MBA Entrance exams: Take XAT, NMAT, SNAP, IIFT Entrance prep along CAT 2013

What if you fall short of the required percentile for admission to IIMs basis your CAT scores?

While your preparation focus for now must be CAT which is just 120 days away, you should also simultaneously work on strategy to crack entrance exams for admission opportunity in top non-IIM B-schools like XLRI Jamshedpur, NMIMS, Symbiosis, IIFT amongst others. 

Though the MBA entrance exam season will begin with Common Admission Test (CAT) starting October 16, 2013, other exams will follow in the month of November-January. The announcements for these tests are also expected to be made in the next one-two months. 

Besides Common Admission Test (CAT), the gateway to IIMs, the other major entrance exams that offer you bright opportunities for MBA admissions include XAT, NMAT, SNAP, IIFT Entrance exam. A simultaneous preparation along CAT, keeping in mind the syllabus of these different entrance exams, will give you an edge in a scenario where your CAT percentile does not lead you to your desired B-schools.

A close watch on other top entrance exams dates will give you insight to build your post-CAT strategy for admission opportunities in top non-IIM B-schools.  Though the entrance exam dates for all major MBA tests have not yet been announced, you can assume that these tests will be held around the same period as last year.  

To give you more precise picture on different MBA entrance exam dates, the table below brings an updated calendar on the exam dates for Admission year 2014 Vs Admission year 2013. 

MBA Entrance Exam calendar (as on June 12, 2013):

Entrance Exam	Exam date for Admission 2014	Exam date for Admission 2013
CAT	October 16- November 11, 2013	October 11-Novemebr 6, 2012
XAT	January 5, 2014	January 6, 2013
IIFT	November 24, 2013	November 25, 2012
NMAT	October 5- December 18, 2013	October 11-December 19, 2012
SNAP	December 15, 2013	December 16, 2012
CMAT	September 26- September 30, 2013	September 27- October 1, 2012 & February 21- February 25, 2013

While the different stages for the admission process like written test, Group Discussion (GD), Writing Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI) vary from institute to institute, the most important stage is scoring a good percentile at written exam stage which ensures your GD-PI call from good institutes. 

With just 30-60 days left for preparation for other entrance exams post your CAT exam date, you must keep yourself prepared for other admission test XAT, NMAT, SNAP, IIFT Entrance as well along CAT 2013. 

 

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more news and updates on top MBA entrance exams.