MBA Entrance Exam

Yes, CAT 2023 dates for admission to SJMSOM are out. To apply for the CAT exam, candidates are required to create an account, fill the CAT registration form and pay the exam application fee. The 2023 CAT form have to be submitted by a certain deadline after which no application will be accepted. For 2023 CAT exam, CAT registration will go on between Aug 2 and Sep 20. The exam will be conducted on November 26, 2023. Students are required to appear for the CAT 2023 exam in Computer Based Testing mode at allotted test centres. CAT exam 2023 for SJMSOM admission will be held in three slots. These are as follows:

Morning slot: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM

Afternoon slot: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM

Evening slot: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Candidates who are willing to get into SJMSOM must mention the college name and course preference in their CAT application form to get a call (provided the student gets a valid score in the exam).

CAT is not a necessary requirement for Pune Institute of Business Management (PIBM) Pune. For admissions at PIBM, it is a must that candidates have undergone an education programme under a three-year or four-year graduation system with at least 50% or above aggregate marks in Class 10, 12 and Graduation courses. Besides this, candidates’ performance in aptitude tests such as CAT/ XAT/ MAT/ CMAT is evaluated. If a candidate has scored average marks in one of the above, they have to sit for the PMAT which is PIBM’s aptitude test. Candidates can also take this test solely in the beginning without the hassle of sitting for other aptitude tests. The evaluation process is similar to CAT/ MAT/ CMAT etc. 

While candidates belonging to Science and Engineering background do have an edge over Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), it is not impossible for students from non-Science background to crack this section of an MBA entrance exam. They do need to prepare harder which includes going back to study fundamentals of Mathematics such as Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Mensuration.

With regular practice and understanding of the question types and topics, candidates, irrespective of the educational background, can crack this section. Aspirants must note that it is important to identify the weak areas and improve on them to get a stronghold on this section. For Logical Reasoning, a good amount of practice of sample questions will be enough.

The DILR section is mostly practice-based. There is not much theory-based or conceptual parts involved in the question unlike Quantitative Ability or Verbal Ability sections. Here, rather than focusing on the definitions of the topics, students get more accustomed to the question types and excel in the areas through practice. As it takes practice to improve the analytical and critical thinking ability rather than rote learning the concepts.

The Data Interpretation is all about reading and comprehending tables and charts. The questions are calculation based, so you need to a strong base in Maths and practice. Logical Reasoning too is all about deciphering puzzles and patterns so even for that no theoretical knowledge is required. Practice questions are the key.

In CAT exam, there are 20 questions in the Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section and the total sectional marks is 60 out of 198. In CAT 2020, there were 24 question on DILR and the sectional marks were 72. In CAT 2021 and CAT 2022, there were 20 questions and the sectional marks were 60.  The 20 questions are equally divided into both Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. That means, Both Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning have 10 questions each. The questions are mostly in sets. There’s rarely any standalone question in DILR.

Some of the top MBA entrance exams carrying a high weightage of Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning questions are MAH CET, ATMA, CAT, CMAT, XAT IIFT, to name a few.