CAT-2008

The number of candidates appearing for CAT, to be held on November 16, has risen 15% from last year’s 2.4 lakh, according to an IIM-Bangalore official. An acceptance offer this year will go to just one in 138 candidates against one in 120 last year.All the candidates who have taken the CAT 2008 will receive their CAT score cards by mid-January 2009 from the IIMs to which they had sent their application forms. Besides the IIMs, the CAT scores will be accepted by 102 non-IIMs. The three-hour test will start at 10 am across the country.

CAT-2008

CAT is a gateway to getting admission to IIMs and other leading B-schools. There are 116 non-IIM institutions, which will use CAT 2008 scores.These management institutes offer 13,000-15,000 seats.There are only 1,700 seats (last year, it was 1,500) for the next two-year management programme (2009-11)in IIMs.The increase in the number of students taking the CAT exam this year will be around 20 per cent over last year when an estimated 250,000 students appeared for the exam.Around 300,000 students are slated to appear for CAT this November.

CAT-2008

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) which will be conducting the common admission test this year on November 16, have decided to continue with the paper-pencil test. Last year, there were reports that the CAT was likely to go online in 2008 after the IIMs put out an advertisement calling for agencies interested in working with the management institutes to take the CAT online.

CAT ONLINE

The directors of the seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) will meet later this month to discuss details of a proposal to take the Common Admission Test (CAT) online by 2009.The CAT exams may also be formatted on the lines of the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) so that the scores are valid for two to three years. An IIM Calcutta professor who is working on the proposal said the primary reason for taking the CAT online is the increasing number of aspirants.

CAT 2007

The CAT usually comprises Data Interpretation, Quantitative Analysis and English Usage sections. Always attempt the section that you are strong in and like first. This will ensure that you get a lot of marks quicker and more easily.An important factor to consider is to balance speed and accuracy. Do not spend too much time on a single question. If it takes a long while to read, skip it and go to a smaller question. If time permits you can always get back to it. Another vital aspect to keep in mind is that CAT has negative marking and every wrong answer will lead you to lose marks.Hence attempt those questions where you are sure of the answer. If you do not know, it is best to let go and move on rather than spend a lot of time with no results. CAT considers an all-round performance, hence focus on attempting all sections equally.If you score highly in one section and poorly in another it would not be considered at all. Hence focus on attempting the maximum number of questions in every section where you know the answers. Also remember that not all questions are difficult. The paper is interspersed with several easy ones that hardly need some seconds to answer. The key is to be able to identify them. That, of course, comes with a lot of practice prior to the examination.Understand the basic theories behind the concepts and then solve the problems without glancing at the solutions. When you finish, compare both your solution and the printed solution. The cutoffs for the section usually range anywhere between 12-14.The Reading Comprehension section usually has a passage followed by a series of questions. The faster you read, the better it is as you can save time. However, reading speed should match the understanding level. Make sure you understand what you are reading.Underline important names, keywords as you read. Broadly, this includes three types of questions.The first is paragraph forming where there are four to six sentences labelled A to E that are actually a part of a paragraph. These are presented in a jumbled order and you are expected to rearrange the sentences such that the sequence forms a coherent paragraph.A useful start will be to identify the first sentence of the paragraph and then establish potential links.Another set of questions relates to the correct usage of grammar. English Usage and Vocabulary include questions on synonyms, antonyms and analogies. If you do not understand what is inside the paragraph, you can revisit it if a question is asked from that paragraph.The Logical and Analytical Reasoning section comprises logical puzzles. Use visual aids to understand the question. For instance, if the question is on relationships, try drawing a family tree or use a grid if you need to match options.The Data Interpretation and Data Sufficiency section includes questions based on tables, pie charts, bar graphs and line graphs. Ensure that you go through these questions carefully and this may also involve some calculations.

cat forms

Aspiring Indian Institute of Management, or IIM, students are in for a shock because Common Admission Test, or CAT, admission forms are off the net.IIM sources say the reservation fiasco must be blamed for the inconvenience. They say their admission planning schedules went haywire.Online applications had been introduced by IIMs only last year to make it easily accessible to students. Last year 5-6% of applicants had opted for online forms, which is about 10,000 students.The forms will be available at UTI branches from July 16.

news

Chennai-based alumni of two internationally renowned institutions will work together to improve the quality of technical and management education in the region. The president of the Alumni Association of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Sathish Kumar, and the head of the Management Sciences department of IIT-Madras, L.S. Ganesh, signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday to formalise the partnership and use their combined pool of resources and experience for the benefit of B-schools in and around the city. Mr. Satish Kumar said the MoU would help to leverage the pool of abundant experiences and resources in technology and management among the alumni.

CAT CUT-OFFS and IIM SELECTION

The overall cut-off is expected to be at the 98th percentile at a score of 120 this year, and 95% of the calls for Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI) will happen above this.a section-wise cut-off expectation would be 35-40 marks in Maths and DI and 30-35 marks in Logic and 20-25 in English. Last year the overall cut-off was 45-55 marks. IIM-A’s cut-off is already out and it requires students to score 95.33 percentile in each section and an overall 98 percentile to get a call.
IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has shortlisted over 820 students for around 280 seats, 30 more than last year, for the institute’s flagship PGP programme. A section-wise cut-off expectation would be 35-40 marks in Maths and DI and 30-35 marks in Logic and 20-25 in English.