Introduction

Common Admission Test or “CAT” is a national-level entrance examination conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) on a rotation basis every year. CAT scores are used by the IIMs and other top business schools in India such as SPJIMR, FMS, MDI, NITIE etc. for admission to their MBA, PGDM, and other management courses. CAT 2018 is expected to be held in November 2018. More than two lakh aspirants apply for CAT every year.

List of Contents

• Important Dates.
• Date of Examination.
• Medium of Examination
• Mode of Examination
• List of IIMs and their Programs through CAT
• CAT Eligibility Criteria
• CAT Exam Pattern
• How to Apply?
• CAT Selection Procedure
• CAT Syllabus
• CAT Test Centers
• CAT Admit Card
• CAT Answer Key
• CAT Results.
• Important Links.

CAT 2018 Important Dates (Tentative)

CAT 2018 Exam Date

CAT 2018 will be held in the 3rd or 4th week of November 2018.

It will be conducted in two sessions on the same day: morning (9 am to 12 pm) and evening (2:30 pm to 5:30 pm).Candidates are allotted one of the slots randomly.

Medium of Examination

CAT 2018 will be conducted in ENGLISH only. 

Mode of Examination

CAT 2018 will be a Computer-Based Test (CBT) and thus shall be conducted online. 

List of IIMs and their Programs through CAT

Post Graduate Programs in Management

• IIM Ahmedabad: PGP, PGP-FABM, ePGP
• IIM Amritsar: PGP
• IIM Bangalore: PGP, PGPEM, PGPPM
• IIM Bodh Gaya: PGP
• IIM Calcutta: PGP-PGDM
• IIM Indore: PGP (Indore, Mumbai), EPGP, PGP-HRM
• IIM Jammu: PGP
• IIM Kashipur: PGP, EPGP
• IIM Kozhikode: PGP
• IIM Lucknow: PGP, PGP-ABM, PGP-SM
• IIM Nagpur: PGP
• IIM Raipur: PGP, PGPWE
• IIM Ranchi: PGDM, PGDHRM
• IIM Rohtak: PGP, EPGP, EPGPX
• IIM Sambalpur: PGP
• IIM Shillong: PGP, PGPEX
• IIM Sirmaur: PGP
• IIM Tiruchirappalli: PGP, PGPBM
• IIM Udaipur: PGP
• IIM Visakhapatnam: PGP

Fellow Programs in Management (FPM) [equivalent to PhD]

• IIM Ahmedabad: FPM
• IIM Bangalore: FPM
• IIM Calcutta: FPM
• IIM lndore: FPM
• IIM Kashipur: FPM & EFPM
• IIM Kozhikode: FPM
• lIM Lucknow: FPM
• IIM Raipur: FPM & EFPM
• IIM Ranchi: FPM
• IIM Rohtak: FPM
• IIM Shillong: FPM
• IIM Tiruchirappalli: FPM
• IIM Udaipur: FPM

CAT 2018 Eligibility Criteria

Qualifying Examination

The candidate must have completed his/her graduation (bachelor’s degree) or passed an equivalent qualifying examination from a recognized college or university.

He/she should have scored minimum 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PWD). The bachelor’s degree must be of minimum 3 years’ duration.

CS/CA/ICWA candidates and candidates who are in their final year of college are also eligible to apply.

Age Limit

There is no age limit for taking CAT.

NRI/FN Candidates

NRIs and foreign candidates can apply to the institutes with their GMAT scores. 

CAT 2018 Exam Pattern (Based on Current Pattern)

The duration of CAT 2018 will be 3 hours or 180 minutes, with 60 minutes for each section.

The paper shall have both objective-type questions (MCQs)and subjective-type questions. Each question shall carry 3 marks.

There shall be 3 sections in the CAT 2018 paper: Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning.

While there shall be a penalty of 1 mark for each incorrect answer to an MCQ, there shall be no negative marking for the subjective questions.

CAT 2018 Registration 

Currently, the CAT 2018 registration portal is closed. The registration portal for CAT 2018 is expected to go online in the 1st or 2nd week of August 2017.

The CAT 2018 registration process will be completely ONLINE.

CAT 2018 Application Fee

The application fee can be paid online with Credit Card/Debit Card/Netbanking.

Documents to be Uploaded

• Colored Photograph – 35mm x 45 mm; JPG/JPEG/PNG format; Size: Less than 80 KB.

• Signature – 80 mm x 35 mm; JPG/JPEG/PNG format; Size: Less than 80 KB.

• Caste or Disability certificate (PDF format) in case of SC/ST/OBC/PWD candidates

A detailed description of the CAT application form 2018 will be published shortly. 

CAT 2018 Selection Procedure

Every institute, including the IIMs, have different cut-offs and criteria for selection. The institutes take into account overall profile strength which includes one’s CAT score and also one’s 10^th, 12^thand graduation marks, work experience, extra-curricular activities etc. Based on their selection criteria, candidates are called for group discussion and personal interview (GDPI) rounds. The cumulative scores of all rounds are considered to decide the final merit list for each institute.

Syllabus

While there is no fixed or official syllabus for CAT 2018, there are certain subjects that are asked in CAT every year.

1. Quantitative Ability
2. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension.
3. Data Interpretation.
4. Logical Reasoning.

Some of the books that can be referred for CAT preparation are given here: http://edupadhai.com/buy-cat-books/.

CAT 2018 Test Centers

CAT 2017 was held in 140 cities across the country. Though the test centers for CAT 2018 have not been officially announced, the current test centers in India are as follows:

CAT 2018 Admit Card

CAT 2018 admit card shall be available from 3rd week of October 2018. The admit cards can be downloaded from the official website.

The admit card shall have all the candidate details like the candidate name, name and address of the exam center, roll number, exam date and time etc. The admit card is mandatory for appearing in the examination and strictly not transferable.

CAT 2018 Answer Key

There is no official answer key that is made available for CAT.

Results 

CAT 2018 results shall be announced in the 1^st or 2^nd week of January 2019 on the official website.

The detailed description of the CAT Results 2018 & CAT Cut offs will be published shortly.

Important Links

Stay tuned for more updates on CAT 2018 Exam. For further queries, post your questions in the comments.

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