Which exam is better to target non-IIMs? XAT or CAT

You can decide on which exam to appear for according to the institute you wish to study at. Given below are the institutes that accept CAT and XAT scores respectively.

By Sumit Singh Gandhi 

When people think of MBA the first institute that comes to their mind are the IIMs. However, over the years there has been a trend where students appear for the MBA entrance exam with an aim to get into certain prestigious institutes other than the IIMs. In order to get into these non-IIM institutes, candidates need to appear for any of the many entrance exams according to the eligibility of their desired institute. It has been observed that the most popular ones are the CAT and XAT.

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is a national level examination conducted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). It is a mandatory exam for seeking admission into IIM or other prestigious Business Schools like Faculty of Management Studies (Delhi), Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management (Mumbai), SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (Mumbai) and many more. The exam is conducted annually in the last week of November. CAT 2021 will be conducted on November 28, 2021.

XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test) is a national level entrance test of management regulated by XLRI (Xavier Labour Relations Institute), Jamshedpur, for admission to post graduate diploma in management programme. About 75,000 test takers are expected to appear for XAT 2022. XAT is an online computer based entrance exam. XAT 2022 will be conducted on January 2, 2022.

Key differences between CAT and XAT

Features	CAT	XAT
Conducted in	November	January
Total questions	76 (54 MCQ and 22 non-MCQ)	100 (All MCQ)
Duration	2 hours	3 hours
Sections	Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) Quantitative Ability (Quants)	Verbal and Logical Ability Decision Making Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation General Knowledge
Number of answer options	4	5
Total number of marks	228	100
Marking scheme	+3 for correct answer -1 for incorrect answer	+1 for correct answer -0.25 for incorrect answer (Except for the GK section)
Penalty for unattempted questions	No penalty	Each unattempted question beyond 8 questions will carry a negative marking penalty of 0.10 mark per unattempted question.

Also Read:

• CAT Exam Pattern
• XAT Exam Pattern
• XAT vs CAT

Download:

Section Wise CAT Syllabus

Section Wise XAT Syllabus

The main question however is – out of XAT and CAT, which exam is better to target for non-IIMs?

The answer is simple, you can decide on which exam to appear for according to the institute you wish to study at. Given below are top institutes that accept CAT and XAT scores respectively. Studying in these colleges is considered to be prestigious and can give a major push to your career.

Top Non-IIM institutes accepting the CAT scores

Management Development Institute (MDI)  Gurgaon

Management Development Institute is among the top 10 business institutes of India. Over the years, the institute has given many remarkable alumni like Durjoy Dutta, Sachin Garg and many more. It is located in Gurgaon near India’s capital, New Delhi. The campus is spread across an enormous 37 acres of land. Also Read: MDI Admisson Process

Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management (SJMSOM), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB)

 

Shailiesh J Mehta School of Management is a part of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. It was ranked 11 best management school in India. It offers full-time programmes and also short-term programmes in the winters and summers. Also Read: SJMSOM Admission Process

Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai

Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai is named after the great entrepreneur and industrialist, Jamnalal Bajaj, and is located in the financial capital of India, Mumbai. Over the years it has consistently been ranked in among the top-10 b-schools of India. The institute has given India some extra-ordinary professionals like Uday Kotak, Ajay Piramal, Mani Ratnam, Siddharth Roy Kapur and many more. Also Read: JBIMS Admission Process

Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), University of Delhi

 

The Faculty of Management Studies, also known as ‘The Red Building of Dreams’ is located in India’s capital city, Delhi. It comes under the University of Delhi. The institute offers a full-time MBA and an executive MBA. In the past, the institute has its own entrance exam but since the past few years the scores of the Common Admission Test (CAT) have been accepted. It has collaborations with many International institutes. It was ranked ‘No. 1’ among the top public MBA institutes of India. Also Read: FMS Admission Process

Department of Management Studies (DMS), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD)

The Department of Management Studies is a part of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. The institute is ranked 8th in India among the top Management institutes of India. It offers a few 2-year full time MBA programmes and a 3-year full time MBA programme. Also Read: DMS-IITD Admission Process

SP Jain Institute of Management and Research

 

The SP Jain Institute of Management and Research is located in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The campus is spread across 45 acres. The institute takes around 700 students in various programmes. It was established back in 1981. It is an autonomous institute. Various facilities like hostels, auditorium, library, auditorium, cafeteria are provided. Also Read: SPJIMR Admission Process

National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE)

The National Institute of Industrial Engineering is located in Powai, Mumbai. It is ranked 12th among the top B-schools of India. The institute offers various MBA and industrial engineering programs. The institute has successfully provided effective placements to its students over the years. The students of NITIE is organize various events and programs which are quite popular among the youth. Also Read: NITIE Admission Process

Top Institutes accepting XAT scores

XLRI School of Management, Jamshedpur

 

Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) was entrenched in 1949. This institute is located in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. XLRI has been approved by (AICTE) The All India Council For Technical Education. This institute has been authorized by NBA and AMBA. XLRI has an excellent reputation for its successive placements and its management courses. XLRI overtures Post Graduate Diploma courses forward with Executive Post Graduate Diploma courses in different specializations. Also Read: XLRI Admission Process

K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai

K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research was established in 1981 with a vision to fulfil the educational needs of the society at a reasonable cost with the objective of providing education in management and allied areas. KJ Somaiya is located in the central suburbs of Mumbai. It attempts various doctoral, full time and part time postgraduate and masters programmes. Also Read: KJSIMSR Admission Process

Great Lakes Institute of Management

 

The Great Lakes Institute of Management is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is an autonomous institute. It was established in 2004. It has two campuses- one in Chennai and the other one in Gurgaon, Delhi NCR. It is one of the first Institutes in India to provide a 1 year full-time management programme. Top companies like Flipkart, Amazon, HSBC, Accenture and many more visit the Institute for placements. Also Read: GLIM Admission Process

TA Pai Institute of Management

The TA Pai Institute of Management is located in Manipal, Karnataka. The institute is at par with the top Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) when it comes to academics and facilities. The institute makes sure the students learn the latest curriculum and give a lot of importance to practical learning as well. World’s top companies like Google, IBM and Ford carry out campus interviews and placements in this institute. Also Read: TAPMI Admission Process

List of Alll MBA Colleges Accepting CAT

List of Alll MBA Colleges Accepting XAT

About the Author:

Sumit Singh Gandhi is the CEO of a premier MBA Coaching institute of Maharashtra. He completed his MBA from SPJIMR and is a Master of Information Technology from Virginia Tech. He has also pursued SPNM from Harvard Business School. Among numerous awards, he's been honoured with Digital Indian of the Year 2016 and Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2015.