CAT
The Common Admission Test to the six IIMs ( IIM A, B, C, L, I, K and the Rajiv Gandhi IIM Shillong) is also the entrance test for few other top B-Schools such as SP Jain, MICA, and T A Pai. CAT tests your skills in five broad areas viz.
1. Verbal Ability (VA)
2. Reading Comprehension (RC)
3. Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
4. Data Interpretation (DI) and a bit of Data Sufficiency (DS)
5. Logical reasoning (LR)
What are the number of questions in CAT?
The test used to comprise upwards of 180 questions in the early 90s. ( when i wrote the CAt) From 1999 onwards, the number of questions in the CAT exam has been steadily decreasing. What was a 165 questions paper in CAT 1999 and 2000 reduced to a 150-questions paper in 2001 to 2003. In 2004, the test had only 123 questions and in 2005 the CAT posed just 90 questions. The number was reduced further in 2006 to a 75-questions paper divided equally into three sections. Typically this test can be expected to comprise between 75 to 150 objective type questions and is usually divided into three to four sections. Each question has a question statement followed by four or five alternate answer choices and the candidate has to choose the best answer for each of the questions and mark it on an OMR sheet. ( A sheet wherein you mark the right answer by filling up the corresponding circle using a HB pencil - see image below for a simplified version of the IIM CAT OMR sheet)........... to know more about CAT,click this link
The Common Admission Test to the six IIMs ( IIM A, B, C, L, I, K and the Rajiv Gandhi IIM Shillong) is also the entrance test for few other top B-Schools such as SP Jain, MICA, and T A Pai. CAT tests your skills in five broad areas viz.
1. Verbal Ability (VA)
2. Reading Comprehension (RC)
3. Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
4. Data Interpretation (DI) and a bit of Data Sufficiency (DS)
5. Logical reasoning (LR)
What are the number of questions in CAT?
The test used to comprise upwards of 180 questions in the early 90s. ( when i wrote the CAt) From 1999 onwards, the number of questions in the CAT exam has been steadily decreasing. What was a 165 questions paper in CAT 1999 and 2000 reduced to a 150-questions paper in 2001 to 2003. In 2004, the test had only 123 questions and in 2005 the CAT posed just 90 questions. The number was reduced further in 2006 to a 75-questions paper divided equally into three sections. Typically this test can be expected to comprise between 75 to 150 objective type questions and is usually divided into three to four sections. Each question has a question statement followed by four or five alternate answer choices and the candidate has to choose the best answer for each of the questions and mark it on an OMR sheet. ( A sheet wherein you mark the right answer by filling up the corresponding circle using a HB pencil - see image below for a simplified version of the IIM CAT OMR sheet)........... to know more about CAT,click this link
The duration of the test used to be 2 hours until 2005. In 2006, the duration of the exam was increased by 30 minutes to make the exam duration 2 1/2 hours.
What are the other changes that have happened in the CAT in the last few years?
- Increase in the number of alternatives to choose from: earlier every question in the CAT was followed by 4 options, now it's 5
- Negative Marking: Previously, the IIMs didn't announce the exact negative marking criteria - there was just a vage instruction saying - there is negative marking. Now, the CAT clearly tells you the negative scoring system.
- Difficulty level: The IIMs have been raising the bar every year. As a result, the cut-offs have dropped big time.
******
