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CAT examination is a higher level competitive examination than MAT. There are various entrance exams you can opt for when you are planning to pursue a Master of Business Administration. But CAT & MAT are at the top of the list of management exams in India. However, both these exams differ in terms of difficulty level, frequency, conducting body and all other details.
The blog post will give you a brief overview of, whether is MAT tougher than CAT and also the difference between CAT and MAT. Let’s understand the meaning of both questions and help you choose which exam you should appear for to get admission into an MBA college in the blog article below.
Table of Contents
Is MAT Tougher Than CAT? 🎯
CAT is a gateway for aspirants to gain admission in IIMs and business schools, focusing on high competition between the aspirants. On the other hand, MAT is held by AIMA accepting 600+ institutions. Moreover, CAT is tougher than MAT and is accepted by all top universities in India. In comparison, MAT is way much easier option for the candidates. MAT is also accepted by many popular private colleges.
Also Read: CAT Syllabus: PDF (Out)
Difference Between CAT and MAT 📝
The syllabus of the Common Aptitude Test and Management Aptitude Test is almost identical, the basic and sole differences are the exam frequency and difficulty level. To make it easier for you to understand, we have bifurcated the details in the table given below for ease of understanding.
| Particulars | CAT Exam | MAT Exam |
| Full Form | Common Aptitude Test | Management Aptitude Test |
| Frequency | Once a year | Four times a year |
| Conducting Authority | Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) | All India Management Association (AIMA) |
| Mode of exam | Computer-Based Test (CBT) | Computer-based test (CBT) Paper-Based Test (PBT) Internet-Based Test (IBT) |
| Difficulty Level | High | Low |
| Duration | 2 Hours | 2.5 Hours |
Also Read: MAT Cutoff 2023
Top Universities Accepting CAT Scores
The list of some top MBA colleges in India that accept CAT scores apart from the IIMs is given in the table below:
| IMT, Nagpur | Goa Institute of Management (GIM), Goa |
| IMI, Kolkata | IPE, Hyderabad |
| ITM, University | IIITM, Gwalior |
| IIT Kharagpur-VGoSM | IIT Bombay-SJMSOM |
| IIT Delhi – DoMs | IIT Roorkee-DoMs |
| IIT Madras-DoMs | Great Lakes Institute of Management |
Top Universities Accepting MAT Scores
The table of contents entails the list of top universities in India accepting the MAT scores.
| Unitedworld School of Business | ABBS School of Management |
| SRM University | Dr. D.Y. Patil B School, Pune |
| Alliance University | GL Bajaj Institute of Management & Research |
| Taxila Business School, Jaipur | Jain University |
| OP Jindal Global University | IILM University |
| ITM University | Christ University |
FAQs
There is no need to prepare for MAT separately because CAT preparation will cover the majority of MBA exams. The MAT and CAT syllabuses are nearly identical.
One of the simpler MBA entry exams is the MAT. Exam difficulty is significantly lower than that of the CAT, XAT, or CMAT. Typically, candidates use their CMAT and CAT XAT preparation to ace the MAT exam. MAT despite having a higher question count than XAT, CAT, or CMAT.
No, MAT results are not accepted by IIM colleges for their PGDM or MBA programs.
For more such informative blogs, check out our Management Exams Section, or you can learn more about us by visiting our Indian exams page.