CAT: Exam Pattern

CAT Exam Pattern – Total Number of MCQ Vs Non-MCQ Questions

When is the CAT exam conducted?

CAT is conducted in the month of November every year. The detailed notification is released around July/August on the official website (https://iimcat.ac.in). You will get to know about the important dates, application fee, MBA/PGP programmes and other essential information from the notification.

This year, CAT was conducted on the 24th of November. In 2020, most likely, the CAT exam will be conducted on the last Sunday of November.

CAT application form is to be submitted in an online mode only and you will have a time of around 40 days to apply for the exam. The exam is held at more than 140 cities across the country. The admit card is issued about a month before the CAT exam date. You will be required to access it from the official site. Separate admit cards are issued for the designated slot-1 or slot-2 of the exam. You are allowed to appear in one slot only.

Who can appear for CAT exam?

There is no age bar to appear for CAT. Applicants are required to hold a Bachelor’s/ equivalent degree with at least 50% marks (for general category) and 45% (for reserved category). The final year students can also appear for the exam.

Which colleges/institutes accept CAT scores?

In 2019, 115 B-schools accepted CAT scores, out of which 114 are in India and one is in Singapore. More than 100 B-schools in India and abroad are expected to register as CAT participating Institutes in the coming years. Apart from 20 IIMs, CAT participating Institutes include other public and private Institutes.

Some of the top B-schools accepting CAT scores are:

• Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad
• Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore
• Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta
• Indian Institute Of Management, Lucknow
• S. P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) Mumbai
• Management Development Institute (MDI) Gurgaon
• Indian Institute Of Management (IIM) Kozhikode
• Indian Institute of management (IIM) Indore
• International management Institute (IMI) New Delhi
• Faculty of management studies (FMS) New Delhi
• Institute Of Management Technology (IMT) Ghaziabad
• National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) Mumbai
• Indian Institute of management (IIM) Trichy
• Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of management (IIM) Shillong
• Xavier Institute of management (XIM) Bhubaneswar
• Indian Institute of management (IIM) Kashipur
• Department of management studies (IIT Delhi) New Delhi
• Sydenham Institute of management studies and Research and entrepreneurship education (SIMSREE) Mumbai
• Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of management studies (JBIMS) Mumbai
• Shailesh J Mehta school of management (IIT Bombay) Mumbai
• Vinod Gupta school of management (VGSOM) IIT Kharagpur

/89-After the declaration of CAT result, IIMs and other B-schools shortlist the candidates for the selection rounds – WAT (Written ability test/Essay writing), GD/CD (Group/case discussion) /Group Exercise and PI (Personal Interview). While IIMs and some other top B-schools declare their admission criteria and cutoff prior to the result, a majority of the B-schools announce their cutoffs only after the CAT result is declared.

The final merit list at the B-schools is based on candidates’ performance in CAT exam, selection rounds and profile.