Factor #2: The ability to improve the score:One of the major factors as far as the CAT is concerned, is that it is like a bullet from a gun, once shot it cannot be recalled. Similarly, you only have one shot at the CAT in a given academic year. You have a bad headache or a fight with your girlfriend on the day of your CAT or suffer from Delhi Belly, CAT will just say BhaagBhaag DK Bose..However, as far as GMAT is concerned, there is no cap on the number of times that you can take the test. In an academic year, you are allowed to take the GMAT five times, with an interval of one month. These repeat attempts do come at a price, but then that critical option to improve your score exists and is used favorably by many candidatesTarget CAT/GMAT Score Number of Attempts

What does this mean for you?This means if you have a bad day or something crops up at work, you can shift your GMAT date to take it when you are ready. Infact you can reschedule your GMAT dates online up to a week before the test date.Factor #3:The validity of the ScoreYour CAT scores are valid only for that particular year. If you take CAT in 2013, you can use the score to apply for programmes starting in 2014 and not after that. However, some institutions do give you the leeway to use your previous CAT scores when applying, but then they are very few and far in between.On the other hand, GMAT scores are valid for 5 years.What does this mean for you?That means, you take your GMAT now and manage to get an awesome score but for some reason do not apply, you can use the same score to apply to any program even when: 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 FIFA World Cup 2014 Twenty 20 world Cup 2015 Cricket World Cup 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics 2016 Twenty 20 World Cup 2017 Auckland World Masters Games 2017 FIFA Confederations Cupare overFactor #4:The institutions covered by GMATCAT scores in its current form, can be used only for admissions in the IIMs and other affiliate Indian b-schools. Though it has been conducted for many years, it is still a very Indian test for Indian MBA programs.Taking the GMAT opens up the gates to the best institutions,both abroad and in India. Harvard Business School, Wharton and Stanford amongst other schools in the USA, INSEAD in France and Singapore, London Business School are ome of the prestigious institutions that consider GMAT scores for admissions to their management program. Top Indian B-schools such as the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad, Great Lakes Institute of Management (GLIM) in Chennai andSP Jain in Mumbai also have started considering GMAT scores for entry to their programmes.What does this means for you?Well, we are certainly asking you to Think beyond the IIMs. Not in the ponytail way, but know that GMAT will open up a lot more prestigious doors, than what CAT will.Factor #5: The relative ease of admissionsAcing the CAT is just the first step in what is an arduous and a highly competitive admission process. Group discussions, essays and personal interviews are the next in line before you bag the coveted admit. And worsening your already difficult task is the fact that Each step has a high and arbitrary cut offs.You will have meet the daunting sectional cutoffs, 10th marks, 12th marks, Graduation marks ..phew!before you finally convert it. Also the competition is unbelievably high. For about 1000 seats in the top five IIMs, you are competing with 200,000 people with similar aspirations. And do not forget the ubiquitous reservations!Simply put, only 0.5 percent of the total number of applicants make it to the IIMs.Most b-schools abroad have a streamlined system for admissions which is also very subjective. Once you take your GMAT, you would need to send out your essays and recommendation letters, In which there is a lot of scope to explain certain gaps in education and experience. Heck, the schools abroad dont even look at your 10th or 12th standard marks! It is all about how you are as a person and not just meeting some arbitrary cutoffs which in all probability you dont even know.The conversion ratio is almost 10 percent for b-schools who consider GMAT.

GMATCAT

It tests the complete mental ability of the students and not just their theoretical power.It focuses only on the book knowledge and not the practical one. It tests only a limited mental ability.

The GMAT has an Analytical Writing Ability (AWA).Writing skillsare not tested in the CAT.

In the GMAT, about 30% of questions in the Verbal Ability section are of Critical Reasoning.Critical Reasoning (CR)has not been a significant area in the CAT in recent years

In GMAT, the emphasis is not only on the functional aspects of grammar rules, but also on contextual meaning and usage. There are specific error types that are looked at in the GMAT and familiarity with those types will be very handy.Sentence Correctionquestions that come in the GMAT are of slightly different flavor when compared to those in the CAT.

The reasons of a student in India opting to take GMAT over CAT exam:-

GMAT

CAT

This test also comprises of a written section that test the writing skills and also helps in depicting the students flow of thoughts and his ability to effectively express himself.The CAT exam has no such writing section and it tests only the objective and grammatical knowledge of the person.

Accepted not only by IIMs but also top colleges like ISB, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), XLRI, Birla Institute of Management Studies (BIMS), Faculty of Management studies (FMS), Great Lakes Institute of Management and many more.Accepted by only IIMs and handful of other colleges.

Have a choice to apply to the top schools in India (including the top 1%) and the best colleges from around the worldValid and limited only to India and is applicable to only few other colleges except IIMs.

More than 60% GMAT Takers get into the leading B-schools.Only 2% CAT takers get into IIMs

The Score is valid for5 yrs.The score is valid only for a year.

The test happens all year around (i.e.- The GMAT test takes place every month and a person can take thisexam more than once in a year if he has not attained his targeted score. However, The GMAT exam can only be taken 5 times in a year by an individual).It comes only once a year (so if you dont get a good score then you have to wait for one whole year to take the test and re-apply to colleges.)

For every score there is a great B-school. This is one test which is accepted by multiple colleges in India (no need to take a separate test for MAT or XAT and other colleges specific exams.) and abroad.Good B-Schools only accept students who have ranked at 90thpercentile or above.

Requires 2-4 months of prep.Requires almost a years preparation, some students also take two years to prepare.

Why settle for lakhs when you can earn millions?Many students in India are unclear whether they should target GMAT or CAT and what to expect on the tests. We attempt to demystify the two tests through a handy side by side comparison.GMATCATSignificance

Administering bodyGMAC a non-profit body governed by top global business schoolsIIMs Indias top business schools-

Test frequencyThe GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test)can be taken up to five times in a year.TheGMAT test datescan be chosen as per convenience.GMAT test takers have an option to reschedule the exam seven days before the GMAT test date at an additional fee of $50.Note GMAC takes 3 weeks to report your score to schools of your choice. keep this in mind when planning your test date.Once a year. Rescheduling the test is also an option for CAT takers, but the date has to be within the test window and subject to availability, so theres lesser flexibility on this front.For those who want to improve their CAT scores, the waiting period would be one year to re-take the test whereas in case of the GMAT, you can re-take the test after a gap of thirty-one days.

When do you get the score?The GMAT score for the Verbal and Quantitative section can be known immediately after the test is taken though it takes up to three weeks for the official scores to reach you.CAT test results are announced much later at a fixed dateIn case you are taking the GMAT which allows a candidate to take the test multiple times, knowing the score immediately helps candidates plan if they need to take the test again

Validity of scoreThe GMAT score is valid for a period of five years across most business schools in UK and USA. Some schools in India do not consider scores older than three years.If you have had multiple attempts at the GMAT, the highest score is considered at most business schools.The CAT score is valid for one yearImpacts when you schedule the test in your overall MBA plans. You can take the GMAT immediately after college when many concepts tested on GMAT would be relatively fresh in your mind and you would have plenty of time for preparation. You can then apply to business school up to five years later when it fits in your overall career plans.

Fees$ 250 (Rs 17,000)Indian Rupees 1600Taking the GMAT should be a well considered decision. Most candidates evaluate their chances of getting their target score before applying.CAT is more affordable but considering the overall expenses of MBA education, this factor may not have a major impact on deciding which exam is right for you

No. of schools the score will be reported to without extra charge5unlimitedCandidates need to be selective in applying to business schools

Charges for reporting score to each additional school$28Not applicableImpacts the number of schools a GMAT test taker can apply to without breaking the bank

Charges for applying to business schoolsSignificant each business school has a separate application fee which can be as high as200 (Rs 17,000)Low Most business schools accepting CAT charge in the range of Rs 1000-1500 as application feeSame as above the significant application fee mandates a thorough and honest self-evaluation before applying to business schools

Courses accepting the scoreFull time MBA (One year and Two year), Masters in Business Management (MBM/MIM), Executive MBA (part time courses) in USA, UK, India, Australia, Asia-Pacific and ChinaNote: All course definitions asper accreditation by AMBA, UKTwo-year PGP at Indian business schools (MBM as per AMBA, UK accreditation and MBA equivalent as per Association of Indian Universities, India)A wider choice of courses is available to the GMAT applicant

Sections on the test and durationIn the GMAT, the Analytical writing assessment (AWA) section comprises of a 30-minute analysis of an argument which involves writing essays.The Integrated reasoning section lasts another 30 minutes. The Quantitative and the Verbal section have 75 minutes each.The total time thus adds up tothree and half hours.The CAT has two sections (a) QuantitativeAbility & Data Interpretation (b) Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning. There is no essay writing involved. Both the sections are timed separately. Each section lasts for 1 hour 10 minutes with a fifteen minute tutorial before the test begins. So the total duration adds up totwo hours thirty-five minutes.The GMAT is often called a test of stamina. Stock up on enough sleep before the exam. Tip: avoid Red Bull during the break many students report increased stress and a faster heart rate after drinking the sports drink in the exam setting

Test FormatAdaptiveThe candidate can view only one question at a time.If the answer provided is correct, the next question displayed would be slightly tougher than the previous one. The difficulty level would increase with each correct answer provided. In case of an incorrect answer, the next question asked would be slightly easier.There is no negative marking but once you answer a question and move on to the next one, you cannot go back and change your answer. The test taker can not skip a question.The scores are provided for the Quantitative andGMAT Verbalsections out of 800 and the AWA section has a score on a scale of 0-6LinearIn case of the CAT, each section comprisesof thirty questions. Candidates have to takethe Quantitative Ability & Data interpretationsection first followed by the Verbal Ability& Logical Reasoning section.Candidates can review the various answers within a sectionduring the time provided. Once a section iscompleted, candidates do not have access to it.There is a +3 marking for a correct answerprovided and a -1 marking for an incorrect answer. No marks are given forunanswered questions.Some candidates may opt to skip a few answers insteadof providing incorrect answers. Similar to GMAT, results provided mention the percentile rankings for each individualsection and the overall test score.-

Sectional cut-offsMost business schools accepting GMAT do not have sectional cut-offsBusiness schools accepting CAT tend to have sectional cut offs decided by the colleges-

Which schools accept the score?All prominent business schools in USA, Europe, Asia-pacific, Australia & India. In India ISB, IIMs, XLRI, Great Lakes, SP Jain are some of the prominent business schools accepting GMAT for One year full time MBA programmes.All Indian business schools accept CAT for their two-year PGP (MBM) programme

Weight-age assigned in admission process Most business schools using GMAT assign no more than 20-30% weigh-age when evaluating candidature and shortlisting for interviews. Other aspects schools look at include Quality of work experience, extracurricular achievements, essays.A bulk of candidates appearing for CAT have zero work experience and so schools tend to assign significant weight-age to CAT scores in order to evaluate their candidature.Schools shortlist candidates for interview based solely on CAT scores other aspects of a candidate may be looked at later in the admission process.-

Booking your testVisit the GMAT official website,www.mba.comand choose the nearest GMAT test center after which you can select the GMAT test date and time as per your convenience and register.For the CAT, candidates have to purchase CAT vouchers at select Axis bank locations. Online registration can be done using the voucher number.

So which test is more difficult?GMAT is known to have a significantly harder Verbal section with the questions on Logical Reasoning being significantly harder than those on CAT.A casual glance at the syllabus for the Quantitative section may hint at an easier test questions asked require knowledge of basic concepts such as Speed, Time, Distance and Probability. However, a closer look reveals that GMAT skips higher mathematical concepts in favour of more tricky questions and speed.More than one-third of the questions in GMAT Quant belong to Data Sufficiency type, whereas this question may or may not appear at all in CAT. The complexity of GMAT Quant is not in formulae or calculations, but in the applicationCAT syllabus includes higher mathematical concepts such as Integration & differentiation.The GMAT test format reflects its intended audience. The test is aimed at people who have been away from academics for a significant time and so aims to test mental agility and IQ rather than pure mathematical concepts the former is more relevant in selecting future managers.The jury is out on which test is more difficult. One tests higher concepts, the other confuses and confounds by complicating highs school math problems to the level of complex puzzles. Many students report acing the CAT and then performing poorly on GMAT and vice-versa.Bottom line We feel that more than the difficulty of the tests, the life-stage of the applicant will decide the choice of test forcandidates.Discussions regarding which test is more difficult may not have any real world implications.

Who should take the test?The GMAT is accepted for both post experience management courses (MBAs) and pre-experience management courses (MBMs) at business schools across the world.Take the GMAT if you aspire to an MBA course in USA, Europe or India or an MBM course in USA, Europe, Australia or Asia-pacificCAT scores are valid for only one year and the PGP courses admit largely freshers.CAT is the test to target if you intend to target pre-experience management education in India within the near future-

2. Improvement on the GMAT is statistically shown to improve with effort. I am not sure if there is similar data on CAT. But I can *prove* that you can improve your scores with effort. Whether you get a 750 out of 800 is as good as asking whether you will get 99.9%ile in CAT - its upto the individuals.