The full form of CAT is Common Admission Test. It is an entrance examination conducted in India for admission to management programs offered by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other top B-schools in the country. The test is conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) every year to select candidates for their flagship postgraduate program.
What Is CAT?
A Common Admission Test, or CAT, is a standardized test that is administered by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to gauge the eligibility of candidates for admission into various management programs offered by these institutes. The test consists of three sections:
- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension: This section tests a candidate’s ability to read and comprehend passages, as well as answer questions based on them
- Data Interpretation: This section tests a candidate’s ability to interpret data presented in graphical or tabular form and answer questions based on them
- Logical Reasoning: This section tests a candidate’s ability to identify patterns and relationships, and answer questions based on them
The CAT is widely regarded as one of the most challenging entrance exams in the world, with a success rate of less than five percent. To stand a chance of being admitted into an IIM program, candidates must score highly on all three sections of the test.
Eligibility Criteria For CAT
The eligibility criteria for CAT is that the candidates should have a graduate degree with at least 50% marks or an equivalent grade from any of the universities recognized by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). The candidate should also have appeared in either the Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by IIMs or GMAT. Candidates appearing in the final year examination of their graduate degree program are also eligible to apply. There is no age limit prescribed for taking up CAT.
The application process for CAT usually starts in August and ends in September. The admit card is generally released around two weeks before the test date. The test is conducted on a single day across various centers in India. The duration of the test is three hours and the test is conducted in the English language.
The scorecard is generally released two months after the conduct of the test. The candidates can check their results through the website of IIMs or GMAC. The selection process for admission to various programs offered by IIMs usually starts in January and ends in March/April.
Some of the important dates related to CAT are given below:
August-September: Application Process Begins
October End: Admit Card Released
November End: Test Date
January-March/April: The selection Process Ends
How To Apply for CAT Exam
CAT is an exam held every year for students seeking admission into MBA programs of various business schools in India. The CAT full form is the ‘Common Admission Test’. It is a computer-based test that assesses a candidate’s quantitative, verbal ability, and reading comprehension skills. The exam duration is 180 minutes and consists of 100 questions.
To apply for the CAT, candidates must first register themselves on the official website. After registration, candidates will be required to fill in their personal, academic, and contact details. Once all the details have been filled in, candidates will be able to select their preferred test date and centre. Candidates will then be required to make the payment for the application fee. After the payment has been made, candidates will be able to download their admit cards from the website.
CAT exam is held in two slots, morning and evening. Candidates must report to their allotted test centre on the day of the exam with their admit card and valid photo ID proof. Candidates are not allowed to carry any food or drinks inside the examination hall. They are also not allowed to use any electronic devices such as calculators, phones, etc.
The CAT exam consists of three sections – Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Ability, and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning. Each section has a time limit of 60 minutes and contains 32 questions. Candidates are required to attempt all the questions in each section. There is no negative marking for wrong answers.
CAT exam results are declared in the form of a percentile score. The final selection of candidates for MBA programs is done through a process of group discussion and personal interviews.
Conclusion
The CAT full form is the Common Admission Test. The test is conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) every year to admit students into their business administration programs. The test is a computer-based exam that consists of three sections: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude. The test is designed to measure the candidates’ skills and abilities in these areas.
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