Only one test for MBA entrance from 2013

CMAT or the Common Management Admission Test, would be the only test to be conducted for admission to all management institutes approved by AICTE. Only deemed universities and institutions like IIM’s would have the choice of having their own exam. This means that except for CAT, FMS, SNAP and maybe XAT, all other major MBA exams would be replaced by one single exam i.e. the CMAT.

CMAT would be a pan India exam to be conducted from 2012. However, it would replace all other MBA entrance exams in 2013. This would make it the largest MBA entrance exam replacing MAT.

Here is an excerpt from economic times,

“Almost every college was holding an entrance exam. Moreover, each state has its own entrance tests, and private associations have their own exams,” AICTE chairman S S Mantha said. “In principle, CMAT will be a test for all AICTE-approved institutes and will reduce the stress and financial burden on students.”

“We still have to work out the modalities of conducting the CMAT. But having so many exams, all of varied difficulty levels, also raises concerns about the quality of students who enter this professional course,” Mantha added.

What does this mean to you? How will it change the way a student prepares for the MBA entrance season?

Let’s have a look at the Pros and Cons of this step:

Pros:

1) Lots of savings in terms of money spent on different exams

From 2013 onwards, a student would have to appear for only 1 or maybe 2 entrance exams, including CAT. This would make sure that he does not have to go on buying exam forms from each and every college and that he can spend the same money for better purposes.

Thank you AICTE!! Now, I can save some money

2) Savings in terms of time spent on preparation

It would be much easier for a student to prepare for one single exam instead of preparing for all sorts of exams out there. It would also help the students by reducing the stress levels that they have to go through while preparing for all the different exams.

3) Less money would be spent on Coaching (probably)

It is most likely that a student will save money on coaching fees. As of now, coaching centers have different packages for different exams and if a student wants to prepare for more than 1 exam, he has to buy the different package. From 2013, the coaching centers would have to remove the packages and settle for one package for CMAT. However, this may lead to an increase in the cost of coaching for the single exam.

4) Transparency in admissions

As all of the AICTE approved colleges would have to select students based on the CMAT scores, it is most likely that there will be transparency in the selection procedure.

Also, if the procedure used is similar to the one that we see in MHT-CET, students may save money on buying college forms (not sure if it will be done this way). Also, the best students would go to the best colleges. You would not miss the college as you did not fill its form. However, I do not think that the procedure would be kept this way.

Cons:

1) One bad day can ruin your chances

When there are a multitude of exams instead of just one, you can still relax if you mess up one exam. However, when that exam is going to be your only chance, you will have to wait for one whole year.

2) Money lost from Form sales may be recovered from fees

Though this is not what the colleges should do, this may be possible. I would not consider myself an expert on college income sources, but everyone knows that colleges make a good amount of money by selling exam forms and admission forms.

3) Tougher competition

Once there are more students appearing for an exam, the competition gets tougher. Also, the students would not be left with much option apart from appearing for the CMAT. So, there would be more competition for each and every college at the top.

Best of luck!!