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A tremendous rise in the student’s number of students opting for management courses after completion of the basic graduation degree has been seen in the past few decades. The MAT exam has served as the opportunity for admission to the management course in various affiliated business schools across India. It is a national entrance test that provides an opportunity for individuals to evaluate their cognitive prowess, uncover their weaknesses and strengths along with the ability to succeed in a particular task.
Full form of MAT
MAT stands for Management Aptitude Test which is a gateway for placing in over 800 affiliated business schools for the MBA and PGDM courses. Since 1988, the screening test has been conducted by the AIMA nationwide. It is held four times a year including both Computer-based test (CBT) and paper-based test (PBT) mode. In the period of the pandemic, another mode Internet-based mode (IBT) has been also introduced by the AIMA as per the COVID-19 guideline. In every session, different sets of dates for PBT, IBT, and CBT are announced by the management association. The MAT exam is much more flexible in comparison to other similar examinations in this specific area. Candidates have preferred the examinations for the flexibility that it provides and also for the number of chances to increase their scores in the examination that help them to get admission to their desired institution. Besides that, no maximum number of attempts is there and the scorecard is valid for one year as well.
Structure of MAT exam
The exam pattern of MAT has remained the same all through the previous years with very nominal changes in weight age and the different questions pattern. The objective exam is designed to assess the general aptitude of candidates. This screening test consists of 200 questions and the duration of the exam is 150 minutes. No sectional time is restricted here, students can manage time as per their choice. The exam is divided into the following five sections
- Intelligence and critical reasoning
- Mathematical skills
- Indian and global environment
- Data analysis and sufficiency
- Language comprehension
Each section carries 40 questions and a weight age of 40 marks. There is also a negative marking of 25% for each wrong answer. For the purpose of securing admission to a good B-school, the students are required to clear the specific cut off marks as well.
Eligibility criteria for MAT exam
The MAT exam comes with some basic eligibility criteria which are as follows:
- Students having a minimum of 45% aggregate in their bachelors are eligible for the examination
- No minimum age limit is there for the appearance of the examination
- Students those are already attempted the MAT before with unsatisfactory grades are also eligible for reappear in the examination
- The final year graduation students are also eligible for appearing this examination
- No work experience is required for the appearance of the examination
Pros and Cons of aptitude test
Various pros and cons are related to aptitude tests. Those are as follows:
- Pros of aptitude test
Standardization: The aptitude tests are standardized and effective for the validity and reliability of results. The test also helps to save time by focusing on mental abilities.
Cost-effective: The test is extremely cost-effective as well as feasible as it can be undertaken using remote systems.
Analysis of individuals: By conducting aptitude tests, the individual cognitive intelligence can be measured easily. Objective assessment is the core of this kind of test.
- Cons of aptitude test
Test anxiety: Anxiety is one of the effective hurdles for the students in the way of appearing for the aptitude tests.
Incomplete assessment: Sometimes, the aptitude test can act as an early judgment for the candidates that may impact their confidence level.
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Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be stated that the MAT examination is one of the effective aptitude tests in the area of taking admission in management courses in India. As the examination is conducted over four times in the year thereby students can take part in the exam as per their academic schedule. Final year students can also benefit from the exam. On the other hand, the test also provides the opportunity to score more in the same exam in the same year.
