Not quite confident of having cracked the Common Admission Test (CAT)? Don’t worry, lots of other prestigious management courses are waiting for you. Take a look at the list of these other major MBA examinations on the anvil. There is Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT), Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET), Faculty of Management Studies, New Delhi (FMS), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi, and Symbiosis National Aptitude Programme (SNAP). Here is a guide to tackling these exams. So sharpen your little grey cells and get ready to take a shot at a management career.

XAT

XAT is an all-India examination conducted by the Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur. XAT 2006 scores will be considered by 42 B-schools, including XLRI, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIM-B), SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Chennai, etc. However, each institute independently decides the weightage to be given to each of the test components.

Date of exam: January 8, 2006.

Exam pattern: XAT is a multiple-choice paper of two-and-a-half hours in which the last 20 minutes are given to an essay. Till 2004, the paper had sectional time limits, which were done away with in 2005. The paper had three sections last year ? quantitative aptitude (QA) and data interpretation (DI) had 75 questions, general knowledge had 35 while the English usage (EU) and reading comprehension (RC) section had 65 questions. The negative marking was -1/3 (three marks for a right answer, minus one for a wrong one). The QA section had questions on arithmetic, algebra, geometry, permutation combination and mathematical reasoning. The DI section had questions on tables, line charts, bar charts and pie charts, while the verbal section had fill-in-the-blanks, analogies, parajumbles, synonyms and antonyms.

For XAT 2006 you need to concentrate on permutation combination, algebra, functions and analytical reasoning questions. Though XAT 2005 was not heavy on vocabulary, it would be prudent to brush up on your knowledge of words.

JMET

The Joint Management Entrance Test 2005 scores will be considered for admission to the two-year full-time postgraduate programmes offered by management schools in the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. You need an engineering or an equivalent degree to be eligible for this exam.

Date of exam: December 11, 2005.

Exam Pattern: The paper is of 150 marks, to be completed in 120 minutes. JMET 2004 had four sections ?? QA had 40 questions; DI had 30; logical reasoning (LR) had 40 and verbal communication (EU and RC) 40. The negative marking was -1/4.

The QA section is tough. You should prepare questions on 3D geometry, integration, differentiation, vectors, matrices, applications of derivatives, etc. The verbal ability section is usually simpler.

IIFT

IIFT exam scores are also considered by the Gitam Institute of Foreign Trade, Vishakhapatnam. IIFT’s two-year full-time masters degree in international business prepares students to deal with various aspects of foreign trade and international business operations.More roads to MBA

Date of exam: November 27, 2005.

Exam pattern: It’s an objective-type test with 196 questions to be answered in 120 minutes. In last year’s test, the mark allocation for each correct answer varied, though negative marking was -1/5. IIFT 2004 had four sections ?? QA had 48 questions, reasoning had 48 questions, verbal ability had 50 and general awareness 50. Pay special attention to the verbal ability section. Besides questions on verbal analogies, synonyms, antonyms, parajumbles, fill- in-the-blanks, the 2004 paper had five reading and comprehension passages. They were all inference based and ranged from topics as varied as the World Trade Organisation to science. It would be good to keep abreast of financial news.

FMS

Delhi University’s Faculty of Management Studies offers one of the most coveted MBAs in India. The institute conducts a separate entrance test for admission to its full-time MBA course which was started in 1967.

Date of exam: January 15, 2006.

Exam pattern: There are no sectional demarcations on the FMS exam paper and hence no sectional cut-offs. Each correct answer carries four marks and negative marking makes you lose one mark per error. With 175 questions in all, the paper is for 700 marks, to be completed in two hours. The test quizzes students on verbal ability, reasoning and QA. The QA section has questions on arithmetic, algebra, geometry, mensuration and trigonometry. Logical reasoning occupies a fair share of the questions with fill in the blanks, antonyms, synonyms, sentence correction, analogy, parajumbles, etc. To clear the FMS exam prepare well for all the three sections.

SNAP

Instituted in 2004, the Symbiosis National Aptitude Programme test is compulsory for admission to any postgraduate course offered by Symbiosis institutes in Pune. You need to get through this exam for admission to the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) and the Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development (SCMHRD).

Date of exam: December 18, 2005.

Exam pattern: SNAP is an objective-type test of 200 marks with 160 questions. SNAP 2004 had five sections. There were 40 questions in general English, including RC, verbal reasoning and verbal ability, 40 questions in QA, 20 in DI and data sufficiency, 40 questions in general awareness and 20 in analytical and logical reasoning. The paper had no sectional time limits and negative marking was for -1/4.

Focus on reasoning and algebra. The general knowledge section was tricky in 2004. Questions in this section ranged from the largest flower in the world to the first animal to be domesticated by man. So keep your eyes and ears open ? you can be quizzed on anything in this test.