20 | 80 |
| Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation | 20 | 80 |
| Logical Reasoning | 20 | 80 |
| General Awareness | 20 | 80 |
| Innovation and Entrepreneurship | 20 | 80 |
| Total: Sections-5 | 100 | 400 |
7. How to Prepare for CMAT 2023 Exam?
During the past few years, CMAT exam pattern and syllabus has changed. However, the exam preparation is not very difficult. Reading good preparation books, practicing with sample papers and CMAT previous year papers with solutions are a good tool for exam preparation.
CMAT 2023 exam Preparation can get you admission to MBA 2023 in good MBA colleges. It is high time that CMAT exam preparation must be started without any further delay as per the exam pattern
- Differentiating Point in CMAT 2023 Preparation
Apart from the recently introduced 5th section on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, one of the important points which differentiate CMAT exam preparation from other exams is the reduction in number of questions to 100 from 125. There is a separate section with 20 questions on ‘Logical Reasoning’ which has questions based on reasoning only. The LR Preparation for the exam and the strategy to prepare for this important section is to be properly planned and followed to score high.
The exam preparation strategy needs more focus on all the five sections. It requires your focus on following:
- When to Start exam Preparation?
- How to prepare?
- Which are the best Preparation Books?
- What is the best preparation material available apart from the books?
- Preparation Tips by CMAT Toppers
- Whether to Prepare with Coaching or Self prepare – which is better?
- If time is short, How to prepare for CMAT Online?
- Exam Taking Strategy – how to crack the Exam with High score?
- CMAT 2023 Syllabus: At par with other MBA entrance exams
The exam Syllabus contains all the topics on which questions are asked in other national level MBA entrance exams. Past question papers and the exam pattern reveal that CMAT syllabus does not throw tough questions in the exam, although the syllabus topics are same.
The syllabus is based on past exam pattern and types of questions that appear in the exam. The best way to get hands-on feel and practice on question topics covered in CMAT syllabus, is to go through the previous exam papers and attempt CMAT Mock tests.
- MBA Colleges Accepting CMAT 2023 Exam Score
The list of CMAT 2023 exam accepting colleges is released by AICTE as well as National Testing Agency. There are around 1000 MBA/PGDM colleges who accept the CMAT exam score for admission. Below are some of the best MBA colleges accepting CMAT exam score in India and in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad
9.1 MBA Colleges in Delhi Accepting CMAT
Institute Name & Location
- School of Inspired Leadership – SOIL Gurgaon
- Jagan Institute of Management Studies (JIMS) Rohini Delhi
- New Delhi Institute of Management (NDIM) New Delhi
- Jaipuria Institute of Management (Jaipuria) Noida
- IMS Ghaziabad
- O P Jindal University, Sonepat (Delhi NCR)
- VIPS-TC-Delhi School of Business Delhi
- Fortune Institute of International Business (FIIB) New Delhi
- Delhi School of Business (DSB) New Delhi
- J K Business School Gurgaon
9.2 MBA Colleges in Mumbai Accepting CMAT
Institute Name & Location
- Prin. L. N. Welingkar WE School Mumbai
- SIESCOMS Navi Mumbai
- Chetna CIMR
- ITM Group of Institutions
- SDA Bocconi Mumbai
- IES Management IES MCRC Mumbai
- DSIMS Mumbai
- Vivekanand Education VESIM Mumbai
- Guru Nanak GNMIMS Mumbai
- Bharati Vidyapeeth`s BVIMSR Mumbai
9.3 MBA Colleges in Bangalore Accepting CMAT
Institute Name & Location
- Christ University Bengaluru
- XIME Bangalore
- SDMIMD Mysore
- Indus Business Academy (IBA) Bangalore
- AIMS School of Business (AIMS) Bangalore
- Kristu Jayanti College (KJC) Bangalore
- PES University, Bangalore
- M S Ramaiah MSRIM Bangalore
- Acharya Bangalore B-School (ABBS) Bangalore
- St. Joseph Institute of Management, Bangalore
9.4 MBA Colleges in Pune Accepting CMAT
Institute Name & Location
- Balaji Institute Of Modern Management (BIMM) Pune
- International School of Business & Media (ISB&M) Pune
- FLAME University School of Business (FLAME) Pune
- National Insurance Academy (NIA) Pune
- National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM) Pune
- Balaji Institute of International Business (BIIB) Pune
- MIT School of Telecom Management (MITSOT) Pune
- International Institute of Management Studies (IIMS) Pune
- Lexicon Management Institute of Leadership and Excellence (MILE) Pune
- Suryadatta Institutes of Management Pune
9.5 MBA Colleges in Hyderabad Accepting CMAT
Institute Name & Location
- IBS Hyderabad: ICFAI Business School
- IPE Hyderabad: Institute of Public Enterprise
- Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management – VJIM Hyderabad
- GITAM Hyderabad Business School (GHBS)
- Siva Sivani Institute of Management (SSIM) Secunderabad
- Vishwa Vishwani Institute of Systems and Management Hyderabad
- Gitam School of International Business (GSIB) Visakhapatnam
- ICBM-School of Business Excellence (ICBM SBE) Hyderabad
- CMAT 2023 Registration Process
The Registration & Application process for CMAT is online and remains open for more than a month from the start date of CMAT registration at NTA website. CMAT registration will close at 11.50 PM on the last date to apply.
11.1 Registration Process: 5 Steps
CMAT Exam Registration process is online. It can be completed in five simple steps:
- Step-1: Create login at CMAT.NTA website
- Step 2: Fill the CMAT Registration 2023 Form
- Step 3: Upload Images on Registration Form 2023
- Step 4: Make Payment of Registration Fee
- Step 5: View Registration summary, Save the filled in Form..
- CMAT Admit Card 2023 Download: Available after last date to Apply is Over
The CMAT admit card is available for download after a week from the last date to apply for CMAT is over. All provisionally registered candidates for CMAT exam 2023 can download their Admit Card from CMAT.NTA website. No admit card is now sent as hard copy to the candidate’s registered address..
- CMAT Exam 2023 Difficulty Level
The CMAT colleges cut offs in MBA admission are not very high although the question paper and scoring pattern award liberal marks to exam takers. The cut offs especially among top 20 colleges are slightly higher as compared to other MBA colleges, since the merit position in top 20 colleges is based on little higher cut offs.
- CMAT 2023 Result Declaration: Download Score Card from NTA Website
CMAT result is declared within 7 to 10 days from the date of exam. Usually the result is declared in the afternoon. The Result will be available for download on NTA CMAT official Website and no score card will be sent by post or E-mail.
14.1 CMAT 2023 Cut off Score Vs Rank
Shared below are the likely CMAT 2023 cut off Score range for the All India Ranks awarded
| CMAT Rank 2023 | CMAT 2023 Score Range |
| Rank 1-100 | 350-316 |
| Rank 100 to 1000 | 315-275 |
| Rank 1001 to 3000 | 274-241 |
| Rank 3001 to 5000 and below | 240-220 and below |
- CMAT 2023 Cut off Score for Top MBA colleges
‘How much CMAT score 2023 is required to get admission in one of the top MBA colleges?’ Cut offs in these MBA colleges vary from institute to institute. Apart from the overall score, many colleges also consider CMAT sectional score.
Most of these MBA colleges are autonomous, University B-schools offering MBA degree, private PGDM colleges. The cut off in good MBA colleges go in the range of 230 to 250 score.
To help MBA aspirants searching for top MBA colleges accepting CMAT scores, MBAUniverse.com has prepared a list of MBA colleges with their expected cut off..
- JBIMS, PUMBA among 330+ MBA Colleges in Maharashtra to Accept CMAT Exam Score
The Higher and Technical Education Department, Directorate of Technical Education, Government of Maharashtra has clarified while determining the entrance exam eligibility of All India category candidates for MBA/MMS admission process in Government, University affiliated, private aided and unaided Maharashtra MBA colleges, that All India Candidature Candidate, Jammu and Kashmir Migrant Candidature Candidate will be considered for MBA/MMS admission on the basis of obtaining non zero positive score in CET conducted by the Competent Authority; CAT -conducted by Indian Institute of Management; CMAT; GMAT among others.
- National Testing Agency: CMAT Conducting Body
NTA, a newly created test conducting body, is conducting the entire CMAT 2023 exam alongwith other exams which were conducted by other agencies earlier. NTA will use highly secured IT software and encryption to ensure delivery of tests just in time. This will ensure no leakages and other malpractices. National Testing Agency (NTA) has been established by Government of India as a testing organization to conduct entrance examinations for admission/fellowship in higher educational institutions. NTA has replaced AICTE as exam conducting authority. AICTE conducted CMAT exam till 2018. CMAT is now known as NTA CMAT instead of AICTE-CMAT. From 2019 onwards, National Testing Agency has been assigned to conduct the CMAT exam.
The revised CMAT exam is similar to past exam pattern. It is a three hour computer based online test, conducted in a single session to evaluate the candidate’s ability across five sections namely Quantitative Technique, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension, General Awareness and Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- AICTE Approved MBA/PGDM Colleges to Accept CMAT Score
All the top colleges accepting CMAT 2023 exam score are the ones offering AICTE approved MBA/PGDM programmes. They include top MBA colleges like JBIMS, SIMSREE, K J Somaiya, GIM, Great Lakes, BIMTECH among others. According to AICTE, ‘All AICTE approved Institutes / Departments / Constituent Colleges / Affiliated Colleges of Universities are expected to accept CMAT scores. The specific notifications issued by Universities and State Governments are available at CMAT website.’
CMAT is one of the largest National Level MBA/PGDM entrance examinations and is conducted once a year, as per the directions of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India.
Universities in 13 states including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka among others accept CMAT exam scores alongwith CAT for admission to their MBA programmes. The governments have officially notified CMAT as their official test. In addition, many B-schools offering AICTE approved PGDM programs will be using the CMAT scores. More than 1000 B schools running AICTE approved management programmes in India accept the CMAT score. It is the 2nd largest MBA/PGDM entrance test after CAT in the country.
If you don’t get good scores in CAT/XAT/SNAP, the Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) is the answer to your MBA/PGDM needs leading to 1000+ AICTE approved B-schools across the country. The exam will be conducted in 109 test cities. With effect from 2016, CMAT has become a yearly exam as against twice a year exam. Earlier till 2015, there used to be 2 CMAT exams in one year. The first CMAT was held in the month of September while the second followed in the month of coming February.
- CMAT Exam Training
NTA opens centres across India after releasing CMAT exam notification, to make candidates understand about the revised CMAT exam pattern, navigation, test taking strategy among other details. The test training will help the candidates to understand all about the revised CMAT exam pattern.
- Important Changes in CMAT exam
The key changes in the exam are:
- Number of sections increased to 5 from earlier 4
- Number of questions in each section reduced to 20 from earlier 25
- No display of Percentile score since 2022. Only raw score and rank is displayed in score card
- B-schools will announce CMAT score cut off Or Rank Cut off or Both instead of CMAT percentile cut off
| Sl | CMAT 2022 & 2023 Exam | CMAT 2021 Exam |
| 1. | 5 Section Exam | Both 4 & 5 Section Exam |
| 2. | Compulsory 5th Section on Innovation & Entrepreneurship | Optional 5th Section on Innovation & Entrepreneurship |
| 3. | CMAT Time Duration Reduced & Fixed to 3 Hours | Option to attempt CMAT in Time duration of 3 hours or 3½ Hours |
| 4. | Total Questions Reduced to 100 | Total Questions were 125 (Option to attempt 100 or 125 questions) |
| 5. | No additional time for 5th Section | 30 Minutes additional time for 5th section |
| 6. | 5th section Score counted for Percentile calculation to prepare merit list | 5th section Score Not counted for Percentile calculation to prepare merit list |
| 7. | 20 Questions in Each of the five Sections | 25 Questions in Each of the five Sections |
| 8. | No sectional time limit and candidates can attempt any question in any section within time limit of 3 hours | No sectional time limit and candidates can attempt any question in any section within time limit of 3½ hours |
| 9. | Candidates need not apply for the new course of Innovation & Entrepreneurship | Candidates had to apply for the new course of Innovation & Entrepreneurship |
| 10. | Number of CMAT Test cities are 124 | Number of CMAT exam cities were 153 |
CMAT-2023 Exam day Guidelines
Below are the important exam day guidelines, do’s and don’ts for the exam day
21.1 Check Points for CMAT exam Day
- Download your Admit Card from the NTA’s website cmat.nta.nic.in
- Check details as indicated on the Admit Card:
- Check Reporting Time at Centre
- Check Gate Closing time of test Centre
- Check Date of Examination
- Check Test Timings
- Check Venue of Test. You should visit the Examination Centre, a day before the examination and familiarize yourself with the location and means of reaching the venue of the Test on time
- Reach the venue of the Test at the Reporting Time mentioned in the Admit Card. If you report beyond the Gate Closing time of Centre, you will not be allowed to enter in the Test venue.
21.2 Items You Should Carry at Exam Centre: CMAT Exam day Do’s
Carry with you only following items:
- Admit Card on a clear colour printout on A4 size paper
- One Passport size photograph (same as uploaded with the Online Application Form) to be pasted on the Attendance Sheet at the Centre
- A valid Photo ID Proof in ORIGINAL (PAN card/ Driving License/ Voter ID/ Passport/ Aadhaar Card (With photograph)/E- Aadhaar/Ration Card/ Bank Passbook with Photograph).
- Please note that ID Cards issued by Schools/ Colleges/ Universities/ Coaching Centres, AADHAR enrollment receipt without AADHAR NUMBER and PHOTOCOPIES OR Images Stored in mobile phones etc will NOT be accepted
- No Candidate would be allowed to enter the Examination Centre, without identity verification
- PwD certificate issued by the Competent Authority, if claiming the relaxation under PwD category.
21.3 Don’t Carry the following
Candidates are NOT allowed to carry Instrument/ Geometry/ Pencil box, Handbag, Purse, any kind of Paper/ Stationery/ Textual material (printed or written material), Eatables and Water (loose or packed), Mobile Phone/ Ear Phone/ Microphone/ Pager, Calculator, DocuPen, Slide Rules, Log Tables, Camera, Tape Recorder, to wear/carry any type of watch including Electronic Watches with facilities of calculator, any metallic item or electronic gadgets/ devices in the Examination Hall/Room
There may not be any provision for safe keeping of valuables at the Centre.
21.4 Inside the Examination Hall
- Pen/ Pencil and blank paper sheets for rough work will be provided in the examination Hall/Room.
- Write Your name and Roll Number at the top of the sheet and must return the sheets and Admit Card to the Invigilator, before leaving the examination Hall/Room.
- Enter required details in the Attendance Sheet in legible handwriting, put your signature, Left Hand Thumb Impression and paste the Photograph at the appropriate place. Ensure that Your Left Hand Thumb Impression is clear and not smudged.
- No Candidate should adopt any unfair means or indulge in any unfair examination practices. The candidature of candidates in case of impersonation will be automatically cancelled without any notice
