CAT stands for Common Admission Test. It is the national level exam conducted for taking entry into the MBA program. It is a prestigious exam conducted once in a year by different IIMs. Their turn gets regulated on a rotational basis.

Every year lakhs of students enroll for the exam, and the number is only increasing every day. It has increased the level of competition for the exam. The results of CAT are used by IIMs to give entry to students as well as other reputed management schools through India.
Any of the IIM running in India can organize the CAT exam. It could be:

•    IIM Lucknow
•    IIM Calcutta
•    IIM Bangalore
•    IIM Indore
•    IIM Ahmedabad
•    IIM Kozhikode

What is the Registration Process for CAT?
The application forms for CAT will be available during the last week of July 2020 or at the beginning of August. However, the registration process will end in September. Aspirants have to follow the below steps to fill the application form:

•    Go to the official website of CAT IIM- iimcat.ac.in.
•    Click on the registration link and sign up as a new user.
•    After the registration, aspirants will receive the user Id and password on their registered email ID. Log into the website with provided credentials.
•    Submit all the details and information asked in the form. Make sure the details are submitted carefully.
•    Upload the scanned picture of your photograph and signature.
•    Pay the due amount of application fee according to your category.

Exam Pattern
•    The medium of Instruction: The exam set up in the English language only.
•    Mode of Exam: It is an entirely online test (computer-based).
•    Exam Syllabus: In the exam, the questions asked from 3 different sections:
•    Comprehension and Verbal Ability: 34 Questions
•    Interpretation and Logical Reasoning: 32 Questions
•    Ability: 34 Questions
•    Duration: Aspirants will get 180 minutes to solve the question paper.
•    Format: There will be a maximum number of 100 questions in the exam in both MCQ and non-MCQ format.

Eligibility Criteria
•    An aspirant must be an Indian citizen.
•    An aspirant must be a graduate or pursuing the final year of graduation.
•    Aspirants must have cleared their Bachelor's with at least 50% overall marks. However, for reserved category students (SC, ST, and PWD), it is 45%.
•    The Bachelor's degree of the aspirant should be for a minimum of 3 years.
•    There is no age limit set for appearing in the exam.
•    Aspirants who have done CA/ICWS/CS are eligible to apply for the CAT exam.
•    NRI and foreign internationals are eligible to apply with a good GMAT score.

Preparation Tips for CAT
The preparation for the CAT exam is slightly different for the type of aspirants appearing. It has a division into two sections:

For first-time appearing aspirants:

If you are going to attempt the CAT exam for the first time, you can start with a full-time online course.

•    In this, the examining faculty will keep you updated about every aspect or changes in the CAT exam.
•    They will also help you to better and efficiently understand the techniques, tips, and tricks of solving the question paper.
•    The online course providers will also offer you study material and mock tests to assist you in your preparation.
•    After completing your syllabus, you can take revision classes and doubt classes to clear all the concepts of the exam.

For reappearing aspirants:
If an aspirant fails to clear the CAT exam in the first attempt, he/she shouldn't feel disheartened. Instead, give yourself another chance and start your preparation again after making a few changes.
•    Firstly, analyze your weak and strong points in the syllabus.
•    You can also take sectional tests available online.
•    Try giving more and more mock tests to improve your practice score. Also, make sure you solve the previous year question papers of CAT.
•    Make sure you give a minimum of 3-4 hours per day for the exam.
•    Be consistent in your preparation. An aspirant needs at least 7-8 months of training to score well in the CAT exam.

You can always change the exam preparation plan according to your strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities. There are no fixed preparation criteria to clear the exam.

Application Fee
The application fee for general or OBC category students is INR 1900, while for the reserved category students (SC, ST, PWD), the fee is INR 950.

Admit Card
The admit card for the CAT exam will be available on the official website. The tentative date set for the availability of the admit card in October.
•    Aspirants who have submitted their applications successfully can download the admit card by logging in to their account.
•    After downloading the admit card, make sure all your details and information mentioned on it is correct.
•    If there's any mistake, contact the concerned authority to get it changed.
•    If your admit card is fine with all the details, get a printout of it and make sure you carry it while going for the CAT exam.

Exam Date
The tentative date set for the conduct of the CAT exam is the month of November.

Exam Results
The results of the CAT exam expected a declaration in January. They will be out on the official website only.

Exam Centre
CAT will get conducted in a total of 156 cities across India. It will hold in two different slots- morning and evening.