At IndiaCollegeSearch, we decided to test the waters with an opinion poll asking MBA aspirants, whether they would appear for the CMAT exam in its debut year – the response was overwhelming. Over 7 lakh students were reached and more than 3700 cast their vote in just 5 days to let us know about their intentions. By the time we closed,the survey on the 5th day, we had seen a photo finish to an extremely close run affair.

1757 students, which constitute 54%, voted in negative while 1499, the rest 46% replied in affirmative.

As AICTE has also painfully discovered, more than half of students expected to take CMAT are skipping it. Students say that the blame lies solely with the organizers for the way the exam has been conducted. There have been a series of problems, ranging from incorrect mock tests on the official website to a lack of clarity on registration dates.

But the main reason why students have not registered for CMAT this year is the complete confusion about which colleges accepted the said examination. Several college bodies such as All India Management Association has opposed the CMAT, and upheld their original ATMA test. While the Indian Institute of Management was expected to stick to the CAT and not accept CMAT, it is now clear that most colleges are sceptical, and will not be accepting the test, at least in its first year.

What does this mean for the 70 thousand students that have registered? No one is sure. As of now, the exam is taking place as scheduled between 20-28 February, with results likely to be announced on March 11. It is only after the results are out and admissions commence that the students who appeared in the test would find out whether their CMAT scores carry any value or not.