CAT Entrance Exam Details

The CAT entrance test, better known as the common admission test is conducted by the IIMs or the Indian institutes of management for admissions into their post graduate management programs. The application forms for the year 2011 have already been released and are available at selected Axis Bank branches, the details of which are provided in the official website of CAT, www.catiim.ac.in. The cat entrance date can be selected by the applicant between October 19th and November 19th. The mode of the cat enterance exam is online and is conducted in various test centers across the country with great efficiency. The details of the test centers can be obtained while filling up the cat entrance form online. One is restricted from carrying any gadgets to the exam hall, including watches or pencils. The time elapsed will be shown in the right hand side corner of the monitor while the candidate takes the exam. Scribble papers and pencils will be provided by the CAT authorities.

The new CAT pattern is replete with changes. The test consists of two sections. Part I consists of questions from quantitative aptitude and data interpretation. Part II consists of questions from reading comprehension and logical reasoning. Each section should be solved in 70 minutes, making the total test taking time 140 minutes. The number of questions in each of the two sections is 30. The 2010 exam lasted for 135 minutes, with number of questions equal to 20 in each of the three sections. Also, in cat 2011, the student cannot return back to a section after the 70 minutes time has elapsed. This requires the test taker to be equally strong in every section. The main purpose of CAT is to provide information on a candidate’s aptitude and skills to cope with a post graduate program which requires high patience and endurance levels along with a capacity to understand learn and contribute to the classroom. But it must be remembered that these abilities can be developed over a period of time with some planning and hard work.

The Indian institutes of management have been established in 10 places, Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, lucknow, Kozhikode, Indore, Rohtak, shilling, Raipur and Trichy. These premier institutes shortlist people based on their performance in the cat entrance examination. A high percentile of 90 and above is expected from these IIMs. Thus, it’s vital for the test taker to go through the cat entrance syllabus and practice diligently for a year at least using cat entrance exam question papers that are available online or other course material. Cat entrance exam papers of the previous years can be downloaded from many websites across the internet. The test taker is advised to time these tests and take them in a scenario simulating the actual CAT. This way, stress on the actual day can be avoided to a great extent. The scores of the cat entrance exam will be released online two months after the online test.