CAT also referred to as the Common Admission Test is conducted by the Indian Institute of Management. This is an all-India entrance exam for admission to the Post-graduate as well as Fellow Programs in management courses of numerous management colleges across India including the IIMs.
If you are planning to appear for CAT entrance examination this year; you should be well-versed with the eligibility criteria of this exam. Listed below are the CAT eligibility criteria:
- Candidate who has completed the bachelor’s degree with a minimum 50% aggregate can appear for this exam. For candidates under reserved category need to secure at least 45% in bachelor’s degree.
- Candidate who is in the final year of the bachelor degree course are also eligible to apply
- At the time of application, the candidate needs to fulfill any one of the below mentioned conditions such as:
- Completed Professional Degree with required %
- Completed Bachelor’s Degree with required %
- Is in the final year of Bachelor’s Degree with required %
- The calculation of the % is done based on the practice followed by the particular institute.
- IIMs have the right to verify eligibility at various stages of the selection procedure. Candidates fulfilling the minimum eligibility criteria are not confirmed for short listing by IIMs. The applicants are needed to provide and maintain a valid email account and a phone number all through the selection procedure.
CAT Reservation Criteria
The IIMs and other government institutes in India follow the below mentioned reservation criteria such as:
- For SC, 15% seats are reserved
- For ST, 7.5% seats are reserved
- For OBC, 27 % seats are reserved
- For persons with disability, 3% seats are reserved. People with disabilities like hearing impairment, low vision blindness and loco motor disability or cerebral palsy of not less than 40 % can apply.
- In order to be shortlisted for the admission procedure, the reserved category candidates need to score minimum cutoff percentile at CAT along with the eligibility criteria.
Exam Pattern of CAT
The duration of CAT exam is for 3 hours within which the candidate will need to attempt 100 questions. Total 34 questions are allocated in Quantitative Ability section, 32 questions are allocated in Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section and 34 questions in Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section. This is an online test which is conducted in multiple cities and the candidate can choose the test date and slot as per preference and availability.
Apply for CAT Entrance Exam
In order to apply for the exam, you will have to register online at the website of CAT. The payment of the registration fee should be made online using debit card, credit card or net banking. Once this is done; you will have to prove your eligibility by showing the original mark sheets and by submitting the photocopies at the time of interview. At the time of joining for the program, you will have to show your original degree certificate and mark sheet before the institute.
Selection Process for CAT
Make sure that you do not miss out a single step of the selection process in order to get admission in the best college. After the student appears for the computer based test; then IIM shortlist the candidates for the next stage. The next stage may include a written test where the student is asked to write an essay within 15 to 20 minutes time. Sometimes, this written ability step is not conducted and instead a group discussion is organized. The final step is the personal interview process where the candidate is evaluated by a panel of evaluators.