What is the Full Form of CAT?
The most commonly asked question amongst the MBA Aspirants is “What is CAT Full Form?”. The full form of CAT is the Common Admission Test. It is one of the highly competitive MBA Entrance Exams conducted for admission to MBA programs offered by the most prestigious management institutions in India.
Also Read: Preparation Strategy Of CAT Toppers
What is CAT Exam Full Form?
CAT Full Form is Common Admission Test. CAT is a computer based standardized examination conducted for admission to management programs offered by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other top business schools across the country. The exam is conducted every year by one of the IIMs to select candidates for their flagship postgraduate MBA program. Is CAT Exam Tough?
CAT Exam consists of three sections and these three sections are mentioned below:
- VARC – VARC stands for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension. The section evaluated a candidate’s ability to read and comprehend long passages given in the question paper. It also analyses their ability to answer questions based on the comprehension passage given.
- DILR – The full form of DILR is Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. The Data Interpretation topic evaluates candidate’s ability to interpret data presented in the question paper in the form of graphical or tabular form and answer the questions based on the data presented.
- QA - QA stands for Quantitative Aptitude. This section analyzes candidate's ability to tackle mathematical questions.
The Common Admission Test, commonly referred to as CAT Exam, is widely regarded as the most challenging entrance exams in the world. The exam has a success rate of less than 5%. In order to stand a chance of getting admission to one of the IIMs, candidates must secure highest marks on all the three sections of the exam.
Brief History of CAT Test
Previously, Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET), used to be conducted for admission to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc Bangalore). It was then scraped in August 2011 and IITs and IISc declared to use CAT Score instead of JMET to shortlist candidates beginning with the 2012-15 batch for their management programs.
- Till the year 2009, CAT Exam was a paper-based examination.
- The CAT Exam Pattern, Number of Questions, and duration of the exam have significantly changed over the past few years.
- On 1st May 2009, it was announced that CAT would be converted into a computer-based test.
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Eligibility Criteria for CAT Exam
Below mentioned are the eligibility criteria for CAT Exam that students must fulfil in order to take CAT Exam and for further admission procedure: Are You Eligible for CAT 2023?
- Applicants must possess a bachelor’s degree in any field securing at least 50% marks in aggregate from a recognized university.
- Candidates belonging to reserved categories (SC/ST/PwD) must secure at least 45% marks in aggregate from a recognized university.
- The degree should have been awarded by any of the institutions constituted by an act of the central or state legislative body of the country (India) or by any other educational organizations which have been established by an act of the Parliament.
- It should also be approved to be regarded as a university under section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, with an equivalent qualification recognized by the Human Resource and Development (HRD) Ministry, Government of India.
- Candidates in their final year of degree or waiting for their result of final exams are also eligible for the examination. They can apply for CAT Exam by filling CAT Application Form.
Also Read - CAT Eligibility Criteria 2023
CAT Exam Duration and Pattern
The structure or the pattern of CAT Exam remains almost the same every year. There are slight changes in the number of questions in the CAT Question Paper. Detailed CAT Exam Pattern
- In the year 2018, CAT Mock Test was provided on the official website of CAT – iimcat.ac.in by the then conducting body of the exam.
- CAT is a computer-based exam that consists of three sections, VARC (Verbal and Reading Comprehension), DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning), and QA (Quantitative Aptitude).
- The division of questions in each section is decided by the conducting body of examination. QA and VARC were initially composed of 34 questions each while the section DILR consisted of 32 questions.
- Since CAT 2015, the distribution of questions remained same until CAT 2021, the total number of questions in the exam was reduced to 76 from 100 and then in CAT 2022, the number was further reduced to 66.
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How to Apply for Common Admission Test?
CAT Exam is conducted every year for students seeking admission to MBA Programs. The CAT Full Form is Common Admission Test. CAT Exam is a computer-based test that evaluates a candidate's quantitative, verbal ability, data interpretation, reading comprehension, and logical reasoning skills. The duration of the exam is 2 hours i.e. 120 minutes and there are 66 questions to be completed. Detailed CAT Registration Process
- In order to apply for the CAT Exam, candidates must first register themselves on CAT official website – iimcat.ac.in 2023. After the registration is done, candidates will be required to enter details such as personal, academic, and contact information.
- Once all the details have been entered correctly, candidates will be able to select their preferred CAT Test City.
- After the selection of test city, candidates will have to make the payment of CAT Registration Fee.
- Only after the successful payment of CAT Exam Fees, candidates will be able to download their admit cards from the website.
- CAT Exam is held in two slots during morning and evening hour. Candidates must report to their allotted test centre on the date of examination along with their admit card and a valid photo ID proof. List of CAT Exam Centres
- There is negative marking for wrong answers as per CAT Exam Pattern.