Must know things for CAT Exam 2019; Eligibility Criteria, Important Dates and Syllabus

CAT (Common Admission Test) is arguably the most important exam in India for students wanting to secure the coveted MBA seats in various management institutes of the country. It was started by the IIM’s for selecting students into their MBA programs and it is conducted jointly by the IIM’s with the IIM Kozhikode conducting it in 2019. This article basically forms an Introduction to CAT 2019 by providing important information such as the CAT Syllabus, Important Dates, Eligibility Criteria, Mode of Exam, Fees, etc. CAT is the most popular exam in India currently for admission in 20 IIMs and other renowned institutes such as FMS, DMS, etc. This is aptly demonstrated by the number of candidates that appear each year for CAT with around 2.09 lakh candidates appearing in CAT 2018 itself. This was a record as the number of CAT test-takers topped the 2 lakh mark after almost a decade. This demonstrates the level of competition in CAT with the number of test-takers steadily increasing after a slump in 2014. A graph that shows this more clearly is given as follows: Now let’s understand more about the CAT exam so that you can prepare for it much more efficiently and ace it despite the level of competition.

What is the CAT Exam?

The CAT exam is a gateway for admission into the various management institutes of the country. It scores the candidates on the basis of their Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) as well as their Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) skills. But that’s not enough! The most crucial aspect of CAT is that it is a test of the candidates’ speed and accuracy. The basic information relating to CAT Exam is given as follows: 

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Conducting Institute (2019)	IIM Kozhikode
Mode of Exam	Computer Based Exam
Marking Scheme	Correct Answer is +3 and Incorrect Answer is -1
Exam Duration	3 hours
Validity of the exam score	1 year
Exam Fee	Rs. 1800 for General and Rs. 900 for Reserved

CAT Eligibility Criteria

The Eligibility Criteria for the CAT exam candidate is given as follows:

• A candidate must have a bachelor’s degree with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA from a recognized board or university. The percentage is reduced to 45% for candidates in the SC, ST and PWD/DA category.
• Alternatively, the candidate must have completed a professional degree such as CA/CS/ICWA with the required percentage to qualify for CAT.
• The candidates who are appearing for the final year of their bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification or who have completed the graduation degree and awaiting the results are also eligible to apply for the CAT exam 2019.

CAT Important Dates

The important dates in relation to the CAT exam are given below. Keep in mind that these are tentative dates as the official dates will be released by IIM Kozhikode on July 28.

CAT 2019 Official Notification	July, 2019
Registration Start Date	August, 2019
Registration End Date	September End, 2019
CAT tutorial available	Mid October, 2019
Admit Card download Window	October End, 2019 – November End, 2019
CAT Exam Date	November End, 2019
CAT Exam Results	Second week of January 2020

CAT Syllabus

The CAT Syllabus is divided into 3 sections, namely Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR). Each of these sections has an individual time limit of 1 hour and a high score in all of them is required as the IIM’s shortlist on the basis of the CAT sectional score cut off as well. Details about these sections are given as follows:

• Quantitative Ability Quantitative Ability contains 5 major topics in CAT namely, Number System, Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry & Mensuration as well as Modern Maths. It is perhaps one of the most important sections in CAT because if done properly, it also helps in the Data Interpretation section. Also, 34 questions out of a total of 100 are asked from this section alone so it is essential that you don’t neglect it.
• Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension contains topics such as Critical Reasoning, Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, Grammar Correction, etc. It forms a major part of the CAT exam with 34 questions out of the total 100. Also, developing good verbal and reading skills is critical not just for acing the CAT exam but also while doing your MBA.
• Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning contains questions relating to Tables, Graphical Representations, Charts, etc. Many problems of DILR require a lot of calculations as they deal with data, diagrams, puzzles, etc. Also, 32 questions out of a total of 100 are asked from this section so it is important to practice this thoroughly.

How to prepare for the CAT Exam?

To efficiently prepare for the CAT exam, GeeksforGeeks brings you the CAT Preparation Course 2019. This is a FREE course comprising of over 1500 questions on all three sections of the CAT exam that will provide more than adequate support for your CAT preparation. To learn more about it, read on…

Course Overview

CAT Preparation Course 2019 is an online course that will help you get ready for India’s most coveted entrance exam for management. CAT has three sections namely Quantitative Ability (QA), Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR). The CAT Preparation Course 2019 will help you prepare for each of these sections individually and with nearly 2.5 lakh aspirants appearing for CAT in 2019, it will definitely provide an edge to your preparation strategy. CAT Preparation Course 2019 will help the CAT aspirants track and improve the preparation through questions of various difficulty levels. There will be 3 full-length mock tests covering the whole syllabus of CAT. Tracks will cover the theory and quizzes related to all the topics while the Sectional Contests will have time-bound questions on those topics. The explanations for all the questions will be provided at the end of each quiz and tests. There will be 27 Sectional Mock Tests and 3 full-length Contests. You are just a click away to begin your CAT preparation journey. Register now for the CAT Preparation Course 2019 course by clicking on the button below. 

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