CAT 2013 dates announced, new exam centers added

Dates for Common Admission Test (CAT) 2013 have been declared. The much-anticipated exam will be conducted over 20 days from October 16 to November 11 at 40 locations, including four new centers at Surat, Udaipur, Trivandrum and Vijayawada.

Gateway to admission in country’s top B-Schools, the CAT vouchers will be available at selected Axis Bank branches from July 29 to September 24. The registration window will be open from July 29 to September 26, informed Parametric India, test development and delivery provider.

"Getting to know the dates well in advance of the registration and testing window will enable candidates to prepare better for a successful future," said Professor Rohit Kapoor, CAT 2013 convenor. Professor Kapoor is a senior faculty member of IIM Indore. The five-year contract signed between the IIMs and Prometric for conducting the CAT will come to an end in 2013.

This year, Dusshera falls on October 14, two days before the CAT commences, while Diwali falls on November 3, during the 20-day window.

Common Admission Test, popularly known as CAT, unlocks the door to premier B-schools across India including the IIMs & more than 150 other management institutes. CAT is held annually, and conducted jointly by the IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management--Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Bangalore, Lucknow, Indore, Calicut, Kozhikode, Shillong) for granting admissions to selected candidates in the Post graduate & Fellow management programs of different institutes.

CAT is one of the most competitive entrance examinations, and lakhs of students compete for the limited number of seats in prestigious management colleges of the country. Last year, over 2, 42,000 candidates appeared in CAT exam and battled for 1550+ seats.

The entire selection process of CAT can be segregated into three main steps namely, (a) Computer-based Test, (b) Group Discussions and finally (c) Personal Interview.

Prior to 2009, CAT was a paper & pencil based test. In 2009, this test finally went online. The decision of making CAT a computer-based test was welcomed by most of the Internet-age students; however a bunch of experts had strongly opposed it claiming it to be posing hurdles for non-metro cities students.

To know more about the Institutes that help you prepare for CAT exam in your city, click here.

CAT Eligibility Criteria

For CAT, the candidate must hold a Bachelor's degree with minimum 50% marks or equivalent CGPA (In case of SC/ST/DA categories, it's 45%), awarded by any University, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India. Also, this Bachelor's degree must be of duration of at least 3 years post completion of HSC (10 + 2) or equivalent.

The candidates awaiting the result of final year of graduation are also eligible to apply for CAT. However, they're supposed to produce a certificate duly signed by the Principal/Head of the Department/Registrar/Director of the University/Institution certifying that he/she is currently in the final year awaiting final results.

CAT Syllabus

CAT is a two and half hour examination with test paper comprising of questions, which can be placed under four broad categories namely, (a) Verbal Ability (VA), (b) Quantitative ability (QA), (c) Data Interpretation (DI) & Logical Reasoning (LR) and (d) Reading Comprehension (RC).

CAT Preparation

CAT preparation has to be strategic since CAT tests aspirants on time management skills, problem-solving skills, language, decision-making skills, analytical skills, stress management skills, strategy formulation skills etc. The beginners should start with some diagnostic tests, identify their strong & weak areas, formulate a good effective study plan with considerable focus on Quant, Verbal and DI/Logic sections, and do regular studies. However, the CAT preparation strategy of experienced candidates can be a bit different from that of beginners. The aspirants, who've already made CAT attempts earlier can go for extensive Mock tests, focus more on weak areas (as detected in last CAT attempt) and consistently try for improving the scores.

CAT Sample Paper Questions

CAT Sample papers and CAT Sample questions help aspirants diagnose their current level of aptitude through assessment of performance in the practice tests. Each CAT sample paper has 60 objective type sample questions and is divided into four sections. Each CAT sample question has four to five alternate answer choices, and the test taker is supposed to pick the best answer for each question. Once a candidate finishes the sample paper questions, he/she either gets to view his/her score or he/she can enter his email address to which his test score would be sent.

CAT Result

CAT results are generally declared in the month of January or February. The result of this exam is much awaited by the MBA aspirants, who wish to seek admission in IIMs and other premier management institutes of the country. The CAT results are available online on the official CAT website as well as can be conveniently accessed using SMS facility or email. The names of the successful candidates shortlisted for interviews are also displayed by IIMs on the CAT website.

Institutes for CAT Preparation

With CAT exam going more competitive year by year, MBA aspirants feel confused while making a choice of institute from the huge list of institutes for CAT preparation. Following are some of the top CAT preparation institutes, which offer classroom/correspondence programs for CAT preparation: