Common Admission Test

Acronym	CAT
Type	Computer-based standardized test
Developer / administrator	Indian Institutes of Management
Knowledge / skills tested	Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
Purpose	Admission to post-graduate management programs
Duration	3 hours
Score / grade range	-100 to 300
Score / grade validity	1 year
Offered	Once a year (usually in November/December).
Countries / regions	354 centres in 99 cities and towns all over India.
Languages	English
Annual number of test takers	244,000 in 2019
Prerequisites / eligibility criteria	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 also eligible
Fee	₹2,200 (US$31) for general category candidates. ₹1,100 (US$15) for SC / ST / DA (PWD) category candidates
Scores / grades used by	Various business schools in India
Website	iimcat.ac.in

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is a computer based test for admission in a graduate management program. The test consists of three sections Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Ability (QA). Overall it’s a three hour online exam divided into one hour each section. The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) 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 IIMs based on a policy of rotation.

In August 2011, it is 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.

 

Before 2009, 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. The first computer based CAT was marred with technical snags. The issue was so serious that it prompted the Government of India to seek a report from the convenor. The trouble was diagnosed as 'Conficker' and 'W32 Nimda', the two viruses that attacked the system display of the test, causing server slow down. 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 (QA), 34 from Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), and 32 from Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)).

 

Contents

• Eligibility for CAT
• Exam pattern
  • Test pattern and duration
• CAT registrations in numbers over the years
• Books

 

Eligibility for CAT

The candidate must satisfy the below specified criteria:

1. Hold a bachelor's degree, with no 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 30, 2020, from the principal/registrar of their college/institute (issued at the latest June 30, 2020) 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 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 merely happens, on a broader perspective there are 100 number of questions combining each section. The very first section which is the verbal ability and reading comprehension (VARC) contains 34 questions, further bifurcating 24 questions of reading comprehension and 10 questions of verbal ability, then next section is of data interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR) which contains 32 questions and the last section is of quantitative ability (QA) which contains 34 questions making it to 100 questions in total.

CAT is conducted in two sessions.

Test pattern and duration

CAT exact exam pattern changes every year. For CAT 2018, a mock test was supplied.

CAT is a computer-based test which consists of 3 sections:

• Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
• Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DI & LR)
• Quantitative Ability (QA)

The Quantitative Ability and Verbal & Reading Comprehension sections consisted 34 questions each, whereas the Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section had 32 questions. This distribution of questions was same since CAT 2015. Before this, the distribution of questions was different.

CAT registrations in numbers over the years

The number of registrations in the past years are shown in the following chart:

Number of registrations in CAT over the years

Year	Approximate number of registrations
2017	231,000
2016	232,434
2015	218,664
2014	196,988
2013	194,516
2012	214,000
2011	205,000
2010	204,000
2009	241,000
2008	290,000
2007	250,000

Books

1. CAT 2018 Slot 1 With Answers
   

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2. CAT 2018 Slot 2 With Answers
   

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3. CAT 2017 Shift-2 Questions With Answers
   

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4. CAT 2017 Shift-1 Questions With Answers
   

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5. CAT 1991 With Answers
   

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6. CAT 2008 With Answers
   

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7. CAT 2007 With Answers
   

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8. CAT 2006 With Answers
   

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9. CAT 2005 With Answers
   

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10. CAT 2004 With Answers
    

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11. CAT 2002 With Answers
    

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12. CAT 2003 With Answers
    

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13. CAT 2000 With Answers
    

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14. CAT 2001 With Answers
    

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15. CAT 1999 With Answers
    

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16. CAT 1998 With Answers
    

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17. CAT 1997 With Answers
    

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18. CAT 1996 With Answers
    

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19. CAT 1990 With Answers
    

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20. Quantitative Aptitude for CAT By Arun Sharma
    

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21. GMAT CAT Critical Reasoning
    

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22. How to Prepare For Quantitative Aptitude For the CAT By Arun Sharma
    

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23. Logical Reasoning CAT Questions For Practice
    

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24. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension For CAT By Arun Sharma
    

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25. Word Power Made Easy By Norman Lewis
    

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26. The Pearson Guide To Quantitative Aptitude And Data Interpretation For The CAT
    

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27. A Modern Approach to Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning By R.S. Aggarwal
    

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28. Geometry and Mensuration By Rahul Raj
    

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29. Magical Book On Quicker Maths By M. Tyra
    

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30. Monthly GK Digest March 2017
    

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31. One Stop MBA CAT 2007 Question Paper
    

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32. GRE" CAT Answers to the Real Essay Questions By Mark Alan Stewart
    

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33. High School English Grammar and Composition By P. C. Wren
    

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34. Fuzzy Mathematics
    

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35. 1300 Math Formulas By Alex Svirin
    

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38. 501 Challenging Logic and Reasoning Problems
    

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39. The Verbal Reasoning Test Workbook
    

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41. CAT Complete Course By Dharmendra Mittal
    

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42. 150 CAT Verbal Practice Material
    

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43. Math Formulas and Fundas − Handa Ka Funda
    

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44. CAT Exam Tips
    

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45. Combinatorics
    

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46. Pick My Coaching CAT Study Material
    

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47. Reading Comprehension
    

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48. Strategies By CAT 100 Percentilers
    

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49. One Word Substitutions
    

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50. 200+ Data Interpretation Sets
    

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51. CAT Verbal Preparation Basic Test 02
    

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52. 500 Word List of Synonyms and Antonyms
    

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53. Quantitative Reasoning
    

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54. Verbal Reasoning
    

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55. Vedic Mathematics
    

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56. 101 Puzzles in Thought and Logic
    

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57. Test Your Logic By George J. Summers
    

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58. IIFT and XAT GK Compendium (2016−17)
    

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59. Quantum CAT By Sarvesh Kumar Verma
    

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60. CMAT Study Material
    

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61. Mahendra's Master In Quantitative Aptitude Vol I
    

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62. Mahendra's Master In Quantitative Aptitude Vol II
    

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63. Master In Reasoning Ability Vol I
    

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64. Objective English By Hari Mohan Prasad
    

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65. Quantitative Aptitude Chapterwise
    

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66. General English Grammar By Dr. Ramphal Nain
    

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67. CSAT − Compendium General English
    

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68. CSAT − Data Interpretation and Sufficiency
    

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69. CSAT − Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability
    

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70. Ultimate Aptitude Tests By Jim Barrett
    

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71. Quantitative Aptitude Book
    

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72. Quantitative Aptitude By Ramandeep Singh
    

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73. 100 Shortcuts to Crack Quantitative Aptitude
    

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74. Basic Calculations
    

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75. Quantative Aptitude By Nishit K. Sinha
    

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76. English for General Competitions: From Plinth to Paramount
    

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77. Number Series
    

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78. How To Prepare For Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning For CAT By Arun Sharma
    

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79. CMAT GK Series
    

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80. CMAT LR Series
    

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81. Maths Handbook Quick Review
    

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82. More Puzzles By Shakuntala Devi
    

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83. Barron's SAT I Basic Word List
    

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84. Complete CAT Study Material
    

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85. Learn Maths and Reasoning By S. K. RAJU
    

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86. 536 Curious Problems and Puzzles
    

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88. GD Topics Handbook 2014−15
    

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89. 100 commonly confused word sets with meanings
    

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90. 84 instant tips towards perfecting grammar
    

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91. Pearson Guide to Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations
    

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92. 200 Important Quantitative Aptitude Questions
    

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93. Shortcuts in Quantitative Aptitude For Competitive Exams
    

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94. Brain Teasers: 211 Logic Puzzles, Lateral Thinking Games, Mondrians, Memorization Games, and Cryptomath Problems to Exercise Your Mind and Keep You Sharp 'til You're 100
    

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95. Figuring: The Joy of Numbers
    

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96. Mathability: Awaken the Math Genius in Your Child
    

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97. Math Tricks, Brain Twisters, and Puzzles
    

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98. Puzzles to Puzzle You
    

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