CAT 2020 - Common Admission Test

CAT 2020: Common Admission Test for Admission to IIMs & Top B-schools
Common Admission Test, popularly known as CAT, is the largest MBA Entrance Exam for Admission to 20 IIMs, FMS Delhi, IIT DoMs, SPJIMR, MDI and 500+ MBA Colleges in India. Every year more than 2,40,000 students from all disciplines including Engineering, Commerce, Humanities and even Law take CAT exam to get into of the 6,500 MBA seats in IIMs. Over the years, CAT has become easier paper but to get a high percentile (90+) requires 4-5 months of serious preparation.

Based on past trends, CAT 2020 will be held on November 29, 2020. CAT is conducted by one of the top IIMs. IIM Indore is expected to conduct CAT 2020. IIM Indore will release CAT Notification on the last Saturday of July. Then, CAT Registration will start in the first week of August 2020. In this article, you will read all key points to plan your CAT 2020 journey, including important dates, syllabus & pattern, how to prepare, past CAT toppers interviews and much more. You fill also find important links to Free CAT Mock Tests and genuine Past CAT Test Papers released by IIMs. So, read it the end.

What is CAT Exam?
CAT is the Common Admission Test for admission to MBA/PGDM programmes in 20 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other top MBA colleges like FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR Mumbai, IMI New Delhi, IMT Ghaziabad and hundreds of other top MBA colleges in India. IIMs will offer admission on the basis of CAT 2020 only and will not accept any other test score. There are more than 150 cities and more than 400 venues where CAT 2020 will be conducted in India. Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian institute of Science (IISC) also use CAT for admission to their Management programmes. 

CAT 2020 Exam: Highlights & Key Features
Following are the salient features of CAT 2020 with details on CAT exam date 2020, CAT Notification, CAT eligibility among other key points

Eligibility to Appear in CAT 2020
A candidate with minimum 50% marks in graduation can appear in CAT 2020. A final year student in graduation can also appear in CAT conducted by IIMs. However, there is no age limit to apply and appear in CAT 2020.

CAT 2020 Important Dates
Following are the CAT 2020 important dates for different activities related to the CAT exam 2020:

(All dates Tentative)

CAT Exam Details 2020: Pattern
CAT exam details and exam structure since 2015 have remained on similar pattern with time duration, number of questions and sections as under:

• 180 Minutes Exam: CAT is a computer delivered test of 3 hours duration but it is not an Online Exam
• 100 Questions: CAT will have 100 questions divided in 3 sections of VARC, DILR and Quantitative Ability. Earlier CAT used to have 60 questions divided in two sections and had only MCQ type questions with negative marking.
• 25% No Penalty Questions: Out of 100 questions in CAT 2020, more than 25 questions will not have negative marking. CAT 2020 is divided into MCQ and Non-MCQ type of questions and the Non-MCQs do not carry negative marking. In case any non-MCQ has negative marking, a few MCQs are changed to no negative marking questions.
• 70-75% CAT Questions with Negative Marking: More than 70% questions in CAT 2020 are of MCQ type and will carry penalty of 1/3 negative marking
• Minimum CAT Score Requirement by IIMs: A Minimum qualifying score between 70 and 90 percentile in CAT 2020 is required by IIMs in each of the 3 sections to shortlist candidates for final admission round
• Other Criteria with CAT score: Apart from High score in each of the 3 sections in CAT 2020 exam, you need to have good academic profile, diversity, to get into IIMs.

CAT 2020 Exam Syllabus
During the last 4 years, CAT exam syllabus has substantially changed. Major changes in CAT Syllabus 2020 are:

• CAT Syllabus is changed and contains different type of questions now.
• 25-30% Questions in CAT syllabus are no penalty questions now
• Most of the changes in CAT syllabus have taken place in the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Section as the topics and number of questions in VARC section have changed.
• A few changes in CAT syllabus have been introduced in Quantitative Ability section with more focus on Arithmetic questions

Although CAT exam Syllabus is not pre-defined by IIMs, it overall tests the candidate on Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension; Quantitative Aptitude; Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning. Read More about CAT Syllabus

When CAT is Conducted?

• CAT is conducted annually.
• Now conducted preferably on the last Sunday of November or the first Sunday of December every year
• With effect from 2015, CAT is conducted on a single day in two sessions – morning and evening. Prior to 2015, CAT was conducted in multiple sessions on multiple days.

Which IIM Conducts CAT?
CAT is conducted by one of older IIMs by policy of rotation each year. There are six IIMs who conduct CAT one by one, they are IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode and IIM Lucknow. Since other 14 IIMs were established later, the responsibility to conduct CAT has not yet been assigned to any of them.

Mode of CAT
CAT is a computer based entrance test of three hours duration with 100 questions divided in three sections and has a time limit of one hour for each section. 

When to look for CAT Notification?
IIMs release all the details about CAT in leading news papers on the last Sunday of July every year. A day before this publication, the CAT convener sends the press release with important details about CAT on the designated web portals. The process to register and apply for CAT starts in the 1^st week of August.

How difficult is CAT?
CAT is a highly competitive and most important MBA entrance exam in India. The difficulty level of CAT is considered moderate to high.

Scoring Pattern in CAT
Each correct answer in CAT is awarded with 3 marks. The raw score obtained in CAT is converted to scaled score and then converted to percentile score after allowing for equating and normalizing the scores for both the sessions in CAT.

IIMs and other top MBA colleges consider percentile awarded in CAT to shortlist the candidates for final selection round.

MBA Programmes Offered by IIMs through CAT
Following are the various management programmes at IIMs in which admission is available through Common Admission Test 2020:

When & How to Register & Apply for CAT 2020?
The very first thing to remember about CAT is that there is nothing offline now in CAT. You can apply online only on the official CAT website. The application fee for CAT has also increased to Rs.2000/- for General candidates and to Rs.1000/- for SC/ST candidates. It should also be paid online only.

The application process for CAT 2020 opens in first week of August and closes in the third week of September. During this period you can submit your application online for CAT.

CAT Registration Trends
More than 2.44 lakh candidates had registered last year for CAT exam. The registration number was up by 3000 more candidates registered for CAT. It signified that candidates had to compete with more candidates in CAT exam and needed to score high to get shortlisted by top three IIMs and other top MBA colleges.

Although the trends in CAT registrations since 2010 show a downward journey initially, but from 2013 it has been showing a rising registration count reflecting the regaining trust of CAT aspirants and anticipation of better career opportunities after completing MBA/PGP from an IIM or other top B-school

Source: MBAUniverse.com Research & Analysis

CAT 2020: Important Points

• Low Cost Exam: CAT Registration and CAT exam application fee taken together comes to Rs.100 per IIM for General category and Rs.50/- per IIM for Reserved category. No fee to be paid to apply for any individual IIM
• One Day Exam: CAT exam will be held in single day on Sunday November 29, 2020 in Morning and Afternoon sessions. CAT is a Computer Based Test. Earlier it was held in 15 to 20 days testing window till 2013 by IIMs. Since 2015, CAT exam testing window has been shortened to one day only.
• 45 Days CAT 2020 Registration Window: The CAT Application process opens on August 5 and will close on September 18, 2020
• Dual Degree Accepted: A candidate with dual bachelor's degree should mention the academic scores of both the bachelor's degree programme in CAT application form
• Single Fee for MBA Admission: CAT 2020 provides admission opportunity in 20 IIMs with the single point payment of CAT registration fee of Rs.2000/- for General candidates and Rs.1000/- for reserved category. 
• Choice of 50 MBA Programmes in IIMs: CAT 2020 offers a choice of more than 50 management programmes in 20 IIMs without any additional application fee for admission.

CAT 2020 Admit Card
CAT 2020 Admit Card download will start immediately with the release of the CAT hall ticket by IIMs. IIMs will upload the CAT 2020 Admit card at 1 PM on October 24, 2020. The CAT admit card release date may be extended by a few days in case the last date of registration for CAT 2020 exam is extended. The last date to download the CAT Admit Card is CAT 2020 exam date. 

5 Steps to Download CAT 2020 Admit Card

1. Logon to CAT official Website
2. Enter CAT Login ID & Password
3. Click on ‘Admit Card’
4. At Assessment drop down menu select Common Admission Test 2020
5. Click on Action-Download & Take Print of CAT Admit card

CAT 2020 Result & IIMs’ Admission Process
CAT 2020 exam result will be declared on January 5, 2021 in morning hours. Immediately after the CAT result declaration, IIMs will start announcing their shortlist on the basis of CAT scores and other parameters in their shortlisting criteria for final selection round. The final admission offer will be made to the candidates in the months of April/May 2021 by IIMs

Important Changes in CAT over the Years
Journey of IIM-CAT has witnessed substantial changes. In recent years, number of sections and type of questions in CAT have changed substantially. Important changes in pattern and conduct of CAT are shared below: 

• CAT has changed from Paper Based to Computer based test
• CAT now has 3 sections instead of 2
• CAT has introduced 25 to 30 percent questions with No Negative marking

CAT Exam pattern over the past 10 years since it was computerised in 2009 has gone for perceptible changes. CAT paper pattern prior to 2009 was paper-pen based. CAT exam format was changed from paper based exam to CAT online computer based test in 2009. Even after that CAT paper pattern continued changing from 3 sections to 2 and then CAT pattern was changed to 3 sections in 2015. Since then CAT is following similar pattern. CAT 2020 pattern also remains the same as that of CAT exam 2019 pattern with 3 sections and 3 hours time although the number of MCQs and Non-MCQs may change.

Before 2009, CAT was a paper based test. On May 1, 2009, it was announced that with effect from 2009, CAT would be a Computer based test. American firm Prometric was entrusted with the responsibility of conducting CAT for 5 years from 2009 to 2013.

However, the first computer based CAT confronted many technical glitches like server slow down, blurred system display among others. At many test centres CAT had to be conducted again.

In 2014, the responsibility of testing agency to conduct CAT was assigned to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Since then, TCS has remained the partner testing agency for IIM-CAT.

CAT 2020 is the mandatory entrance exam for admission to MBA 2021 in 20 IIMs and other top MBA colleges in India. The exam is therefore referred to as IIM CAT and is conducted by IIMs on annual basis.