Common Admission Test

"CAT test" redirects here; not to be confused with Computerized Achievement Levels Test or Computerized adaptive testing.

The Common Admission Test (CAT)^[1] is a computer based test for admission in graduate management programs. The test consists of three sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability. The exam was taken online over a period of three hours, with one hour per section. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 precautions, Indian Institute of Management Indore decided to conduct the CAT Exam in 2 hours with 40 minutes devoted to each section.^[2] The Indian Institutes of Management started this exam and use the test for selecting students for their business administration programs (MBA or PGDM). The test is conducted every year by one of the Indian Institutes of Managements(IIMs) based on a policy of rotation.^{[citation needed]}

Common Admission Test

Acronym	CAT
Type	Computer-based standardized test
Administrator	Indian Institutes of Management
Skills tested	Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
Purpose	Admission to post-graduate management programs
Year started	January 1977
Duration	2 hours(40 minutes for each section)(additional time will be given to PWD candidates)
Score range	varies annually
Score validity	1 year
Offered	Once a year (usually on the last Sunday of November).
Restrictions on attempts	No restriction
Regions	170+ cities and towns all over India.
Languages	English
Annual number of test takers	2.93 Lakhs (CAT 2024)
Prerequisites	Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) with at least 50 % marks or equivalent GPA (45 % in case of SC, ST, PWD candidates). Final year undergraduate students are also eligible
Fee	₹2,500 (US$29) for General/ EWS/NC-OBC category candidates. ₹1,250 (US$15) for SC/ST/PWD category candidates
Used by	Various business schools in India
Website	iimcat.ac.in

In August 2011, it was announced that Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) would also use the CAT scores, instead of the Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET), to select students for their management programmes starting with the 2012-15 batch.^[3]

Before 2010, CAT was a paper based test conducted on a single day for all candidates. The pattern, number of questions and duration have seen considerable variations over the years.

On 1 May 2009, it was announced that CAT would be a Computer Based Test starting from 2009. The American firm Prometric was entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the test from 2009 to 2013.^[4] The first computer based CAT was marred with technical snags.^[5] The issue was so serious that it prompted the Government of India to seek a report from the convenor.^[6] The trouble was diagnosed as 'Conficker' and 'W32 Nimda', the two viruses that attacked the system display of the test, causing server slow down.^[7] Since 2014 onward, CAT has been conducted by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). CAT 2015 and CAT 2016 were 180-minute tests consisting of 100 questions (34 from Quantitative Ability, 34 from Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, and 32 from Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning.^[8] CAT 2020 onwards, the exam duration has been reduced to two hours, with 40 minutes allotted per section.^[9]

Eligibility for CAT

The candidate must satisfy the below specified criteria:^[10]

1. Hold a bachelor's degree, with not less than 50% or equal CGPA (45% for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PWD)/Differently Able (DA) classification)
2. The degree should be granted by any of the universities consolidated by an act of the central or state statutory body in India or other instructive organizations built up by an act of Parliament or pronounced to be considered as a university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India.
3. Competitors appearing for the final year of bachelor's degree/equivalent qualification examination and the individuals who have finished degree prerequisites and are anticipating results can likewise apply. If selected, such applicants will be permitted to join the program temporarily, only if they present a certificate most recent by June of next year in which the exam is held, from the principal/registrar of their college/institute (issued at the latest 30th June of that year) expressing that the competitor has finished every one of the prerequisites for acquiring four-year or three-year college education/identical capability on the date of the issue of the certificate.

Exam pattern

The Common Admission Test (CAT), like virtually all large-scale exams, utilises multiple forms, or versions, of the test. Hence there are two types of scores involved: a raw score and a scaled score.

The raw score is calculated for each section based on the number of questions one answered correctly, incorrectly, or left unattempted. Candidates are given +3 points for each correct answer and -1 point for each incorrect answer, no negative marking for TITA (Type in the Answer) questions.^[11] No points are given for questions that are not answered. The raw scores are then adjusted through a process called equating. Equated raw scores are then placed on a common scale or metric to ensure appropriate interpretation of the scores. This process is called 'scaling'.

The change in the total number of questions and number of questions per section in CAT can vary by year. On the whole, there are 66 number of questions combining each section. The very first section which is the verbal ability and reading comprehension contains 24 questions, further bifurcating 16 questions of reading comprehension and 8 questions of verbal ability, then next section is of data interpretation and logical reasoning which contains 20 questions and the last section is of quantitative ability which contains 22 questions making it to 66 questions in total.

CAT is conducted in three slots/sessions (Morning Slot, Afternoon Slot, Evening Slot).^[12]

CAT Pattern and Duration

Source:^[13]

Three 40-minute sessions will be held to conduct the CAT 2024 exam. A total of 120 minutes will be given. The CAT exam pattern will consist of Multiple Choice Question and non-multiple-choice questions or TITA {Type In The Answer} questions. The three sections in the exam are as follows:

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

-> 24 questions are asked in VARC out which 8 questions are of VA (Para jumble - 2 TITA questions, Para summary - 2 MCQ questions, Odd one out - 2 TITA questions, Sentence Placement - 2 MCQ questions) 16 questions of RC are asked by 4 passages with 4 questions in each passage (all questions are of MCQ type).

-> 20 questions are asked in DILR, questions are asked in 4 sets with 6-6-4-4 or 5-5-5-5 pattern.

-> 22 questions are asked in QA, 22 independent questions are asked from topics such as Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Number System & Modern Math.

There will be a maximum score of 198 marks and 66 total questions in the CAT exam pattern.

Candidates cannot jump between the three sections while taking the exam. The order of the sections is fixed: VARC -> DILR -> QA.

CAT registrations in numbers over the years

The number of registrations in the past years are shown in the following chart:^[14]

Year	No. of candidates Registered	No. of candidates Appeared[15]
2005[16]	170,000	155,000
2006	191,000	180,000
2007	250,000	230,000
2008	290,000	276,000
2009	241,000	230,000
2010	204,000	185,000
2011	205,000	186,000
2012	214,000	195,000
2013	194,516	173,714[17]
2014	196,988	170,000[18]
2015	218,664	179,602[19]
2016	232,434	195,679
2017[20]	231,067[21]	199,632
2018[22]	240,338	209,405
2019	244,169	209,926
2020	227,835	190,144
2021	229,969	191,660
2022[23]	255,501	222,184
2023	328,000[24]	288,000
2024	329,000[25]	293,000

Note: Data of candidates registered till 2012 are approximate.

See also

• Graduate Management Admission Test
• Graduate Record Examination
• Test of English as a Foreign Language