It goes without saying that an MBA program is one of the most coveted courses in India. As MBA aspirants begin preparations every year they usually shortlist the entrance exams they need to appear in to seek admission into their dream B-Schools. CAT comes as a default option but there are several other national and state level entrances that candidates can appear in. And in doing so they often face the dilemma in shortlisting exams from the available options as each of them has its own importance.

For those of you who are having tough time in deciding between NMAT and SNAP, we bring you a comprehensive comparison and analysis that’ll help you taking the final call.

Check NMAT Exam Dates

SNAP vs NMAT General Differences

SNAP is a computer based online test conducted by the Symbiosis International University (SIU) at national level. Nearly 50,000 candidates appear in the exam every year to compete for 2257 seats offered in SIU 15 institutions. SNAP qualifiers are eligible to seek admissions into 23 MBA programs offered in the SIU affiliating institutes.

NMIMS Management Aptitude Test (NMAT) or NMAT rebranded as NMAT by GMAC is again a computer based online entrance offering admissions to over top 20 B-Schools in India. The tests scores are accepted by institutes in South Africa and Philippines. It is conducted over a 75-day testing window across 58 NMAT centers in 44 cities of India. There has been 7% increase in NMAT registration last year and over 88,000 applicants appeared in 2017.

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SNAP Vs NMAT Exam Pattern Comparison

The major difference in syllabus between the two is GK section. SNAP has a dedicated GK section comprising of 25 questions whereas NMAT doesn’t.

• NMAT gives you 120 minutes to solve 120 questions whereas SNAP has 120 minutes for 130 questions, which comes down 48 seconds per question.  Speed is required in both the papers but SNAP requires speed and accuracy due to negative marking scheme. Candidates cannot survive without accuracy in SNAP.
• In NMAT candidates need to choose the order of sections, which once chosen has to be followed whereas, SNAP takers can choose to do any question from any section any time within overall time limit. Also, there is no individual sectional time limit for SNAP while NMAT sectional time limit varies between 22 to 60 minutes.

Check NMAT Exam Pattern

NMAT Syllabus

English: This section consists of 36 questions to be completed in 28 minutes.

The topics included in English section are:

Antonyms, Synonyms, grammatical errors, fill up the blanks, tenses, parts of speech, vocabulary, jumbled sentences, phrasal verbs, sentence correction etc.

Quantitative aptitude: This section consists of 36 questions to be completed in 52 minutes.

The topics included in this section are: Trigonometry, Algebra, Probability, mensuration, coordinate geometry, line graph, mixture and allegations, permutations and combination, 2d and 3d geometry, Statistics, Number system, percentage, time and work, profit and loss, average, interest etc.

Logical Reasoning: This section consists of 36 questions to be completed in 40 minutes

The topics include:

1. Course of Action
2. Critical Reasoning
3. Coding and Decoding
4. Puzzles
5. Family tree
6. Syllogisms

The syllabus of both SNAP and NMAT is similar to other management entrance tests but the major difference is the varying topics covered under each section. For instance, NMAT’s language comprehension includes topics like contextual usage and syllogism whereas SNAP covers topics like idioms, synonyms & antonyms and fill in the blanks.

Know NMAT Preparation Tips

SNAP Syllabus

SNAP Vs NMAT Competition Level & Scope

The competition level is higher for NMAT as its scope expands to some of the top B-Schools in India namely SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, ICFAI Business School (IBS), Xavier’s University, ITM Business School and more. Scope of SNAP scores extend to SIU and few more institutions; however, many SIU institutions are among top ranking B-Schools such as SIBM, SIOM, SIIB and SCMHRD.

SNAP has over 50,000 takers every year while NMAT has over 88,000 applicants which increases the competition level for NMAT candidates. The quality of candidates appearing in NMAT and SNAP is somewhat same hence one can easily prepare and appear for both the entrances simultaneously.

SNAP Vs NMAT Cutoff For Top Colleges

NMAT has both sectional and overall cut off which candidates need to clear to seek admissions to top colleges. The overall expected cut off for SNAP would be between 68 and 70 (out of 150) and for NMAT between 169 and 208 (out of 360) as per latest test pattern. SNAP doesn’t have a sectional cut off and the final scores are scaled down to 50.

An attempt of 80 correct questions within 120 minutes is considered a good attempt in NMAT and around 85-90 questions with 80-85% accuracy in SNAP is an ideal attempt.

Read More on NMAT Official Preparation Guide

NMAT Expected Cutoff 2020 

SNAP 2019 Expected Cutoff Score

SNAP and NMAT have many similarities and differences but the choice of attempting the test depends upon which B-school does the candidate want to join. The call between SNAP and NMAT can be very close but the ultimate deciding factor would be the institute a candidate is aiming at.

Both the tests are speed driven and the similarity in syllabus is the prime reason why MBA aspirants do not mind attempting both SNAP and NMAT. There will not be a significant difference in preparations for the two, except for GK part which requires special attention in SNAP.

Even if you are to choose between the two then NMAT will win the case as it has more scope, ease of taking multiple tests and no negative marking.