What is the Full form of CAT?
The CAT full form is the Common Admission Test. IIM administers the CAT, a computer-based test, to shortlist students for the postgraduate program. The exam consists of three portions.
- VARC (Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension)
- DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning) and
- QA(Quantitative Ability).
The total duration of the online exam is three hours, with each section lasting one hour. The IIMs (Indian Management Institutes) initiated this examination and use it to select candidates for various Postgraduate and Fellow/Doctorate programs. The CAT test is administered once a year.
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Detail history of the CAT test
- IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) and IISc (Indian Institute of Science) will now use the CAT results instead of the JMET (Joint Management Entrance Test) to select applicants for their management programs commencing with the 2012-15 cohort.
- Until 2009, the CAT was a daily paper-based exam offered to all candidates.
- Patterns, number of issues, and length have changed dramatically throughout time.
- On 1 May 2009, it was announced that the CAT would be administered by computer.
Eligibility criteria for CAT
The applicant must meet the requirements listed below.
- Should possess a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50% or comparable CGPA; 45% for SC, ST, PWD, and DA categories.
- The degree must be conferred by one of the institutions established in India by an act of the national or state legislature or by another educational organization formed by an act of Parliament. Also recognized as a university under Section 3 of the UGC Act of 1956, with an equivalent qualification recognized by the HRD Ministry of the Government of India.
- Competitors entering the last year of a bachelor’s degree or comparable qualification examination, as well as those who have met the prerequisites for the degree and are awaiting results, are also eligible to apply.
Examination duration and pattern
- The specific format of the CAT exam varies annually.
- A practice test was available for the 2018 CAT.
- The CAT is a computer-based exam with three sections: Verbal and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning, and Questions and Answers.
- The QA and VARC sections contained 34 questions each, while the DI & LR section featured 32 questions.
- Since CAT 2015, the question distribution has been unchanged. Previously, questions were delivered in a different format.
