Common Management Admission Test is a national-level admission test conducted by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Till last year, the test was conducted twice in an MBA season, once in September and then in February. However, this year CMAT will be conducted only once on 17th Jan '16.
The computer based test comprises of 100 questions spread across four sections and a student needs to solve themin 180 minutes. 4 marks are awarded for each correct answer and a wrong attempt will fetch a negative point.
Renowned institutes like K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Great Lakes, Chennai and many others accept CMAT scores.
There is no sectional cutoff in the CMAT examination.
Given below is a general overview of the four sections of CMAT:
|
Section |
Number of Questions |
Maximum Marks |
Type of questions |
Difficulty level |
Quantitative |
25 |
100 |
Mostly questions from Arithmetic and Algebra with 2-3 questions from each of Modern Maths, Geometry/ Mensuration/ Coordinate Geometry and Number Systems |
Easy -Moderate |
Logical Reasoning |
25 |
100 |
24 questions of Mathematical Reasoning and 1 question of Verbal Reasoning |
Easy - |
Language |
25 |
100 |
Mostly questions based on Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary, Sentence Correction, Para Jumble, Common Confusables and FIJ |
Moderate |
General Awareness |
25 |
100 |
Primarily Static GK with a couple of questions from Current Affairs |
Moderate |
March 15, 2015-Morning Slot
CMAT February 2014 flagged off on February 20, 2014. The test was conducted in two time slots (9:30 am-12:30 pm and 2:30 pm-5:30 pm) and it spanned over a five day window, ending on February 24, 2014.
A student’s performance in the sections on Language Comprehension and General Awareness would be a key differentiator since the other two sections (Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning) featured doable questions of easy to moderate difficulty level.
Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation
Arithmetic and Algebra largely dominated this section with over 50% of questions being asked from these two topics. About 2 to 3 questions were from probability. One question from slot 2 of day 1, which was based on Mensuration, was reported to be incorrect. The difficulty level of the section was easy to moderate. There were 2-3 tricky questions that could have been left un-attempted.
An attempt of around 18-20 questions in this section could be considered a good attempt.
Logical Reasoning
This section had easy to moderate questions from Verbal as well as Analytical Reasoning. However, Analytical Reasoning heavily dominated the section with only 1 question from Verbal Reasoning, which was based on logical consistency. 16 out of 25 questions were based on Arrangements and all these questions were stand-alone questions. The section was pretty time-consuming.
An attempt of around 14-15 questions in this section would be considered a good attempt.
Language Comprehension
On the lines of the September CMAT, this time too, there were five passages of about 200 words, with 3 questions each. With the exception of one passage, the rest were easy to read and comprehend. However, the questions that followed the passages were a little difficult. The remaining questions were distributed among those of sentence correction, fill in the blanks, para jumble, FIJ (fact, inference and judgment), antonymand synonym and cloze.
An attempt of around 18-20 questions in this section would be considered good.
General Awareness
The break-up of questions from this section was very similar to those of the previous CMAT exams. About 7-8 questions were based on current affairs and one could have solved 3-4 questions quite easily if one reads the paper or listens to the news regularly. Static GK figured prominently with questions ranging from Art and Culture, Science, Awards, Polity and the like.
An attempt of around 12-14 questions would be considered good.
Overall, an attempt of about 70-72 questions with decent accuracy should fetch a good score. However, the cut-offs for good institutes are likely to remain high.
Strategy
Any exam with easy and moderate questions is a game of maximizing attempts by maintaining a good speed. CMAT is no different. The easiest questions from each section should be carefully spotted. One should not get romantic with a particular question if it is not getting solved easily. Considering the level of questions in CMAT, one should move on and should look at solving the doable questions.
As mentioned above GK is the key differentiator when it comes to percentiles. Be regular in studying GK but always leave a question in which you aren’t 100% sure.
Leading B-schools
Over 500 B-schools across India accept CMAT scores. Some of the top B-schools are:
Disclaimer: All information is based on independent analysis and evaluation made by Career Launcher. We do not take responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on this information. We do not encourage or indulge in discussion and dissemination of exam questions in any form.
