MAT

The All India Management Association (AIMA) is an apex body of management which has more than 30,000 individual members, 3000 institutional members and 60 Local Management Association across India and overseas. It has been organising a lot of management related activities and initiatives such as Distance Management Education, Management Development Programmes, Special Conferences, Research & Publications, Testing Services and Competitions. Centre for Management Services (CMS) is the special division of AIMA that undertakes testing and other management services.  It conducts the Management Aptitude Test (MAT) that has been approved by the Ministry of HRD as a National Entrance Test. Candidates now can choose to take either the Paper Based Test or the Computer Based Test.

MAT is usually conducted 4 times in a year in February, May, September and December.

It is an objective type test with multiple-choice answers and is usually of 2.5 hours duration. The test is designed to measure a person’s general aptitudes and has the following sections

• Language Comprehension      - 40 marks
• Mathematical Skills                 - 40 marks
• Data Analysis and Sufficiency – 40 marks
• Intelligence and Critical Reasoning  - 40 marks
• Indian and Global Environment       - 40 marks

The minimum qualification taking MAT is graduation in any discipline from any recognized University or equivalent recognized degree. A final year student in any undergraduate (i.e. B.A, B.Sc., B.Com., B.Tech., etc) can also appear provisionally. Usually, there is a minimum percentage requirement in graduation, which is different for different institutions.

The strategy remains the same as one would adopt for CAT except that MAT is not as tough to crack. Start with clearing your fundamentals. School textbooks are the best bet when it comes to study material. After having mastered the basics, move on to other study materials which give you ample practice questions. Work on your grammar, vocabulary, reading speed to get cracking in the Language Comprehension section. The Indian and Global Environment section should not be ignored. Keep yourself abreast of all current affairs and important events. Practice is the keyword here. Get hold of as many sample/mock MATs as possible. Do not randomly take these tests. Take them under MAT simulated conditions, analyse your performance later and identify your weak points. Work on them. Take the next mock MAT. Repeat the procedure till your accuracy level reaches its peak.

The number of institutes accepting MAT scores would vary from test to test. All the institutes that take MAT scores are either AICTE, DEC approved; University affiliated College, University Department choice. A list of these colleges/universities is usually available in the MAT bulletin along with the admission notification.

The pattern is to conduct the Paper Based Test on the first Sunday of February, May, September and December from 1000-1230 hours and the Computer Based Test from the next Saturday onwards (6 days after the Paper Based Test date). The schedule for the upcoming MAT:

• Paper-Pencil Test: 5^th Dec 2012 (Sunday) (10:00am to 12:30pm)

• Computer Based Test (Online Test): From 11^th Feb 2012 (Saturday) onwards in different time slots at specified test venues