CAT (Common Admission Test) is the premier all India management entrance exam conducted by IIMs. Last year 2,04,267 students competed for 1550+ seats making it the most competitive exam in the country.
CAT (Common Admission Test) is the premier all India management entrance exam conducted by IIMs. Last year 2,04,267 students competed for 1550+ seats making it the most competitive exam in the country.
The IIMs are the premier management institutes in India established by an act of Parliament. These institutes also provide consultancy and research services in various business and management globally.
The CAT examination is divided into three sections.
| Quantitative Aptitude | Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning | Verbal Ability | | --- | --- | --- | | Arithmetic | Logical Reasoning | Reading Comprehension | | Algebra | Data Interpretation, Sufficiency | Verbal Logic | | Geometry | | Vocabulary | | Commercial Mathematics | | Grammar Correction | | Miscellaneous | | |
This section comprises fundamental mathematics at the 10+2 difficulty level. Problems come from topics like Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Commercial Mathematics (word problems). The questions are largely based on applying mathematics to solve real-time problems.
Questions in this section are based on given data, which may be in the form of graphs, charts, tables and paragraphs. Data Interpretation problems test the candidate's understanding of the data and the ability to solve problems accurately. Logical Reasoning questions check the candidate's ability to reason and evaluate problems.
This section comprises questions on comprehension and usage of standard English grammar. Verbal Logic questions test the candidate's knowledge of arranging paragraphs in a logical order, determining the type of statements, and completing paragraphs appropriately. In general, all the sections carry equal weight, except the CAT 2008 and CAT 2004 papers, which had a higher percentage of Verbal Ability problems.
CAT does not predefine any specific chapters or content on which questions can appear. However, any intricate term is well defined if the problem requires such knowledge.
In general, every correct answer gains 4 marks, whereas every wrong answer results in one negative mark.
Candidates must secure a minimum mark in each section to qualify for that section and eventually for CAT. The minimum marks required vary with the relative difficulty of that section compared to the others, and mostly depend on the performance of the candidates who appear for the exam that year. A candidate must also secure a minimum total cut-off for the entire paper to earn GD/PI calls from IIMs. Different IIMs use different cut-offs to offer calls to selected candidates.
Candidates who secure the sectional cut-offs as well as the overall cut-off in the written test are called for GD/PI by the IIMs. This is the final step of the selection process.
The candidate must satisfy the following criteria:
If selected, such candidates are allowed to join the program provisionally, only if they present a certificate from the Principal/Registrar of their College/Institute, issued by June 30, 2018, stating that the candidate has completed all the requirements for the four-year bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification on the date of issue of the certificate.
CAT is the primary entrance exam for admission to all IIMs and many top MBA institutes like FMS, MDI, IITs, SPJIMR, IMT and more.
Graduates from IIMs and other CAT-accepting institutes often secure premium job roles in:
B-Schools offer holistic development:
Ideal for engineers, science graduates and professionals who want to switch to management roles in:
Many top B-schools offer excellent ROI: relatively low fees and high placements.
A good CAT score is accepted by more than 1000 institutes, giving wide options for admission.
With the right plan, CAT preparation is possible alongside:
