CAT Duration and Pattern

The CAT 2011 will have only two sections. The first section isQuantitative Ability & Data Interpretation; the second section isVerbal Ability & Logical Reasoning. These two sections will be implemented sequentially with separate time limits. The examination will be 140 minutes. Candidates will have 70 minutes to answer 30 questions within each section which will have an on-screen countdown timer. Within the 70 min provided for the section, candidates can review the answers. Once the time ends for the first section, they will move to the second section and will no longer be able to go back.

A 15-minute tutorial will be provided before the start of the test, and candidates are advised to go through that carefully before starting the main examination. The total duration will be two hours and thirty five minutes including the tutorial. A practice test to provide candidates with a feel of the timed sections, as well as navigation and functionality of the actual test will be made available in the coming weeks. Once again candidates are advised to go though them carefully to familiarise themselves with the screens, layout, and navigation.

At the test venue, each candidate will be seated at a desk with a computer terminal and he/she will be provided with a scratch paper for calculations. After the test, candidate must leave the scratch paper at the desk. Rough work cannot be done on any other paper/sheet, as nothing will be allowed inside the testing room. No breaks will be given during the test.

Strategy to Crack CAT Exam

MBA-CAT Exam is a Online Common Admission Test for getting admission into the IIM (Indian Institutes of Management) and about 120 other MBA Colleges in India. Currently there are 9 IIM in India. They are listed below. The Online CAT Test is held online once a year in last week of November.

List of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) in India :

1) IIM Ahmedabad
2) IIM Bangalore (Bengaluru)
3) IIM Calcatta (Kolkata)
4) IIM Lucknow
5) IIM Indore
6) IIM Kozhikode
7) IIM Shillong
8) IIM Ranchi
9) IIM Rothak
10) IIM Raipur

To get into IIMs and the 120 Colleges which use CAT Scores one has to go through a selection process which includes most OR all of the following :

1. Written Test
2. Group Discussion
3. Personal Interview
4. Essay Writing
5. Psychometric Test
6. Group Task
7. Management Games

The percentile secured in CAT is used by the B-Schools in India for short-listing candidates for admissions to their Institutes MBA Programs.

The written exam tests the aptitude of the candidate in a number of areas. It usually consists of questions related to :

1. Quantitative Ability
(Questions in Mathematics mostly from 8-9-10 standard, covering Arithmetic, Geometry, Menstruation, Algebra, Trigonometry and Co-ordinate Geometry)

2. Verbal Section
(Questions in the area cover Grammar, Sentence Correction, Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension & Verbal Analogies)

3. Data Interpretation / Data Sufficiency
(Analysis of Data. Usually data is in form of tables, charts, graphs. Students are required to study them and answer the related questions)

4. Logical Reasoning / Ability
(Questions to be solved using Common Logic)

5. General Awareness
(Currently CAT does not have questions on General Knowledge)
(Questions pertaining to current/past issues (national & global), economics, general knowledge etc.


Preparation Strategy to Crack CAT Exam:

There is no formula or shortcut to crack the CAT or any other MBA Entrance Test. One should take care of the following :

1. Clear your concepts of 8-9-10 standard maths (preferably NCRT)
2. Extensive Reading on current issues (Indian & Global), business, economics etc. Reading magzines like Business India/World/Today, Forbes India, India Today, Frontline, and National English Newspapers daily is recommended.
3. Regular puzzle solving
4. Solve as many questions in all areas of the CAT Test. Subscribe to study material from any national coaching center or download from internet. This practice will give you the required speed needed for CAT.
5. Join a Test Series of min 20 Tests and do the complete analysis of each test. We suggest you to join any 2 leading National CAT Coaching Centers such as T.I.M.E., IMS, Career Launcher for test series.
6. Daily write an essay (2-3 pages) on any one topic (currently issues, business etc) of your choice. Try refining them after 1 month.
7. Speak English 24x7 for fluency confidence
8. Increase your vocabulary by over 1000 words (ie memorize & then use 20 new words daily).

Pattern Of CAT

The pattern (format) of the CAT paper in the last 12 years

1995 to 1998:

Total Questions - 185
Time - 120 minutes
Verbal Ability - 50 Q
Reading Comprehension - 50 Q
Problem Solving - 45 Q
Data Interpretation - 40 Q

In 1995 and 1996, the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension sections were grouped and had a time limit of 1 hour.

Similarly, the Problem Solving and Data Interpretation sections were grouped and had a time limit of 1 hour.

There was no such time limit in 1997 and 1998.

1999:

Total Questions - 165
Time - 120 minutes
Section 1 : 55 Q - Verbal Ability - 25 Q and Reading Comprehension - 30 Q
Section 2 : 55 Q - Problem Solving - 55 Q
Section 3 : 55 Q - Data Interpretation - 31 Q and Verbal Reasoning - 24 Q

2000:

Total Questions - 165
Time - 120 minutes
Section 1 : 55 Q - Verbal Ability - 15 Q and Reading Comprehension - 40 Q
Section 2 : 55 Q - Problem Solving - 55 Q
Section 3 : 55 Q - Data Interpretation - 31 Q and Verbal Ability - 24 Q

2001:

Total Questions - 150
Time - 120 minutes
Section 1 : 50 Q - Verbal Ability - 20 Q and Reading Comprehension - 30 Q
Section 2 : 50 Q - Problem Solving - 50 Q
Section 3 : 50 Q - Data Interpretation - 31 Q and Logical Reasoning - 19 Q

2002:

Total Questions - 150
Time - 120 minutes
Section 1 : 50 Q - Data Interpretation - 40 Q and Logical Reasoning - 10 Q

Section 2 : 50 Q - Problem Solving - 50 Q
Section 3 : 50 Q - Verbal Ability - 25 Q and Reading Comprehension - 25 Q


2003 (re-exam format given):

Total Questions - 150
Time - 120 minutes
Section 1 : 50 Q - Verbal Ability - 25 Q and Reading Comprehension - 25 Q

Section 2 : 50 Q - Data Interpretation - 30 Q and Logical Reasoning - 20 Q
Section 3 : 50 Q - Problem Solving

2004:

Total Questions - 123 Total marks: 150
Time - 120 minutes
Section 1

Data Interpretation: 20Q of 1 mark each

Data Sufficiency: 6 Q of 1 mark each

Logical Reasoning: 12 Q of 2 marks each


Section 2

Math problems: 20 Q of 1 mark each

Math problems: 15 Q of 2 marks each


Section 3

Verbal Ability: 10 Q of 0.5 marks each

Verbal Ability: 14 Q of 1 mark each

Verbal Ability: 5 Q of 2 marks each

Reading Comprehension: 21 Q of 1 mark each


2005:

Total Questions - 90 Total marks: 150
Time - 120 minutes


Section 1

Verbal Ability: 10Q of 1 mark each

Verbal Ability/Reading Comprehension: 20Q of 2 marks each


Section 2

Math problems: 10Q of 1 mark each

Math problems: 20Q of 2 marks each


Section 3

Data Interpretation/Data Sufficiency/Logical Reasoning: 10Q of 1 mark each

Data Interpretation/Data Sufficiency/Logical Reasoning: 20Q of 2 marks each

2006:

Total Questions - 75 Total marks: 300
Time - 150 minutes


Section 1

Data Interpretation/Data Sufficiency/Logical Reasoning: 25Q of 4 marks each

Section 2

Math problems: 25Q of 4 marks each

Section 3

Verbal Ability/Reading Comprehension: 25Q of 4 marks each

There was no section wise time limit in from 1999 - 2006.

REMEMBER : It is essential that you demonstrate your competence in all the sections.



Some noticeable trends in CAT:

The following trends are clearly noticeable in CAT in the last few years.

The weightage of Math based questions has increased. Until 1998, we would have 85 out of 185 questions that were Math based. This is about 45%. In 2002, 2003 and 2004 almost 81-90 out of 150 questions. This is between 55-60%!!

The Problem solving section would constitute 1 out of 4 sections in the test until 1998. In the last 6 years, it has been 1 out of 3 sections. The importance of this section has therefore tremendously increased (from 24% of the total paper to 33.33% of the total paper)

CAT has been getting progressively tougher and thereby low scoring by the year. You no longer need fantastic scores of 100+ to clear the CAT. Over the years, SharpMinds students who have cleared the CAT and made it to the IIMs have had in the range of 75-90 attempts in the paper.