Is it okay to drop a year to prepare for CAT and XAT, etc. entrance exams? Will it affect my career in any way? Do schools accept gap years?

No, CAT is not compulsory to get admission in TITE - Templecity Institute of Technology and Engineering. The college accepts entrance exams such as: OJEE/ATMA/CAT/MAT. Candidates wishing to get admission into this programme should have passed graduation with at least 50% marks. 

No, CAT is not compulsory to get admission in MBA at College of Engineering, Pune. The college consider svalid score of entrance exams such as: 

• MAH-CET (The primary state-level exam considered for Maharashtra students)
• CAT
• CMAT
• XAT 

Yes, personal interview round for MBA admission is mandatory for all candidates regardless of which exam they apply through. Candidates applying through CAT result for PP Savani University can only skip SLMET written test during MBA admission process.

Their final evaluation will be based on comb

Xavier Institute of Management and Informatics does accepts CAT scores for admission in MBA programme. However, it is not compulsory. Aspirants can also get admission based on their qualifying exam scores and performance in the PI round.

Candidates preparing for CAT may not need to prepare for KLMAT Management separately, as the syllabus is the same and the test structure is also similar. However, one should make sure they practice KLMAT sample papers from a month before the exam as the question type and difficulty level will be dif