It’s been a few days since CAT exam is over. Almost, all the leading websites have given their analysis and prediction for this year’s exam. You can also check out yours on one of them. Many of you might even have already checked for their scores. And some of you might even be disappointed with your performance.
CAT 2018 was considered slightly tough exam compared to previous years. Candidates give CAT exam to get an admission into the IIMs in India. And criteria for IIMs is always high. So, if a student scores fewer marks and cannot reach the minimum CAT Cutoff score, there is no other way to get into IIMs. Besides IIMs, there are colleges like FMS and MDI Gurgaon which also accepts only CAT scores.
So, what to do next? What are the other options available to get into the top B-schools in India? There are many other top MBA colleges in India. There are colleges like XLRI, IRMA, TISS, MICA, which do not require your CAT scores. Instead, they have their own exams and own cut off. You can always opt for these colleges in case you don’t score high in CAT.
Here are the details of the options you may avail if you are not satisfied with your CAT result.
XAT
XAT is conducted every year in the first week of January. Through XAT, you can get admission XLRI Jamshedpur. XLRI is one of the top 10 colleges in India. This exam is conducted in two sections. One is aptitude, reasoning, general knowledge, and the other section is for essays. Only those students who are qualified through the aptitude exam, are checked for their essays.
Besides XLRI, there are 100 other management institutes that accept XAT score. The different section in this exam is decision making and general knowledge. There are other exams as well which asks the general knowledge based on the current affairs of India. Decision-making section in this exam can be a make or break for students. The exam is online based and is conducted for 170 minutes.
CMAT
Other than CAT, CMAT is the biggest exam whose score is accepted by more than 600 B-schools in India. The exam this year will be taken in the late January and the registration closes in December. The examination pattern is similar to the CAT exam, but the level of questions are much lower. Thus, the cut off in this exam is higher than the CAT exam. The exam conducted is for 180 minutes and is entirely computer-based exam. The exam tests the students based on four sections, logical reasoning, language comprehension, quantitative aptitude, and general awareness.
MICAT
MICAT is the online exam conducted by the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA) in two phases. The deadline for the first exam has already been passed, but the registrations for the second exam is still open. The second exam will be conducted in mid-February 2019. Although the weight of the CAT exam is calculated in the final result, the other factors are also given equivalent weight.
The exam has two sections, one is a psychometric test and other is a normal aptitude test. In the second section, various skills like logical, analytical skills are tested. Along with this, there is written communication and divergent thinking tests in this exam. Along with MICA, candidates are required to take CAT, XAT or GMAT exam.
IRMASAT
IRMASAT is conducted by Institute of rural management. It is held every year in mid-February. This exam also requires CAT, XAT, and GMAT along with its entrance exam. For the first round, candidates are shortlisted based on their CAT scores and after that, they have to give a short test of 40 questions. This test is of 80 minutes and involves the questions related to issues of social concern.
So cheer up MBA aspirants, if you were not able to score in CAT then opt for any of the above mentioned exams. These exams are also better options apart from CAT.
