CAT 2014 has brought many changes right from the day of its notification appeared in news papers on July 27, 2014. CAT 2014 as compared to earlier CAT years has brought many surprises and changes in its process of registration, selection of test centre, conduct of test, duration of test, pattern of test, declaration of result, but it has also revamped the entire CAT exam.
MBAUniverse.com shares below the key comparisons that have been made in CAT 2014 as compared to earlier CAT exams.
CAT 2014: More candidates in each session
CAT 2014 is going to be conducted in a 2 day testing window on November 16 & November 22, 2014 in 4 sessions of morning and afternoon instead of 21 days and 42 sessions testing window that took place in CAT 2013. Prior to that CAT 2012 had 16 days test window. Since CAT 2009 the trend of longer testing window had started but the ensuing CAT 2014 test has put a stop to this trend. The number of test takers in each session in earlier CAT years were very less, this year this number is going to be much more per session. Any technical problem may pose more difficulties in CAT 2014 than in earlier CAT years. This is the reason that has called for more test centres for CAT 2014. The CAT Centre 2014 has directed the Test takers to report at the Test Centre 2 hours before the scheduled start time of test instead of one and a half hour in earlier CAT exams so that no problem during the conduct of the test should come up. CAT 2014 morning session is supposed to begin at 9.30 AM and the candidates have to report at the exam centre at 7.30 AM. Similarly afternoon session is scheduled to begin at 3 PM and the candidates have to report at the centre at 1 PM.
IIM Indore the CAT 2014 convening IIM and the testing agency TCS shall have to ensure that no technical glitches or any other disorder is faced during the examination as many times more of CAT 2014 test takers will attend the each of the 4 sessions in 2 testing days.
No facility to choose or edit the Test centre, date and session
CAT 2014 aspirants cannot schedule their test on the preferred date nor can they finalize their choice of centre and session. This big facility was available till CAT 2013 but has been taken away in CAT 2014. The allotment of day and test session depends on the mercy of CAT Centre 2014. The only facility available was to fill up the 3 preferred testing cities out of which anyone could be allotted by the CAT Centre 2014. Nor there is any facility to request the CAT Centre 2014 to change the test day or slot.
This feature has created more than one problem. Number of CAT 2014 takers are also going to appear in IIFT 2014 entrance test which will be held on November 23, 2014 in a single session. These candidates are in a fix now as it will be difficult for them to commute from one city after appearing in CAT 2014 on November 22, 2014 and rush to another one to take IIFT 2014 entrance test.
Many aspirants have also not been allotted their preferred city which they also opted for IIFT entrance. Now both the exam cities are far away and they might have to leave one of the 2 exams.
CAT 2014 has more questions
CAT 2014 has announced to increase number of testing questions from 30 in CAT 2013 to 50 in each section. Hence the total number of questions in both the sections taken together will be 100 as CAT is divided in 2 sections vis. Quant & DI; Verbal & LR. The practice test made available on CAT 2014 site has also clarified this pattern.
With the increase in number of questions, time to solve CAT 2014 has been increased from 140 minutes to 170 minutes i.e. 85 minutes per section.
CAT 2014 has no sectional time constraints
CAT 2014 has been declared more ‘aspirant friendly’ since it has provided the facility of navigation between the 2 test sections. Till CAT 2013 candidates could not go to 2nd section of Verbal prior to completion of 70 minutes allotted to solve the 1st section of Quant nor could they come back to 1st section once they had switched over to 2nd section.
In CAT 2014 aspirants will be allowed to move from one section to another (forward-backward) during the testing duration of 170 minutes without any restriction.
Aspirants to miss testing room tutorial in CAT 2014
The 15 minutes advance tutorial on testing pattern which used to be available till CAT 2013, will be missing in CAT 2014. All the CAT 2014 aspirants should practice the practice test available on CAT 2014 site well in advance and before the testing day, to make them conversant with the testing pattern and type of questions, number of options and their answering pattern.
How to cope
These points of comparison prompt the CAT 2014 aspirants to focus on concerted preparation strategy. Although overall time to attempt CAT 2014 has been increased, time per question to solve has been reduced, so more practice is needed.
Candidates will also need to go for proper time management in the testing room and shall have to choose the right question to choose from the set of questions.
Questions on many topics, as revealed in the practice test may not find place in the exam while number of questions on other topics might increase. Apart from this questions on new topics would also appear in the exam.
All this requires more practice and focused study plan to prepare for CAT 2014.
Related Links
CAT 2014 New Exam Pattern: Live on Oct 28, 2014; familiarize with new pattern and questions
CAT 2014: Know the section wise expected number & type of questions while practice test awaited
CAT 2014 Test Day Guide out; reveals important dos and donts for the exam day
CAT 2014: Aspirants waiting for practice test to best utilize the Diwali Holidays
CAT 2014: 5 big changes revealed on Test day Video; listen and read carefully
CAT 2014 Test day video launched; Examinees to report 2 hours before the test at Exam centre
CAT 2014 Admit Card: All the details available; Check carefully to confirm your candidature
CAT 2014 Admit Card is out: Download now and take the print
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2014
