Common Management Admission Test, usually known as CMAT, is a national level entrance examination conducted by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) every year. It is a three-hour computer based online test to check the candidate’s ability across various segments like Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension and General Awareness. This test helps institutions to select suitable graduate candidates for admission in all management programs. All AICTE-Approved Institutions/University Departments/Constituent Colleges/Affiliated Colleges accept CMAT score.
CMAT 2018 Exam Pattern
Following is the exam pattern of CMAT 2018 slot I and slot II:
Maximum Marks per right answer : 4
Negative marks for each wrong answer : -1
| Section |
Number of Questions |
Maximum Marks |
| Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation |
25 |
100 |
| Logical Reasoning |
25 |
100 |
| Language Comprehension |
25 |
100 |
| General Awareness |
25 |
100 |
CMAT 2018 Exam Analysis
CMAT 2018 was conducted on January 20, 2018, in two slots from 9:30 am-12:30 pm & 2:30-5:30 respectively. There were no surprises in the exam this year. The exam featured easy to moderate level questions, and a candidate who is quick in selecting and rejecting answer options can score fairly well in it.
CMAT Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation Analysis
This section had questions based on conventional areas. There were 3 to 4 questions from Geometry and Mensuration, and the rest Quantitative Technique questions were from Arithmetic. There was one Data Interpretation question. The level of difficulty of this section was easy to moderate. A candidate who attempted around 21-23 questions in this section can expect a good score.
CMAT Logical Reasoning Analysis
The level of difficulty of this section was easy to moderate. Analytical Reasoning dominated the section along with only one or two questions from Verbal Reasoning. Analytical questions were from topics like grouping, distribution, arrangement, comparison, coding/decoding, sequence, blood relation etc. A candidate who attempted around 20-22 questions in this section would expect to score well.
CMAT Language Comprehension Analysis
This section had four passages - one passage had six questions, and the rest had three to four questions each. These were easy to read and comprehend, except one or two questions. Most of the questions were factual and could be answered easily. Verbal ability questions were from areas such as, FIJ, antonym and synonym, and cloze and sentence completion. A candidate who attempted around 21-23 questions would be expected to score well.
CMAT General Awareness Analysis
Around 4-5 questions were from current affairs and if one reads the newspaper or has a good knowledge of what’s going on in the world could have attempted 3-4 questions quite easily. Static GK questions dominated the paper and questions were from Science, Awards, Politics, etc. A candidate who attempted around 18-20 questions could expect to score well.
Basically, a candidate who attempted around 86-88 questions with decent accuracy can expect to fetch a good score.
Expected CMAT Cut-offs
CMAT is a popular MBA entrance test for admission into many reputed AICTE approved institutes in the country. Every year, top MBA colleges use CMAT Cut Off scores to shortlist the candidates for Group Discussion and Personal Interview rounds and for the final selection. In 2018, it was held on 20th January, 2018. Following is a list of expected cut-offs based on previous year CMAT cut-offs. Actual cutoffs may go higher as the number of students appearing for the exam has increased, the exam was of an easier difficulty level and instead of twice a year the exam was conducted just once.
| Institute |
Cut off (Percentile) |
| SIMSREE , Mumbai |
99 + (Score 270-290) |
| Goa Institute of Management, Goa |
98 |
| Pune University Department of Management Studies (PUMBA DMS) |
96 |
| K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research (KJSIMSR), Mumbai |
94 (Score 250-270) |
| Asia Pacific Institute of Management, New Delhi |
85 |
| Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida |
82 |
| Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi |
75 |
*Data is indicative as some cut-offs are not officially declared
CMAT Cut offs are the first criteria based on which the colleges screen the students for the subsequent rounds. Clearing the CMAT cut-off is very important because unless a certain minimum score is achieved, the candidate will not get a call for interview. Post the written exam, the applicants are screened based on their CMAT test score and several other criteria before being called for the GD/ PI round by the affiliated institutes.
Different colleges have different criteria for selecting candidates. Generally, it includes the CMAT score, candidate's academic record, work experience in months (if any), quality of work experience, etc. The next step after clearing the test cut offs is the Group Discussion and Personal Interview round. This process also varies from institute to institute. Some institutes have GDs based on current or abstract topics while other have an essay-writing round as well. Also, you need to be well prepared for the Personal Interview as many of your qualities, mainly: confidence, self awareness, communication skills and leadership skills are being evaluated in an interview.
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