Common Admission Test (CAT)

CAT 2022 Exam Date	November 27, 2022
Name of the Examination	Common Admission Test
Common Name	CAT
Conducting Body	Indian Institutes of Management (IIM)
Frequency of the Exam	Once a year
Exam Level	National-Level Exam

What is the CAT exam?

Common Admission Test or CAT is an annual entrance exam conducted by the IIMs for admission to postgraduate management courses offered by them and many other top institutions in the country.

• CAT Exam Details
• CAT Exam Dates
• Registration
• Exam Centres
• CAT Syllabus and Books
• Exam Pattern
• CAT Preparation Tips
• Admit Card
• Answer Key
• Results
• Further Admission Process
• Eligibility Criteria

Several IITs and IISc, Bangalore are accepting CAT scores for the management courses offered by them. 

Some of the popular top institutes apart from IIMs that accept CAT scores are as follows:

• S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai
• Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), New Delhi
• International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi
• Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon
• Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai
• Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad
• National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai

Several top colleges in Bangalore accept CAT scores to admit students into their program. These colleges have a dynamic pedagogy that caters to all-around growth of the students. 

They can check out the requirements of these colleges and seek admissions in Bangalore and become a part of a dynamic growth structure. 

Every year, more than 2,00,000 students appear for the exam. CAT 2022 is scheduled to be conducted on November 27, 2022.

CAT 2022 registration process will commence on August 3, 2022 and will conclude on September 23, 2022. Admit cards for the same will be released on October 26, 2022. 

Aspirants must have completed their graduation from a recognized university in India with at least 55% marks or equivalent CGPA. 

CAT Exam Details: 

CAT Exam Dates:

CAT Registration: 

Candidates can register for the Common Admission Test or CAT by following the below-mentioned steps: 

Step 1: Visit the official website of CAT. 
Step 2: Click on the link of New Candidate Registration.
Step 3: Candidates have to enter the details required. 
Step 4: They have to generate the OTP and submit it to register for the exam. 

Candidate's Application Number and Password will be mailed to them, which will act as their login credential. 

How to fill the CAT 2022 Application Form? 

Step 1: Candidates have to visit the official website of CAT.
Step 2: They have to login using their credentials. 
Step 3: Candidates have to submit the following information: 

• Personal Details
• Communication Address
• Academic Details
• Work Experience Details (If Applicable)

Step 4: They have to enter their preferred exam centres. 
Step 5: Candidates have to enter the required documents. 
Step 6: Lastly, they have to confirm that all the documents are correct and pay the fees, after which they can submit the application form. 

CAT Application Fee: 

Documents required for filling the CAT Application Form: 

• Passport-size Photograph
• Signature
• Caste Certificates
• Academic Certificates 
• Work-experience Details

CAT 2022 Exam Centres: 

CAT Syllabus and Books: 

Section A: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

Books for VARC: 

Section B: Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DI/LR)

Books for DI/LR: 

Section C: Quantitative Aptitude (QA)

Books for Quantitative Aptitude:

CAT Exam Pattern:

CAT Preparation Tips: 

Candidates can follow the below-mentioned CAT preparation tips to ace the exam: 

• CAT Syllabus should be favourite Pet:

Students who want to prepare for the exam must have the proper idea of the CAT syllabus. If they do it, then it would be easy for them to gather the right resources and prepare for the exam accordingly. 

• PLAN. PREPARE. REPEAT: 

Everyone has their own weak and strong subjects. Therefore, the CAT exam preparation process should follow a proper plan that would help the students to be thorough in both the weak and strong areas.

• Manage Time to Garner Good Scores: 

Time management is important not only for the exam but also for many other aspects of life. Therefore, students should practice their time management skills during the preparation and revision process. It would help them to score well in the examinations.

• Revise and MOCK IT: 

Candidates should revise regularly and answer Mock Tests during the CAT exam preparation process. It will help them strategize for the exam better by developing an answering pattern. They can go for the paid mock tests and also for the free CAT mock test and prepare accordingly. 

CAT Admit Card: 

Candidates can download the CAT admit card by following the below-mentioned steps: 

Step 1: Visit the CAT official website
Step 2: Click on the link for the Admit Card. 
Step 3: Candidates have to login using their credentials.
Step 4: The admit card will be displayed on the candidate's screen. 
Step 5: They should look for any discrepancy. If there are none, then they can download and get it printed for further use. 

CAT Answer Key: 

Candidates can check their respective CAT results by following the below-mentioned steps: 

Step 1: Visit the official website of CAT. 
Step 2: Candidates have to login using their credentials. 
Step 3: The Answer Key will be displayed on their screen. 
Step 4: They can take a printout of the answer key for future reference. 

Raising Objection against CAT Answer Key:

If the test takers feel that a particular answer in the answer key is wrong, then they can raise objections to that answer. If the objection is genuine, then the authorities will revise the official answer key.

Following are the steps: 

Step 1: Visit the official website of CAT. 
Step 2: Candidates can login using their credentials. 
Step 3: Click on the Objection tab shown on the screen.
Step 4: To add an objection, click on the "+" sign.
Step 5: Candidates have to refer to the number of questions for which they want to raise an objection.
Step 6: They have to provide relevant proof for their claim. 
Step 7: Candidates have to pay Rs. 1,000 for each question against which they raise an objection. 

Raising Objection: Points to remember 

• Objection fee will not be refunded if the objection is invalid.
• Objections cannot be edited after submitting.
• A candidate does not have any limits on the number of objections that he/ she can make.
• The authorities will announce the CAT results after the answer key objection window closes.  
• The authorities will not encourage the raising of objections after the announcement of the results.
• The authorities will not re-check the question paper under any conditions.

CAT Results: 

Candidates can check their CAT 2022 results by following the below-mentioned steps: 

Step 1: Visit the official website of CAT. 
Step 2: Candidates have to login using their credentials. 
Step 3: They have to click on the scorecard tab after logging in to the website.
Step 4: Candidates have to click on the download button to download the CAT scorecard. 

How is the CAT percentile calculated?

The authorities follow a certain procedure to calculate the CAT percentile. The procedure is as follows:

• Each candidate gets scored section-wise, which are added to get the overall score.
• Then both the section-wise and the overall scores are normalized to obtain the CAT score.
• The obtained normalized scores are converted into percentiles.
• These percentile scores are reported on the CAT scorecard.

CAT Normalization Process:

The CAT examination is conducted in two slots every year. The difficulty level of these two slots or sessions varies from each other. 

Therefore, to ensure in the examination process, the authorities follow a Normalization process to scale the candidate's score. 

The following parameters are considered during the CAT normalization process:

• Lowest score
• Highest score
• Median score
• Mean score
• Lowest 10 percentiles
• Top 10 percentiles

CAT Further Admission Process: 

The IIMs and other top colleges do not give admission to any student who gets a good CAT score. 

It is because the exam score is not representative of the entire skill set of the candidates. Therefore, they follow a selection procedure to filter out the best candidates.

The Admission Process consists of three stages:

• Shortlisting candidates based on their entrance exam scores and academic history
• Written Ability Test (WAT), Personal Interview (PI), Group Discussion (GD) Round
• The final selection process of the candidates 

Shortlisting: 

The Indian Institute of Management will initiate its shortlisting procedure after the announcement of results. 

After shortlisting the candidates, the IIMs upload the list on their respective websites. They also send the interview call letters directly to the candidates after shortlisting them. 

Candidates selected for by the IIMs must register for the selection process to be eligible for it.

The following information is mentioned in the call letter:

• Link for registration
• Last date to register for the selection process
• Date, time, and venue of WAT, GD, and PI 

When candidates receive a call letter, they must complete the reporting and the document verification process. 

It consists of the following steps:

Step 1: Report to the allocated venue on the date and time mentioned in the call letter
Step 2: Carry the original copies and photocopies of all the required documents for verification

The following documents must be carried during the WAT, GD, and PI rounds

• IIM call letter
• CAT scorecard
• Graduation Certificate and Marksheet
• Class 10 Certificate and Marksheet
• Class 12 Certificate and Marksheet
• Certificate of Reservation Category

After the verification process of the candidates at the exam centre is completed, the candidates must complete the step of choice locking. 

The following steps must be followed to complete the step of choice locking:

• Visit the official website of the college
• Complete the filling of the application form
• Lock your preferences after selecting before you submit the application form
• You will receive the intimidation through the registered mobile number and email ID
• Confirm the selected seat and to submit the allotment order, visit the allocated institute

The candidates who receive the call letter must go through the WAT, GD, and PI rounds. 

These rounds are designed to test the following areas of the candidates:

• General Knowledge
• Communication Skills
• Overall performance 
• Presence of mind

Points to remember about WAT, GD, and PI:

Students who receive the call letter must keep a few points in mind about the WAT, GD, and PI. they are as follows:

Written Ability Test (WAT):

• It is designed to test the critical thinking ability of the candidate and their method of communicating their thought process
• The candidate needs to write a detailed essay on the topic given to them by the institute
• The time duration of the WAT session may vary from 15 to 30 minutes
• The major aim of the candidate must be to complete the essay in the given period of time 

Group Discussion (GD):

• Every group has around 8-10 members
• The members are required to present their views on the given topics
• It is conducted to test the candidate's ability to present and communicate his ideas
• It also tests a candidate's ability to manage a team and understand the group dynamics

Personal Interview (PI):

• This round is conducted by all the institutes accepting CAT scores
• It is carried out by the panel of interviewers and has a weightage of 30-40 percent

After testing the above aspects of the candidates, the colleges shortlist the candidates for final admission. 

The following aspects are also taken into account during the final selection procedure:

• Relevant work experience of the candidate
• Previous academic performances of the candidates
• Gender of the candidate and his academic diversity

The complete list of parameters for the final selection procedure at the IIM is as follows:

• CAT score
• Class 12 score
• Class 10 score
• Graduation score
• WAT/ GD-PI Performance score
• Work Experience
• Gender Diversity
• Academic Diversity

CAT Admission Process for Non-IIMs:

Many institutes accept CAT scores for admission. However, they may or may not follow the same admission process as that of IIMs. 

If the candidates want to get accepted in any of the non-IIM, they must undergo the selection process of that college.  

Score Weightage for Admission:

Institutions such as IIMs and other B-Schools follow these parameters and the marking scheme for granting admission to students: