Admission to the long term postgraduate projects in IIMs depends on merit and includes a thorough determination measure consisting of a Personal Interview, Written Ability Test/Group Discussions, and scores in the Common Admission Test which is normally known as CAT. CAT is a management inclination test led by the IIMs principally to assess and waitlist candidates for the postgraduate program. It is a PC based exam and a competitor needs to follow the fair treatment of enrolling to show up for this exam once per year.

According to Government of India standards, IIMs save 15% seats for SC candidates, 7.5% seats for ST candidates, 27% seats for NC-OBC candidates and up to 10% seats for EWS candidates. 5% seats are likewise reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities. IIMs additionally give grants to meriting students who need monetary help.

CAT admit card 2024 will be given to enlisted candidates in the third week of October. Candidates will want to download their particular admit cards by utilizing their CAT login ID until the exam day. The official date of the CAT 2024 admit card download will be declared in July alongside the exam notification. Each applicant's CAT admit card will contain information in regards to the exam date, opening, timing, setting, detailing time just as general rules for the individual lead at the exam place.

How to Download CAT Admit Card 2024?

To download CAT 2024 admit card, which will be available only on the official site and web link, the candidates will be required to follow the steps given below:

Visit the official CAT 2024 website - iimcat.nic.in

• Click on 'Login'
• Enter registration ID and password
• Click on ' admit card '
• Click on download and save the admit card on a desktop
• Take a printout of your CAT 2024 admit card.

Details Mentioned on CAT 2024 Admit Card

• Candidate's name
• Candidate's caste
• Candidate's date of birth
• Candidate's photo
• Candidate's signature
• Registration number
• Date and time of the exam
• CAT 2024 exam centre address
• Google map link to locate exam centre
• Emergency contact number
• Test system number to identify your examination room
• CAT Exam related instructions.

Documents mandatory to carry along with the Admit Card

The candidates must take the ID proof authenticated by the Government of India. Any previous college/university card along with the CAT 2024 admit card is also valid and accepted in the examination hall. Some of the documents one can choose from are

• Aadhar card
• Voter ID
• Passport
• PAN card
• E-Aadhar
• Ration Card
• College/University ID
• Driver's license.

The CAT question paper contains 100 questions in MCQ and non-MCQ format from Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude. The CAT exam has been customarily conducted for 180 minutes, however, the term was diminished to 120 minutes for CAT 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The examination authority is relied upon to return to the 180-moment term for CAT 2024.

Assuming any applicant is wanting to show up in CAT 2024 this year, it's imperative to think about the CAT 2024 prospectus and pattern. Anyway, the last CAT 2024 pattern and schedule will be declared after the culmination of the MBA 2024-2024 affirmation cycle.

Aspirants must fill in the relevant and appropriate details properly for the CAT 2024 registration. With it, an application fee of Rs 2,000 (Rs 1,000 for SC/ST/PwD), must also be deposited.

Documents Required for CAT 2024 Application Process

• Class 10 mark sheet
• Class 12 mark sheet
• Graduation mark sheets/certificate
• Date of Birth certificate
• Address proof
• Caste category certificate (if applicable)
• PwD category certificate (if applicable)
• Scribe certificate (if applicable)
• Credit/debit card or net banking credentials
• Work experience document

CAT 2024 Application Form(Some formalities for which the application form may get rejected)

• The photograph ought not to be over a half year old. The photograph ought to be inside the components of 30mm X 45mm and in .jpg or .jpeg design. The photograph ought not to be under 150 px/inch in goal.
• Filtered Signature: The mark should be inside the elements of 30mm X 35mm and in .jpg or .jpeg. It ought to be clear and on a white foundation.
• NC-OBC/SC/ST Certificate: If you have a place with NC-OBC, SC or ST class, you should download the position testament from the CAT Website, enter the necessary data, self-confirm it and transfer its examined duplicate as a PDF archive.
• PwD Certificate: If you have a place with the PwD class, you are needed to download the PwD authentication from the CAT site, fill it, self-validate it and transfer its filtered duplicate as a PDF record.

CAT registration is a three-step process that includes online registration, filling up the CAT application form and payment of fees.

• Step 1: To apply candidates must register on the official website by following steps:

  • Open the official CAT website in a new window or click: iimcat.ac.in
  • Click on 'New Candidate RegistrationBehavioural
  • Enter name, DOB, email address, mobile number and nationality
  • Click on 'Generate OTP'
  • With the successful registration, OTP is generated and sent to the registered mobile.
  • Verify the CAT registration process and status by entering the OTP.

• Step 2: Filling up CAT Application Form

  After verification, a user ID and password will be sent on the mentioned email ID and mobile number. Log in with these credentials for further process

• Step 3: Payment and Application Fee depositing

  • After filling in lengthy and true details of the first sections, click on 'save and continue'.
  • The fee payment window will appear.
  • CAT Application Fee is as follows
    • General and NC-OBC:- Rs. 2,000
    • SC, ST and PwD:- Rs. 1,000

CAT Registration 2024: Things to Keep in Mind

• At the time of CAT registration, the candidates must mention their personal and fully functional mobile phone number and email ID
• Do not fill in the details of the form of the CAT application on a smartphone. Use a bigger screen space like a laptop or a desktop for filling the application form, correctly.
• The choice of favoured or prioritized IIM campus must be explicitly made in the application form. You will be called for an interview (if shortlisted) based on the options mentioned in the CAT form.
• Cross-check and verify all the information entered at the time of filling in the CAT application form, thoroughly before hitting ‘submit/save key’
• Once submitted, the form cannot be edited.
• The prospective candidate must create a new login ID, fill in the form from the same id and pay the fee.
• Make sure the fee payment transaction is successful.
• If by any chance the transaction remains incomplete, and payment does not get deposited the CAT form will not be accepted and will remain incomplete.
• Save a copy of the CAT application fee acknowledgement slip and a copy of the duly filled application form for future reference.
• Preserve the CAT registration confirmation mail until the end of the MBA admission process. It is advisable and important to take the printout of this confirmation mail.

CAT Registrations 2024: Instructions for Reserved Category Students

• Candidates who apply under the section of the reserved category must strictly follow the instructions specifically.
• To check the Caste/Tribe name applicable to you, check the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC)
  website: http://www.ncbc.nic.in/Home.aspx
• The CAT 2024 application form will also have the information regarding the same. Click to open the website of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).
• Submission of the Reserved category form is mandatory.
• For the same, students are recommended to download the EWS, NC-OBC, SC/ST Certificate, from the official website. Then one must fill in and self-attest all the scanned PDF documents and thereby upload them to complete the process.
• For candidates with Disability, download the Person with Disability (PwD) Certificate from the official website of CAT, fill in the required information and self-attest and scan all the documents as a PDF file to upload. Also select the details like Wheelchair Support and Scribe Requirement, or others.

Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Person with Benchmark Disability (PwD):

• Candidates belonging to SC/ST/PwD categories must have scored a minimum of 45 per cent aggregate in graduation (or equivalent) in any stream
• Candidates must be in their final year of graduation or awaiting a result
• Candidates having a degree for CA/CS/ICWA with a minimum 45 per cent aggregate.

CAT Eligibility 2020: Equivalent Degrees

• In case the marking scheme of any candidate’s bachelor’s degree is in grades or CGPA, the percentage of marks would be calculated based on the practice as followed by the respective University/Institution.
• If any past University/institution states that any scheme for converting CGPA into marks is unacceptable, then the further calculation will be done by dividing the candidate’s secured CGPA by the maximum possible CGPA and thereafter multiplying with 100.

The scheduled CAT exam is immense; accordingly, those wanting to show up for CAT 2024 should pursue it with the most extreme dedication. The VARC section of the CAT prospectus covers different subjects of the English language, verbal thinking and reading cognizance. The QA section of the CAT prospectus incorporates every one of the subjects of Maths from Class 9 to 10 like Arithmetic, Geometry, Trigonometry and Mensuration. The DILR schedule of the CAT exam incorporates points that require a scientific understanding of information like riddles, tables and visual charts.

Following is the syllabus of the CAT Exam divided according to the sections:

• 1. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

  Reading Comprehension, Para jumbles, English Grammar, One-word Substitution, Fill in the Blanks, Antonyms-Synonyms, Sentence Correction, Foreign Words, Verbal Ability, etc.

• 2. Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

  This section incorporates getting and devising ways to read and further bifurcate data and explain the complex societies and problems. For the same Tables, Charts, Graphs, Series, Sitting, pictures, Coding-Decoding, Data Structures, Blood Relations, Family Tree, Assumptions, pictures and others are used. Drawing out meaningful information and usage of logics is checked in the section.

• 3. Quantitative Aptitude

  Geometry, Trigonometry, Algebra, Mensuration, Partnership (Accounts), Profit & Loss, Ratios and Proportion, In-equations Quadratic and Linear Equations, Surds and Indices, Time-Speed-Distance, Number System, Geometric Progression, Inequalities, Work and Time, Percentages and Logarithms, etc.

Step-by-step CAT 2024 Examination Preparation Plan

• Step 1: Peruse the CAT syllabus entirely and analyse the pattern of CAT examination and marking scheme properly
• Step 2: Get the important books for this exam and other important study materials
• Step 3: Try joining online study groups on platforms like Quora, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.
• Step 4: Prepare a timetable every month, one every week and one on an everyday basis.

CAT Preparation 2024:

• CAT Exam is a speed and accuracy test, so practising as many CAT previous year papers, with relevant logical and subject-based questions of the paper, to prepare from mock tests is the best strategy so far.
• Measure your performance after each CAT mock test, and get an idea about your strengths and weaknesses, so you can improve better.
• Solve each type of question thoroughly to get a clear concept of such problems. Generally, it is advised to solve the question 3 times, as in One, you will understand it, in Two, you will solve it faster, and in three, you may discover a shortcut to solve it much more effectively and efficiently.
• CAT exam has a sectional time limit, which means you need to complete each section within the stipulated time-frame
• CAT exam has negative marking. For each wrong answer, -1 mark is deducted.
• Practising is the key. Use time-bound assessment techniques for mock tests, and try to improve with every mock test so better time management skills are developed.
• Do not overdo anything. If you have prepared certain topics already. Do not work on them again and again.
• After attempting a CAT mock test, analyse it in detail to know what you are lacking. Work on it. Work on where you are lagging, and what is stopping you. Identify the types of questions that are still unsolvable. Do not attempt such questions in the exam.
• Memorise tables up to 20, square, square roots, cubes, etc, for easy and timely calculation and arithmetic problems. These will help you in timely reaching the solutions while cutting some unnecessary steps in the process.
• Be thorough with all the concepts of VA and LR especially, revise them and the formulae. For solving the QA every day for one hour. You should be so well versed with these that, on exam day, you can recall them without wasting a single moment.
• In this last phase of CAT preparation, focus completely on mock tests and revision. This is the best and the crucial time of preparation, because one can not start any new topics and one has already been on the revision side for the past many days and months.

How to Prepare for CAT VARC

The VARC section is comprehensively partitioned into reading understanding, verbal capacity, jargon and punctuation. To plan for this section of the CAT exam, the candidates need to have a different methodology for each part. For example, the readiness of reading cognizance should start in the early months of the year as it is tied in with creating and developing the propensity for reading.

How to Prepare for CAT DILR

To score well in Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning or DILR, the main thing is to have lucidity of essential ideas. Since the questions in this section are information and rationale based, the candidates need to foster sharp observational expertise and an eye for detail. Likewise, there are no formulas or hypotheses in DILR, so your arrangement significantly relies upon the training of test questions. Significant subjects to read for DILR are Tables, Line Charts, Pie Charts, Bar Charts, Mixed Charts.

How to Prepare for CAT Quantitative Aptitude

The quantitative Aptitude area is the last part of the CAT exam and the most thorough one. The QA area incorporates Math points like Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry and Mensuration. The key to dominant in this part of the CAT exam is exhaustive information on every one of the ideas, formulae and hypotheses. Additionally, mental computation assumes a significant part in scoring well in this segment. Albeit a calculator will be given in the exam community, mental computation will save the up-and-comer's time.

The CAT exam pattern is endorsed by the IIMs. The test structure depends on comparable selection tests, having multiple-choice questions (MCQs) to be solved within a specific period. CAT exam is of 180 minutes with 100 questions, however, in CAT 2020, both exam duration and number of questions were decreased, in the new revised patterns, and nothing new was added.

CAT Exam Pattern Highlights

• The CAT question paper is divided into three sections; each having a sectional time limit.
  • - Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
  • - Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
  • - Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
• In 2020, Questions Type: MCQ and non-MCQ
  Total Questions:76
• The time allotted was 180 minutes (3 hours) to answer these questions
• There is a time limit for each section. It is 60 minutes each.
• The exam is conducted online. Various centres across the country and cities have been reaped to have the same.

CAT Marking Scheme

• Total marks of the CAT 2024 paper will either be 300 or 228 (depending on which test pattern IIM follows this time).
• Each question will carry 3 marks.
• There will be a negative marking of -1 each for a wrong answer.
• No marks are deducted, for leaving the question blank.
• Some questions in each section may not be of the multiple-choice type, thus the answers will have to be typed on the screen.

Dos

• Carry two printouts of the CAT 2024 admit card, ID proof (in original) and a pen to the exam centre
• Show the original printout of your CAT 2024 admit card to gain entry into the exam centre
• Follow the instructions intensively, and do not try any suspicious activities.
• Cooperate with the examination centre and hall authorities in identification and checking at the entry gate

Don’ts

• No electronics substance is allowed in the exam centre, hence must not be carried.
• Closed and covered shoes, belts, caps, jackets and other accessories especially metal are not allowed in the exam hall, and the candidate would have to leave them outside.
• Test centre gates will close 15 minutes before the exam, thus do not get late for the exam
• No arguments are welcomed with test centre staff or fellow other candidates. Unruly behaviour may invite disqualification.
• Do not use the keyboard at any point of time during the exam or your system will automatically get locked.

List of CAT Exam centre

IIM and other top B-schools admission are dependent on three parameters and stages.

• First phase: Shortlisting of candidates
• Second phase: WAT/GD-PI round
• Third phase: Final selection.

1. First phase:

Every individual is shortlisted as per his/her CAT score. Every IIM or other top B-Schools of the country autonomously set a bar for that year. The percentile and cut off of the IIMs are generally over 90 percentile for General candidates (much lower for reserved category candidates), which suggests, the people who will score more than 90 percentile in CAT 2020 will be equipped for the interview round. However, whether or not they are invited for the interview, depends upon the certified CAT score and past insightful record. Of course, shorts of more current IIMs range between 80-60 percentile.

2. Second phase:

In this phase, IIMs conduct WAT/GD-PI. This stage is the decider as the selection panel finalises the candidate based on their performance in this round.

3. Third phase:

In this phase, the candidates are scored based on their academic performance.

Documents required at counselling

• Scanned Passport Size Photograph
  • 1. Should have been clicked in the duration of the last six months.
  • 2. Dimensions of 30mm X 45mm
  • 3. The format must be either jpg or jpeg.
  • 4. The resolution of the photo must be greater than 150 px/inch.
• Scanned Signature

  The signature between 30mm X 35mm dimension and in jpg or jpeg format. It should be clear and on white background.

• NC-OBC/SC/ST Certificate

  If you belong to NC-OBC, SC or ST category, you will have to download the caste certificate from the CAT Website, enter the required information, self-attest it and upload its scanned copy as a PDF document.

• PwD Certificate

  For these candidates download the PwD certificate from official sources i.e CAT website, then fill it, self-attest and upload the pdf document.

Documents required at Exam

• Contact Details
• Phone Number
• Email ID
• Mark Sheets [Class 10 + Class 12]
• Graduation (if cleared)
• Date of Birth Certificate
• Degree Certificate / Provisional Degree
• ID Proof
• Proof of Address

Optional Documents(if applicable)

• Caste Certificate
• PwD Certificate
• Scribe Certificate
• Letter of Work Experience
• Payment Details
• Credit Card / Debit Card / Net Banking.

Step 1 - Visit the official website of CAT 2024 website:- cat2020@iimidr.ac.incathelpdesk@iimcat.co.in

Step 2 - Thereafter press the “Candidate Login” tab

Step 3 - Now enter CAT registration ID and password and then click on the “Submit” tab

Step 4 - Now click on the “Download PDF” tab to download CAT answer key PDF

Step 5 - Use the “Candidate Response” tab to download the response sheet.

Details mentioned in CAT answer key 2024

• CAT registration number 2024
• Rs 950 (or SC/ST/PwD)
• Candidate’s name
• Date of exam
• Test timing
• Questions
• Type of questions
• Status
• Right option/ answer
• CAT 2024 exam centre details

Q: What if I have not completed graduation by the time of the CAT exam?

A: If the candidate has not completed graduation by the time of the CAT exam, they can still take the test as proof of graduation is to be submitted along with all the other documents.

Q: Can a candidate having a backlog apply for CAT?

A: Yes, you can. Candidates are eligible to apply and sit for the examination of CAT. The only eligibility, in this case, is to have an aggregate of 50 per cent.

Q: Are CAT and MBA eligibility criteria the same or different?

A: No, CAT eligibility criteria and MBA eligibility criteria are the same i.e. Graduation.

Q: What is the CAT application fee?

A: CAT application fee is

• Rs 1,900 (for General/OBC category)
• Rs 950 (or SC/ST/PwD)

Q: How many sections are there in the CAT exam?

A: The CAT question paper has three sections:

• Section 1: VARC
• Section 2: DILR
• Section 3: QA

Q: Does the CAT exam have negative marking?

A: Yes, the CAT exam has a negative marking of -1 for each wrong answer. While no marks are deducted for non-MCQs type questions and unattempted questions.

Q: Is a calculator permitted at the exam centre?

A: No, and a strict no. Nothing from outside is allowed in the examination centre, especially any electronic device. Every candidate’s system and computer have an on-screen calculator.

Q: What is the total no. of MCQs and Non-MCQs type questions in CAT 2024?

A: CAT 2024 consists mainly of MCQs. The Quantitative Aptitude section may have a few NON-MCQ types. The exact and precise information can only be learnt after the examination has taken place.

Q: How many marks will be deducted if I skip a question in the CAT paper?

A: For not attempting a question, no marks are deducted as such. The candidates thus can be safe, and tension-free if they have skipped any, for not knowing or being unsure about the answer.

Q: Can I customize my CAT exam slot?

A: One can only choose the slot from the available slots, which are morning, afternoon and evening. The slots are allotted to all the candidates on a first-come-first-served basis, by the exam authorities. Hence no further choices are available if one slot is filled out.

Q: What is WAT/PI?

A: It is a stage of exam to secure best admissions in the top B-schools of the country, WAT is the Written Ability Test of 30-minutes, which includes essay writing and judges the ability of the candidate on language and communication. Subjects for these essays are socio-political, economic and business affairs, sports, Current trending topics, according to options chosen etc. PI is the later stage after the WAT, which is also called a Personal Interview. It occurs on the same day as WAT.