CAT or Common aptitude test is a computer-based exam conducted by IIMs India Institute of Management prerequisite for admissions to their business administration programs. In this blog, we will discuss the Qualification, Patterns, and Syllabus required for CAT Exam.
Qualification For CAT exam
The CAT Score allows the candidate for stepping best Business Schools in India along with the IIMs which hold the CAT Exam. Generally, the eligibility criteria of CAT remain unchanged by any of the IIMs in order to permit a maximum number of candidates in the exam. Candidates appearing for CAT must be eligible according to the eligibility criteria of the CAT Exam.
- The candidate has to acquire their Bachelor’s degree with at least 50% (for General Category and for candidates from the NC-OBC caste). For SC/ST and Differently Abled (DA) candidates, the required percentage is 45%.
- The condition for that degree to be taken into account is that the University that has awarded the degree must be recognized by the MHRD.
- If the University grants grade or CGPA in place of marks, there is a requirement of using the conversion factor which is given by the University in order to convert the CGPA into its equivalent marks.
- Along with this, the candidates who have done their professional degrees with 50% (45% for SC/ST/PwD) are also eligible for CAT.
- One of the most frequent doubts among the final year students who are willing to give CAT is their eligibility for the same. The final year students of all Bachelor’s degrees are allowed to appear for CAT with a condition that they will clear their Bachelor’s with the required percentage (45% or 50%). If the candidate is failing to clear their Bachelor’s with the required percentage, their results in the further admission processes will be exhibited null and void.
- There is no age limit for candidates who are appearing for this exam.
Exam Pattern of CAT Exam
The exam pattern of CAT has been modified often by the administers in the past years. Since 2015, the CAT pattern, with reference to the total marks, duration, and total questions, has been unchanged. It’s very important for the candidates to understand the pattern thoroughly in order to score the required marks for getting into the top and reputed B-schools of India.
CAT has three sections which include 100 questions in total weighing 300 marks which have to be completed within the duration of 3 hours.
| Section | Duration | Number of Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 60 minutes | 34 |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 60 minutes | Verbal Ability – 10 Reading Comprehension – 24 |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 60 minutes | Data Interpretation – 16 Logical Reasoning – 16 |
| Total | 180 minutes(3 hours) | 100 |
Syllabus For CAT Exam for MBA
The CAT exam comprises 3 sections
- Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
- Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
- Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
Let’s discuss Syllabus for CAT Exam Sections
1. Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
This section includes numerical-based questions from different math concepts and topics. It consists of mainly 5 arithmetic concepts:
- Basic Arithmetic
- Number System
- Geometry
- Algebra
- Modern Maths
In this, geometry is the most important topic followed by algebra. There are almost 9-11 questions in this section where the candidate has to type the answer. The level of questions in this section generally scales from easy to moderately high. The questions are mainly based on the application of mathematics in order to decipher real-time problems.
2. Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
This section principally focuses on the English language skills of the candidates and examines how well they can interpret paragraphs and understand the fundamental ideas. It includes:
- Para jumbles
- Sentence Correction and Completion
- Summary based
The questions in this section test the candidate’s knowledge of arranging paragraphs in a logical order, determining the type of statements, completing the paragraphs in an appropriate manner. There are around 7-8 questions in this section in which the candidate will not be provided with the options and needs to type the answers. The questions included in this section are moderately difficult as well as time-consuming.
3. Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
This section consists of the questions in which the data is already given. It tests the ability of the candidate to interpret the data in the right way and also examines logical reasoning. Basically, this section includes questions like inequalities to symbol operations, direction sense tests, etc. These types of questions help to understand the candidate’s ability to understand the problem statement properly;y and solve it logically. They can be easily solved and the candidates can highly score in this section. The data interpretation section is a bit difficult and time-consuming but is highly scoring if solved cautiously as one mistake may lead to incorrect answering for the whole set.
