CAT and CAT Entrance Exam Eligibility, Syllabus and Counselling Procedure

What is CAT?

CAT Full Form is Common Admission Test. CAT is a computer-based test which is held in India for the admission of management programs in various B-schools in and across India. In this CAT Exam, the skills of the students, tested in various areas include Quantitative Ability, Verbal ability, Reading comprehension, data interpretation, and logical reasoning. At first, the exam was started by the Indian Institute of Management for the selection of students for the business administration programs of IIMs. Every year, the CAT Exam is conducted by one of the Indian Institute of Management. Later, in the year 2011, it has made public that other institutes such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) should use the CAT scores, instead of the JMET to select students for their management programmes. The following table describes an overview of the CAT in a detailed manner,
 

Insights on CAT Exam

Recently, the exam type of CAT changed and now it's a computer-based standardized test. And, there is a huge change in exam pattern, a number of questions, and exam duration. In the year 2009, it was announced that the CAT would be a computer-based test starting from the year 2009. But before 2009, the CAT Exam was a paper-based test which is conducted on a single day to pick the best candidates. CAT 2015 Exam was conducted by the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on November 29. Every year, lots of students appearing for the CAT Exam. And, here are the insights of the Common Admission Test. 
 

As per the record, there were 220K students who had applied for the CAT Exam in the year 2015 and in that, only 180K students have attended the exam. Furthermore, there are nearly 235K students had applied for the CAT and only 190K appeared for the exam. But in 2017, there has been a huge increase in both the number of students applied and a number of students attended the exam. Alright, above you’ve read the CAT Full form and other details of CAT. Below is the important information of CAT such as important dates, eligibility, applying procedure, and so on.

What are CAT Exam 2019 Important Dates to Consider?

Once the CAT Exam notification made public by the exam conducting authority, you should be ready to face the challenge. The conducting body of the exam released the important dates of CAT 2019. As per the latest news, Prof. Sumanta Basu will be exam convener this year and the registration process of CAT will be starting soon. Candidates should apply through online mode only. CAT 2019 Exam which is about to be conducted by Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode is expected to be held on 24th November 2019. The official notification of CAT 2019 will be released on 28th July 2019. It is important that all the candidates are aware of the important dates of CAT 2019. Some of the important dates related to CAT 2019 are subject to change based on the official notification. The important dates related to CAT 2019 are provided in the table below.

How to Apply for CAT Exam?

As we know, lots of students waiting to attend the CAT Exam. And, to participate in the exam, one should fill and submit the CAT application form before the mentioned last date in the CAT Exam notification. Hence, we have given the step-by-step procedure for applying the CAT. Let’s read below,

1. At first, candidates have to visit the official website https://iimcat.ac.in/
2. Register by filling the required details such as name, date of birth, email address, country, and mobile number.
3. After that, enter the captcha and click on "I Agree" checkbox.
4. Later, you'll receive the login credentials such as login ID and password through SMS and Email.
5. Log on to the official website again by clicking on the "Existing user" tab.
6. Fill up the application form with some details like personal details, academic details, work experience, and programmes.
7. Candidates should upload their recent passport size photo and scanned signature in either .jpg or .jpeg format and be sure that it does not exceed 80 KB in the given dimensions, 35mm x 45mm for a photograph and 80mm x 35mm for the signature.
8. Candidates from the category NC-OBC/SC/ST/PWD-DA have to upload requisite attested certificates as well.
9. Select the IIM and programmes for admission.
10. Then, select any four test cities in terms of preference.
11. Finally, submit the application form after verifying the details.

Follow the simple steps to apply for the CAT Exam successfully. 

Checklist for CAT Application form

It’s quite easy to apply for the CAT Exam 2019 by visiting the official website. But, the candidates have to keep ready a few documents along with them while applying for the CAT 2019. This is because, there are so many details needed to fill in the CAT 2019 application form such as personal details, academic details, and so on. Here are the few documents that one should keep ready along with them.

• Unique Email Address to apply for CAT 2019.
• Net banking/Credit Card/Debit Card details to pay the application fee for CAT Exam 2019.
• Keep your Class 12 certificate with you as you need to enter your name the same as in the 12th Diploma/degree certificate.
• Keep your Birth Certificate ready along with you.
• 10th, 12th Mark sheets, degree final year certificate, professional exam, and master's degree certificate.
• Work Experience certificate.
• Scanned images of Passport size photo and signature of you. Keep your photo ready within the dimensions of 35mm X 45mm and photo should not be more than 6 months old and should have a white background.
• Make sure that the scanned image of your signature is within the dimensions of 80mm X 35mm.
• And, the documents file format should be a .jpg or .jpeg and the file size should not exceed 80 KB each. The image should be clear with a minimum resolution of 150px/inch.
• In case, if you have made a mistake in filling out the details for those fields which will affect selection process (Percentage of Marks, Category, Gender, Work Experience), hence, it will be better to re-register with a new email ID and pay the application fee again.

These are some of the documents that you should keep ready with you before applying for the CAT Exam 2019. Check the eligibility and other details of CAT which include exam centres, CAT Full form and start your exam preparation effectively.

What are the Eligibility Criteria of CAT Exam?

Not everyone can attend the CAT Exam which will be held in the upcoming months. In order to attend the CAT Exam 2019, candidates have to meet the eligibility criteria mentioned in the CAT Notification 2019 Pdf. Let’s read the CAT Exam eligibility to know whether you’re eligible or not to apply for the exam,

• Aspirants must hold a Bachelor’s Degree with at least 50% marks. In case of the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PWD)/Differently Abled (DA) category) awarded by any recognized University or institute, they should have at least equivalent CGPA 45%.
• Moreover, candidates who are studying the final year of their bachelor's degree or its equivalent qualification and who have completed their degree waiting for their results can also be eligible to apply for the CAT Exam. And, if selected, he/she will be allowed to join the management programme, only if he/she submits a certificate within the specified date.

Hence, make sure that you’ve met the eligibility criteria of CAT before applying for the exam.

How much should one pay for the CAT Exam 2019?

Candidates who are willing to attend the CAT Exam 2019 should fill the application form available on the official website of CAT. The conducting body of the exam is collecting some amount as an exam fee from the aspirants. Hence, whoever wants to apply for the CAT 2019 Exam should pay the exam/application fee before the mentioned date. However, the exam fee varies from one category to another. And, candidates can pay the amount through various modes such as credit card, debit card, NEFT, and Net banking. Here are the exam fee and mode of payment details of CAT Exam. 
 

What is CAT 2019 Admit card?

CAT 2019 Admit Card will be available for all the students who had successfully registered for CAT exams which is to be conducted in November 2019. Students can find their CAT 2019 Admit card through online mode in the month of October 2019. CAT 2019 admit card serves as the entrance hall ticket without which one will not be able to appear for the exams. All the successfully registered students will be able to download the CAT admit cards from the official website. Here are step by step instructions provided below to download CAT 2019 admit card.

• Visit the official website of CAT.
• Using the CAT user id and password that was created at the time of CAT registration, login into the official page.
• Select the “Admit Card” tab.
• CAT 2019 Admit Card is displayed on the screen.
• Students can download the CAT 2019 admit card and take a print out of the same for further purposes.
• Students should keep the CAT Admit card safe as it is required even at the time of counselling.

CAT Admit card contains all the important information related to the candidate. The details present in the admit card are listed below.

• Name of the candidate
• Date of birth
• CAT registration number
• CAT user ID
• Category (if applicable)
• Date and Slot of CAT exam
• Exam centre along with centre address
• Candidate’s photograph
• Signature of the candidate
• Instructions for the exam

Students should check all the details provided in the CAT admit card. In case there is any mistake, it should be informed to the exam authorities immediately for further rectification. Students can contact the exam authorities either through email to cathelpdesk@iimcat.ac.in or through a call to toll-free number 1800-266-3549. 

Information on CAT 2019 Syllabus

It is always better to be aware of the syllabus of CAT exam, before applying for the same. CAT syllabus is not officially announced but by the experts. CAT 2019 syllabus provides an idea of the list of topics that the candidates will have to prepare in order to score good marks. Below table reflects the syllabus of CAT 2019 exams for easy reference.

What is the Exam Pattern of CAT Exam 2019?

As we discussed earlier, CAT Exam 2019 is a computer-based test and the questions will be from various topics including Quantitative Ability, logical reasoning and data interpretation, verbal ability, and reading comprehension. The CAT Exam will be held soon. It's an online test and the questions will be objective type. Additionally, there will be three sections in total and from each question, you will be asked 32 to 34 questions approximately. The score for each section varies accordingly. The following table describes the CAT Exam sections, topics, no of questions, and section scores as well. Let's check the CAT Exam pattern 2019 to kickstart your CAT preparation.
 

What are the different CAT Exam Centers?

Everyone knows that the CAT 2019 Exam will be conducted by the IIM Calcutta soon. At the same time, lots of students will be appearing for CAT Exam. Hence, there is a need for the increase in exam centres this year. The convening body IIM Calcutta has made public the list of exam centres at its official website. Last year, the CAT Exam was held in 144 cities across India and this year it's going to be held in 137 centres across the country. The list of CAT exam centres are given below, 
 

Above is the list of CAT exam 2019 centres and choose the 4 that you think best for you.

What is Cut Off marks for CAT 2019?

Cut off marks for any exam is of two types of which one is the qualifying cut off marks and whereas the other one is the cutoff marks that is varied according to the institutions. Some of the factors that influence CAT cut off marks are as follows.

• Total number of applicants
• Difficulty level of the examination
• Number of seats available
• Previous year cutoff trends

The cut off marks of CAT 2019 for IIM institutions falls between 90-99 marks percentile. IIM Calcutta, IIM Bangalore and IIM Ahmedabad has its cut off marks fixed at 99 which is quite challenging for the candidates. Other top business schools like FMS, JBIMS, SPIJMR has its cut off marks as 95. The expected cut off marks of top institutions are provided in the table below.

Information on CAT 2019 Results

CAT 2019 exams results will be available in the month of January 2020. The dates on which the CAT 2019 results will be available will be announced by the respective authority through notifications in the future. Students should always have an eye on the official updates related to CAT exams. The results which are published will be available online in the official page in the form of score cards. Students should take a print out of CAT 2019 results for any further use. CAT 2019 results is valid for one year. The procedure to download CAT 2019 results are provided below.

• Students should login in the CAT official page using their user ID and password.
• Select “Download Scorecards”.
• CAT 2019 results are displayed in the form of score cards.
• One can download the CAT scorecard and take a print out of the same for all future uses.

How are the Candidates Shortlisted?

Are you confused about CAT counseling procedure? Would you like to know the CAT Counseling details? If yes, here it is. The following section lists out the counseling procedure followed by the CAT Exam conducting body. Check the CAT 2019 counseling details and be prepared for the CAT before the exam date.

1. Aspirants are shortlisted by Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) and other participating institutes on the basis of CAT Cut off. And, few IIMs will also consider the past academic performance, work experience, and some other details as well.
2. Candidates who have been shortlisted have to appear for other rounds include Written Ability Test (WAT)/Group Discussion (GD)/Group Activity (GA)/Extempore Activities and Personal Interview.
3. The final selection of candidates will be made on the basis of the following,
   • Cumulative scores of CAT
   • WAT/GD-PI rounds
   • Other factors like overall candidate profile including past academic records, work experience, extracurricular activities, gender, and academic diversity.
4. Although, the older IIMs and non-IIM Business schools follow a separate selection procedure in various locations.
5. The new Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) conduct a Common Admission Process (CAP) and the WAT-PI rounds are conducted by the selection committee of the new IIMs. The selection process is common, but the IIMs declare separate shortlists and final selection list.