The Common Admission Test (CAT) is a national level management aptitude test for aspirants to make a career in management and business administration. This computer-based exam assesses the aptitude of graduates who intend to pursue management education. The exam can be taken in English and the minimum eligibility requirement is a bachelor's degree with at least 50%. CAT exams are usually held once a year, usually in November and December (forenoon and afternoon). CAT results will be published on the CAT website, and candidates can view the results online only.

CAT is conducted primarily by the IIMs to evaluate and shortlist candidates for postgraduate programmes. IIMs provide high-quality research and management education. As a result, the CAT exam has many benefits. A key advantage of taking the CAT exam is the opportunity to study at the best management colleges in India. Candidates who pass the CAT exam will be considered valuable and knowledgeable. Graduating from a tier-1 college entitles one to high salaries and unparalleled respect. Last but not least, CAT assists in developing one'smost valuable asset, time.

CAT is a test of Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability. If you classify as an Elite Student, it can be safely assumed that you would have a good hold on the basics of the above mentioned subjects. The amount of time you would be spending on the application of the concepts, solving past CAT papers and simCATs would have a significant bearing on your eventual CAT score. Considering this, you would need a to-the-point program that would involve interaction with senior mentors who specialise in mentoring these identified students and in handling advanced queries. Parallelly, you will hugely benefit from being surrounded by other aspirants who share the same passion and intellect when it comes to cracking the CAT.

There are broadly 3 categories that classify as an Elite Student for the CATapult Elite Program:

Students from 85 identified colleges:

• All IITs, NITs, and BITS Indian campuses.
• IIIT Allahabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Lucknow.
• IIM Bodhgaya, IIM Indore, IIM Jammu, IIM Ranchi, IIM Rohtak – IPM Programs.
• Others:
  1. Jadavpur University, St. Xaviers College Kolkata, IIEST Shibpur
  2. COEP Pune, ICT Mumbai, VJTI Mumbai, SPIT Mumbai, St. Xavier’s College Mumbai
  3. PEC Chandigarh, DTU, NSUT Delhi, St. Stephen College, Miranda House, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (SSCBS), SRCC Delhi
  4. College of Engineering Guindy, CET Trivandrum

Past CAT 90+ percentilers

Students with Professional Qualification CA's, CFA's & Doctors.

Elite Students have a significant edge when it comes to getting final admits from the IIMs and other top institutes. Batch profile analyses across IIMs Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Kozhikode, and Indore have shown presence of more than 70% students from the identified Elite Institutes. The edge is because of the pedigree that these students possess – they would have appeared and cleared competitive tests, would have a consistent academic record and would have good exposure in terms of communication skills and extra-curriculars.

Having said that, it is best to have a sounding board throughout so that you don’t prepare in isolation and lost marks owing to over-confidence or a lack of knowledge