The CAT exam or the Common Admission Test is a computer-based test for students looking to get admission into a graduate management program. The exam is conducted by one of the IIMs or Indian Institute of Management each year on a rotation basis, and the results of this exam serve as the basis for admission into not just IIM but also other management institutes in the country.
The parameters tested in the exam include Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation, and Logical Reasoning. Given the fact that there is a large number of people seeking admission in management programs, there are lakhs of candidates that appear for the CAT exam each year.
10 Points to Keep in Mind with Respect to CAT
Since CAT is such an important exam which is conducted on a national scaleand determines who might get admission into a management program, the exam is not an easy exam, and here are ten things one should know about the MBA CAT exam pattern: –
- Sections Covered in the Exam: The exam covers three main areas, namely VARC or Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, DILR or Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and QA or Quantitative Aptitude.
- Division of Questions: There are a total of 100 questions in the paper, with there being 34 for VARC, 32 for DILR, and 34 for QA.
- Total Marks: The entire paper with 100 questions, is worth 300 marks.
- Type of Questions: The exam includes questions that are in both MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) and non-MCQ format.
- Number of options: – Those appearing for the exam would see that they have 4 options to choose the correct answerfor every question.
- Level of Difficulty: Since the examination is a means to narrow down on those who are truly suitable for management programs, the questions are of varying levels of difficulty. The VARC questions are easy to moderate, the DILR questions are moderate to difficult, and the QA questions are difficult.
- Marking Scheme: For each correct answer, the candidates would be awarded three marks.
- Negative Marking: For each incorrect MCQ answer, there is a negative marking of 1/3. On the other hand, there is no negative marking for questions that are in the non-MCQ format.
- Duration of the Exam: The students would have a total of 180 minutes or 3 hours to complete the examination and would be allowed to spend only 60 minutes or an hour on each section. Since it is a computer-based examination, students would not be allowed to go back to the previous questions or sections.
- Language: Since the exam is conducted all over India and candidates from different places appear for it, the question paper is set in the English language.
The CAT exam is conducted on a single day throughout the country and is held in two slots, one from 9 am to 12 pm and the other from 2 pm to 5 pm. It is an extremely important exam for those seeking admission in a good management program in India, and thus it is key to understand the exam pattern.
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