Understand all about CAT 2013

Test dates for Common Admission Test (CAT) 2013 are from October 16 to November 11, 2013. Gateway for admission to country’s top B-Schools, the much-anticipated exam will be conducted at 40 locations, including four new centres at Surat, Udaipur, Trivandrum and Vijayawada.

Important dates:

CAT vouchers are available at designated Axis Bank branches from August 5 to September 24. Vouchers can be purchased online directly from IIMs as well. The registration window will be open from August 5 to September 26.

"New to this year’s CAT is the option to purchase vouchers electronically," said CAT 2013 convenor Professor Rohit Kapoor, a senior faculty member of IIM Indore.

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 programmes of different institutes.

CAT is one of the most competitive entrance examinations. Last year, over 2, 42,000 candidates appeared in CAT exam and battled for 1550+ seats. As per latest update, 115 more seats have been added, taking the total seats across 13 IIMs to 3,335.

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/ Written Ability Test.

Prior to 2009, CAT was a paper & pencil based test. In 2009, this test finally went online.

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.

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 test pattern

CAT is a two hour and 35 minutes examination. The first section consists of Quantitative Ability (QA) & Data Interpretation (DI); the second on Verbal Ability (VA) & Logical Reasoning (LR). These two sections are implemented sequentially with separate time limits. The examination is for 140 minutes. Candidates have 70 minutes to answer 30 questions within each section which will have an on-screen countdown timer. Once the time ends for the first section, they will move to the second and will be unable to go back.

A 15-minute tutorial will be provided before the start of the test. Candidates are advised to go through it carefully before starting the main examination. The total duration will be two hours and 35 minutes including the tutorial.

Practice tests will be made available on Cat 2013 website. Candidates are advised to go through the practice test carefully to familiarise themselves with the screens, layout and navigation.

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. Practice Must-know formulae for CAT .

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. This year information related to CAT 2013 results will be available from January 14, 2014 on http://www.cat2013.iimidr.ac.in.
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 programmes for CAT preparation:

• Triumphant Institute of Management Education (T.I.M.E.), Secunderabad
• Career Launcher, Delhi
• Ascent Education, Chennai
• TESTfunda.com, Mumbai
• Erudite Educational Centre, Kolkata

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