10 Questions to Know before appearing for CAT 2017!

Q1. What is CAT? ANS. The Common Admission Test (CAT) is an all-Indian test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as an entrance exam for admission to the post-graduate and Fellow Programs in management courses of several management institutes all over India including the IIMs. The CAT score is used separately by each institute along with other parameters i.e. academic performance, work experience, group discussion, written assessment and interview performance etc. to select candidates. The weightage assigned to CAT score may differ for each institute. Candidates are advised to read the weightage, process and breakup for each institute on its respective website. Q2. Who conducts CAT 2017? ANS.  IIM Lucknow will be conducting CAT 2017, the admission gateway to 20 Indian Institutes of Management and more than 100 other top B-schools. Q3. How to apply for CAT? ANS. Online forms of CAT 2017 will be available in the first week of august 2017. How to apply?

• Visit the official website wwwiimcat.ac.in
• Click on CAT 2017 notification
• Click on “Apply for CAT”
• Fill up the information on application form
• Upload the required scanned documents
• Submit the application form
• Take a print out of the application form

Q4. What is the Eligibility criterion for CAT? ANS. Eligibility Criteria for Appearing in CAT-2017 IIM has set the minimum eligibility criteria for candidates who appear for CAT 2017. Applicants should be graduates in any discipline from a recognised institute or university with minimum 50 per cent aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA. For SC, ST and PWD candidates, the percentage cutoff is 45 per cent. Final year Bachelor’s Degree students are also eligible to apply provided they attain the degree with the requisite percentage within the stipulated schedule. Q5. Which are the top Management Institutes accepting CAT? ANS.

1. Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
2. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
3. Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta
4. Department of management studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
5. Department of management studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
6. Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow
7. XLRI – Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur
8. Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
9. Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
10. Indian Institute of Management, Indore
11. Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi
12. Management Development Institute, Gurgaon

Q6. When is CAT scheduled for? ANS. The scheduled date of Common Admission Test 2017 is First Sunday of December, 2017 (Two Slots) Q7. What is the question paper pattern for CAT Exam? ANS. Pattern for CAT exam as below: Although no official notification has been made about the same, the pattern for CAT-2017 is expected to be on the same lines as the CAT-2016

CAT 2017 Exam Pattern
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)	34 VA – 10 RC – 24
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)	32 LR – 16 DI – 16
Quantitative Aptitude (QA)	34
Total No. of Questions	100

Q8. What is the syllabus for CAT?

ANS. Syllabus for CAT exam as below: Scope and coverage of questions under different subject areas: 1. Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension:

Verbal Section will cover more 24 question on reading comprehension, 10 questions on Fill in the blanks, Jumbled paragraph, Sentence correction, Close passages, Summary questions, Facts-Inferences judgements.

2. Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning:

The purpose of the logical reasoning section is to test the candidate’s ability to identify patterns and logical links. So more questions will be on Caselets, Sitting arrangements, DI bar graphs, tables, pie-charts, clocks and calendars, cubes, syllogisms.

3. Quantitative Aptitude:

Quants questions will be based on Percentages, Time and work, Time speed and distance, Averages, Sequences and series, Logarithm, Linear equations, Surds and indices, Probability, Permutation and Combination, Set theory, Inequalities, Functions, Mixtures, Trigonometry, Coordinate geometry, Mensuration, Number System.

Q9. Will CAT have Negative marking?

ANS. Yes, the CAT exam, has a system of Negative Marking, wherein 1 mark will be deducted for each of the wrong MCQ answers. There is no negative marking for any non-MCQ type questions, either you leave it unattempted or mark it wrong it won’t matter, in both cases you will be score zero marks.

Q10. How should I prepare for CAT?

ANS. The preparation of CAT is very exhaustive. Over the years due to the increase in the number of students opting for the exam, the level of competition has increased considerably. Due to the factors of competition and open syllabus, most students prefer to prepare under proper guidance.. One of the main aspects that would help you to prepare for the exam is to develop a habit of maintaining notes and revising it on regular basis. As all important topics of each section are mentioned above, prepare those topics first with proper understanding. As basic understanding of concept is must. All the mentioned sections should be practiced keeping in mind the time constraints. The CAT exam does not have any structured syllabi to adhere to making it all though more challenging!