CAT: Common Admission Test

Common Admission Test (CAT) is administered by Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) for admission to various Post Graduate Management Programmes and Doctoral degrees. The test is considered as one of the top level examination for entry into professional courses. Students who have completed any college degree program or in the final year of one such a course can appear for CAT. The test contains questions from study areas like Verbal Ability, Quantitative Ability, Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation. Apart from IIMs many other universities also accepts CAT score as a measure of competency for admission into Post Graduate Diploma and Degree Programmes in Management and related disciplines. CAT is set to be administered in the month of November. IIMs plays no role in admission process of other institutes accepting CAT score. Students are advised to see particular institute website for admission guidelines.

CAT is a Computer Based Test (CBT). Application process is completely online. There is no other mode of application formalities available.

To write CAT candidates not require any specific computer skills. The CAT testing authority designs Mock CAT test and publish the same on its official website. Candidates can take the Mock CAT Test to have a feel of how the actual exam will look like over a computer screen.

CAT Important Dates

CAT Registration Starts: August
CAT Registration Ends: September
CAT Test Date: November

For latest CAT Dates and detailed schedule go to EducationNews.Shiksha

Management Programmes offered through CAT

CAT is admission test for Post Graduate (PG) Programmes in Management offered through Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). Besides, many other institutes also offer Post Graduate Management Degree and Diploma Programme through CAT Score. Here are courses offered by IIMs.

Post Graduate Programmes in Management PGP)

IIM Ahmedabad: PGP, PGP-FABM, ePGP
IIM Amritsar: PGP
IIM Bangalore: PGP, PGPEM, PGPPM
IIM Bodh Gaya: PGP
IIM Calcutta: PGP
IIM Indore: PGP, PGP-HRM
IIM Jammu: PGP
IIM Kashipur: PGP, EPGP
IIM Kozhikode: PGP, EPGP (IIMK, IIMK Kochi Campus)
IIM Lucknow: PGP, PGP-ABM, PGP-SM
IIM Nagpur: PGP
IIM Raipur: PGP
IIM Ranchi: PGP, PGP-HRM
IIM Rohtak: PGP, EPGP, EPGPX
IIM Sambalpur: PGP
RGIIM Shillong: PGP, PGPEX
IIM Sirmaur: PGP
IIM Tiruchirappalli: PGP, PGPBM
IIM Udaipur: PGP
IIM Vishakhapatnam: PGP

Fellow Programme in Management (FPM) (Equivalent to PhD)

This programme is offered by following IIMs:

IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Indore, IIM Kashipur, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Lucknow, IIM Raipur, IIM Rohtak, RGIIM Shillong, IIM Tiruchirappalli, IIM Udaipur, IIM Vishakhapatnam

Other Fellow Programmes

IIM Kashipur: EFPM
IIM Raipur: EFPM
IIM Ranchi: PhD, EPhD

Eligibility Criteria for CAT

For CAT one has to start preparing early. But it is vital to know the eligibility criteria before you start the same. All candidates applying for the CAT examination must possess a graduation degree. Those who have graduation degrees in any kind of discipline can apply for this exam. However, for CAT you should have a minimum of 50% marks or equivalent CGPA. Those who come under the reserved categories the percentage is lowered to 45%. If you are in your final year, then you can register for the examination but it should be remembered that you must qualify the same with given eligibility criteria once the results are out. On getting less than 50% marks, you may be disqualified due to this.

Reservation of Seats for CAT

Reservation of seats for SC Candidates: 15%
Reservation of seats for ST candidates: 7.5%
Reservation of seats for OBC: 27%
Reservation of seats for the person with disabilities: 3%

It is a percentage criterion that is decided by the Indian govt. and the same can change each year.

Registration process for CAT

The registration process for the CAT starts from August. For registration a valid email id and mobile number is compulsory. The IIM Calcutta will send all future communications through email and sms only. For more details about how to write successful online application Click Here

CAT Admit Cards

The CAT admit card will be available for download through official website. There shall be no paper based admit cards sent through post. Downloaded admit card must be taken print out as carrying Smartphones are not allowed to the centre. To download admit card you will need three particulars 1. CAT Registration Number, 2. Your registered Email Id with CAT official website, 3. Your Date of Birth. CAT. Admit Card / Hall Ticket will be available for download starting October. This is an important document and must be preserved till Admission Procedure of IIMs and Other Institutes is over.

CAT Application Fee

For all candidates who fall under the general and NC/OBC category there is a registration fee is Rs.2300/. For candidates who come under the SC/ST/Person with Disability (PwD) application fee is Rs. 1150/. It should be kept in mind that the entire process of registration and application must be done via the online portal only.

Note: Fees is a variable and may change over time.

IIMs Admission Process

CAT is eligibility of candidature for application to Post Graduate Programmes of IIMs. However, only score in CAT does not guarantee for admission. The IIMs conducts Group Discussion and Interview. Final selection is based on the three tests. Also candidates require to fulfill minimum eligibility criteria in the qualifying examination and other set rules as notified through the CAT website.

List of Non IIM CAT Member Institutions

CAT Exam Pattern

The CAT paper comprises of a total of 100 questions that are based on -

Verbal Ability (VA) and Reading Comprehension (RC)
Data Interpretation (DI) and Logical Reasoning (LR)
Quantitative Ability (QA)

The CAT examination duration is 180 minutes or 3 hours. The entire examination is conducted via online modes. All of the questions are for 3 marks. There is negative marking of 1 mark for any wrong answer. However, should you chose to leave a question unanswered, there will be no mark will be offered or deducted for the same.

Earlier there was a paper-pencil based test option available for the CAT exams. However, it has now shifted to computer based test.

QA and VR sections have about 34 questions and the DI & LR section has 32 questions. The duration of the exam is 180 minutes (3 hours). Not all the questions here are of multiple choice. There are many questions for which you have to feed in direct answers on the screen or type them. There is also a basic on-screen calculator available to help you with the computation process. There is a set time of only 60 minutes for each of the categories. In case some sections are completed earlier, you do not have the option to carry forward that time into another section.

CAT Result

The CAT result should be announced during the Second Week of January and will be available through our Exam Result Website: www.results.shiksha. To check your result, one has to provide roll number and the name as printed in the admit card.

CAT Scores

Different colleges and institutes have different CAT scores. For instance, IIMs prefer having a score of at least 96-97% while other top B-schools could accept 80% scores too. Of course, education and college marks could influence admission here along with the interview tests.

Get latest CAT updates go to EducationNews.Shiksha

Register for Latest CAT (Common Admission Test), Log on to https://iimcat.ac.in/