CAT or Common Admission Test is one of the largest MBA entrance exams conducted in India, annually. The CAT score is also accepted by more than 102 non-IIM institutes across India, some of which are as reputed as the IIMs. (Non IIM Institutes Accepting CAT Scores). The CAT is one of the world's most demanding entrance examinations for any graduate institute Eligibility for the postgraduate programmes in management at all IIMs and to appear for IIM-CAT is at least a three-year bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognized university with 50% Marks in graduation.
Indian Institute of Management (IIMs), the premier business-schools of the country (and counted among the best in the world) conduct this test for selecting potential students for the next round of admission process (comprising of a personal interview and a group discussion) for their MBA and Fellowship programmes. Those appearing in the final year examination of graduation are also eligible to appear in Common Admission Test. Some People feel that Common Admission Test (CAT) is more of a rejection procedure than a selection process. It rejects those who can’t make their minds work at break neck speed for two and a half hours non-stop.
CAT 2014 Important Dates:
CAT Sale of Vouchers & Registration: 06th August 2014 to 30th September 2014 Registration Window: 06th August 2014 to 30th September 2014
Test Dates: 16th and 22nd November 2014, two sessions on each day Declaration of Result: 03rd Week of December 2014 the candidates can download Admit Cards: 16th October 2014 CAT-2014 score will remain valid till 31st December 2015
Question paper Pattern:
All the questions are of multiple-choice nature with four/five alternate answer choices and the candidate has to choose the best answer for each of the questions and mark it on a special Optical Reader answer sheet. Differential marks are allotted to the questions. The test comprises 150 to 200 objective type questions and is usually divided into three to four sections. The number of questions in the test has been coming down steadily, from nearly 200 in the 1990s to 90 in 2005 and just 75 in 2006. Very little strategy could be applied in selecting the easiest questions. Cut that down and don't waste time on questions which are lengthy.
Usually, CAT tests three of your abilities:- Problem Solving- Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension. CAT demands competency across all sections of the paper. So, the number of sections in the test don't really matter; what matters is whether you are competitive and have answered questions in all the sections. CAT has evolved from a speed based simple test into a test which demands more proficiency in concepts and fundamentals rather than just speed.
