MBA Entrance Exams Other Than CAT: 2026-27 List

Ten MBA entrance exams run alongside CAT: XAT, NMAT, SNAP, CMAT, MAT, MICAT, IBSAT, ATMA, plus GMAT and GRE for one-year and international programmes. Each one opens a different set of colleges. You need two or three of them, not ten.

The exams at a glance

Where a date says expected, the notification is not out yet and the timing follows last year. Confirm on the exam’s own site before you plan around it.

Which of these matter for you?

Pick by college, not by count. Write down the six or seven schools you would seriously join, then look up which exam each one takes. Most people find their list collapses to CAT plus two others.

The trap is collecting exams. Every extra one costs a fee, a Sunday and a week of attention you could have spent on mocks instead.

XAT, NMAT and SNAP: the three most CAT aspirants add

XAT is the closest thing to a second CAT. XLRI runs it, over 140 schools take the score and it lands on 3 January 2027, about five weeks after CAT. It adds a Decision Making section and General Knowledge, which CAT does not test.

NMAT is the gentlest paper on the list. No negative marking, three attempts in a season with your best score counting and a 7-day gap between attempts. NMIMS accepts only the first valid NMAT score. You book your own slot inside the 2 November to 20 December 2026 window, but you have to register by 10 October 2026 and schedule by 22 October.

SNAP is a 60 minute sprint into the Symbiosis system, 17 institutes across six cities. Three test dates in December, best score counts. The fee is Rs 2,550 per attempt plus Rs 1,000 for every programme you apply to, so your real cost depends on how many you pick. SNAP 2026 has introduced a fourth section: Ethics, Morality and Values, 10 questions. That is genuinely new content beyond CAT and needs to appear in the prep section.

CMAT: the NTA exam that opens the widest list

CMAT is run by the National Testing Agency and its score is accepted by more than 1,300 AICTE approved colleges. Registration usually opens in October with the paper in late January. NTA has not published the 2027 dates yet.

It has five sections, not three. The two beyond the usual quant, verbal and reasoning are General Awareness plus Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Those two are the extra work. If you are targeting schools like KJ Somaiya, BIMTECH, Great Lakes, it earns its place.

MAT: four sittings a year, the widest reach and the softest score

AIMA runs MAT four times a year, in paper based and computer based. Around 600 B-schools accept it. The next sittings are 13 September 2026 for the paper test and 20 September 2026 for the computer based test.

Be honest with yourself about what a MAT score buys. The colleges that take it sit well below the ones that take CAT or XAT. It is a real safety net if you need a seat this year, not a substitute for a serious CAT attempt. It just has one additional section - Economic and Business Environment.

MICAT: only for MICA, plus it needs a CAT score anyway

MICAT exists for one college. MICA Ahmedabad runs it twice, MICAT I around December and MICAT II around February, with the better score counting.

Here is the part most lists leave out. You cannot use MICAT on its own. MICA requires a valid CAT, XAT or GMAT score alongside it. In the final composite, that score outweighs MICAT itself. It is an add-on to your CAT attempt, never a replacement.

The paper is unusual too: a psychometric qualifier, four descriptive writing tasks, then an aptitude section with Divergent and Convergent Reasoning. If you cannot write under time pressure, MICAT will show it.

IBSAT and ATMA: the low-pressure ones

IBSAT is ICFAI’s own test for the nine IBS campuses. It runs in the last week of December, is taken from home under remote proctoring and costs Rs 1,800. Registration opened on 1 July 2026 and closes in the third week of December.

ATMA is run by the Association of Indian Management Schools and holds four to five sittings a year, taken by member schools like Welingkar, SIES and NDIM. Both are worth an evening of paperwork if your colleges accept them. Neither deserves months of separate prep.

GMAT and GRE: for one-year and international programmes

GMAT Focus runs year round, you book your own date and the score stays valid for five years. It is the route to ISB, most one-year Indian MBAs and business schools abroad. It is also the most expensive here, roughly US$275 to US$300 a sitting.

GRE is accepted by many of the same schools, so it can cover you if you are also weighing a masters outside management. For a two-year Indian MBA, neither exam is needed.

Two exams people expect on this list that are not here

IIFT no longer runs its own entrance test. From the 2024 cycle the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade admits on CAT scores for Indian candidates, with GMAT used only for foreign nationals and NRIs. Plenty of lists still show an IIFT exam. There is not one to write.

TISS has also moved on. Its programmes are now filled through CUET-PG rather than the old TISSNET, so if TISS Mumbai is on your list, that is the form to watch. Please note that: MA HRM & Labour Relations, MA ODCL, Master of Hospital Administration and MSc Analytics will use CAT 2026.

How much extra prep does each one really need?

Most of these sit on the same three skills CAT tests. The extra work is narrower than it looks.

The shared base is the CAT syllabus, so build that first. The chapter list is at /schedule/syllabus.

So how many should you write?

Two or three, including CAT.

CAT covers the IIMs, FMS, MDI, SPJIMR, the IIT B-schools and now IIFT. XAT adds XLRI and a long tail of good schools for one more Sunday. After that, add one exam that matches a college you want. NMAT for NMIMS, or SNAP for Symbiosis.

The people who write six exams are usually the ones who have not decided where they want to go. Every extra form is a way of postponing that decision. December is a bad month to be spending Sundays on papers you do not need. Decide the colleges first. The exam list writes itself after that.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which MBA entrance exam is the easiest?

NMAT and SNAP are the friendliest. NMAT has no negative marking and gives you three attempts with the best score counting. SNAP is only 60 questions in 60 minutes and also allows three attempts. Easier paper does not mean easier admission, because the cutoffs move up to match.

Can I get into a good B-school without CAT?

Yes. XLRI takes XAT, NMIMS Mumbai takes NMAT, the Symbiosis institutes take SNAP and ISB takes GMAT or GRE. What you cannot do without CAT is apply to the IIMs for their flagship two-year MBA.

Do the IIMs accept any exam other than CAT?

Not for the two-year MBA. Some one-year and executive programmes, such as the ones at IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta, accept GMAT or GRE scores instead. Check the individual programme page, since the rules differ across IIMs.

Which MBA exams are still open after the CAT deadline?

Most of them. XAT registration runs to early December 2026, NMAT to 10 October 2026, SNAP to late November 2026 and IBSAT to the third week of December 2026. CMAT registration is expected to open in October 2026.

Does IIFT still conduct its own entrance exam?

No. IIFT has admitted on CAT scores since the 2024 cycle for Indian candidates. GMAT is used only for foreign nationals and NRI applicants.

Is it worth writing MAT if I have already written CAT?

Only if you need a seat this year and your CAT attempt did not go well. The colleges that accept MAT sit below the CAT and XAT schools. As a backup it works. As a target it is a step down.