CAT 2015: Battle between 54% engineers & 46% non-engineers; Mah contributes max percentage increase

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
October 9, 2015
Out of the total 218664 registrations, non-engineers constitute about 46% and girl candidates about 32%
We have been striving to bring diversity to our classrooms and these changes should reflect in the next PGP cohort at IIMA Prof Tathagata Bandyopadhyay convener CAT 2015

According to registration statistics for CAT 2015 revealed by IIM Ahmedabad today it appears there is going to be a tough competitive battle between Engineers and non-engineers to score high in CAT 2015 and get into the preferred IIM in 2016.

The registration data for CAT 2015 share the tremendous rise in number of applicants from non-engineering back ground and girl candidates as compared to past 5 years. Out of the total 218664 registrations, non-engineers constitute about 46% and girl candidates about 32%. There is 26% increase in the number of candidates from Maharashtra who have registered for CAT 2015.

Registrations for CAT 2015 concluded on 25th September 2015 after a 5 day extension was allowed from September 20. The total number of registrations, 2,18,664, was higher than in the past 5 years.

CAT year

Total registration in lakhs

2008

2.76

2009

2.42

2010

2.04

2011

2.05

2012

2.14

2013

1.95

2014

1.97

2015

2.19 (218664)

Source: CAT data and MBAUniverse.com analysis

According to IIM Ahmedabad ‘In response to requests from a number of CAT aspirants, CAT registration deadline was extended from 20th September to 25th September resulting in 35,632 more registrations during this 5-days window. According to Prof Tathagata Bandyopadhyay Convener CAT 2015 “Of late, some observers have expressed concern whether CAT examination is losing its potency because of slight decline in numbers in recent years, except last year. This year’s applications, a five-year-high, should put such doubts to rest. Also, IIMs would be interested in the quality of students taking CAT rather than the number of CAT applicants. From the data of the last few years, it is evident that in recent years more focused candidates are taking CAT than when we touched the peak in terms of the highest number of registrations.”

The number of female candidates in the applicant pool has increased, from 59,211 in 2014 to 69,176 in 2015 marking an increase of 17%.

There is a significant increase in the number of candidates from non-engineering background from 37% in 2014 to 46% in 2015. With the vision to improve academic diversity in IIM class rooms, Prof Tathagata Bandyopadhyay shares “We have been striving to bring diversity to our classrooms and these changes should reflect in the next PGP cohort at IIMA. I am sure we would see increase in diversity for other IIMs as well. I would like to thank our friends in the media, who have helped to get the word out in this regard to the applicants. We also see the diversity reflected in the number of transgender applicants, which stands at 80.”

There has been a 26% increase in the number of registrations from Maharashtra (6,973), the highest increase among all states, followed by Uttar Pradesh (2,181, about 9%), and Telangana (1,909, about 23%).

One of the reasons for the substantial increase in registrations in Maharashtra could be attributed to the setting up of IIM Nagpur. Also, it is heartening to note a 16% (457) increase in the number of registrations from the North Eastern states of India.

The changed exam pattern in CAT 2015 according to experts at MBAUniverse.com also aims to further the vision of CAT 2015 convener in improving academic diversity and will provide a stiff competition between candidates from Engineering and Non-Engineering back ground on Nov 29, 2015, the D-day.

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