CAT 2017: Online application cost lowest – 20 IIMs with 48 programmes available @ Rs.1800/-

Your CAT 2017 online application submission is a great career investment at a cost of Rs.1800/- towards CAT registration fee. Except CAT 2017 online application process, no other MBA entrance exam offers you the opportunity to apply to any B-school without incurring good volume of expenses.

You have the opportunity to apply to 48 management programmes of 20 IIMs including IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow free of cost by simply paying for CAT 2017 online registration and application without incurring any additional charges.

If you take it other way, there is no CAT 2017 application fee you are paying. On the contrary, you are applying to each IIM for admission 2018 at less than Rs.100/- if you are a general category candidate and at less than Rs.50/- if you are a reserved category candidate.

The only other exam that entitles you to appear in the exam without incurring any additional charges is IIFT 2017 – the MBA (IB) 2018 entrance exam. But since IIFT conducts its own entrance exam, there is no other B-school who will accept IIFT 2017 entrance exam score. Accordingly, it does not match with the CAT 2017 exam which entitles you to be considered for admission by 20 IIMs free of cost and by other top B-schools like FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, IMT Ghaziabad, IMI New Delhi, JBIMS Mumbai, TAPMI Manipal among others if you apply to them for admission.

Read also:

• IIM Ahmedabad Admission 2018: CAT 2017 cut offs announced; needs 70 sectional percentile
• IIM Lucknow admission 2018: CAT 2017 cut offs announced; needs 90 overall & 85 sectional in CAT
• IIM Calcutta Admission: Lowers CAT 2017 cut offs with 56% weight; 40% goes to academics

Spend Rs.90 to get into each IIM
If you wish to pursue MBA in 2018, it is the right time you should go for CAT 2017 online registration and fill up the CAT online application form to get the opportunity to study in one of the top IIMs.

Common Admission Test (CAT) 2017 offers admission opportunity to number of management programmes in all the 20 IIMs. The CAT 2017 exam date is November 26 and the CAT online application process closes on September 20 at 5PM. The CAT 2017 online registration form entitles you to apply to one or all the 20 IIMs and this package comes with a meager amount of Rs.90 as application fee per IIM if you divide the total CAT 2017 online registration and application fee by number of IIMs.

CAT 2017 Vs other exams
A quick comparison will clarify how much you have to spend on exam fee and B-school application fee even if you are applying to 5 B-schools who accept the said exam score

CAT 2017: Registration fee covers application fee to IIMs
In fact, while all other MBA/PGDM entrance exams ask you to separately apply to its participating institutes, the application fee of Rs.1800/- for CAT 2017 exam covers all the 20 member IIMs. The candidates appearing in CAT 2017 do not need to separately apply for each IIM and can fill in the programmes to which he/she wants to apply in each IIM. The registration form has a list of all the 20 IIMs alongwith their 48 programmes to which you may apply without any additional cost at the time of registration for CAT 2017.

Another important point is that you can opt for all the programmes of all the 20 IIMs without paying any application fee only be submitting the CAT 2017 online application fee. Accordingly, by paying Rs.1800/- towards CAT 2017 registration fee you are entitled to be considered for all the 45+ management programmes offered by 20 IIMs. It however, depends upon you whether you choose all or select only a few programmes.

So the registration fee for CAT 2017 covers the application fee for all the 20 IIMs – from IIM A, B, C, L to all the recently opened IIMs. On the contrary, other exams like XAT 2018; SNAP 2017 or NMAT by GMAC apart from charging registration and application fee for the exam also need submission of separate application for admission to the participating institutes to explore admission opportunity in the respective B-school.

48 programmes at IIMs: No additional fee to apply
Not only you can make choice of IIMs, you are also allowed to choose few or all of the 48 management programmes offered by the 20 IIMs according to your preference and eligibility at the time of CAT 2017 registration at no-extra cost.

This facility is also not available with other entrance exams as you have to add extra to apply for each additional programme in the respective B-school.

IIMs & their programmes

Old IIMs: Existed prior to 2010
IIM Ahmedabad: PGP; PGP FABM; FPM
IIM Bangalore: PGP; PGPEM; PGPPM; FPM
IIM Calcutta: PGP PGDM; FPM
IIM Lucknow: PGP; PGP ABM; PGPSM; FPM
IIM Indore: PGP; PGP-HRM; PGP at Mumbai campus; EPGP; FPM
IIM Kozhikode: PGP; FPM
IIM Shillong (Known as RGIIM): PGP; PGPEX; FPM

IIMs: Started in 2010-11
IIM Kashipur: PGP; EPGPM; EFPM; FPM
IIM Raipur: PGP; PGPWE; EFPM; FPM
IIM Ranchi: PGDM; PGDHRM; FPM
IIM Rohtak: PGP; EPGP; FPM
IIM Tiruchirappalli: PGP; PGPBM; FPM
IIM Udaipur: PGP; FPM

Newest IIMS: Started in 2015-16
IIM Amritsar: PGP
IIM Bodh Gaya: PGP
IIM Nagpur: PGP
IIM Sambalpur: PGP
IIM Sirmaur: PGP
IIM Visakhapatnam: PGP
IIM Jammu: PGP

Prepare your list of IIMs and their programmes
Before proceeding for CAT 2017 online registration, it is advisable to prepare a list of all 48 management programmes offered by IIMs. It will help you to make correct choice of programme and preferred IIM alongwith filling in the right choice of interview city, in case you are shortlisted by the IIMs.

Choose the preferred IIM and the programme
It is very much possible that you wish to join IIM Ahmedabad but the programme preferred by you is offered by some other IIM. Now you will have to decide whether the IIM is to be preferred or the programme. Now your list should be final going by your preferences.

No need to go for all 48 programmes or all 20 IIMs while registering for CAT 2017.

You may not like to join one or other programme or would not prefer to join a particular IIM. So finalize your list only with the selected management programmes and leave the rest and finalise your CAT 2017 application.

You should note that once you finalise and submit the CAT 2017 registration form after making payment, you may not be allowed to make further changes or increase the options. So make sure that you have taken right decision. 

Devote time on each IIM website
Once you prepare the list of programmes, go to the site of each IIM and check the following-

• Are you eligible for the respective programme?
• Is the programme offered by your preferred IIM?
• Contents/curriculum of the respective programme?
• How it would help you in your career growth?

IIMs to send you call, if shortlisted
After the CAT 2017 result is declared in the 2^nd week of January 2018, all the 20 IIMs will start their shortlisting process and will communicate to you in case you are shortlisted by them. You need not apply again to any of the IIMs.

No call from IIM, if not opted at the time of CAT registration
Please remember if you have not ticked and opted for the respective IIM and its preferred programme at the time of filling up the CAT 2017 online application form, you will neither be considered by the said IIM nor will be shortlisted even if you satisfy all the shortlisting criteria. So make sure that you have carefully chosen and marked the IIMs and their programmes at the time of completing the CAT 2017 registration form.

Target high & balanced sectional percentile in CAT 2017
Almost all the IIMs will shortlist you at a high sectional and overall percentile score in CAT 2017. Apart from this unless you have excellent academics to your credit and work experience also, you may not expect to be shortlisted by top IIMs. The minimum qualifying percentile prescribed by IIMs is the minimum eligibility criteria without which they will not shortlist you.

Common Admission Test (CAT) 2017 is the mandatory exam for admission to various management programmes at 20 IIMs for the batch 2018-20. The CAT 2017 Registration process at a cost of Rs. 1800/- is open online till September 20. CAT 2017 exam pattern remains on the lines of 2015 & 2016 CAT exam although sectional and overall number of questions in CAT 2017 may change. The CAT 2017 exam date is Novermber 26, 2017 and the exam will be held in 144 cities at more than 600 test venues across the country.

CAT 2017 will be a computer based test of 3 hours duration and will be held in 2 sessions on the same day. The exam will be divided in 3 sections with individual sectional time duration of 1 hour each. The sections are - Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC); Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Aptitude (Quant). Each correct answer will be awarded 3 marks and each wrong answer for MCQ will be penalized with 1/3 negative marking. Non-MCQ type of questions will be exempted from negative marking process.

IIMs have reduced the CAT 2017 score weightage in selection process but have increased the weightage of academics profile and other parameters in their admission criteria 2018.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2017

Read also:

• CAT 2017: 10 Application & Registration FAQs from aspirants of IIMs, FMS, MDI, answered by experts
• CAT 2017: No GST on CAT Registration fee; other exams with 18% tax - know the cheapest payment mode
• CAT 2017: 5 Registration form mistakes, you should avoid in Personal details & Academics