Common Admission Test

Common Admission Test

Acronym	CAT
Type	Computer-based standardized test
Administrator	Indian Institutes of Management
Skills tested	Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Data Sufficiency, Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension, Logical Reasoning, and Analytical Reasoning
Purpose	Admission to post-graduate management programs
Year started	1998 (1998)
Duration	3 hours
Score range	-100 to 300
Score validity	1 year
Offered	Once a year (usually in November/December).
Regions	354 centres in 99 cities and towns all over India.
Languages	English
Annual number of test takers	232,434 in 2016
Prerequisites	Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) with at least 50 % marks or equivalent GPA (45 % in case of SC, ST, PWD candidates). Final year undergraduate students also eligible
Fee	₹1,800 (US$22) for general category candidates. ₹900 (US$11) for SC / ST / DA (PWD) category candidates
Used by	Various business schools in India
Website	iimcat.ac.in

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is a computer based test for admission in a graduate management program. The test scores a candidate on the bases of Quantitative Ability (QA), Verbal Ability (VA) and Reading Comprehension (RC), Data Interpretation (DI) and Logical Reasoning (LR). The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) started this exam and use the test for selecting students for their business administration programs. The test is conducted every year by one of the IIMs based on a policy of rotation.

In August 2011, it was announced that Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) would also use the CAT scores, instead of the Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET), to select students for their management programmes starting with the 2012-14 batch.

History

Before 2009, CAT was a paper based test conducted on a single day for all candidates. The pattern, number of questions and duration have seen considerable variations over the years.

On 1 May 2009, it was announced that CAT would be a Computer Based Test starting from 2009. The American firm Prometric was entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the test from 2009 to 2013. The first computer based CAT was marred with technical snags. The issue was so serious that it prompted the Government of India to seek a report from the convenor. The trouble was diagnosed as 'Conficker' and 'W32 Nimda', the two viruses that attacked the system display of the test, causing server slow down. Since 2014 onward, CAT has been conducted by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). CAT 2015 and CAT 2016 were 180-minute tests consisting of 100 questions (34 from Quantitative Ability (QA), 34 from Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), and 32 from Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)).

[Eligibility for CAT]

The candidate must satisfy the below specified criteria:

1. Hold a bachelor's degree, with no less than 50% or equal CGPA (45% for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PWD)/Differently Able (DA) classification)
2. The degree should be granted by any of the universities consolidated by an act of the central or state statutory body in India or other instructive organizations built up by an act of Parliament or pronounced to be considered as a university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India.
3. Competitors appearing for the final year of bachelor's degree/equivalent qualification examination and the individuals who have finished degree prerequisites and are anticipating results can likewise apply. If selected, such applicants will be permitted to join the program temporarily, only if they present a certificate most recent by June 30, 2018 from the principal/registrar of their college/institute (issued at the latest June 30, 2018) expressing that the competitor has finished every one of the prerequisites for acquiring the four year college education/identical capability on the date of the issue of the certificate.

Exam format

The Common Admission Test (CAT), like virtually all large-scale exams, utilises multiple forms, or versions, of the test. Hence there are two types of scores involved: a raw score and a scaled score.

The raw score is calculated for each section based on the number of questions one answered correctly, incorrectly, or left unattempted. Candidates are given +3 points for each correct answer and -1 point for each incorrect answer. No points are given for questions that are not answered. The raw scores are then adjusted through a process called equating. Equated raw scores are then placed on a common scale or metric to ensure appropriate interpretation of the scores. This process is called scaling.

CAT is conducted in two sessions.

Test pattern and duration

CAT exact exam pattern changes every year. For CAT 2018, a mock test was supplied.

CAT is a computer-based test which consists of 3 sections:

• Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
• Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DI & LR)
• Quantitative Ability (QA)

The Quantitative Ability and Verbal & Reading Comprehension sections consisted 34 questions each, whereas the Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section had 32 questions. This distribution of questions was same since CAT 2015. Before this, the distribution of questions was different.

CAT registrations in numbers over the years

The number of registrations in the past years are shown in the following chart:

Number of registrations in CAT over the years

Year	Approximate number of registrations
2019	244,169
2018	241,000
2017	231,000
2016	232,292
2015	218,664
2014	196,988
2013	194,516
2012	214,000
2011	205,000
2010	204,000
2009	241,000

CAT Result 2019

In 2019 session, CAT (Common Admission Test) exam is organised by IIM Kozikode. The exam was held on November 24, 2019 and the result will be announced in online mode on January 6, 2020. Candidates will be able to download the CAT result cum scorecard after entering the CAT id and password. The scorecard of CAT 2019 will be valid till 31 December 2020.

See also

• Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

External links

• Official website