Post by nandhini on Aug 19, 2006 9:51:50 GMT 5
Common Admission Test (CAT)
The Common Admission Test (CAT) is an all-India test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as an entrance test for the management programmes of its six business schools.
150,000 students compete for less than 1200 general seats in the IIM's which makes it even more selective than all the Ivy League Universities put together. Even with a top 1% score, a candidate must also win through the equally stringent group and individual interviews.
The IIMs CAT is almost certainly the world's most demanding entrance examination for any graduate institute. The test taker is expected to excel in arithmetical problem solving, geometry, statistics, data interpretation, logical reasoning in solving complex puzzles, and English language skills. The test is held on the third Sunday of November for a duration of two hours (2.5 hours from 2006).
It is neither expected, nor possible, that all the questions be answered, so the CAT also tests candidates' ability to prioritise under pressure: a quality necessary in the competitive environment of IIMs courses. Also CAT has become notorious for the surprise elements they have every year.
Pattern of the test paper
CAT (as it is most commonly known across India) has evolved from a speed based simple test into a test which demands more proficiency in concepts and fundamentals rather than just speed. Earlier CATs used to have 180 questions to be solved in 2 hours. The cutoff (minimum marks needed to get an interview call from the IIM) for such a paper was generally 20 each in the three sections (Mathematics + English + Data interpretation and Logic).
For the years 2001, 2002 and 2003 the paper consisted of 50 * 3 = 150 questions. The cutoffs being 15 marks for individual sections and approximately 55 for whole paper.
The first biggest surprise for the CAT takers was in 2004, when the IIMs introduced the concept of differential marking for the first time. The paper had just 123 questions with the following distribution: (the decimal numbers are marks allocated to each question)
• Mathematics - Total: 50 (10 * 0.5 + 5*2.0 + 35 * 1.0) Cutoff - approx 12
• English - Total: 35 (15*2.0 + 20*1.0) Cutoff - approx 12
• DI and LR - Total: 38 (12*2.0 +26*1.0) Cutoff - approx 17
Overall 123 Questions : 10 of Half marks + 32 of 2 marks and 81 of 1 mark each. The overall cutoff for the paper was nearly 51-52 marks.
CAT 2005 was even bigger surprise. There were just 90 questions - 30 in each section. Each section was further divided into two subsections:
• Math
• Section 1A - 10 Questions of 1 mark each
• Section 1B - 20 Questions of 2 mark each
• The final Cutoff for this section was nearly 11
• English
• Section 2A - 10 Questions of 1 mark each
• Section 2B - 20 Questions of 2 mark each
• The final Cutoff for this section was nearly 15
• Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
• Section 3A - 10 Questions of 1 mark each
• Section 3B - 20 Questions of 2 mark each
• The final Cutoff for this section was nearly 10
Overall this paper was the toughest in the history of CAT.
Colleges accepting CAT scores
A lot of colleges in India accept the CAT scores. Some of the main colleges that accept the CAT scores are
• Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon
• S.P.Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai
• National Institute of Industrial Engineering,
• T.A.Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal
• International institute for special education (IISE), Lucknow
• International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi
• Fore School of Management (FSM), New Delhi
• Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA), Ahmedabad
• Jaipuria Institue of Management, Lucknow
• Birla Institue of Management and Technology, Greater Noida(UP)
• Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad
• National Insurance Academy's School of Management (NIASoM), Pune
The Common Admission Test (CAT) is an all-India test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as an entrance test for the management programmes of its six business schools.
150,000 students compete for less than 1200 general seats in the IIM's which makes it even more selective than all the Ivy League Universities put together. Even with a top 1% score, a candidate must also win through the equally stringent group and individual interviews.
The IIMs CAT is almost certainly the world's most demanding entrance examination for any graduate institute. The test taker is expected to excel in arithmetical problem solving, geometry, statistics, data interpretation, logical reasoning in solving complex puzzles, and English language skills. The test is held on the third Sunday of November for a duration of two hours (2.5 hours from 2006).
It is neither expected, nor possible, that all the questions be answered, so the CAT also tests candidates' ability to prioritise under pressure: a quality necessary in the competitive environment of IIMs courses. Also CAT has become notorious for the surprise elements they have every year.
Pattern of the test paper
CAT (as it is most commonly known across India) has evolved from a speed based simple test into a test which demands more proficiency in concepts and fundamentals rather than just speed. Earlier CATs used to have 180 questions to be solved in 2 hours. The cutoff (minimum marks needed to get an interview call from the IIM) for such a paper was generally 20 each in the three sections (Mathematics + English + Data interpretation and Logic).
For the years 2001, 2002 and 2003 the paper consisted of 50 * 3 = 150 questions. The cutoffs being 15 marks for individual sections and approximately 55 for whole paper.
The first biggest surprise for the CAT takers was in 2004, when the IIMs introduced the concept of differential marking for the first time. The paper had just 123 questions with the following distribution: (the decimal numbers are marks allocated to each question)
• Mathematics - Total: 50 (10 * 0.5 + 5*2.0 + 35 * 1.0) Cutoff - approx 12
• English - Total: 35 (15*2.0 + 20*1.0) Cutoff - approx 12
• DI and LR - Total: 38 (12*2.0 +26*1.0) Cutoff - approx 17
Overall 123 Questions : 10 of Half marks + 32 of 2 marks and 81 of 1 mark each. The overall cutoff for the paper was nearly 51-52 marks.
CAT 2005 was even bigger surprise. There were just 90 questions - 30 in each section. Each section was further divided into two subsections:
• Math
• Section 1A - 10 Questions of 1 mark each
• Section 1B - 20 Questions of 2 mark each
• The final Cutoff for this section was nearly 11
• English
• Section 2A - 10 Questions of 1 mark each
• Section 2B - 20 Questions of 2 mark each
• The final Cutoff for this section was nearly 15
• Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
• Section 3A - 10 Questions of 1 mark each
• Section 3B - 20 Questions of 2 mark each
• The final Cutoff for this section was nearly 10
Overall this paper was the toughest in the history of CAT.
Colleges accepting CAT scores
A lot of colleges in India accept the CAT scores. Some of the main colleges that accept the CAT scores are
• Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon
• S.P.Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai
• National Institute of Industrial Engineering,
• T.A.Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal
• International institute for special education (IISE), Lucknow
• International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi
• Fore School of Management (FSM), New Delhi
• Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA), Ahmedabad
• Jaipuria Institue of Management, Lucknow
• Birla Institue of Management and Technology, Greater Noida(UP)
• Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad
• National Insurance Academy's School of Management (NIASoM), Pune