CAT or Common Admission Test | Syllabus, Pattern, Tips

CAT EXAM OR COMMON ADMISSION TEST
CAT is a national- level management exam conducted by the I.I.Ms or Indian Institutes of Management for admission to the premier management institutes of the country.
ELIGIBILITY:
A candidate who is a graduate or is pursuing his final year graduation can sit for the exam. A candidate with minimum 50% marks in graduation is eligible to sit for the exam. There is no age limit for the exam.
EXAM PATTERN:
The exam duration is 180 minutes or 3 hours and 60 minutes are assigned to each section. The exam is English which is divided into Objective and Subjective- type questions.
There are 3 sections in the question paper comprising of
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension-34 questions-60 minutes-102 marks
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning-30 questions-60 minutes-96 marks
Quantitative Ability-34 questions-60minutes-102 marks
100 questions have to be attempted in 180 minutes and negative marking is followed in the exam.
EXAM NOTIFICATION :
Notification of the exam is in the month of July
Registrations start online in the month of August
Exams are held in the month of November/December
Results are declared in the month of January
It is a computer-based exam held online in two sessions on the same day(Morning and Evening)
SYLLABUS:
Quantitative Ability
Data Interpretation
Logical Reasoning
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
Quantitative Aptitude comprises of Basic Mathematics
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning consists of questions on the given data. Data Interpretation helps to evaluate a candidate’s acumen to understand the data and solve problems accurately and logical reasoning helps in locating a candidate’s acumen to evaluate problems.
Verbal Ability has questions on comprehension and grammar usage.
ALLOCATION OF MARKS:
A candidate has to secure the minimum total cut off in the exam to get the GD/PI calls from the IIMs.
Candidates who secure the sectional cut-offs and overall cutoffs to get the GD/PI call for group discussion and personal interview.
TIPS AND TRICKS TO CRACK CAT:
- Don’t try to study too much as the grey cells of the brain will become clogged.
- Study with concentration, along with that take frequent breaks to rejuvenate your mind
- Take different areas of study per day this will help a person grasp better.
- Devote more time to weaker areas to procure better sectional cutoffs.
- Learn time management to complete the question paper within the stipulated time.
- Take more mock tests per week with a detailed analysis and work according to that analysis.
- Revision of Mathematics Concepts and Important formulae should be done one month before sitting for the exam.
- Practice different types of questions for Data Interpretation and Logical reasoning to get acquainted with various kinds of problems which can be put forth in the examination.
- English demands good reading, so to score well in grammar and vocabulary one should do a good amount of reading. It should be varied like news papers to novels.
- Do a mix of easy, moderate and difficult questions
- Solve a lot of previous years test papers
- Use shortcuts and approximation skills
- Do a little brainstorming
- Rigorous practice will lead to success
- Remain relaxed and calm throughout the exam
- Don’t get worked up while attempting the questions
- Following the above tips will help people to crack CAT easily
Helpful Links
Tips for CAT 2019 Preparations | Read Here |
List of Best Coaching Institute for CAT Preparation | Check Here |