The Indian Institute of Management stands up as the prominent management institutes in India. They are the answerable authorities for regulating the CAT or Common Admission Test. The test chooses the best candidates from all over India into postgraduate courses in business administration at various management institutes. Apart from IIMs, both Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) are considering CAT scores for selecting candidates for various management courses offered by them. Previously the IITs and IISc used the Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET) for selection. This computer based test is conducted once in a year throughout various centers in India.
A pass in any of the recognized undergraduate courses is required for appearing in CAT exam. The degree should have been completed from any reputed colleges with at least 50% marks. The students from a management background may find it far easier than others to crack the CAT exam. Candidates who wish to pursue their higher education in business and management should be well aware of how to prepare for CAT. The exams are conducted under the major headings, quantitative ability & data interpretation and verbal ability & logical reasoning. The deep knowledge about the concepts in mathematics of higher secondary level will help in answering the application level questions. The data interpretation as the name suggests, is the analysis of data from the given pictures, graphs and tables. The second section mainly aims at checking the language skills of the students in basic and applied level.
The exam comprises a single paper with about 100 multiple choice questions. The maximum time allotted for answering them is one hundred and seventy minutes. These hundred questions are split equally between the two sections. There is specific cutoff decided for each section based on candidates’ performance in a year, but there is no restriction for sectional time limit. A precise answer will fetch 4 marks while incorrect one results in reducing one mark. The score obtained based on the above marking scheme is the raw score. For final estimation all the raw scores are equated in a common scale resulting in scaled score. A fixed CAT score has to be obtained by the aspirant for cracking the exam.
The CAT is having a high rate of competition as it is all India level. The students need to conduct a thorough study by understanding the well rooted concepts clearly. This will help in solving complicated questions. To help in preparations many numbers of coaching centers are running all over India. Many skills like time management can be learned from them. Answering previous year questions can help to boost one’s self esteem to a higher level. The process of registration and application for CAT exam can be achieved only by online mode. The official website will carry all the details related to the exam along with details for filling the application. By understanding the requirements one can easily register and apply for CAT. A registration fee of Rs1600/- is collected from general category and Rs800/- from reservation category. The fee payment is also by online methods.