During a casual conversation with your friends, discuss their career plans. Trust it. More than 85% of them would say that they want to do an MBA. After all, every MBA aspirant knows the benefits of doing an MBA. These days, these students find it more convenient to study MBA with the evolution of MBA online courses in India. Thus, CAT preparations for those preferring online learning are trouble-free these days. But wait! How many of you know that several institutes accept alternatives for an MBA? Check out this blog to learn about the best other choices for the CAT exam in 2024.
Why to look for alternatives?
Several MBA aspirants question why to look for CAT Exams alternatives for an MBA. They must know that only Indian MBA institutes prefer CAT scores. If you want to study for an MBA in foreign countries, they give more preference to CAT alternatives, like GRE or GMAT. Do you know why? These tests analyze your skills as a whole. Not only do these tests assess your knowledge, but test your critical thinking abilities. CAT Exam alternatives also allow students to take the examination from home, i.e., online.
Best Alternatives for CAT Exams in 2024
- GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test)
GMAT is an alternative to CAT with recognition from the leading business schools. Suppose, due to some issues, you fail to appear for the CAT Exam. But no worries! You can appear for this test. And if you qualify for this test, you need not worry about your career. But yes, you must prepare for this exam. For those keen to know the syllabus and format, this exam tests your critical thinking and logical reasoning, analytical skills, English communication skills- written and verbal, quantitative skills, etc. It is a 200-800 mark examination. You need to complete the test within 3 hours. Find out the question pattern and marks below:
- Analytical Writing– You should write a 500-600-word essay within 30 minutes.
- Reasoning Skills– You must complete 12 questions within half an hour.
- Quantitative Reasoning– You must complete 31 questions within 62 minutes.
- Verbal Skills– You must complete 36 questions within 65 minutes.
- GRE (Graduate Record Examination)
Recent student data show that business and marketing programs schools give more preference to MBA aspirants who have appeared for the GRE Test. This examination tests a candidate’s analytical writing, quantitative, and verbal reasoning skills. The primary intent of this test is to assess a candidate’s thinking and reasoning abilities and mathematics. It is a computerized exam that tests a candidate’s skills in the range of 260-340.
Candidates preparing for this examination must prepare well for the verbal and quantitative skills section.
Previous test papers indicate that around 50% of the questions in this test are from this section. You can score brilliantly in this test if you are well versed in this section. Hence, it is for sure that if you practice more questions related to this topic, you will shine bright with flying colours. In this test, you get essays, MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions, and quantitative comparisons. You get 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete this test. You get to write two essays- Issue (500-600 words) and argument (400-500 words). You must not take more than 1 hour to complete both the essays.
- Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT)
Studies show that around 90% of the students wish to appear for this test. The feature of this examination is that students can appear for this test online. This examination tests a candidate’s data interpretation abilities, general awareness, decision-making skills, and quantitative, logical and verbal skills. This test has recognition from the leading business schools, like XAT and XLRT. Since this test is online, a candidate can choose the exam date. Check out the details regarding the question pattern below:
- Quantitative skills and data interpretation– In this section, you will get questions on analytical reasoning, data interpretation, and mathematical concepts. Try completing this section in not more than around 65-70 words. You must complete 27-28 questions in this section.
- Verbal skills and logical thinking– This section tests your critical thinking, logical reasoning, and language skills. Since time management is vital, try to complete this section (24-26 questions) in around 65-70 minutes.
- Decision-making abilities– There are 21-24 questions in this section. A candidate must not spend more than 50 minutes in this section.
- General knowledge– This section tests a candidate’s general awareness of the current scenario. You get 25-30 questions in this section. You must not take more than 15 minutes to complete this section.
Conclusion
This blog has discussed the best alternatives of CAT Exams for MBA IN 2024. MBA aspirants must know hardly foreign institutes accept CAT scorecards. These days, an MBA in online institutes has gained momentum because of the convenience and flexibility it offers. GMAT and GRE assess your critical thinking and logical reasoning, analytical skills, English communication skills, and quantitative skills. In addition to testing these skills, XAT tests a candidate’s general awareness and decision-making abilities. Since this test is online, candidates can choose the date for the exam. To crack these exams, a student must have excellent time management skills.