MBA exam dates: the entrance-season calendar explained

When is CAT 2026? Last Sunday of November 2026 (PENDING official IIM notification). XAT 2026 falls on the first Sunday of January 2027, NMAT runs October to December 2026, SNAP slots in December 2026, CMAT in January 2027, and MAT has four cycles (Feb / May / Sep / Dec). The whole MBA-entrance season runs roughly October to January with CAT as the anchor and XAT three to five weeks later.

What does the MBA-entrance season look like at a glance?

What is the typical timeline for one exam (CAT-style)?

Registration vs the exam itself - plan backwards

Each exam has an independent registration portal and fee. There is no single combined form. Miss a registration deadline and you miss that exam for the whole cycle - there is no late window for CAT or XAT the way some recurring tests allow. Build a backward plan from the late-November CAT date.

• CAT: register by roughly mid-September; one attempt only for the cycle.
• NMAT: book early in the window - you can take it up to 3 times and the best score counts, so an early first attempt leaves room to improve.
• SNAP: you may sit multiple slots; the best score is considered.
• CMAT / MAT: separate cycles - useful as backups; check the current AICTE / AIMA notification.

How should you pick which exams to sit?

• Targeting IIMs: CAT is non-negotiable. Add XAT for XLRI and the strong non-IIM set.
• Targeting NMIMS: NMAT, and use its multi-attempt design to your advantage.
• Targeting Symbiosis (SIBM/SCMHRD): SNAP.
• Maximising options: CAT + XAT + NMAT + SNAP is a common four-exam plan; the syllabi overlap heavily so one preparation base covers all.

2026 cycle calendar - exam-by-exam (indicative)

These windows are based on each exam's historical pattern. Confirm the current notification before relying on any specific date.

What happens after the exam (GD / WAT / PI and final admission)?

Sitting the exam is roughly the halfway mark. After scorecards drop in late December and January, each B-school publishes its own shortlist - based on overall percentile, sectional percentile, and a composite that may also factor in academics, work experience and category. Shortlisted candidates are then called for the second stage: a Written Ability Test (WAT), a Group Discussion (GD) and a Personal Interview (PI). The IIMs, XLRI and other premier schools run these rounds between January and April, usually in metro hubs (Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad). Final selection lists follow in March-May, and the academic session typically starts in June.

• Late Dec 2026 - early Jan 2027: CAT and NMAT scorecards; SNAP final scores once all sittings are done.
• Jan-Feb 2027: XAT result; B-school shortlists begin; first batch of GD/WAT/PI calls.
• Feb-Apr 2027: the GD/WAT/PI stretch - the IIMs, XLRI, FMS, SPJIMR, MDI, NMIMS and Symbiosis institutes run in this window.
• Mar-May 2027: final converts announced; fee deposit deadlines; waitlist movement.
• Jun 2027: programme begins - two-year flagship MBA / PGP / PGDM.

What to do month by month if you target CAT 2026

The calendar is also a prep plan. Working backwards from the late-November exam day, here is what a serious aspirant typically does in each phase of the cycle.

• May-Jul 2026 (foundations): rebuild quant fundamentals, set a daily reading habit for VARC, learn standard DILR set types. No timed mocks yet.
• Aug-Sep 2026 (coverage): CAT notification drops; register in the first week. Topic-wise drills, sectional tests, build accuracy over speed.
• Oct 2026 (mock phase begins): weekly full-length CAT mocks under the exact 40-minute sectional lock. Slot the first NMAT attempt in the same month to lock in a score.
• Nov 2026 (peak): 2-3 mocks a week, deep post-mortems, exam-day simulation. Taper in the final 7-10 days.
• Dec 2026: SNAP attempts, NMAT re-takes if needed, and XAT mocks in the actual XAT pattern (3.5 hours, with the essay).
• Jan 2027: XAT, CMAT; simultaneously start preparing for GD/WAT/PI - profile rehearsal, current affairs, mock interviews.

Slot allocation, admit cards and exam-day logistics

CAT is the most rigid of the lot. It is conducted in three slots on a single Sunday across roughly 150 cities. Slot allocation is automated based on city preference and registration order; you cannot pick a specific slot, and a last-minute change is not possible. The admit card is released roughly two to three weeks before exam day on iimcat.ac.in and lists the exact reporting time, test centre address and instructions. Carry a printed copy plus a valid government-issued photo ID (Aadhaar, PAN, passport or driving licence) - the same ID used during registration.

XAT is similar in structure but with one big difference - it runs as a single slot in the morning across roughly 70 cities, and the schedule has historically included a 5-10 minute optional essay-prep window after the objective sections. NMAT inverts the model entirely: you self-schedule the date, time and centre within the 70-day window, choose your section order at the start of the test, and can re-take the exam up to two more times if your first score disappoints. SNAP is split across two or three Sundays in December, and Symbiosis takes the best score across attempts.

What changes between cycles - and what doesn't

The structural facts are stable. CAT's last-Sunday-of-November date, the 120-minute sectional-lock format, the +3/-1 marking, the percentile reporting - these have held for several cycles and are not expected to shift for the 2026 cycle. What does change year to year is the question count per section (CAT has drifted between 66 and 76 questions in recent cycles), the proportion of TITA questions, and which IIM conducts the test (the role rotates among the older IIMs). Treat the structural numbers below as the working assumption and confirm on the official notification.