Common Admission Test
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The Common Admission Test (CAT) is an all-India test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as an entrance exam for the management programmes of its seven business schools.
The test is multiple-choice based and traditionally comprises three sections that span the domains of arithmetical problem solving, geometry, statistics, data interpretation, logical reasoning, puzzles, and English language skills. It is held on the third Sunday of November each year. The test duration was two hours prior to year 2006, but since 2006, it has been extended to two and a half hours. The total number of questions has varied from 180 (prior to year 2000) to 150 (from 2001 to 2003) and has gradually decreased to 75 (in 2006 and 2007). This trend has seen the CAT evolve from a speed-based test to an exam that evaluates fundamental abilities of candidates in the aforementioned areas.
It is neither expected, nor possible, that all the questions be answered, so the CAT is also said to test the candidates' ability to prioritise under pressure.
The CAT is the first step for admission to the IIMs. After the test, by the second week of January next year, the IIMs declare exam scores and put up a list of candidates who are eligible for the next stage of a group discussion and an individual interview. The scores are relative and are calcuated on a percentile basis for individual sections as well as for the total. Candidates invited for the next stage usually possess total scores that are in excess of 99 percentile and, more importantly, also possess balanced scores across all the individual sections.
More than 200,000 (230,000 in the year 2007[1]) students compete for about 1500 seats in the IIMs. This is said to make the IIMs more selective than the Ivy League Universities[1].
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[edit] Pattern of the test
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.It is designed in such a way that it tests a candidate's anylitical and logical abilities.
Earlier CATs (prior to year 2000) had 180 questions to be solved in 2 hours. For the years 2001, 2002, and 2003 the paper consisted of 3 sections of 50 questions per section.
In 2004, the IIMs introduced the concept of differential marking for the first time. The paper had 123 questions in three sections with 50 English, 35 Mathematics, and 38 Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. The 2005 CAT contained 90 questions, 30 in each section, each having subsections containing questions with different numbers of marks.
CAT 2006, conducted on November 19, was a 2.5-hour exam instead of the traditional 2-hour exam. The test had 75 questions, 25 questions per section and 4 marks per question, making it a 300-mark paper. There was a penalty of 1 mark for a wrong answer. The paper also proved to be a break from the previous pattern in that it had 5 answer options instead of the usual 4. The English section was generally perceived as difficult,[2] whereas the quantitative aptitude section was relatively easier than previous CATs as well as in comparison to the other two sections.
In 2007, the CAT exam was held on Sunday, November 18th. It contained 25 questions in each of the three sections, each question having 1 mark negative for each wrong answer. This was the same pattern as CAT 2006.
[edit] Notable incidents
In 2003, the CAT question paper was found leaked before the exam. This was a first in the 28-year old history of the test. A retest was held on 15 February 2004. Most news publications attributed the leak to logistical difficulties.[citation needed]
CAT 2006 was notable due to some printing errors that had crept into the question paper.[3] The IIMs accepted the errors and formed a committee to look into the matter. The committee ruled that the wrong questions would be ignored. The idea of a re-test, proposed by some quarters, was set aside by the authorities.
The results for CAT 2006 were declared on January 2nd 2007 among much confusion, as the server hosting the results was inaccessible for prolonged periods of time. Also, for the first time, the IIMs declared the actual key to the question paper along with the results.
There was a case of impersonation for the CAT 2007. Two persons tried to appear on behalf of the original candidates in Chandigarh. The police arrested them on the day of the exam. [4]
[edit] Other colleges
Many other business schools in India, other than the IIMs, also accept the CAT scores for admission. This has contributed to the CAT gaining an extremely high level of popularity.
Some of the more prominent colleges which accept CAT scores for admission are:
- S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai
- Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon
- Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA), Ahmedabad
- National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai
- T.A.Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal.
- Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad
- Institute of Management, Nirma University, Ahmedabad.
- National Insurance Academy School of Management (NIASoM), Pune
The importance of a good CAT score to a student in India aspiring for an MBA has led to a burgeoning and immensely profitable coaching business.[5] Some major national players (who have branches in major cities in India) in the tutoring business are Career Forum Limited, Career Launcher India Private Limited, PT Education (PT), Triumphant Institute of Management Education (T.I.M.E.) and IMS Learning Resources Pvt.Ltd.
