CAT

Common Admission Test

About CAT

Common Admission Test (CAT) : CAT exam or the Common Admission Test is a computer-based MBA entrance test for admissions into the IIMs and several other prestigious B-Schools in the country. CAT exam is conducted every year by the IIMs on a rotational basis. The CAT examination is written by about 2 to 2.5 lakh students every year and is conducted on the last Sunday of November in 160+ cities across India.

Applications

Number of seats (IIM)

Number of IIMs

Number of courses offered

About 2.5 lakhs

About 6000

20

50 +

CAT Eligibility & Reservation 2022

CAT 2022 Eligibility Criteria and Reservation Details are taken from the Official Website of www.iimcat.ac.in

The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s Degree, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA [45% in
the case of candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with
Disability (PwD) categories], awarded by any University or educational institution as incorporated by an
Act of Parliament or State legislature in India or declared to be deemed as an University under Section
3 of the UGC Act , 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD,
Government of India.
● Candidates appearing for the final year of Bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification examination and
those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply. However, it
may be noted that such candidates, if selected, will be allowed to join the programme provisionally,
only if they submit a certificate from the Principal/Registrar of their University/Institution (issued on
or before the date as stipulated by the respective IIM) stating that they have completed all the
requirements for obtaining the Bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification on the date of issue of the
certificate.
● Candidates applying for CAT 2022 should fulfill any one of the following conditions:
● Completed Bachelor’s degree with the required percentage of marks*.
● Completed professional degree (CA/CS/ICWA/Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India
(FIAI)) with required percentage*.
● Should be in the final year of Bachelor’s degree with required percentage*.
*SC/ST/PwD candidates should have a minimum 45%. For General, EWS and NC-OBC
candidates, the minimum is 50%.
● The percentage of marks obtained by the candidate would be calculated based on the practice as
followed by the respective University/Institution. In case of grades/CGPA, the conversion to percentage
of marks would be based on the procedure as certified by the respective University/Institution. If any
University/Institution confirms that there is no scheme for converting CGPA into equivalent marks, the
equivalence would be established by dividing the candidate’s CGPA by the maximum possible CGPA,
and multiplying the result with 100.
● IIMs may verify eligibility at various stages of the selection process, the details of which are provided
at the website www.iimcat.ac.in. Applicants should note that the mere fulfilment of the
minimum eligibility criteria will not ensure consideration for shortlisting by IIMs. Candidates
must declare and maintain a valid and unique email account and a mobile phone number throughout
the selection process. 

CAT 2022 Reservation Criteria includes the following

As per the legal requirements, 15% of the seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and 7.5% for
Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates. 27% of the seats are reserved for Other Backward Classes candidates
belonging to the “non-creamy” layer (NC-OBC). Up to 10% of the seats are reserved for Economically
Weaker Sections (EWS) candidates.
● For the purpose of being considered for reservations, the applicable Central Government list as on the
last date of CAT registration shall be binding. No subsequent changes will be effective for CAT 2022
and any subsequent selection process of the IIMs. For an updated central list of state-wise OBCs
eligible for availing of the benefit of reservation and information in respect of the creamy layer, visit
the website http://www.ncbc.nic.in
● As per the provisions of The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act 2016), 5% seats
are reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwD). “Person with Benchmark Disability” means
a person with not less than forty percent (40%) of a specified disability where a specified disability has
not been defined in measurable terms and includes a person with disability where the specified
disability has been defined in measurable terms, as certified by the certifying authority. “Specified
disability” means the disabilities as specified in the Schedule of the RPwD Act 2016. The categories of
disability are:
a) Blindness and low vision
b) Deaf and hard of hearing
c) Locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack
victims and muscular dystrophy.
d) Autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness
e) Multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (d)
f) Other ‘specified disabilities’ mentioned in ‘The Schedule’ of the RPwD Act 2016
● The candidates belonging to the reserved categories need to note the eligibility requirements carefully
before applying. It should be noted that while it is the endeavor of IIMs that the candidates belonging
to SC/ST/NC-OBC/EWS/PwD categories join the Programme in proportions mandated by the law, they
have to meet the minimum eligibility criteria and a certain minimum level of performance to be
considered for the admission process.
● The candidates should read the updated description of the selection process followed by each IIM on
their respective websites. No change in the category will be entertained after CAT registration.
The applicants are advised to pay attention while registering.
Additional Information for SC, ST, NC-OBC, EWS and PwD
● If a candidate belongs to the SC or ST categories, the respective caste/tribe must be listed in
the Government of India schedule. The caste certificate that the candidate submits to IIM
should be in the Government of India approved format and should clearly state:
(a) Name of the caste/tribe; (b) Whether the candidate belongs to Scheduled Caste or
Scheduled Tribe; (c) District and State or Union Territory of the candidate’s ordinary residence;
and (d) the appropriate Government of India schedule under which the candidate’s caste/tribe
is approved by it as Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.
● A copy of the SC/ST/NC-OBC/EWS/PwD certificate(s) must be uploaded at the time of the
CAT application registration. Failure to upload a copy of the caste/class certificate will
result in the rejection of a candidate’s CAT registration.
● The SC/ST/NC-OBC/EWS/PwD certificate(s) must be shown and a photocopy should be
submitted at the time of interviews. Moreover, the certificate(s) must be submitted at the time
of joining the programmes of any of the IIMs. Failure to do so during the post CAT selection
process will result in the candidate not being considered under the reserved category.
• Candidates are encouraged to apply for a UDID card (PwD Category) and upload the same for
the application.

  1.  

CAT Exam Pattern

CAT is a rigorous evolution of verbal ability, reading comprehension, data interpretation, and logical reasoning. The exam is taken online over a period of three hours, with one hour per section. In 2020, due to the COVID precautions, IIM Indore decided to conduct the CAT Exam in 2 hours with 40 minutes devoted to each section. And this shortened version of CAT exam is followed in 2021 and 2022 also.

Structure of CAT

The new format of the CAT has the same sections and the sections were  VARC, DILR and QA in that order. Each section is allotted 40 minutes and there were 24 questions in the VARC section, 22 questions in QA section whereas the DILR section had only 20 questions. The paper had two types of questions, the Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) and Type in the Answer (TITA) questions. The CAT exam also had the provision of negative marking. For every wrong answer (only in case of MCQs), students were charged a penalty of 1 mark. There was no negative marks for TITA questions. Exam pattern of CAT 2022 was :

Section

Questions

Time

MCQ

TITA

Marks

Remarks

Verbal ability

24

40 Minutes

19

5

72

4 RC Passages with MCQs; VA Non MCQs divided into Para jumbles, Para Summary, and Out of Context Sentences

Data interpretation and logical reasoning

20

40 Minutes

15

5

60

LR – 10 Ques DI – 10 Ques All in Sets of 3 & 4 Qs

Quatative ability

22

40 Minutes

14

8

66

More arithematic oriented.

Total

76

120 Minutes

54

22

198

CAT Registration

To register for CAT exam, the candidates have to follow the steps given below :

  • Open the CAT website in a new window (iimcat.ac.in)
  • Click on New Candidate Registration
  • Enter name, date of birth, email ID, phone number and nationality
  • Click to generate OTP (one time password)
  • The OTP will be sent in your inbox
  • Verify your account by entering the OTP in the given field
  • Upon verification, the candidate will receive their CAT user ID and password
  • Log on to the official CAT website using the user ID and password
  • Fill in relevant details in all six sections of the CAT form: personal details, academics, work experience, programmes, test city and fee payment
  • Upload scanned copies of passport sized photo and signature in the prescribed format and size
  • Review the CAT application form and click on submit to move to payment page

Payment of fees

CAT Exam Fees can be paid online only (Net banking, Credit Card, or Debit Card). Fees of CAT exam varies every year.

Other MBA entrance exams:

  1. XAT :The Xavier Aptitude Test is a national level aptitude test conducted by XLRI Jamshedpur.

    Top colleges of XAT are:

    • XLRI Jamshedpur
    • XIM Bhubaneswar
    • IMT Ghaziabad
  2. IIFT :The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) was set up in 1963 by the Government of India as an autonomous organization to help professionalize the country’s foreign trade management and increase exports by developing human resources, analyzing and disseminating data and conducting research.

    Top colleges of IIFT are:

    • Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Delhi.
    • Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) – Kolkata
  3. SNAP : Symbiosis National Aptitude Test, popularly known as SNAP, is the MBA Entrance Exam for Admission to 16 Symbiosis Institutes in India.

    Top 3 colleges of SNAP are:

    • Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune
    • Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development, Pune (SCMHRD)
    • Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune.
  4. NMAT : NMIMS Aptitude Test is an important National level MBA entrance exam conducted by Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). NMAT by GMAC exam is the mandatory entrance test for MBA admission to NMIMS Mumbai and its other campuses as well as 30 other MBA colleges across India.

    Top colleges of NMAT are:

    • SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies
    • Indian School of Business (ISB)(Advanced Management Programme in Business Analytics (AMPBA)
    • SPJIMR (For PGMPW)
  5. MICAT: MICA Admissions Test (MICAT) is the online entrance test for MICA’s flagship course Post Graduate Diploma in Management – Communications (PGDM-C).

    Top colleges of MICAT are:

    • Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad
  6. TISSNET : Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai conducts TISS National Entrance Test (TISSNET). It is a national level entrance exams conducted for admission to MA programmes in the School of Management and Labour Studies. 

    Top colleges of TISSNET are:

    • TISS Mumbai Campus
    • TISS Tuljapur Campus
    • TISS Hyderabad Campus
  7. MAT : Management Aptitude Test (MAT) is a standardized test being administered since 1988 to facilitate Business Schools (B-Schools) to screen candidates for admission to MBA and allied programmes.  Any B-School – national or international – can consider MAT Score as an admission input based on the Score Cards issued to the candidates. 

    Top colleges of MAT are:

    • Vijay Patil School of Management (VPSM), DY Patil University, Navi Mumbai
    • Jagdish Sheth School of Management (JAGSoM) Bangalore
    • Amrita School of Business Coimbatore

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