ISO 9001:2000 certified All India Management Aptitude Testing Service (AIMATS), New Delhi conducts the Management Aptitude Test (MAT) as the National Entrance Test for admission to MBA and equivalent programmes of the various participating institutes.

Approved by the Government of India, MAT results are accepted by All India Management Association - Centre for Management Education (AIMA-CME) and other AICTE-approved Management Institutes (MI) and university departments. Besides having test centres all over India, MAT is also conducted in overseas locations.

Test Format

The exam has five sections in all. Scores of first four sections constitute the final scores. However, institutions might choose to consider the score of the General Awareness section. Total Duration: 150 minutes

Eligibility for MAT

While the participating universities and management institutes have their own requirements about certain minimum % age in graduation, you can appear in MAT, if you are:

• A Graduate from any recognized University in any discipline, or
• Studying in final year of their undergraduate degree course from a recognized institution.

MAT application procedure

You can buy the MAT Bulletin and application form for cash payment of Rs 650/- at:

• AIMA counter at New Delhi,
• AIMA Study Centres,
• Bank of Baroda branches, and
• ICICI branches.

Students may also send the request for the form and bulleting at the following address with a Demand Draft of Rs. 690, in favour of AIMA-CMS payable at New Delhi, with two self-addressed slips or adhesive stickers:

Sr. Dy. Director-CMS,
All India Management Association,
Management House,
14, Institutional Area,
Lodhi Road,
New Delhi -110 003.

Students who wish to appear at one of the international test centres for MAT have to make the requisite payment in US dollars.

Tips and Strategies

The paper is objective with multiple choice questions. You will have to be quick and alert to score high in the paper. In this article, you will find some tips and tricks to prepare for MAT:

• Time is of utmost importance in MAT. It is advisable to stick to the time schedule given below to finish the paper on time:
  • 30 minutes for English section that assesses verbal ability and language comprehension,
  • 40 minutes for Mathematics where quantitative aptitude is evaluated,
  • 35 minutes for Data Interpretation that judges the candidate’s data analysis skills and understanding of data sufficiency,
  • 30 minutes for Reasoning Ability, where intelligence of a candidate is judges along with his or her critical reasoning skills, and
  • 15 minutes for General Awareness section, where candidate’s knowledge of Indian and global environment, especially of contemporary issues, are judged.

Each section has 40 questions.

• Though similar to CAT in its structure, MAT is easier compared to it. Its pattern is more predictable and unlike CAT (which emphasizes on application of knowledge), MAT is based on knowledge itself. Thus, students who are good in memorizing formulae and standard set of questions and answers, often grab high scores on this test.
• Thorough practice of sample MAT tests available from a variety of sources such as book, CDs and online, can prepare you well for the real examination. Achieving 85 to 90 per cent scores in a MAT exam can be considered a good attempt.
• For English section, grammar is very important and question-types include analogies, synonyms and antonyms, match the list, idioms, one word for many and fill in the blanks.
• Though not all institutions accept MAT scores in General Awareness, you still need to prepare for it. Reading newspapers is the best way to keep yourself abreast of the current affairs and developments in India and world in general.
• For Language Comprehension, two strategies are commonly used:
  • Reading the passage and attempting to solve the answers, or
  • Have a look at the questions and then read the passage, so that you know what to look for.

Decide your own strategy, depending on your inclination, comprehension skills, personal aptitude and difficulty-level of the passage.

• Having formulae on your fingertips, being strong in mental calculations and developing your own short cuts will prove very useful to score speedily in Mathematical and Data Interpretation sections.

Reasoning section requires thorough practice of all types of questions. Since there are no fixed formulae to tackle them, the scores depend on how much you are familiar with myriad of questioning patterns.

Dates and Deadlines

MAT is usually held four times a year in the months of:

• January
• May
• September
• December

It was last held on 13th February, 2008.

Applications are available usually two months before the exam date.

The deadline for submitting applications is usually one month before the exam date.