Registration for CAT 2018 opens August 8: All details here
The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2018 will be held on November 25. Registrations will open on August 8 and continue till September 19. Admit cards will be available for download from October 24 till the date of test. The test will be conducted in two sessions across 147 cities. Tutorials will be released on the official website from October 17. More details here.
What will the exam be like?
The CAT will be held in two sessions of three hours. There will be three sections: verbal ability and reading comprehension (Section I); data interpretation and logical reasoning (Section II) and quantitative ability (Section III). Candidates will get 60 minutes for each section. They'll have to complete one before proceeding to the next. There will be both subjective and objective questions.
Candidates can choose four cities in order of preference
Candidates can select four cities in order of preference. Cities and centres will be assigned only after the last date of registration, hence candidates need not rush to block slots, said Sumanta Basu, professor of IIM-Calcutta and convener of the exam. However, there's no guarantee they will be alloted their chosen location. All payments have to be made online.
What next for the successful candidates?
CAT scores are accepted by the 20 IIMs for admission to management programs, apart from another 100 colleges, including the IITs, IISc's, SPJIMR Mumbai, FMS Delhi etc. Based on CAT scores, previous academic performance and work experience, IIMs shortlist candidates for a writing test, group discussion and personal interview. Interview letters are sent to the chosen candidates.
IIMs likely to start handing out degrees this time
In December, the Rajya Sabha passed the IIM Bill that allowed the institutes to award degrees and make appointments themselves, among other changes. Earlier, Masters students got a PGDM, a diploma. Doctoral researchers were called 'Fellows.' Indecision on the administration's part meant some students got degrees this time, while others got diplomas. But all IIMs are likely to start awarding degrees from 2019.
