CAT:

About CAT

CAT 2010 is the mandatory Common Admission Test conducted by the India Institutes of Management for grantingadmission in the management programs of all the six IIMs. Besides IIMs, thereare other management schools too, which will take CAT 2010 scores as the main eligibility criteria for enrolling students in their management courses. After successfully clearing the CAT 2010 test, candidates will have to clear the group discussion and interview rounds as well, to secure a place in MBA program.

CAT 2010 Test Patterns

The CAT 2010 test will be conducted in the month of November.  It is comparatively less predictable thanother management entrance tests as its pattern/ number of questions keeps changing every year.  The number of cat 2010 questions, however, is spread across 4 sections namely,

·                 Quantitative Ability (QA)

·                 Data Interpretation (DI) and Logical Reasoning (LR)

·                 Reading Comprehension (RC)

·                 Verbal Ability (VA)

In the year 2004, the concept of differential marking wasintroduced. Therefore, it is essential that you prepare thoroughly for all thefour sections in order to receive calls from the best management institutions.

There is disparity regarding the duration of the test too. Forinstance, till 2005 the duration of the CAT test was 2 hours which was changedto 2 ½ hours in the year 2006. Apart from this CAT 2010 will be an onlineentrance exam just like CAT 2009.

Given below is a comprehensive comparison between the CAT test of years 2005, 2006 and 2007-

Criteria	CAT 2007	CAT 2006	CAT 2005
No. of Section	3	3	3 Hours
Number of questions	75	75	3 Hours
Duration	2 hours	21/2 Hours	21/2 Hours
Negative Marking	1 marks	1 marks	1/3 of the marks allotted

EEligibility Criteria for CAT test

CAT 2010 eligibility requires an essential Bachelor’s degree inany discipline with a minimum of 50% score. In case you belong to SC, ST or thedisability category, the CAT 2010 eligibility further falls down to a minimumof 45 % marks in graduation.

CAT 2010 Registration

CAT 2010 registration will be through the CAT 2010 application form, which is the same for all IIMs. Candidates can get the CAT 2010 application form from any branch of the State Bank ofIndia. The formis usually available in the month of April. It should be noted that the CAT 2010 application form needs to be filled and submitted only once, irrespectiveof how many IIMs you are applying to.

However, for non-IIM institutes, you might have to fill aseparate form available from their institute.

List of IIMS

·                 Indian Institutes of Management, Lucknow

·                 Indian Institutes of Management, Bangalore

·                 Indian Institutes of Management, Kozhikode

·                  Indian Institutes of Management, Ahmadabad

·                 Indian Institutes of Management, Calcutta

·                 Indian Institutes of Management, Indore

List of Non-IIM Institutes accepting CAT scores

·                 National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai

·                 S.P.Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai

·                 Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon

·                 Bharathidasan Institute of Management (BIM), Trichy

·                 Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA), Ahmedabad

·                 T.A.Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal.

·                 Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad

·                 National Insurance Academy School of Management(NIASoM), Pune

·                 Institute of Management, Nirma University,Ahmedabad

·                 Welingkar, Mumbai

Kindly note that this list is not exhaustive and there could beother management schools too which grant admission on the basis of CAT testscores.

CAT 2010 Tips and Strategies

CAT 2010 is an entrance examination for over 80 institutesoffering MBA programs. Almost all the top B schools including the six IIMsconsider the CAT 2010 scores for granting admission in their MBA programs.Needless to say, cracking CAT 2010 & CAT exam in general takes rigorouspreparation and consistent hard work. Given below are some of the tips whichmight help you in getting admission to the MBA Schoolof your choice.

·                 CAT 2010 being an application driven test, regular practice withcomplete focus is the key to clearing the test

·                 As the curriculum for the CAT is limited, it is essential foryou to cover the entire curriculum leaving nothing

·                 After you have completed most of the course, start giving mockCAT test. Higher the number of test that you take, higher would be yourlearning curve

·                 Thoroughly analyse the result of the mock CAT test foridentifying your strong and weak areas. Now follow a structured and organisedapproach to turn your weak points into your strength

·                 It is a good idea to spend an hour or so in trying to find outwhat you could have done better in the mock CAT test. Remember, one of the keyreasons of giving mock CAT test is to learn from your mistakes

·                 Help from teachers, joining a coaching institute, study of thefundamental concepts and solving solved and unsolved questions would help youin gaining command over the concepts that you find difficult

·                 Build mathematical proficiency. You should thoroughly work onthe math problems of 10th and 11th standard

·                 Follow the 3 times principle. Solve every question 3 times;first time would be the attempt, second would be a solution and finally for thepurpose of revision. The 3 times principle would help you in understanding theconcept better

·                 You should know what to leave for later during the exam. Solvethe questions which you think you can answer correctly. Leave complex questionsfor later. Remember time management is the key!

·                 Also in the first attempt, answer only those questions whichwould take less than a minute. Long and difficult questions should be reservedfor later. Mark such questions and solve them after completing the simpler andless time consuming answers