Management Aptitude Test is a brilliant opportunity for candidates looking to pursue education in management. For MBA, most of the candidates think about writing CAT, but they should not forget that it is not the only way to get into a good business school. MAT is a standardised national level management entrance that is conducted four times a year by AIMA since 1988.

February 2018 edition of MAT is to be conducted on 4 February 2018, in offline mode and on 10 February 2018, in online mode. After this, MAT will be conducted in May 2018. Many students go for CAT to get admission in top-notch management colleges including the IIMs, but they should not forget that this exam is no less than CAT. After clearing the exam, one can select any of the 600 colleges under it.

Not only this, the competition level and difficulty level of the paper are much lesser than that of other competitive exams which makes this exam an easy one to ace. The syllabus of MAT is same as that of CAT which allows CAT examinees to just revise the entire CAT syllabus to appear for this exam.

Along with this, MAT offers many benefits over other management exams, which makes it a very good choice to go for. Let us know some reasons which explain why aspirants should not miss MAT:-

1. High Number of B-schools to choose from

MAT is accepted by more than 600 business schools of the country, which is probably the largest. No other test accepts such a large number of institutes. Also, majority of the colleges under MAT are charging a lower fee than the top 20 MBA colleges. Therefore, when aspirants go for MAT, they can be assured of having a lot of options after the result.

2. Much easier than other MBA exams

One of the biggest reasons why aspirants should go for MAT is that it is much easier than CAT and other management entrance exams. The paper comprises five sections – Data Analysis & Sufficiency, Language Comprehension, Intelligence & Critical Reasoning, Mathematical Skills and Indian & Global Environment. If a candidate has prepared for any other MBA exam, then they do not need to study anything extra. The syllabus of MAT is same, or even lesser than other exams, and the level of questions is also going to much easier.

Even if the aspirant has scored around 70th percentile in CAT, they still stand a very good chance to emerge as the topper in MAT. Every year we see candidates scoring 800 out of 800 in the exam.

3. No need to wait 1 year!

Most of the B-school exams are conducted once in a year, be it CAT, XAT or SNAP. Now if the aspirants do not perform as per their expectations in any of these tests, they will need to wait for a year for their next turn.

But with MAT, there is no such problem. MAT is organised four times in a calendar year, in the months of February, May, September and December. The exam is generally conducted on the first Sunday of these months and results are declared in the last week of these months. So, in case a candidate doesn’t perform well in MAT, there is always the option of appearing in the next instalment.

4. Available in both Online and Offline modes

MAT is one of the few management entrance exams which give the option of appearing in both online and offline modes. While majority of the B-school entrance exams have gone online, there are not a lot of exams which gives the option of choosing one of these two modes.

5. A gateway to top colleges

Having a lower level of difficulty nowhere means that MAT is not accepted by top business schools of the country. MAT scores are accepted by Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (Mumbai), which is amongst the top-10 MBA colleges in the country, and is informally known as the ‘CEO Factory’, of India. Management institutes like KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, SIMSREE, NL Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research, XIME Bangalore also accept MAT scores.

6. Score Validity of 1 Year

MAT is conducted every three months but it does not mean that a candidate’s score is no longer valid after the next MAT has been conducted. MAT scores are valid for a full year and candidates can apply to as many colleges as they want using their MAT score, within that period.

7. Apply to 5 Colleges for Free

Another benefit of applying for MAT is that it lets candidates choose any 5 colleges for zero cost. This means that candidates can apply for their dream college/s through the application form of MAT itself. This not just saves money, but also saves a lot of time as well.

8. Three ways to pay the fee

Another advantage with MAT is that it gives candidates three options of paying fee for the exam. Most of the management exams accept only online modes of payment (Debit Card, Credit Card and Net Banking), which may not be available to all the aspirants. But with MAT, an aspirant gets two other options of payment as well. One of these options is Demand Draft. A crossed Demand Draft of the fee in favour of ‘All India Management Association’ payable at Delhi from any bank can be submitted. Candidates can also opt for cash payment, forms of which can be obtained from listed nodal centres of AIMA.