The CAT Exam is a prestigious entrance test that is conducted by IIM. It’s an internationally recognized test with a very high standard of difficulty and has been consistently ranked among the top 10 most competitive business schools in the world.
CAT exam is an entry requirement for admissions in the IIMs and others India’s top business schools. By reading knowledge Glow this article you can learn all about CAT, CAT Eligibility criteria, CAT Exam as well as the time needed to complete the entire syllabus to get through CAT.
What is the CAT Exam?
The Common Admission Test (CAT) Exam is an entrance exam for admission to the post graduate management courses in India. It is conducted by Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) and is a computer based test. CAT has been held twice a year, in the months of November and April every year since 1999.
The first phase consists of objective type questions on various business topics such as Marketing Strategy, Financial Accounting etc., while second phase focuses on subjective type questions which require logical reasoning skills such as problem solving or decision making under time pressure.
About CAT Exam Timeline and Registration:
In every year, the total number of registered eligible candidates is approximately 2.40 lakh. The CAT exam is conducted in two slots, once every year. The first slot is expected held in November and December while the second slot is expected held in June and July. This means that there are three major slots of CAT exam: November, December and June-July.
The iimcat.ac.in will be the official website where the CAT Exam notification will be always released.
Evolution of CAT Exam Over The Years:
Since the CAT Exam switched from paper-pen mode to computer-based testing, there have been a number of changes:
| Year | Time -Duration | Section | Total Number of Questions in each Section | Total Number of Questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 140 | VALR & QADI | 30 30 | 60 |
| 2012 | 140 | QA DI VARC | 21 9 30 | 60 |
| 2013 | 140 | Verbal ability, Logical reasoning & Quantitative Ability , Data interpretation | 30 30 | 60 |
| 2014 | 170 | QA DI VARC | 34 16 50 | 100 |
| 2015 | 180 | VARC DILR QA | 34 32 34 | 100 |
| 2016 | 180 | VARC DILR QA | 34 32 34 | 100 |
| 2017 | 180 | VARC DILR QA | 34 32 34 | 100 |
| 2018 | 180 | VARC DILR QA | 34 32 34 | 100 |
| 2019 | 180 | VARC DILR QA | 34 32 34 | 100 |
| 2020 | 120 | VARC DILR QA | 26 24 26 | 76 |
| 2021 | 120 | Verbal ability & Reading comprehension Data Interpretation & Logical reasoning Quantitative Ability | 24 20 22 | 66 |
CAT Exam Syllabus:
The CAT exam syllabus is divided into three sections. Here knowledge glow gives you the complete details of CAT exam syllabus.
Quantitative Ability (QA)
The Quantitative Ability section covers topics like algebra, geometry, trigonometry, probability and statistics. It will also include questions from Number System & Data Interpretation.
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
The Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section includes questions from English Language and Reading Comprehension. It will also include questions on Sentence Correction, Error Analysis, Cloze Test, etc. Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) The Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section covers topics like Tables/Charts/Graphs, Coding-Decoding, Blood Relationships and Syllogism based questions.
Verbal Ability (VA) :
In verbal Ability (VA) section the topics are include from Reading Comprehension, Para Jumbles, Para Summary, Verbal Ability, Odd Sentence Out.
| CAT Exam Syllabus | Topics In Syllabus |
|---|---|
| Quantitative Aptitude | Quantitative Aptitude – Number System, Algebra, Mensuration Geometry Time, Work and Arithmetic |
| Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation | Puzzles, Blood Relation, Data Caselets, Syllogism, Seating Arrangement, Coding and Decoding Tables, Graphs |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension | Reading Comprehension, Para Jumbles, Para Summary, Verbal Ability, Odd Sentence Out |
CAT Exam Marking Scheme:
The CAT exam is a computer-based test, For each correct answer, candidates will receive 3 marks.
- Candidates will receive a negative marking of 1 marks for each incorrect answer for the objective questions.
- Non MCQ questions, negative marks will not be deducted (subtracted).
The marking scheme for each section is as below table:
| Section | Number of MCQ and Non-MCQs In all Section |
|---|---|
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | MCQ -19 Non-MCQ – 5 |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | MCQ – 15 Non-MCQ – 5 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | MCQ – 14 Non-MCQ – 8 |
| Total No of Questions | 66 |
Time Required to Complete the CAT Exam Syllabus:
The CAT exam is designed to test your ability to think analytically, which means that the questions are of moderate difficulty. To ace the examination, an intensive preparation period of approx 8 to 9 months to taking the exam is highly recommended. Candidates who are behind schedule, however, and those who are genuinely devoted to passing the exam, can succeed with a focused three to four month study period.
CAT Exam States and Cities:
|
S.No |
Name of the State |
CAT 2021 Exam Cities |
|
1 |
Andaman and Nicobar |
Port Blair |
|
2 |
Andhra Pradesh |
Guntur |
|
3 |
Kakinada |
|
|
4 |
Kurnool |
|
|
5 |
Nellore |
|
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6 |
Rajahmundry |
|
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7 |
Tirupathi |
|
|
8 |
Vijayawada |
|
|
9 |
Visakhapatnam |
|
|
10 |
Vizianagaram |
|
|
11 |
Arunachal Pradesh |
Itanagar-Naharlagun |
|
12 |
Assam |
Dibrugarh |
|
13 |
Guwahati |
|
|
14 |
Jorhat |
|
|
15 |
Silchar |
|
|
16 |
Tezpur |
|
|
17 |
Bihar |
Aurangabad-Bihar |
|
18 |
Arrah |
|
|
19 |
Bhagalpur |
|
|
20 |
Darbhanga |
|
|
21 |
Muzaffarpur |
|
|
22 |
Patna |
|
|
23 |
Chandigarh |
Chandigarh |
|
24 |
Chhattisgarh |
Bhilai Nagar |
|
25 |
Bilaspur |
|
|
26 |
Raipur |
|
|
27 |
Goa |
Panaji |
|
28 |
Madgaon |
|
|
29 |
Gujarat |
Ahmedabad |
|
30 |
Anand |
|
|
31 |
Gandhinagar |
|
|
32 |
Mehsana |
|
|
33 |
Rajkot |
|
|
34 |
Surat |
|
|
35 |
Vadodara |
|
|
36 |
Haryana |
Ambala |
|
37 |
Faridabad |
|
|
38 |
Gurugram |
|
|
39 |
Hisar |
|
|
40 |
Karnal |
|
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41 |
Kurukshetra |
|
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42 |
Panipat |
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43 |
Rohtak |
|
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44 |
Sonipat |
|
|
45 |
Himachal Pradesh |
Shimla |
|
46 |
Hamirpur |
|
|
47 |
Jammu & Kashmir |
Jammu |
|
48 |
Srinagar (NEW) |
|
|
49 |
Jharkhand |
Bokaro Steel City |
|
50 |
Dhanbad |
|
|
51 |
Hazaribagh |
|
|
52 |
Jamshedpur |
|
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53 |
Ranchi |
|
|
54 |
Karnataka |
Belagavi (Belgaum) |
|
55 |
Bengaluru |
|
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56 |
Hubli-Dharwad |
|
|
57 |
Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) |
|
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58 |
Mangaluru (Mangalore) |
|
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59 |
Mysuru (Mysore) |
|
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60 |
Shivamogga (Shimoga) |
|
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61 |
Udupi |
|
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62 |
Kerala |
Kannur |
|
63 |
Ernakulam |
|
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64 |
Kollam |
|
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65 |
Kottayam |
|
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66 |
Kozhikode |
|
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67 |
Thrissur |
|
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68 |
Trivandrum |
|
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69 |
Madhya Pradesh |
Bhopal |
|
70 |
Gwalior |
|
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71 |
Indore |
|
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72 |
Jabalpur |
|
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73 |
Sagar |
|
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74 |
Satna |
|
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75 |
Ujjain |
|
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76 |
Maharashtra |
Amravati |
|
77 |
Ahmednagar |
|
|
78 |
Aurangabad-MH |
|
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79 |
Bhiwandi |
|
|
80 |
Boisar |
|
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81 |
Jalgaon |
|
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82 |
Kolhapur |
|
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83 |
Mumbai |
|
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84 |
Nagpur |
|
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85 |
Nanded |
|
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86 |
Nashik |
|
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87 |
Pune |
|
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88 |
Raigad |
|
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89 |
Satara |
|
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90 |
Solapur |
|
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91 |
Thane |
|
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92 |
Palghar |
|
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93 |
Navi Mumbai |
|
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94 |
Vasai |
|
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95 |
Virar |
|
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96 |
Meghalaya |
Shillong |
|
97 |
Mizoram |
Aizawl |
|
98 |
Nagaland |
Kohima |
|
99 |
New Delhi |
New Delhi |
|
100 |
Odisha |
Balasore |
|
101 |
Berhampur |
|
|
102 |
Bhubaneswar |
|
|
103 |
Cuttack |
|
|
104 |
Dhenkanal |
|
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105 |
Rourkela |
|
|
106 |
Sambalpur |
|
|
107 |
Punjab |
Pathankot |
|
108 |
Bhatinda |
|
|
109 |
Jalandhar |
|
|
110 |
Ludhiana |
|
|
111 |
Mohali |
|
|
112 |
Patiala |
|
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113 |
Sangrur |
|
|
114 |
Amritsar |
|
|
115 |
Puducherry |
Puducherry |
|
116 |
Rajasthan |
Ajmer |
|
117 |
Alwar |
|
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118 |
Bikaner |
|
|
119 |
Jaipur |
|
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120 |
Jodhpur |
|
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121 |
Kota |
|
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122 |
Sikar |
|
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123 |
Udaipur |
|
|
124 |
Tamil Nadu |
Chennai |
|
125 |
Coimbatore |
|
|
126 |
Madurai |
|
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127 |
Salem |
|
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128 |
Tirunelveli |
|
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129 |
Tiruchirappalli |
|
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130 |
Vellore |
|
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131 |
Telangana |
Hyderabad |
|
132 |
Karimnagar |
|
|
133 |
Warangal |
|
|
134 |
Uttar Pradesh |
Agra |
|
135 |
Aligarh |
|
|
136 |
Bareilly |
|
|
137 |
Ghaziabad |
|
|
138 |
Gorakhpur |
|
|
139 |
Greater Noida |
|
|
140 |
Kanpur |
|
|
141 |
Jhansi |
|
|
142 |
Lucknow |
|
|
143 |
Meerut |
|
|
144 |
Moradabad |
|
|
145 |
Muzaffarnagar |
|
|
146 |
Noida |
|
|
147 |
Prayagraj |
|
|
148 |
Varanasi |
|
|
149 |
Uttarakhand |
Dehradun |
|
150 |
Haldwani |
|
|
151 |
Roorkee |
|
|
152 |
West Bengal |
Asansol |
|
153 |
Bankura |
|
|
154 |
Burdwan |
|
|
155 |
Durgapur |
|
|
156 |
Hooghly |
|
|
157 |
Kalyani |
|
|
158 |
Kolkata |
|
|
159 |
Siliguri |
Conclusion
While this article will help you prepare for the CAT exam, it is still important to know that the CAT exam is a unique test with a very different pattern. So, if you have not studied anything on the subject of Maths, Physics and Chemistry then don’t worry. You can start your preparation by going through this article which talks about all aspects of CAT exam as well as some other topics like general knowledge and English language. We also suggest you read our articles related to Maths, Physics and Chemistry so that you can have an idea about what kind of questions will be asked in each section.
Frequently Asked Questions on CAT Exam:
1. What is the CAT exam?
The Certified Agriculture Technician (CAT) exam is administered by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). It tests candidates’ knowledge of accounting principles and practices, financial statement analysis, and business management. Candidates who pass the CAT exam receive a certification that they have met NASBA’s educational requirements.
The CAT Exam consists of 3 sections:
- Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
- Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DII-LR)
- Quantitative/Verbal Ability (QA)(QA)
2. How do I prepare for the CAT exam?
To prepare for the CAT exam, you should take courses that focus on accounting topics. You may want to consider taking a course offered by a community college or online school. If you decide to take a course at a local community college, make sure the instructor teaches classes specifically geared toward preparing students for the CAT exam. You may also want to enroll in a correspondence program. These programs allow you to study at home while still receiving instruction from a teacher.
3. Do I need any special skills to pass the CAT exam?
You don’t necessarily need specific skills to pass the CAT test. However, if you’re planning to work in public accounting, you’ll need to know how to apply basic accounting principles. In addition, you’ll need to understand how to analyze financial statements and interpret them.
4. Can I use my CPA license to take the CAT exam?
Yes, you can use your CPA license to take this exam. However, you cannot use the CPA designation after passing the CAT exam.
5. Where can I find information about the CAT exam?
Visit the NASBA website for more information about the CAT exam.
6. How do I take the CAT exam?
You may take the CAT exam at any time throughout the year. You may schedule an appointment online at www.cba.ca.gov/cat-exam-schedule.
7. Do I need to have prior experience taking the CAT exam?
No, you do not need previous experience taking the CAT exam. However, if you want to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), you must pass the CPA exam first.
8. Can I study for the CAT exam?
Yes, you can study for the CAT exam. There are several books that provide information about the CAT exam. These books are available at bookstores and online.
9. Is the CAT exam difficult?
The CAT exam covers a wide range of topics. If you are familiar with some of the material covered in the CAT exam, then you should feel comfortable studying for the CAT exam. If you are unfamiliar with the material, then you may find yourself struggling to understand certain concepts.
10. What is the cost of the CAT exam?
There is no fee associated with taking the CAT exam.
