CAT 2016: Will IIM Bangalore follow IIM Ahmedabad or will make it a different test?

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
May 10, 2016
CAT 2016 aspirants are in a dilemma how to begin their preparation as they are not aware whether IIM Bangalore will follow the same test pattern of last year as introduced by IIM Ahmedabad or will again change it all
Each CAT convening IIM is independent of one another and as such plays major role while deciding the changes in forthcoming CAT exam

Will the CAT 2016 going to be convened by IIM Bangalore in partnership with testing agency TCS, follow the last year pattern as revamped by IIM Ahmedabad or will again totally change the test this year? For the last 2 years CAT aspirants have been facing this dilemma and on the top of it the test structure is revealed before them only a few days before the actual exam when the sample test is made alive by the CAT centre.

Last year CAT was convened by IIM Ahmedabad which brought about tremendous changes in the exam and not only changed the structure and time duration of the exam but the shape and contents of the test were totally transformed.

The responsibility to convene CAT every-year is assigned to one of the Old IIMs namely IIM Ahmedabad, IIM  Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode. While IIM Shillong has not yet been awarded this assignment, IIM Bangalore has also been awarded this responsibility for the first time since CAT has become a computer based test in 2009.

Changes in CAT: consistent process
IIM Ahmedabad convened the first computerised CAT in 2009, IIM Lucknow convened CAT 2010 followed by IIM Calcutta convening CAT 2011 and IIM Kozhikode convening CAT 2012. IIM Indore remained in saddle for 2 consecutive years to convene CAT 2013 and 2014.

It was during these 2 years CAT saw the change in IIM’s testing partner from Prometric to TCS in 2014.   From IIM Indore, IIM Ahmedabad was again assigned the responsibility to convene CAT 2015 which created history by introducing for the first time the no-negative marking questions despite marking wrong answers. The convention may go on and now IIM Bangalore may bring an absolutely different CAT 2016.

Each CAT convening IIM independent
Despite having representation in CAT group which decides the structure and content of the CAT exam, not all the IIMs influence the structure and content of the exam. Each CAT convening IIM is independent of one another and as such plays major role while deciding the changes in forthcoming CAT exam.

The fact that higher rating of CAT convening IIM impacts the exam pattern is substantiated with the changes in CAT brought about in 2015. When IIM Ahmedabad took reins of CAT 2015 from IIM Indore who convened CAT 2014, the entire exam process was revamped.

Another truth is that the changes were more aspirant friendly and the exam contained 28 Non-MCQs for the first time without imposing any penalty of negative marking for wrong answer. Test was divided into 3 sections instead of earlier 2 and sectional time constraint was restored. This boosted the morale of the test takers who scored higher percentile in the exam than they could have scored if the earlier pattern had been followed.

Now the CAT 2016 aspirants who have begun their preparation journey are getting anxious whether the same pattern of last year CAT would be followed by IIM Bangalore.

Going by the past trend, it is not necessary that IIM Bangalore would follow the same pattern of last year. You can expect more changes as the fixed trend of CAT got over in 2013 and changes began to be brought in from 2014 in CAT.

IIM Bangalore: Renowned for its unique approach
IIM Bangalore is well known for its different academic rigour, admission criteria. High percentilers in past CAT exams are the testimony to the fact that despite scoring 99.9 many of them were not shortlisted by IIM Bangalore but those who had excellent academic profile, quality work experience and other innovative ideas were shortlisted despite their low percentile in CAT.

The aspirants can now very well imagine whether IIM Bangalore would follow the foot- steps of IIM Ahmedabad while convening CAT 2016 or will again revamp the test pattern and content. Accordingly, you will be required to begin your preparation keeping in view the prospective changes in the exam.

You are supposed to begin the preparation now without waiting for the proposed changes as IIM Bangalore is not going to announce them now. At the maximum, the exact test pattern would be disclosed around a month before the actual test and since it will be the time to practice more mocks, you wouldn’t be able to begin afresh learning the concepts.

The most effective way is to anticipate a little more tricky CAT 2016 with more changes and slightly more difficult test which may also place a few subjective or one line answer questions alongwith MCQs, you should build your basics and clear all the concepts. With only 6 months left to CAT 2016, this is the right time to begin your preparation journey.

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