IIM CAT 2011: Apply before Sept 28

The Common Admission Test (CAT), a prerequisite for admission to the various Management Programmes of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, Kasipur, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Raipur, Ranchi, Rohtak, Shillong, Tiruchirappally and Udaipur will be held between October 22, 2011 and November 18, 2011 at 36 Test Centres across the country.

CAT 2011 Test Sites include Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhilai, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Durgapur, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Hyderabad, , Jaipur, Jammu, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi, Noida, Patna, Pune, Ranchi, Shillong, Siliguri, Varanasi and Vishakhapatnam

CAT is a computer-based test (CBT) in which a candidate reads the questions on a computer terminal and chooses an answer by clicking on the correct option.

The total duration of CAT 2011 will be two hours and thirty-five minutes including a 15 minute tutorial session to be provided before the start of the test and the actual examination which will be of 140 minutes duration.

CAT 2011 will have two sections. The first section is ‘Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation’ while the second section is ‘Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning’. Candidates will be presented with the section on Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation first, followed by Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning. The two sections will be administered sequentially with separate time limits, with candidates getting 70 minutes to answer 30 questions within each section, which will have an on-screen countdown timer. Candidates can review the answers within the section in the 70 minutes provided for the section. Once the time for the first section ends, the candidate will move to the second section and will no longer be able to go back to the first section. Candidates will not have the facility to end the first section before the first 70 minutes are up. However, they will be given an option to end the second section, and therefore the test itself, before the second 70 minutes are up.

Every question will have 4 options, A, B, C and D. Candidate should read the question appearing on the screen and click on the circle next to the selected answer. Recorded answer can be changed by clicking on any other circle. If a candidate has selected an answer but later decides not to answer that question, the candidate should click on the clicked circle again.

If a candidate is unable to answer a particular question or unsure if the response is correct or not, the candidate may ‘mark’ it and return to review it later by clicking on the ‘Mark’ button at the bottom of the screen. Once it is clicked, the button changes to red to ensure that it has been marked successfully. To unmark it, click the red ‘Marked’ button. If an answer has been selected, it will be evaluated even if it remains ‘Marked’ at the end of the test. The ‘Mark’ feature only serves as a reminder to the candidate.

Each correct answer will be given a score of 3 while each incorrect answer will result in loss of 1 mark.

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 at http://www.catiim.in/ 

Candidate 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.

CAT can be taken during the period between 22nd October and 18th November 2011. There will be two sessions each day at 10 a.m. and at 3.15 p.m. A candidate can choose a test date, test time, and venue across 36 cities all over India, subject to availability. The candidate has to choose a site and pick an available date and time at that site during the process of registration.

A candidate can appear for CAT 2011 only once during the 20-day testing window.

Eligibility: Applicant must hold a Bachelor’s Degree, awarded by any of the Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be Deemed as a University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA [45% in case of the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Differently Abled (DA)/PWD category)].

Candidates appearing for the final year of Bachelor’s Degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed Degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply.  If selected, such candidates will be allowed to join the programme provisionally, only if he/she submits a certificate latest by June 30, 2012 from the Principal/Registrar of his/her College/Institute (issued on or before June 30, 2012) stating that the candidate has completed all the requirements for obtaining the Bachelor’s Degree/equivalent qualification on the date of the issue of the certificate. 

There is no age restriction for appearing in CAT.

CAT Result and Short-listing: Results of CAT 2011 will be announced on 11th January 2012 on the CAT website. List of short-listed candidates for the next level of selection will be made available on the respective IIM websites. Each IIM will send interview letters to the candidates it has short-listed. The criteria for short-listing vary from IIM to IIM. Applicants may visit the admission hotlinks of the respective websites of IIMs for further information.

ADMISSION PROCESS: Each IIM shortlists candidates for second stage of selection which may be independent of each other. The process may include Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussions (GD) and Personal Interviews (PI). Performance in CAT 2011 examination is an important component in the admission process. IIMs may use previous academic performance of the candidates, relevant work experience and other similar inputs in short listing and ranking of candidates at various stages of the admission process. The processes, academic cut-offs and the weights allocated to the evaluation parameters may vary across IIMs. For more information candidates should refer to the admissions policies of IIMs from their respective websites

Several Non-IIM Member Institutions will be using CAT 2011 score for their admissions. The list of Institutions that register for use of CAT 2011 Scores will be made available at http://www.catiim.in/non_iim_institute.html in due course.

Sale of CAT 2011 Vouchers: Before registering and scheduling for the test, applicants need to purchase a CAT 2011 voucher from any of the selected branches of Axis Bank or their associated outlets, during 17th August 2011 (Wednesday) and 26th September 2011 (Monday). This will be available for RS.1600/- (RS.800/- for SC/ST applicants). List of branches of Axis Bank and their associated outlets designated for this purpose is available at http://www.catiim.in/axisbank_branch.html

An applicant need buy only one CAT 2011 Voucher irrespective of the number of institutes he/she is applying to.  The Voucher must be bought in the name of the candidate as it appears in the school leaving certificate.  If the name has been changed due to events such as marriage, the candidate must show the relevant document such as a marriage certificate and submit a photocopy at the time of the test, interview and at the time of joining a programme.  SC/ST candidates must show a copy of their SC/ST Certificates at the time of obtaining the CAT 2011 Voucher from the Axis Bank branches.

Registration for CAT 2011 can be done from 17th August to 28th September 2011, at the appropriate widow at www.catiim.in. Applicant should click at ‘Register for CAT 2011’ link to initiate the process of regi9stration. During registration, the applicant has to create a profile, fill out the CAT application and Schedule the test.

Before the registration, the applicant should gather information needed to complete the registration process, including the Voucher, educational history, mark sheets (SSC, HSC, Graduation), work experience, and a list of the IIM programmes to which the applicant wishes to apply.

The detailed procedure for registration is available at the link http://www.catiim.in/pdf/reg_guide.pdf

Prospective candidates must maintain a valid and unique email account and a phone number throughout the selection process.

The Programmes offered are as follows:

A. Post Graduate Programmes (PGP) in Management
IIM Ahmedabad: PGP, PGP-ABM (Agri-Business Management)
IIM Bangalore: PGP, PGSEM and PGPPM
IIM Caluctta: PGP-PGDM and PGP-PGDCM
IIM Indore: PGP and EPGP
IIM Kashipur: PGP
IIM Kozhikode: PGP
IIM Lucknow: PGP and PGP-ABM
IIM Raipur: PGP
IIM Ranchi: PGDM and PGDHRM
IIM Rohtak: PGP
RGIIM Shillong: PGP
IIM Tiruchirappally: PGP
IIM Udaipur: PGP

B. Fellow Programmes in Management (FPM) (Equivalent to Ph.D) of IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Lucknow, IIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi and IIM Tiruchirappally. Separate Advertisements will appear for the Fellow Programmes of each Institute as well as for some of the other Programmes of various Institutes. Details are available at the Advertisement of CAT given at http://www.catiim.in/pressnotes_n_announcement.html

Details of the different Progammes can be had from the websites of the respective Institutes, the links to which are available at http://www.catiim.in/

For more details, visit http://www.catiim.in/