No, admission to any IIM requires taking the CAT Entrance Exam.
No, CAT requires a bachelor's degree for eligibility.
Yes, but CAT is necessary for admission to top B-schools including IIMs.
Any candidate scoring above 50% (45% for reserved categories) in their bachelor's degree can apply.
CAT is not an easy exam but early preparation and practice can make it easier.
No, there's no age restriction for CAT.
IIM Calcutta is expected to conduct CAT 2024.
Yes, with the right strategy, 3 months can be sufficient. However, dedicating 6-8 months to CAT prep alongside your studies or work can significantly improve your chances of success.
No, there's no limit on CAT attempts.
Candidates can start as early as 12 months, but dedicated preparation for 6 to 8 months is ideal.
Create a realistic schedule allocating time for both college and focused CAT prep sessions. Plan well ahead so that you have enough time for CAT preparation balancing between the both.
The CAT 2024 is expected to follow the same format as previous years, which means it will have 3 sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability.
No, you must answer sections in a pre-specified order.
Candidates must take the exam at the allotted examination centre, indicated on the CAT admit card.
The CAT exam uses two main question formats: Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and Type-In-The-Answer (TITA) or Non-MCQs.
Introduced in 2015, Type-In-The-Answer (TITA) or Non-MCQs require you to directly type your answer into a text box. There are no answer choices provided. This question type have no negative marking.
MCQs: Each MCQ question is awarded 3 marks for a correct answer and penalized 1 mark for an incorrect answer. There is no penalty for unanswered questions.
Non-MCQs: There is no negative marking for Non-MCQs. Each correct answer receives 3 marks, and incorrect or unanswered questions receive no marks.
The CAT exam is usually 3 hours long (40 minutes each section).
The exact number of questions per section can vary slightly each year, but according to the latest pattern changes, there are typically around 20-24 questions in each section (VARC, DILR, QA).
The majority of questions on the CAT are MCQs. In recent years, roughly 70-75% of the questions have been MCQs, with the remaining 25-30% being Non-MCQs (TITA). There can be around 18 non-MCQs in total.
The proportion of MCQ vs. Non-MCQ questions can vary slightly between sections. Traditionally, the VARC section has had a higher percentage of Non-MCQs compared to DILR and QA sections.
No, there is no negative marking for non-MCQs.
No, candidates are not allowed to bring calculators, but on-screen calculators will be available during the exam.
You can apply under General, NC-OBC, SC, or ST categories.
