About CAT
	Eligibility
	Preparation
	B-schools
	Cut-offs
	IMS Programs
	Enrollment
	IMS Success

ABOUT CAT

CAT (Common Admission Test) is one among the top Management Entrance Tests in India that is conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) for admission to their 2-year full time Post Graduate Programs in Management. Many other Premier institutes in the nation also accept the CAT scores for their selection process. There are approximately 100+ B-schools that accept CAT scores, the list for which will be available in the CAT bulletin.

2. What does the CAT test?

It is an aptitude test that tests “managerial abilities” through questions based on Maths and English. The concepts required for tackling CAT like questions are based on the 10th level Maths and English. These subjects are subdivided into different areas viz:  

• Quantitative Ability
• Data Interpretation
• Data Sufficiency
• Logical Reasoning
• Reading Comprehension
• Verbal Reasoning
• Verbal Ability.
  
  The areas are clearly demarcated into sections, with the number of sections and their composition varying from year to year. Hence the structure of the CAT is not certain. Students are required to possess greater patience, endurance and vigilance to answer the questions.

3. What was it like last year (CAT 2007)?

CAT 2007 did not see any major changes as compared to CAT 2006. The structure of the test was same as 2006-75 Questions, 3 Sections, 5 answer choices, 4 marks for correct and 1 mark negative for every incorrect answer. However, there were few changes with regards to the nature of questions asked in CAT 2007.

Test Duration was of 2.5 hours. 

Scheme of marking changed from differential to uniform. Each question carried 4 marks with negative marking as 1 mark for every question attempted incorrectly.

Number of answer choices increased to 5 per question (as against 4 in previous years) 

Test Structure

CAT 2007 Analysis

4. Will there be any change in the test structure this year?

5. When is CAT conducted?

CAT is usually conducted on the third Sunday of November every year.

6. When does one apply for CAT?

The CAT notification is usually released after mid July every year in the leading newspapers of the country. The same will be uploaded on the IMS website after the release of the notification.

Eligibility

7. What is the eligibility for CAT?

The eligibility criterion for taking the CAT is a minimum of 50 percent marks (45 percent for SC, ST and PWD candidates) or equivalent CGPA in a bachelor’s degree program offered by a recognised university under the Central/State Legislature, UGC or Ministry of HRD.

For those who have completed graduation:
The 50 percent eligibility is determined as per the degree offered by the university.

For those in the final year of graduation:
The 50 percent eligibility is determined based on the aggregate marks obtained in the semesters/years that have been completed. Eg. Say you have secured 55 percent in the first year and 49 percent in the second year, the aggregate would be 55+49/200 = 52 percent

8. I have a CGPA instead of percentage. What do I do?

The percentage equivalence would be based on the equivalence certified by the institute/university from where the bachelor's degree has been obtained. In case the institute/university does not follow any such method of converting the CGPA, the equivalence can be established as per the example given below: Eg. The CGPA obtained is 3.2 on a maximum possible score of 4. The equivalent percentage would be 3.2/4 * 100 = 80 percent

9. I am in the final year of graduation. What percentage do I enter in the application form?

You need to enter the aggregate percentage of the years/semesters completed till date. Additionally, you need to enclose a certificate from the Principal/HOD/Registrar/Director of the institute/university as given in the pro forma given in Table 6 of the CAT Bulletin

10. I have done a 5 years integrated program (equivalent to a masters degree) after my 10+2. How do I enter my percentage?

The aggregate for the first 3 years of the program needs to be mentioned as percentage for bachelors, and aggregate for the remaining two years needs to be mentioned as percentage for masters.

11. I don't have a 50% in my graduation. What should I do?

The students should try other exams like XAT, IIFT, MH-CET and other regional tests. You should also look into institute specific tests, based on your relative performance so far. Your career aspirations will also drive the choice of the school.

[Please bear in mind that this is based on last year's data. The student will have to re-confirm based on this years notifications]

12. By when do the final year candidates need to submit their marks?

Those applying for CAT while in their final year need to ensure that they complete taking all the papers on or before 30th June 2009.

13. How and when does one start with the preparations?

Ideally 6 to 8 months, putting 2 to 3 hours a day is enough for preparations. This is to ensure that one is focussed throughout the preparations. Preparing over a long period of time could bring in boredom thus causing a loss of momentum in the preparations.  Therefore if you are taking CAT in November 2008

Earliest time to join is: November 2007

Latest Time to join is: June 2008

To succeed in CAT, it is imperative that you have a planned approach
To plan, you need to know how much to prepare
To know how much to prepare, you need to know where you stand today

In short, if you do not know you level of aptitude, you will not know how much to prepare which in turn could make your preparation ineffective.

To aid in understanding where you stand today, we suggest that you walk in to the nearest IMS Learning Centre and take the Preliminary Test.

The Preliminary Test is based on CAT 2007. At IMS we believe that you need to take the Preliminary Test without any prior preparation. The test helps you understand:

• Your current level of aptitude
• The areas that CAT assesses you on
• Your current strengths and areas of improvement
• The extent of effort required to clear the CAT and prepare a study plan.
• To identify the appropriate IMS Training Program.

The Preliminary Test is free of charge and is conducted at an IMS Learning Centre neat you. In case you do not have an IMS Centre in your city, write in to us with your complete postal address and contact numbers. We will send across the same to you.

14. How does one develop aptitude for Maths and English?

In simple terms, CAT tests managerial abilities in a candidate through Maths and English. We can therefore say that CAT tests you on:
Conceptual clarity
Understanding interlinkages between concepts
Application ability

This implies that you will be required to interlink concepts (use multiple concepts) in order to solve a particular problem. Your ability to apply concepts to practical situations is what will be tested.

Therefore, the basic requirement for being able to crack the CAT is Conceptual Clarity. One must spend the maximum time getting to know the concepts in both Maths and English before going ahead with practice through section tests and comprehensive tests. 

Once you start taking section tests and comprehensive tests, it becomes important to Analyse each of the tests that you take. This will help identify the areas/topics that you are weak at and still need brushing up before you take the next test.

15. How does one analyse performance?

After having taken a Section Test/Comprehensive Test:

1. Analyse your area-wise/topic - wise performance to identify potential areas for improvement.
2. Work on the identified areas, through purposeful practice using
     · Concept Books
     · Section Tests and Comprehensive Tests

After you take each test, do analyze it well. Analysis would take a lot of time, do not take this as a waste of time, and instead convert this into a learning process. For all correct answers, compare your method with the Explanatory Answers, check if you can attempt it faster and practice the new method, if any. For all incorrect answers, reattempt the questions with no time limits. You need to understand as to why did you make the mistake- was it conceptual/silly mistake/incorrect interpretation. Learn from your mistakes and ensure that you do not commit them in future.

16. How does one increase reading speed and verbal ability?

The areas that are tested in English are verbal ability and reasoning, and reading comprehension. This implies that you need to build an overall aptitude in English. Good command over English language is certainly a must in order to succeed in CAT. In fact, you will observe that you need good English even to attempt the quantitative and data interpretation sections.

Reading a national newspaper like The Times of India/The Hindu, a business daily like The Economic Times/Business Standard and political and business magazines should become a daily ritual for all CAT aspirants.  Further,

- Specially read the editorial section in the newspaper.

- Time yourself while reading. You should be able to read 200 to 250 words in a minute’s time.

- Write a summary of about 100 to 150 words every day on the editorial as it will help in building your thought process which is crucial in CAT.

- Make a note of the difficult words and look up their meanings from a Standard English dictionary. Try and maintain a notebook/prepare flash cards that you can go through in your free time.

Reading would also help keep updated on the events going around thus building on your general awareness that would be helpful during the group discussion and personal interview rounds.

B-schools

17. Which are the B Schools accepting the CAT scores?

Click here to view the list of schools accepting the CAT Scores

CUT-OFFS

18. What do you mean by cut-offs?

Cut-off is the minimum score that one must secure in order to make it to a reputed school.

This cut-off varies from school to school and from year to year depending on the level of toughness of the CAT paper and the overall performance of the applicants to the respective schools. B-schools provide a section-wise as well as an overall cut-off. It is usually mandatory for students to clear the cut-offs of each section (as in verbal, quant, DI, etc) as well as clear the overall cut-off too. Hence you will have to show your competence across every section of the paper.

19. What is the minimum that one must secure in order to make it to the IIMs?

The key to your call from the IIMs is not only to meet the overall cut-off requirement but also consistent performance across all the sections.

Over the years, it has been observed that those who have secured an overall percentile of 98+ with a 95+ percentile in each of the sections have received GD/PI calls from the IIMs.

20. What do you mean by percentile and percentage in the CAT scorecard?

Percentage: The % score represents normalized percentage of scores secured by the candidate. It is a relative method of representing the score. This is not the actual % score.

Percentile: Percentile indicates student's relative performance position among the total students who took the CAT.

For example – A 98 percentile means that the student is among the top 2 percent of the population who took the CAT.

21. What are the cutoffs for the other schools accepting the CAT scores?

Considering that one is aiming only for the reputed B Schools through the CAT, it is imperative to score a minimum of 85 percentile with consistent performance in all the sections.

22. Does a candidate get calls only on the basis of cutoffs?

No. One needs to keep in mind that cut-offs are only one of the many evaluation tools that the B Schools use to shortlist candidates. The other prominent parameters used by most B Schools are past academic performance, work experience years and profile if any, extra curricular activities and achievements etc.

23. Does work experience increase chances of making it to a reputed school?

Work experience is not a mandatory criterion for making it any B Schools; the minimum criterion being similar to the CAT. However, having one does add to your profile. None the less, you need to prove your worth at the time of the GD/PI rounds. This implies that the panel needs to be convinced about what you have learnt at the job and contributed positively to the organization. The way you present yourself and approach the questions plays a vital role in getting you selected or rejected. Remember, you will be pitched against the best of minds during the GD/PI rounds. So you need to be at your best to make sure you get the final call.

IMS PROGRAMS

24. What are the IMS Programs available for CAT preparations?

IMS offers comprehensive Classroom and Correspondence Training Programs in order to prepare students from CAT and other prominent management entrance tests in the country like XAT, IIFT, FMS, JMET, SNAP, CET etc. The program variants are as mentioned below:

MaxPrep CAT @ Home
The program is best suited if:

1. You are located far away from an IMS Learning Centre

2. You do not have time to attend classes due to other commitments

3. You are extremely self disciplined and self- motivated

4. You have scored extremely well in the Preliminary Test

IMS MaxPrep CAT @ Home (Correspondence) Program is available for a fee of Rs. 5900 (inclusive of service tax)

Max Prep CAT @ Campus
The MaxPrep CAT @ Campus Program is available in 2 variants to meet specific requirements of different category of students:

1. CATapult: For those who need extra support in basics (also for those who have a mediocre or low score in Preliminary Test)
2. CATapult Apex: For those who need less support in basics (also for those who have a high score in Preliminary Test)

CORE FEATURES

INNOVATIVE CLASSROOM

The recent changes in the CAT suggest that it is increasingly giving more importance to your application ability than mere speed. You need to be well equipped to handle this challenge.

The IMS classroom is powered with ICAP (Interlinked concepts and application based pedagogy) training methodology that uses caselet approach to help you understand the linkages between concepts and apply them to CAT like questions.

EXHAUSTIVE 5-MODULE STUDY MATERIAL (for both Classroom as well as Correspondence Program)

The Basic Reference Material (Part A)
The Basic Reference Material (BRM) is an exhaustive study pack on all the areas tested in the CAT. While the concept book introduces and explains fundamentals of each of the areas, the workbook will give you sufficient questions to strengthen those fundamentals.

Comprehensive Testing (Part B, C, D)
The comprehensive testing of IMS provides accurate testing and feedback. These tests act as a measuring tool, which identifies your strengths and areas for improvement. To further aid you, the online analysis on your student page helps you to comprehensively analyze your progress.

You will be exposed to diverse structures and difficulty level so that you are well equipped to handle any structure that the CAT gives you.

ADMAT (Additional Material for the tests of institutes other than the CAT) (Part E)
The IMS training incorporates the skills needed to excel not only in the CAT but also in other management entrance tests. The ADMAT gives you ‘the needed’ extra practice and feel of other important management entrance tests in India like XAT, FMS, IIFT, JMET, IRMA and more.

SPECIAL FEATURES

ALL-INDIA SIMULATED CATS (SIMCATS)
SimCATs simulate the environment and pressure you will face on the day of the CAT. It further offers you an opportunity to evaluate, refine and map your performance, against your peers across the country. Just like in the CAT, you will take the SimCAT on an OMR sheet, which is scanned and you will be given a national percentile ranking with detailed performance evaluation.

ACHIEVERS’ WORKSHOP: CONVERTING THE IIM CALL
Achievers’ Workshop is an intensive, fast-paced workshop conducted in centralized venues to aid you to convert the IIM interview call. Alumni from top class institutions, communication specialists and experts from the industry will work with you during the workshop. This workshop is open for all IMS students, who have received interview calls from the top B-Schools, irrespective of the program they had joined.

ON-LINE STUDENT PAGE
The student page is a web enabled personalized interactive world between you and IMS. It is primarily used for assessment, evaluation & tracking of your progress during the course.

The main features are:
- Analysis of your performance
- Faster interaction between you and IMS
- Comprehensive feedback section-wise & area-wise
- Institute Information

INSTITUTE TRACKER - INTRAC
INTRAC or Institute Tracker is an on-line information bank on the IMS website that houses comprehensive information of more than 1000 B-schools in the country, and a thorough understanding of their selection procedures. Simply put, INTRAC is a window to the 'World of B-schools in India available at the click of a mouse.

For specific information on start dates of batches and fee applicable for the classroom programs, you need to contact the IMS Learning Centre in your city.

ENROLLMENT

25. How does one enrol for the programs?

Classroom Program: To enroll for a classroom-training program you need to directly walk in to the nearest IMS Learning Centre

You can pay the fee either by Demand Draft or Credit Card/Debit Card (as per centre availability)

Correspondence Program: 

1. Walk in to the nearest IMS Learning Centre 
 
2. Online and pay by Credit Card through the following link: http://www.imsindia.com/options/ims_enrol.htm (However only a few select courses are available for enrollment online)

3. You can also send across a DD of the required amount in favour of IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd. payable at Mumbai at the address mentioned below along with your full details  (full name, complete mailing address, phone/mobile number, email ID, date of birth, academic qualification, year of completion of graduation, name of the college)

IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd.
E Block, 6th Floor, NCL Bandra Premises,
Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East,
Mumbai – 400051

26. Which is the best IMS Centre?

 IMS offers standardised programs delivered through well-trained faculty across all the centres in the country. Hence you can choose any centre as per your convenience. In case you have any doubts it would be best to visit the centre and discuss your apprehensions in detail with the Centre Manager. 

IMS SUCCESS

27. What is the success of IMS in the past?

Over the past 30 years, IMS has seen through thousands of students pass out from the portals of the best management schools in the country. However we do strongly believe that it is the student's effort and hard work that ultimately helps them to sail through the selection procedure and IMS would not like to claim a share of their success. To quote statistics, approximately 2421+ interview calls were bagged by IMS students for CAT 2007.