byDinesh
Updated on - 13 Apr, 2024
Common Admission Test (CAT), is the prominent entrance examination conducted in India by Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) for admission in their first-rate two-year PG Programmes, namely the Post Graduate Program (PGP), Post Graduate Program for executives (PGPX), and the Fellow Program in Management (FPM). The CAT score is declined by more than 155 educational institutions across India for entry.
Each year, CAT is held and it is used as means of assessing a candidate's quantitative & data interpretation & logical reasoning ability, as well as his/her verbal ability & reading comprehension skills, and decision making & general awareness. There is a 3-hour paper consists of 100 questions and 3 sections. CAT exam score remains valid and gets one the admissions for the year of exam and the subsequent year.
CAT 2024 notification that will include all exam dates and other information is scheduled to be released by the middle of July 2023 on the official website. The exam is to be held either in November or December 2024 as an online test covering 158 test cities. The outcome is then announced within three weeks after the examination date. Each shortlisted candidate must apply on their own to a business school of their choice, and sit through the additional rounds of evaluation in the form of group discussion (GD), writing ability test (WAT), and personal interviewing (PI), before being finally admitted.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | Reading comprehension, verbal reasoning, vocabulary, and grammar |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) | Data tables, charts, graphs, and caselets |
| Quantitative Ability (QA) | Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry |
| Section | Topics |
|---|---|
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | |
| Reading comprehension | Passages from a variety of sources, such as news articles, essays, and fiction, will be given. Questions will test your ability to understand the main idea, supporting details, and implications of the passages. |
| Verbal reasoning | Questions will test your ability to understand and analyze the relationships between words, concepts, and arguments. This may include questions on synonyms, antonyms, analogies, and logical reasoning. |
| Critical reasoning | Questions will test your ability to evaluate and analyze arguments. This may include questions on identifying the main argument, identifying assumptions, and identifying flaws in reasoning. |
| Vocabulary | Questions will test your knowledge of words and their meanings. This may include questions on synonyms, antonyms, and word usage. |
| Section | Topic | Weightage (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | ||
| Reading Comprehension | 60-70% | |
| Verbal Reasoning | 20-30% | |
| Critical Reasoning | 10-20% | |
| Vocabulary | 10-20% |
| Book | Author | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Ability for CAT | Arun Sharma | Quantitative Ability |
| How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT | Arun Sharma | Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension |
| Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for CAT | Nishit Sinha | Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning |
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Mode of exam | Online |
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Number of sections | 3 |
| Number of questions | 66 |
| Marking scheme | 3 marks for each correct answer, -1 mark for each incorrect answer |
| Negative marking | Yes |