CAT vs MAT – Which one is worth the effort?

With MBA becoming a rage amongst students, aspirants from across the country appear in huge numbers for several MBA entrance tests out which CAT and MAT are the most famous and recognized ones. Now most of the students get confused between MAT and CAT, as to how they are different and which one is worth the most. To get an answer to this question have a look at the below mentioned points and decode for yourself, which of these is more beneficial for you.

Academic body

CAT or the Common Aptitude Test is conducted by the IIMs (Indian Institute of Management) for admission into MBA or equivalent programs in one of the IIMs, which is the top most B-school in India. These IIMs have limited seats hence the competition is very tough. While on the other hand MAT or the Management Aptitude Test is conducted by the All India Management Association (AIMA) for admission into MBA or equivalent programs in the second tier B-schools in the country. Most of the students who couldn’t compete through CAT prefer appearing in MAT since it’s comparably easier to crack.

Other Factors

Several other differences in the factors include that while CAT is completely a computer based test while in MAT both paper-pencil and computer-based formats are used. Moreover CAT is carried out once in a year while MAT is conducted four times in a year. Now one major difference, which makes CAT more difficult than MAT is the fact that it is application based while MAT, is formula based in which one is familiar with the kind of questions that are about to come unlike that in CAT in which a candidate has to develop formulations and apply accordingly wherever required. Apart from this the time pressure adds more to the difficulty of the CAT examination, in which if a candidate is able to answer 80% of questions it is considered to be a great attempt. While on the other hand time is certainly not that big a hurdle in cracking MAT.