Top MBA entrance exams are the gateway to highly ranked MBA colleges in India like IIMs, IIFT, FMS, SPJIMR, MDI, XLRI, IITs, NMIMS, TISS among other top management institutes.
There are national level MBA entrance exams like CAT, XAT, NMAT; State level MBA entrance exams like MAH MBA CET, Karnataka PGCET, Tamilnadu TANCET, Telangana TSICET; Institute level MBA entrance exams like IIFT, TISSNET, MICAT, IBSAT for admission to respective institute. Check below the top 5 MBA entrance exams leading to MBA Admission 2023 in Top MBA colleges
Top 5 MBA Entrance Exams
The top 5 MBA Entrance Exams which offer admission in top MBA colleges are:
- CAT 2022: It is the largest and most important MBA entrance exam leading to admission in IIMs & other top B-schools, with more than 2.30 lakh applicants registering for it
- XAT 2023: It leads to admission in XLRI and other top 140+ B-schools, with about 1 lakh applicants registering for the exam
- NMAT 2022: The NMAT by GMAC leads to admission in NMIMS & 50+ other top B-schools with more than 80 thousand candidates registering for the exam
- IIFT 2022: It is an institute level MBA entrance test leading to MBA (IB) 2023-25 batch admission at IIFT Delhi & IIFT Kolkata. More than 60000 candidates apply for the exam every year
- SNAP 2022: It leads to admission in SIBM Pune & 15 other Symbiosis institutes, with around 80 thousand applicants
MBA Entrance Exam: Eligibility to Apply
Common eligibility criteria to appear in any MBA entrance exam in India, is that the candidates with work experience of 2-3 years after graduation or Fresh graduates with minimum 50% marks are eligible to apply for these MBA entrance exams. XAT eligibility is the exception as it does not prescribe any minimum percentage of marks in graduation. The application process for prominent and most important MBA entrance exams 2022-23 for admission 2023 has started. While CAT 2022, XAT 2023, NMAT 2022, SNAP 2022 have opened the registration process, IIFT 2023, TISSNET 2023 is opening soon.
Going by the past trends, the application process for IIFT MBA entrance exam is expected to open in September first week. Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) will open its registration process for TISSNET 2023 in the month of October/November 2022. The registration & application process for IBSAT 2022, MAT Sep 2022 is already open. The first step to get admission in top MBA college is to register and apply for the respective MBA entrance exam.
Schedule of MBA Entrance Exams 2022-23 for Admission 2023
The details of top MBA entrance exams which are open or opening soon for admission 2023 are given below.
| MBA Exam | Registration Start Date | Last Date to Apply | Exam Date |
| CAT 2022 | August 3, 2022 | September 14, 2022 | November 27, 2022 |
| NMAT 2022 | August 1, 2022 | October 10, 2022 | October 10 to December 19, 2022 |
| XAT 2023 | August 10, 2022 | November 30, 2022 | January 8, 2023 |
| IIFT 2023 | September 2, 2022 | October 15, 2022 | December 4, 2022 |
| TISSNET 2023 | November 17, 2022 | January 10, 2023 | January 21, 2023 |
| SNAP 2022 | August 04, 2022 | November 24, 2022 | December 10-18-23, 2022 |
| IBSAT 2022 | July 1, 2022 | December 3rd week, 2022 | December 2022, 4th week |
| CMAT 2023 | November 15, 2022 | January 15, 2023 | February 26, 2023 |
If you are looking for updated information on MBA Entrance Exams for MBA admission 2023, you are on the right page. This article by MBAUniverse.com Experts will guide you about all the important MBA Exams, Last Dates, Registration process etc.
Most Popular MBA Entrance Exams
Broadly speaking, there are 10 popular MBA entrance exams in India for MBA admission. They are CAT, XAT, IIFT, NMAT, SNAP, TISSNET, CMAT, MAT, IBSAT and GMAT. The State Level Exams like MAH CET, TANCET, PGCET, KMAT which will help you get into MBA colleges in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu are also popular MBA entrance exams. Apart from IIFT, TISSNET, IBSAT, other institute/university specific exams are KIITEE Management, MICAT and UPES MET.
Top MBA Entrance Exams 2022 for Admission 2023
Here are key details of Top MBA Exams for admission 2023 in top MBA colleges in India. We have categorized them in three types:
- National level MBA Exams,
- Institute level MBA test, and
- State level MBA exams
Let’s understand more about these top MBA entrance exams:
National MBA Entrance Exams
MBA Exam dates and schedule with top MBA colleges accepting exam and MBA Entrance Exam Calendar is shared below. Their Notifications for entrance exams for admission 2023 are getting released soon.
| Name of the National MBA Exam | MBA Entrance Exam Date | Top MBA colleges accepting Exam |
| Common Admission Test (CAT) 2022 | November 27, 2022 | IIMs, FMS Delhi, SPJIMR, MDI, IITs, IMI, IMT |
| Xavier Aptitude Test – XAT 2023 | January 8, 2023 | XLRI, XIMB, IMI, IMT, TAPMI, Great Lakes |
| NMAT by GMAC 2022 | October 10 to December 19, 2022 | NMIMS, K J Somaiya, XUB, VIT Vellore, SD Bacconi Asia Centre |
| SNAP 2022 | December 18, 2022 | SIBM Pune, SCMHRD, SIOM & 12 Other Symbiosis colleges |
| CMAT 2023 | February 26, 2023 | GIM Goa, BIMTECH, K J Somaiya, IFMR, Welingkar, Jaipuria, N L Dalmia |
| MAT 2022 (September) | PBT- September 4, 2022 IBT- Aug 28 to Sept 17, 2022 CBT- September 18, 2022 | JAGSoM, IPE Hyderabad, Jaipuria, BIMTECH (Specialized PGDM), JIMS, NDIM |
| ATMA 2022 (July) | July 24, 2022 (Over) | Welingkar, CIMR, SOIL, IMS |
| GMAT 2022 | Available Round the year | SPJIMR, IMI, IMT, XIMB, TAPMI, FORE, LBSIM, GIM Goa |
2. Institute Level MBA Entrance Exam
The institute level MBA entrance exams are conducted by the specific management institutes who may or may not accept scores of other entrance exams. Most of these exams will be conducted in 2022 and some in 2023. Notifications for the top institute level MBA Entrance exams – IIFT, TISSNET, MICAT are released in September/October.
| Name of the Institute level MBA Entrance Exam | Exam Dates | Top MBA Institute Accepting Exam score |
| IIFT MBA (IB) 2023 Entrance Exam | December 4, 2022 | Indian Institute of Foreign Trade-Delhi, Kolkata, Kakinada |
| TISSNET 2023 | January 21, 2023 | Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) all campuses |
| IBSAT 2022 | December 2022, Last week | 9 ICFAI B-Schools |
| MICAT 2022 & 2023 | December 10, 2022 & January 28, 2023 | MICA Ahmedabad |
| KIITEE Management 2023 | January 2023, 3rd week | KIIT School of Management (KSOM) Bhubaneswar |
| IRMASAT 2023 | Will Not be Conducted | IRMA Anand |
State MBA Entrance Exams
The state level MBA entrance exams are conducted by the specific state CET cell like CET Cell of DTE Maharashtra; Karnataka KEA as well as private MBA entrance exam conducting bodies like KMAT Karnataka. The MBA colleges accepting these entrance exam scores include University B-schools and private PGDM colleges. The MBA Entrance exams for admission 2022 notification for some of these state level exams have been released while for others it will be released soon.
| State Level MBA Entrance Exam | Dates of MBA Entrance Exam | Top MBA College Accepting Exam Score |
| MAH CET 2022 | August 23, 24 & 25, 2022 | JBIMS, SIMSREE, PUMBA, N L Dalmiya, SIES, CIMR |
| Karnataka PGCET 2022 | Not yet announced | IBA, AIMS, Alliance, ABBS, Kristu Jayanti |
| TANCET 2023 for admission 2023 | 2nd week of May 2022 | Anna University, Tamilnadu, Madras University, SRM University, SSN School of Management Chennai, Hallmark Business School Trichy, St Josephs School of Management, Trichy, PSGIM Coimbatore |
| TS ICET 2022 | July 27 & 28, 2022 | Kakatiya University (KU); Osmania University (OU); Telangana University (TU); Satavahana University (SU) |
| KMAT 2022 | To be Announced | IBA, AIMS, Alliance, ABBS, Kristu Jayanti |
Cost of MBA Entrance Exams Registration & Application Form
MBA Entrance Exams Registration involves a cost of Rs.1000 to Rs.2500 for each test. The MBA entrance exam fee for the upcoming MBA entrance tests 2022-23 has gone up for some exams while for many other MBA entrance exams, the MBA entrance exam cost has been kept at last year level. The table below shares the cost of MBA entrance exam application form for each exam:
| MBA Entrance Exams | MBA Entrance Exam Fee (General category) | MBA Entrance Exam Fee (Reserved category) |
| CAT | Rs.2300/- | Rs.1150/- |
| XAT | Rs.2000/- | Rs.2000/- |
| IIFT | Rs.2500/- | Rs.1000/- |
| NMAT by GMAC | Rs.2800/- | Rs.2800/- |
| SNAP | Rs.1800/- | Rs.1800/- |
| CMAT | Rs.2000/- | Rs. 1000/- |
| MAH CET | Rs.1000/- | Rs. 800/- |
| MAT | Rs.1850/- | Rs.1850/- |
| IBSAT | Rs.1800/- | Rs.1800/- |
| TISSNET | Rs.1030/- | Rs. 500/- |
| MICAT | Rs.2100/- | Rs. 2100/- |
| KIITEE Management | Rs.1250/- | Rs.1250/- |
It may be noted that if you appear in all the above MBA entrance exams, the cost of MBA entrance exam registration is around Rs.18,000/-. To avoid such a high MBA entrance exam registration fee, you may choose the preferred MBA entrance exams the scores of which are accepted by more MBA colleges. For example, CAT, XAT, CMAT, NMAT, MAT are the larger national level MBA entrance exams and cover more than 1000 MBA colleges accepting their exam score. This way you could reduce the burden of the MBA entrance exam cost.
Let us know about some of the prominent MBA entrance Exams for MBA admission:
Exams Open/to Open for Admission 2023
The national level MBA entrance exams for admission 2023 are open or opening shortly while most of the state level MBA entrance exams for admission 2022 are open
CAT 2022: On November 27, 2022
Common Admission Test, popularly known as CAT, will be conducted on November 27, 2022 by IIM Bangalore. CAT is the largest MBA Entrance Exam for Admission to 20 IIMs, FMS Delhi, IIT DoMs, SPJIMR, MDI and 500+ MBA Colleges in India.
XAT 2023: On January 8, 2023
Popularly known as XAT, Xavier Aptitude Test is one of the important MBA Entrance Exams for Admission to XLRI, IMT, XIMB, TAPMI and 150+ MBA Colleges in India. Every year more than 1,00,000 candidates from all disciplines including Engineering, Commerce, Humanities, Science, Law apply and appear in XAT exam to get into of the various MBA programs offered by these top B-schools. XAT 2023 will be held on Sunday January 8, 2023. XAT is conducted annually by XLRI Jamshedpur and is therefore known as XLRI-XAT.
IIFT 2023: Expected on December 4, 2022
IIFT entrance test for admission to MBA (IB) is conducted by National Testing Agency as computer based test. Indian Institute of Foreign Trade Admission Test-2023 popularly known as IIFT Exam 2023, is the MBA Entrance Exam for Admission to all the three campuses of IIFT located at Delhi, Kolkata and Kakinada. Every year around 60,000 students from all disciplines including Engineering, Commerce, Humanities and even Law take IIFT admission test to get admission in MBA (IB) programme at one of three campuses of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
NMAT 2022 from October 2022 onwards,
NMAT is an important national level MBA entrance test leading to admission in top MBA colleges including NMIMS Mumbai, SPJIMR, ISB, VIT, XIMB among other 30 institutes and universities in India. GMAC is the exam conducting body for NMAT by GMAC. NMAT exam dates are from October 10 to December 19, 2022. NMAT is conducted in two modes-Online proctored test and Online exam at 76 exam centres in 73 cities.
SNAP 2022 in December 2022
SNAP is the mandatory MBA Entrance Exam for Admission to 16 Symbiosis Institutes in India. Symbiosis International University (SIU) Pune conducts Symbiosis National Aptitude Test, popularly known as SNAP every year as computer based test. There are more than 2,500 MBA seats in Symbiosis colleges. Over the years, SNAP has changed its question paper pattern from paper based to computer based. SNAP 2022 is likely to be held as computer based test on December 18, 2022.
CMAT 2023 in February
Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) is a government organized computer based national level MBA entrance examination for entry into 1000 AICTE approved management programmes (MBA/PGDM) all over India. CMAT is conducted by National Testing Agency as computer based test. CMAT score is accepted by all AICTE-Approved Institutions/University Departments/ Constituent Colleges/Affiliated Colleges like JBIMS, SIMSREE, K J Somaiya Mumbai, Welingkar Mumbai, PUMBA Pune, Great Lakes Chennai, BIMTECH Greater Noida among others. CMAT exam is expected on February 26, 2023
IBSAT 2022 in December 2022
IBSAT is an important online computer based MBA entrance test for MBA admission in 9 ICFAI Business Schools (IBS) located across India. IBSAT Entrance Exam 2022 is scheduled in the 4th week of December 2022. The exam is conducted by ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education.
IBSAT score is accepted for admission by ICFAI Business Schools (IBS) located at Hyderabad, Dehradun, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune
MAT 2022
Management Aptitude Test popularly known as MAT Exam is one of the most popular National level MBA entrance exams in India after CAT. MAT exam is held four times a year in the months of February, May, September and December. The exam leads to admission opportunity in more than 400 MBA/PGDM Colleges which are accepting MAT exam Scores. September MAT schedule for CBT, PBT and IBT is coming soon. Read here all about MAT – its Registration Process, How to Prepare, College Accepting MAT and a lot more
ATMA 2022 Exam
AIMS Test for Management Admissions (ATMA) is one of the popular National level MBA entrance exams in India. ATMA exam score is accepted by 200+ MBA/PGDM colleges in India. ATMA is a credible, comprehensive and single-window test for admissions to Post-Graduate Management Programs like MBA, PGDM, MCA, MMS and other management post graduate courses. It is an online objective type nationally accepted entrance test.
TISSNET 2023 Expected on January 21, 2023
TISS-NET is a computer based National Entrance Test for admission to all the Masters (M.A.) programs offered by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Mumbai. M.A. programs of Tata Institute of Social Sciences are highly sought after Masters Degree courses for the candidates seeking career in management and other branches. TISS is likely to conduct TISSNET 2023 exam in January 2023 as a computer based test of 100 minute duration.
MAH CET 2022: Exam on August 23, 24 & 25
MAH CET 2022 is an important MBA entrance exam for admission to MBA colleges of Maharashtra. It’s scores are accepted by more than 330 MBA colleges including some of the best MBA colleges like JBIMS, SIMSREE, PUMBA, K J Somaiya, among others. The exam will be conducted by CET Cell Govt. of Maharashtra. Application process is closed.
PGCET 2022: Registration starts soon…
Karnataka PGCET is the popular MBA entrance exam for admission to MBA colleges in Karnataka. The Karnataka state and All India candidates can appear in PGCET. Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) conducts the MBA PGCET exam for MBA/MCA and other post graduate courses in Karnataka Government colleges as well as private institutes. Karnataka MBA entrance exam is a moderate difficulty level test.
APICET 2022: Registration Process commencing soon…
Andhra Pradesh Integrated Common Entrance Test (APICET) is conducted by the S.V. University on behalf of A.P. State Council of Higher Education. AP-ICET is the Integrated Common Entrance Test for MBA and MCA regular Courses offered by State Universities and Professional Colleges under the Jurisdiction of A.P State Council of Higher Education.
TSICET 2022: Exam Over on July 27 & 28, 2022
TS ICET-2022 (Telangana State Integrated Common Entrance Test – TSICET) is for M.B.A. and M.C.A. courses of all the Universities in Telangana State and their affiliated colleges. TS ICET exam is conducted by Kakatiya University, Warangal on behalf of Telangana State Council of Higher Education, Hyderabad.
KMAT 2022
Karnataka KMAT 2022 Exam is important MBA/MCA entrance test for the All India category as well as Karnataka State candidates. KPPGCA, the KMAT exam conducting body conducts KMAT exam for MBA/MCA admission in 180+ institutes located in Bangalore and rest of Karnataka. KMAT has remained a paper based test of moderate difficulty level.
TANCET 2022
TANCET was conducted by Anna university for MBA/MCA admission 2022 in the State of Tamil Nadu on May 14, 2022. Good score in TANCET 2022 offers admission to MBA and MCA and other PG courses in the prominent colleges affiliated to Anna University, Tamil Nadu and other MBA colleges also. One of the key features of TANCET entrance exam is that it leads to admission in B-schools with low fee structure.
UPES MET 2023
UPESMET 2023 is the answer to your MBA needs leading to specialized management programs in core sectors. The exam is conducted by UPES School of Business Dehradun. MBA programs at UPES School of Business are specifically designed for core sectors with high growth. UPES University conducts its own entrance exam UPESMET for its MBA programs. UPES conducts four UPESMET exams beginning from the month of January every year for admission in same academic session.
MBA Entrance Exams Syllabus
The MBA Entrance Exams Syllabus for all the important exams has some common topics like Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension, Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude. Other sections and topics in MBA Entrance Exams Syllabus may vary like XAT has a key section on Decision Making; IIFT, CMAT award good weightage to their GK section while CAT and NMAT do not have GK section. Experts suggest that you should first scan the MBA Entrance Exams Syllabus and then start your MBA Entrance Exams Preparation to avoid the wastage of time. For example, if you wish to have similar MBA entrance exams preparation for top exams, you can opt for a combination of CAT, NMAT and XAT or a combination of IIFT, SNAP and CMAT and the like.
MBA Entrance Exams Preparation
Although MBA entrance exams preparation strategy is very much similar for the cAT, XAT, NMAT, CMAT and other exams, but since there are some differences in the sectional composition and syllabus of each MBA entrance exam, it requires a bit different preparation strategy. To understand how to prepare for each MBA entrance exam, read on the link below the suggested preparation plan for each MBA entrance exam
