Rajesh Thakur / Outlook Group
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While the media tends to hype the Common Admission Test (CAT), statistics indicate that the number of students taking regional MBA entrance tests is increasing. For instance, Andhra Pradesh's Integrated Common Entrance Test (ICET) is taken by over two lakh students, a number that compares with the number taking CAT.
Regional MBA entrance tests are gaining immense popularity for a variety of reasons. The primary one being the absence of adequate number of seats in the Tier-1 institutions.
Going Local
The largest chunk taking these tests comprises those students who don't wish to leave their hometowns or states, due to personal or family constraints. But they still need to look at good higher education options. Such students can opt to do their MBA, locally, as most of the states in the country have various management institutes affiliated to local universities, which conduct their own entrance tests.
Easier questions
Another major attraction is that regional tests feature relatively easier questions. Problems appearing in these question papers are of a relatively lower level of difficulty, as compared to CAT and other national level MBA entrance tests. Many students have an inherent fear of CAT and other national-level MBA entrance tests, and feel comfortable with the level of problems in these regional tests. However, the low level of difficulty also means that top institutes, which accept regional test scores, have high scoring requirements.
Salient features of regional tests
- Most regional tests have no negative marking.
- In most of cases, there are no sectional cut-offs.
- Some tests such as the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MAH-CET) have problems on visual reasoning, where as others feature questions based on management cases/situations.
Test eligibility
You must be a graduate in the streams recognised by the respective test authorities. The passing score varies from test to test. Students appearing for their final year exam can also appear for these tests, within a cut-off date, as informed by the body conducting the test. For eligibility and domicile requirement details, visit the website of the body conducting the test or the test brochures.
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Marks in graduation (in percentage)
|
|
Test
|
State
|
Open
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Reserved
|
|
MP MET
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
50
|
40
|
|
ICET
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
Pass
|
|
|
|
Gujarat
|
50
|
45
|
|
RMAT
|
Rajasthan
|
50
|
45
|
|
TanCET
|
Tamil Nadu
|
Pass
|
|
|
CET
|
Maharashtra
|
45
|
40
|
|
|
Karnataka
|
50
|
45
|
|
|
Karnataka (Mgmt Quota & Private colleges)
|
50
|
NA
|
Institute count
The number of institutes and seats under each of these tests keeps on changing every year, hence the given table is only indicative. Get the latest numbers from the respective websites/brochures.
|
State
|
Test
|
Seats
|
Institutes
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
MPMET
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1,840
|
36
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
ICET
|
13,050
|
421
|
|
Gujarat
|
GCET
|
2,900
|
53
|
|
Rajasthan
|
RMAT
|
4,910
|
76
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
TanCET
|
6,205
|
101
|
|
Maharashtra
|
CET
|
14,000
|
207
|
|
Karnataka
|
PGCET
|
9,965
|
134
|
|
Karnataka (Mgmt Quota & Private colleges)
|
KMAT
|
3,600
|
99
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Test pattern
It varies across regional tests, with verbal, quantitative and reasoning forming the core. Some also have questions on visual reasoning, questions based on business situations, general awareness etc.
Preparation strategy
As most of these tests are easy, the scores are very high. Questions are often straight forward and not too application-based (as in CAT). Hence, you must be familiar with concepts, followed by a lot of practice to attain the attention level required for the test duration.
Overview of regional admission tests
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Test
|
State
|
Duration
(in minutes)
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Total No. of Questions
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Areas tested/number of Questions
|
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MPMET
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Madhya Pradesh
|
165
|
200
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English (90), Numerical Ability (50), Data Interpretation(20), Data Sufficiency (20), Business Judgment (20)
|
|
ICET
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
150
|
200
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Analytical Ability (75), Mathematical Ability (75), Communication Ability (50)
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|
GCET
|
Gujarat
|
120
|
150
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English Language Skill (40), Quant (50), Logical Reasoning (30), GK (30)
|
|
RMAT
|
Rajasthan
|
150
|
200
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Reasoning & Aptitude(40), Data Interpretation (40), Mathematical Ability (40), English Language proficiency (40), General Awareness(40)
|
|
TanCET
|
Tamil Nadu
|
120
|
100
|
Analysis of Business Situation (20), Reading Comprehension (20), PS (20), Data Sufficiency (20), English Usage (20)
|
|
CET
|
Maharashtra
|
150
|
200
|
Quantitative ability(15), Visual reasoning (30), Logical and Analytical reasoning (50), Reading Comprehension (15), Data Interpretation (25), Data Sufficiency (10), Verbal reasoning and ability (55)
|
|
PGCET
|
Karnataka
|
120
|
100
|
English Proficiency(25), GK (25), Logical Reasoning (25), Quant (25)
|
|
KMAT
|
Karnataka (Mgmt Quota & Private colleges)
|
120
|
160
|
Language Comprehension (40), Mathematical Skills (40), Basic Aptitude (40<), Logical Reasoning (40)
|
Many students who take CAT also take regional tests, which make them eligible for management institutes of national repute. For instance, MAH-CET is the entrance test for Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai, and is taken by students across the country. Hence the competition is at par with that of CAT. Secondly, as there is no negative marking in this test, the cut-offs are really high. So the strategy must be to attempt all questions with maximum possible accuracy, and intelligent guessing/elimination of choices, is desirable.
A common pitfall when a test has an unconventional testing area such as business situations or visual reasoning is that students end up skipping these sections. But with a little effort, these can be converted into major scoring sections.
Need for speed
Since the cut-offs are high, the level of difficulty medium-to-easy, you must attempt all the questions, and time-management is key. For instance, if you have to solve 200 questions in 150 minutes, no matter how easy they may seem, stress can make them appear really difficult. Time management and stress management become two crucial skills.
Saurabh Shrivastava works with IMS Learning Resources Ltd.