Management Aptitude Test (MAT) is a standardized test. The test is being administered since 1988 to facilitate Business Schools (B-Schools) to screen candidates for admission to MBA and allied programmes. Government of India, Ministry of HRD approved MAT as a national level test in 2003. Management Aptitude Test (MAT) is held four times in a year February, May, September and December. The MAT cutoff scores range from 200 to 700, depending on the rank and quality of the B-schools. Since the number of participating institutes is high, the aspirants have a number of choices to get admission to a top B-SchoolMAT Eligibility CriteriaThe candidates must have graduated from a recognized Institution/ University.The candidates can apply irrespective for the MAT 2016 irrespective of their disciplines in graduation.A final year student in any undergraduate (i.e. B.A, B.Sc., B.Com. B.Tech, etc) can also appear provisionally for MAT 2016.Candidates can apply for MAT 2016 to be held in December 2016 even if they have appeared for MAT earlier.There is usually a minimum percentage requirement (50% marks in most cases) in graduation or any equivalent degreeCandidates require no work experience to apply for MAT 2016.There is no age limit set for the candidates to apply for MAT 2016How to apply In order to apply for MAT 2016, candidate can choose any one of the following modes to apply. Candidates can register online at website link http://apps.aima.in/matdec16 with Credit Card/Debit Card (ATM Card) payment. Detailed procedure is given on the website link.Register online at website link: http://apps.aima.in/matdec16 by making payment of Rs.1200/- through Net Banking. Detailed procedure is given on the website link. Or obtain crossed Demand Draft (DD) of Rs 1200/- (One thousand two hundred only) in favour of 'All India Management Association' payable at Delhi from any Bank. Register online at website link: http://apps.aima.in/matdec16 along with the DD details.Any B-School in India or abroad can consider MAT Score as an admission input based on the Score Cards issued to the candidates. The scheme of MAT offers value added services to B-Schools considering MAT Score for admission to approved post graduate management programmes. According the information available on the official website The B-Schools can participate in MAT administration by including their notifications in the MAT Bulletin. B-School under any of the following groups is eligible to include its notification in the MAT Bulletin:Group A: Management Institute, University Affiliated College or University Department approved by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for imparting MBA or allied Degree/PG Diploma programme in Management.Group B: Management Institute or University Department/Directorate directly approved by Distance Education Council (DEC) for imparting MBA or allied Degree/PG Diploma programme in Management.Group C: University Affiliated College or University Department approved for imparting regular two year full time MBA or allied Degree programme in Management.Group D: University imparting MBA or allied Degree programme in Management, awaiting approval from AICTE/DEC.Group E: Autonomous Iinstitute under a Ministry of Government of India imparting regular two year full time PG Diploma programme in Management of allied field.Group F: University imparting MBA or allied degree programme in Management or in allied discipline outside India and lawfully established in that Country. The selection procedure of MAT 2016 includes Group Discussion (GD), Personal Interview (PI) and or Written Ability Test (WAT). AIMA has announced the third MAT of the year, MAT December 2016 scheduled on December 4 and 10 onwards in paper pencil and computer based modes respectively. The application process for MAT December 2016 will start from the first week of October and November 19 and 22 are the last dates for offline and online application mode deadlines respectively. Marking Scheme of MAT 2016:As per the exam pattern of MAT 2016, the test consists of 200 questions in total with 40 questions in each section. The sections are: 1. Language Comprehension, 2. Intelligence and Critical Reasoning, 3. Data Analysis and Sufficiency, 4. Mathematical Skills and 5. Indian and Global Environment. Each question for the MAT 2016 paper will carry 1 mark and for each wrong answer, there is negative marking of 1/4 marks. Candidates are shortlisted on the basis of their cut off marks for the selection procedure which includes GD/WAT and PI rounds. The MAT 2016 cutoff can be either in the form of percentile or score. The cutoff score ranges from 250 to 700 varying from B-School to B-School.Some of the top B-schools accepting MAT scores include Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida; Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Usha & Lakshmi Mittal Institute of Management, New Delhi; Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, Lucknow; Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Gandhinagar, FLAME School of Business, Pune among others.All provisionally registered candidates both for Paper Based and Computer Based Test can download their Admit Card from AIMA website link on or after November 26, 2016 (Saturday) for the exam to be conducted in December. Specific Admit Card is generated both for the candidates opted for the Paper Based Test and for the Computer Based Test. Admit Card contains Candidate's Name, Form No, Roll No, Test Date, Test Time and Test Venue Address. Candidate has to strictly follow the date and time allotted to him/her in the case of Computer Based Test. It is important to remember that no aspirants will be allowed to enter the examination hall without the admit card. Candidates are allowed to carry the documents such as admit card (completed), writing materials such as Ball Point Pen, HB Pencils, Eraser and Sharpener. The exam hall would be opened almost 30 minutes before the commencement of the test. The candidates are to be seated at the allotted place. The authorities will verify the admit card during the exam. Candidates will get one part of the admit card as proof of appeared in the exam. Candidates need to ensure that the admit card is signed by exam invigilator. The duration of the exam will be of 2 hours and 30 minutes. There will be 200 questions in total. All questions will be compulsory and there will be negative marking. Each question will have four answer options marked. The result for MAT December 2016 is expected in the third week of December.