The registration for CAT (Common Admission Test), the competitive exam for admission to the PG/Fellow programmes of IIMs, can be done from August 5 till September 16. You can visit the website www.iimcat.ac.in to register.
The admit card can be downloaded from October 28.
The computer-based exam will be held on November 29. There will be two sessions - one in the morning and another in the afternoon. The scores obtained in both sessions will be normalised to arrive at the final score.
Each IIM has its own unique selection method. In addition to the CAT score, candidates’ performance in written tests, group discussions and interviews, besides their academic history, may be considered for admission.
The examination centres in Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur.
The state-wise list of business schools other than IIMs that use the score in CAT for admission is available on the site. In Kerala, there is only one institute that accepts CAT score; there are four in Tamil Nadu and seven in Karnataka.
The Exam
The exam will have three parts — verbal ability and reading comprehension; data interpretation and logical reasoning, and quantitative ability. There will be 60 minutes for each part.
The answers to questions that are not in the multiple choice format have to be typed into the computer. There will be a calculator on the screen for making calculations.
A training test will be put on the site on October 16.
CAT results will be announced in the second week of January and the score can be used till December 31, 2021.
For more information and to get your doubts clarified, you can visit the FAQ section on the site or contact the helpdesk (no: 18002090830).
Eligibility
Those who have completed graduation with at least 50% marks or those in the final year of graduation can apply for the exam.
The minimum marks for those belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Persons with Disability is 45%.
Reservation
15% seats will be reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates, 7.5% for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, 27% for Other Backward Classes candidates from the ‘non-creamy’ layer (NC-OBC), up to 10% for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) candidates and 5% for Persons with Disabilities (PwD).
Those with CA, CS and cost accountancy memberships and with the requisite qualifying marks can also apply.