What is the Full form of CAT?

The full form of CAT is the Common Admission Test. CAT is a computer-based examination of admission to a graduate management programme. The test includes three sections.

• VARC (Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension)
• DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning) and
• QA(Quantitative Ability).

Overall it’s an online exam of three hours split into one hour for each portion. The IIMs (Indian Management Institutes) started this test and are selecting candidates for their business administration courses such as PGDM or MBA through the exam. The test is carried out annually by one of the IIMs, which depends on a rotation policy.

Brief history of CAT test

• It is announced in August 2011 that IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) and IISc (Indian Institute of Science) will now use the CAT scores instead of the JMET (Joint Management Entrance Test) to pick candidates beginning with the 2012-15 batch for their management programmes.
• Until 2009 CAT was a paper-based examination administered on a single day for all candidates.
• The pattern, number of problems, and length have seen significant changes over the years.
• On 1 May 2009, it was revealed that CAT would be a computer-based test.
• From 2009 to 2013, the responsibility for carrying out the test was given to American firm Prometric.
• Technical snags had marred the first computer-controlled by CAT. The concern was so severe that the Indian government was advised to procure the file of the convenor. The issue has been identified as Conficker & W32 Nimda the two viruses that have slowed down device display of the examination.

Eligibility criteria for CAT

The applicant must satisfy the conditions set out below.

• Should hold a bachelor’s degree of not less than 50% or equal CGPA, and 45% for SC (Scheduled Caste), ST (Scheduled Tribe) and PWD (Persons with Disabilities) or DA (Differently Able) category.
• The degree should be awarded by any of the institutions constituted by an act of the central or state legislative body in India or by other educational organizations established by an act of Parliament. Also approved to be regarded as a university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956/ with an equivalent qualification recognized by the HRD Ministry, Govt of India.
• Competitors arriving for the final year of the bachelor’s degree or similar qualification examination and individuals who have achieved the preconditions for the degree and are awaiting results can also apply.

Examination duration and pattern

• Each year, the exact pattern of the CAT exam differs.
• A mock examination was provided for the 2018 CAT.
• CAT is a computer-based exam consisting of three parts, Verbal and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning, and QA.
• The divisions on QA and VARC composed on 34 questions each, while the portion on DI & LR had 32 problems.
• Since about CAT 2015, the distribution of questions has remained the same. Before this, questions were presented differently.