ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CAT EXAM
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CAT EXAM
The CAT 2017 Notification has already been released by IIM Lucknow and the exam is set to be conducted on November 26, 2017 across various test centres in the country. The exam is a prerequisite for admissions in all the IIMs and is conducted by them on a rotational basis. Other than the IIMs, the CAT exam score is also used by numerous other prestigious B-Schools including IITs, for admissions.
Over 2.5 lakh MBA aspirants take the CAT every year to get into their preferred B-Schools and the number is expected to increase this year. So, to make the CAT aspirants aware with the exam, here is a detailed description about the exam which is everything one needs to know.
About The Exam
As previously mentioned, the CAT exam is conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management every year on a rotational basis for admissions in various post graduate programmes. The first CAT exam was conducted in 1950 and until 2009, it was a pen and paper test. In 2009, for the first time, the exam was conducted on Computer.
CAT 2017 will also be a Computer Based Test and TCS is the testing partner for the exam. The candidates are expected to select their preferred test city during registration and will have to visit the designated test center for the test.
CAT 2017 Registration and Dates
The CAT 2017 registration has already started on 9 August and will continue till September 20. The candidates are required to visit the official CAT site to register for the exam before the last date. Here is a list of all the important CAT 2017 dates for reference.
| Important Events | Dates |
| Registration | August 9 to September 20 |
| Availability of Admit Card | October 18 |
| Exam | November 26 |
It should be noted that the candidates are not given any facility for corrections this year as opposed to last year when IIM Bangalore gave an option of Correction window. So, the candidates should fill in all the details correctly during the registration to avoid being disqualified later.
Application Fees and Admit Card
The candidates are required to provide the application fees (in online mode only)during registration to successfully complete the process and get the option to download the admit card. The application fee details are given below:
| Category | Fees |
| SC, ST and PWD | Rs. 900/- |
| Others | Rs. 1800/- |
After successful registration, the candidates will be able to download the admit card which will be compulsorily required during the exam. The admit card will include various personal details like name, category, test centre and time, etc.
Eligibility and Reservations
The eligibility criteria for the CAT exam are as follows:
- A Bachelor’s degree with Minimum 50% (45% for SC, ST and PWD) marks from any Government recognised University or from any similar institute.
- The final year candidates or candidates waiting for their final semester results must submit a certificate signed by the Principal/Registrar or other Institute head mentioning they completed all the prerequisites to acquire the degree along with their educational or other similar capabilities.
The IIMs also have reservations for some category candidates. The reservations for seats in IIMs are:
| Category | Reservations |
| Scheduled Caste (SC) | 15% |
| Scheduled Tribes (ST) | 7.5% |
| Persons With Disabilities (PWD) | 5% |
| Non-Creamy – Other Backward Classes (NC-OBC) | 27% |
It should also be noted that to avail the reservations, the candidates must meet the minimum eligibility criteria and must present their caste certificate in prescribed format in support of their candidature.
Exam Format and Other Details
Though the IIMs often surprise the students by varying the exam pattern, the same been unaltered since 2015 and is expected to remain the same this year. In 2015, the Non-MCQ or Type In The Answer (TITA) type questions was introduced for the first time and has been repeated since then.
For every correct answer, 3 marks are awarded while 1 mark is deducted for every incorrect answer. The TITA questions, however, are free from negative markings. The expected CAT 2017 exam pattern with timings are given below:
| Section Name | Expected Questions Count | Timing/Duration |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 34 | 60 |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 32 | 60 |
| Quantitative Ability (QA) | 34 | 60 |
| Total | 100 | 180 |
The results of the exam are generally released within a month and the candidates can then apply to different Management schools for admissions. The admission process differs from institutes to institutes. Generally, for the IIMs, a Written Ability Test is conducted followed by a personal Interview.
The CAT score is valid for only one year and the candidates are required to apply for the B-Schools before the validity expires so as to get into their preferred institutes. The IIMs also provide various additional facilities for the PWD category candidates which can be checked in detail from the official website of CAT.
With all these aforementioned information, it is now important for the aspiring MBA graduates to properly strategize their preparation to ace the CAT exam and get admission in their dream B-School.
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