AMCAT Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility, Important Dates

AMCAT is built from modules, each with its own question count and clock.

Compulsory modules

English, Quantitative Ability and Logical Ability together are 44 questions in 53 minutes. AMPI adds 90 items in 20 more.

Domain modules: you choose two

How it runs

• Adaptive: a right answer brings a harder question, a wrong one an easier one.
• No negative marking. SHL expects you to answer every question in every module.
• Each module is timed separately.
• A 14-digit AMCAT ID is generated during the test. Keep it; it's the reference for every later score, interview and offer.

There's no total mark, maximum score or rank. You get a score per module, a feedback report and a Job Match analysis.

SHL publishes each module's topics, job profiles, size and sample questions on the AMCAT Syllabus page.

English

Vocabulary (synonyms, antonyms, contextual vocabulary); grammar (error identification, sentence improvement and construction); reading comprehension.

Quantitative Ability

Numbers and decimal fractions; word problems on interest, inverse, profit and speed; divisibility, HCF and LCM.

Quantitative Ability (Tech)

Divisibility, HCF and LCM, numbers, decimal fractions, powers; profit and loss, simple and compound interest, time, speed and distance, inverse; logarithms, permutations and combinations, probability.

Logical Ability

Deductive: coding deductive logic, data sufficiency, directional sense, logical word sequence, objective reasoning, selection decision tables, puzzles. Inductive: analogy, and pattern recognition by classification, coding and number series.

Information Gathering and Synthesis

Data interpretation, information ordering and processing: finding the relevant information, ordering and classifying data, reading graphs, charts and tables, and rule-based deductions.

AMPI

A personality inventory on the five-factor model: extraversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness to experience and agreeableness. Used for people-facing and people-management roles.

Domain modules

The rest cover Electronics and Semiconductors, Telecommunication, Electrical, Industrial, Production, Metallurgical, Chemical, Automotive, Petrochemical, Aeronautical and Polymer Engineering, Paint Technology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Operations Management, Financial Accounting, and the hospitality modules.

SHL's rule: there are no eligibility criteria, no percentage and no educational qualification. Everyone can take it, as long as you haven't sat AMCAT in the last 45 days.

The real eligibility sits with each recruiter. A company may want 60 per cent throughout, a particular branch, year of passing or region, and a strong AMCAT score won't get you past that.

The registration form's degree list runs from B.Tech, B.E., BCA and MCA through B.Com, BBA, MBA, B.Sc and M.Sc to B.Pharm, B.Arch, B.Des, LL.B, MBBS, BDS, Nursing, CA, hotel management, diplomas and Ph.D.

AMCAT feeds other companies' hiring. The steps:

1. Book. Register on myamcat.com, pick a city and date, and pay. If your college is running AMCAT, SHL strongly recommends sitting it there.
2. Sit the test at a college or SHL centre. Note your 14-digit AMCAT ID.
3. Get your score and report by email, usually within six working days. That email also activates your myAMCAT account.
4. Get shortlisted. SHL emails and texts you when a company shortlists you, for as long as your subscription is valid. Hide my profile stops this entirely.
5. Interview with the company. If you skip interview calls twice, AMCAT stops sending you opportunities. If you can't go, decline and tell the AMCAT team. Failing one interview doesn't stop others coming.

AMCAT is a test, not an employer, so there's no pay scale. Pay, bond and probation are set by whichever company hires you.

SHL names Accenture, Snapdeal, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and ITC among the companies it works with, across IT services, banking and financial services, automobiles and telecom. The only salary figure it publishes belongs to a paid add-on: AMCAT PRO promises 3 interviews in 3 months worth 5 LPA or more, or your money back.

How to book

• Register on myamcat.com with an email and mobile number you'll keep. Scores and interview calls go to both.
• Fill in name, mobile, degree, year of completion and state.
• Choose a city and date, and pay. The price shows at booking; SHL doesn't publish it elsewhere.
• A group of students can ask SHL to hold AMCAT at their college.

Rescheduling

Allowed while the slot is more than 24 hours away. The closer the test, the more it costs:

Retaking

You can sit it again 45 days after your last attempt, and you have to take all mandatory sections again. The recruiting company decides which score it uses: some take the latest, some the best, some the average.

Paid extras

All optional: AMCAT Sample Question Papers (₹ 550 introductory, list price ₹ 750), PrepAMCAT (an official mock), AMCAT Premium, AMCAT PRO, resume building, mock interviews and certifications. Under SHL's pricing policy, if a price was posted wrongly it can cancel the test and refund you.

Your account

• The myAMCAT login arrives with the result email. Before that there's nothing to log in to.
• Email and password are case sensitive. Reset a password with Login using OTP.
• A lost AMCAT ID is recovered with your name, email and registered mobile number.

Who runs it

SHL (India) Private Limited. AMCAT was built by Aspiring Minds, which SHL bought. The site now names SHL, while the test terms still say Aspiring Minds owns the intellectual property. Same test.

Who uses the score

Over 550 companies by SHL's FAQ, 700 or more by its About page, plus more than 500 small and medium firms. Named examples: Accenture, Snapdeal, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and ITC. LinkedIn and Monster.com accept it as an employability certification.

Colleges

Much of AMCAT is sat on campus. If your college runs it for a specific company, whether you get your own score and report depends on that company, so a campus test for one recruiter may leave you nothing to use elsewhere.

AMCAT is sat in person, never at home: either in a college where SHL is running it, or at an SHL centre booked on myamcat.com. SHL doesn't publish a centre list; the booking screen shows what's available.

Before starting you agree not to record, copy or share any question, to take the test yourself without help or outside resources, and that repeated prohibited behaviour will shut the test down and reject your application.

If you miss your college's test, ask for a re-run if enough students want one, or book a centre in a nearby city.

AMCAT has no annual cycle or notification. It runs all year in cities across the country, and the only dates are the ones you book.

SHL suggests sitting it in 3rd year Engineering, 2nd year MCA or 1st year MBA, so you can act on the report, and retake if needed, before campus placements.

The test admit card is emailed once you've booked and paid. If it doesn't come, check spam, then use the support form option I want to receive my AMCAT admit card again.

A company that shortlists you sends a separate interview admit card. The support form has its own option for that too.

The 14-digit AMCAT ID you get during the test matters more than either. Keep it.

Everyone who sits AMCAT gets a score and report. There's no pass or fail.

The score comes by email first (check spam). The report includes Job Match, showing your chances by sector and what to improve, and reading material for weak areas.

The score is valid until your subscription expires; check the date in your account. Hide my profile stops companies seeing it.

AMCAT has no cut-off. SHL says different companies look at different sections, so there's no one good score. Section-wise "cut-offs" on other sites don't come from SHL.

The nearest thing is the Job Match section of your own report. SHL's FAQ lists why a good score may still bring no calls: who's hiring and where, the company's own norms, limits on each interview event, and an out-of-date profile.

1. Get the early questions right. The test is adaptive, so accuracy early in a module sets the level you're scored at. A run of guesses pulls the level down.
2. Still answer everything. There's no negative marking, and a blank is a sure zero.
3. Choose your two domain modules on purpose. SHL says the programming module makes you visible to more IT companies and the HR module to HR roles. Decide before test day.
4. Practise at the real pace. Civil Engineering is 40 questions in 25 minutes, one every 37 seconds. Automata Fix is 7 in 20, about three minutes each. Pharmaceutical Sciences is 15 in 10.
5. The core is school-level: 44 questions in 53 minutes. Timed practice on the published topics is what helps.
6. Answer AMPI quickly and consistently. 90 items in 20 minutes. There's no right profile to fake, and inconsistency is what it's built to catch.
7. Sit it early. With a 45-day gap, a full retake and the company choosing which score counts, treat the first attempt as the real one.
8. Use SHL's own material. Free sample papers for each module, and PrepAMCAT as a paid mock. Papers rebuilt from memory break the confidentiality terms and are of unknown age.
9. Keep your profile up to date, and don't accept interview calls you won't attend.

SHL publishes free sample questions for each section and module, and the syllabus page has sample questions too. It also sells PrepAMCAT, an official mock, and AMCAT Sample Question Papers. Real past papers aren't released, and every test taker agrees not to share the questions.

• myamcat.com: register, book, pay, and later your reports and job applications
• AMCAT Syllabus: every module's topics, size, duration and sample questions
• AMCAT Sample Papers: free sample questions per module
• About AMCAT: what the test is for, and the company and candidate figures
• FAQ: retakes, rescheduling, results, score validity
• Pricing Policy: booking, pricing errors and refunds

What is AMCAT?

An employability test run by SHL. You sit it once, get a score and report, and companies use the score to shortlist for entry-level jobs.

Which modules are compulsory?

English, Quantitative Ability, Logical Ability and AMPI. Then you choose two domain modules.

How long is the test?

It depends on your modules. The core is 44 questions in 53 minutes, AMPI adds 20 minutes, and each domain module 10 to 25 minutes.

Is there negative marking?

No.

Am I eligible?

Yes. There's no degree or percentage requirement, only a 45-day gap since any previous attempt.

Can I take AMCAT from home?

No. Only at a college where SHL runs it, or an SHL centre.

Can I take it again?

After 45 days, sitting all mandatory sections again. The company decides which score to use.

What is a good AMCAT score?

SHL says there isn't one. Check the Job Match section of your report.

When do I get my score?

Usually within 6 working days, by email. A campus test for a specific company may not give you a report.

How long is the score valid?

Until your subscription expires. Check the date in your myAMCAT account.

Why am I getting no interview calls with a good score?

Usually who's hiring and where, the company's own eligibility rules, event limits, or an out-of-date profile. Skipping two interview calls also stops them.