All about CAT

The Common Admission Test (CAT)

Conducted by :   Conducted jointly by the IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management -- Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Bangalore, Lucknow, Indore, Calicut)

Eligibility criteria :   For all IIMs, Candidates need to have a bachelors degree in any discipline from a recognized University or equivalent in any discipline recognized by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU)/ All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) as eligible for Post-Graduate Studies in Management. Students who are to qualify in the following year also can appear for CAT Exam. Many typically ask for a minimum of 50% marks at the graduation level.

Obtaning the CAT Application Form: 
The Common Admission Test application form and the bulletin can be obtained from the selected branches of Axis Bank on payment of Rs. 1300/- (Rs. 650/- for SC/ST candidates). Under exceptional circumstances, CAT 2009 application form and bulletin can also be obtained from any of the IIMs by sending a crossed demand draft of Rs. 1300/- (Rs. 650/- for SC/ST candidates) drawn in favor of the respective IIM. Request for the bulletin should be accompanied by a cloth lined self-addressed unstamped envelope of 12” x 10”. 

Exam applicable to :    There is no university that accepts the CAT scores. Since CAT is conducted by the IIM, which is a set of autonomous institutes, only autonomous institutes accept CAT scores. Note that until very recently, the exam was only for the IIMs. The list however, changes every year and there is no way of knowing the exhaustive list. However, a good sample would include the following...

The Indian Institutes of Management

·  MICA (Mudra Insitute of Communication)

·  TA Pai, Manipal

·  IMT, Ghaziabad

·  MDI, Gurgaon

·  Goa Institute of Management

·  Institute of Technology and Management (multiple locations all over India).

·  Institute of Management Development & Research, Pune

Exam Dates :    The CAT exam usually takes place on the second Sunday of December.

Pattern of the paper :     Although slight changes could be observed every year, typically the pattern is as follows...

Maths - 50 marks (including the regular topics -- percentage, numbers, ratios, geometry, distance, interest and the likes for 40 marks and Data Sufficiency for 10 marks) 
Data Interpretation - 35 marks 
English - 50 marks (including unjumbling of jumbled sentences, analogies, error spotting, finding the odd word and the likes) 
Reading Comprehension - 50 marks (typically 6 to 8 passages)

CAT Test :    CAT tests a candidates skill in verbal ability and reasoning, reading comprehension, quantitative skills, data interpretation and analytical and logical reasoning. The duration of the test is of 120 minutes. All the questions are multiple choice. Each correct answer carries 0.5 or 1 or 2 mark, each incorrect answer carries 1/3rd of the marks allocated to it as negative marks. It is absolutely necessary to improve the aspiring candidates vocabulary for CAT exam. Problem Solving is equally important as Verbal Ability.

Reservations :    As per Government of India requirement 15% and 7½% seats are reserved for SC and ST candidates. Government of India has proposed to reserve seats for candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBC) starting from academic year 2007-08. 3% seats in IIMs are reserved for Persons with Disability (PWD) of which 1% each is reserved for low-vision/blindness, hearing impairment and loco motor disability/cerebral palsy.

CAT 2009 Results :    CAT 2009 results would be available from January 2010. CAT results can be accessed on www.catiim.in and also by using sms facility or by sending a mail. SMS should be sent to 57333 after inserting ‘CAT test registration number date of birth (dd mm yy)’ or ‘CAT test registration number application number”. http://www.catiim.in/