Careers360

All About CAt 2015

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All About CAt 2015

Introduction 3

CAT 2015 Fast Facts 4

CAT 2015 Eligibility Criteria 6

CAT 2015 Application Procedure 7

How to fill CAT 2015 Application Form – Step by Step Guide 9

CAT 2015 Admit Card 22

CAT 2015 Exam Pattern 23

CAT 2015 Syllabus 25

CAT 2015 Important Dates 27

CAT 2015 Participating Institutes 28

CAT 2015 Exam Centers 30

CAT 2015 Scoring and Equating Process 32

CAT 2015 Normalization Process 33

CAT 2015 Result 34

CAT 2015 Cutoff 35

CAT 2015 Selection Procedure 43

Product Recommended Products for CAT 2015 44

CoNTENTS

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All About CAt 2015

CAT or the Common Admission Test is the most competitive MBA entrance exam of India taken by around 2 lakh candidates each year. Conducted by the Indian Institutes of Man-

agement, CAT is the most popular entrance exam for the admission to 19 IIMs and around 100 B-schools across India.

This year CAT will be conducted by IIM Ahmedabad for admissions in the management programmes of IIMs. The admission to 19 IIMs and around 100 B-schools will take place through CAT 2015.

CAT 2015 has undergone massive changes in terms of pattern, schedule and test window. Unlike the

INTRoDuCTIoN

previous multiple day test, CAT 2015 will be held in a single day in 2 sessions. The CAT 2015 application process has started from August 6 and will continue till September 20, 2015. The exam will be conducted in one day two sessions (forenoon and afternoon) on Sunday, November 29. The candidates will be able to download the admit card from October 15, 2015 from 1pm till exam day, and the result will be announced in the second week of January, 2016.

CAT 2015 will have three sections with a total of 100 questions to be answered within 180 minutes. Candi-dates will not be allowed to switch from one section to another and they will be allowed exactly 60 minutes to attempt one section.

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All About CAt 2015

CAT 2015 FAST FACTS

Exam Name: Common Admission TestCommonly known as: CATExam Type: NationalExam Category: PG ExamConducting Institute: IIM AhmedabadCAT 2015 Convenor: Prof. Tathagata Bandyopadhyay

CAT 2015 Eligibility Criteria: The CAT 2015 Eligibil-ity Criteria requires minimum 50% aggregate mark in graduation in any discipline from a recognized institute. The candidates from SC, ST, OBC and DA category need an aggregate of 45% marks. Final year gradua-tion students can also apply provided they can submit the graduation final marks to the institutes within the requisite schedule.

CAT 2015 Application Procedure: Since last year the application process for CAT has become com-pletely online. Candidates have to register at the official CAT 2015 website and login through the given creden-tials. Fill up the application form and pay the application fee through Credit/Debit Card or Net Banking. The application cum registration window has started from August 6, 2015 and will continue till September 20, 2015. The CAT 2015 application fee to be paid is Rs. 1600 (General and NC-OBC candidates) and Rs. 800 (SC/ST/PWD/ DA) candidates.

At the time of registration, the candidates have to select any four Test Cities as per their preference from the drop down menu. Candidates will be allotted one among the 4 preferred Cities in any 1 of the 2 sessions after the last date of registration.

CAT 2015 Admit Card: The Admit Card can be downloaded by the registered candidates from Octo-ber 15, 2015 from 1 pm onwards in the official website of CAT 2015.

CAT 2015 Exam Pattern: CAT is a computer based objective type test with multiple choice questions. The new CAT Exam Pattern is explained below,

The total duration of the exam is 180 minutes with exact 60 minutes to answer each section. The total number of questions is 100, divided into three sec-tions. The three sections will be, Quantitative Aptitude (QA), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VRC). Can-didates will not be allowed to switch from one section to another while answering questions in a section.

QA and VRC will have 34 questions each, and DILR will have 32 questions. Some questions in each

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All About CAt 2015

section may not be of multiple choice type, instead, candidate have to type direct answers on the screen.

One of the major changes, and also first time in the history of CAT, candidates will be allowed to use basic on-screen calculator for calculation. The tutorial, explaining the pattern will be launched on October 15, 2015, for the candidates to have a better understand-ing of the changed pattern, and the procedures to be followed at the time of CAT 2015 exam.

CAT 2015 Selection Process: The candidates are first shortlisted by IIMs and other participating B-schools on the basis of CAT cut off scores, fol-lowed by Personal Interview (PI) and Written Ability Test (WAT)/GD. The B-schools conduct separate selection process, apart from the 6 new IIMs. Since last 3 years, the 6 new IIMs- Kashipur, Raipur, Ranchi, Rohtak, Trichy and Udaipur are conducting Common Admis-sion Process (CAP) for the final admission through WAT and PI. However, the final admission offers are made on the basis of the institute specific admission criteria.

CAT 2015 Important Dates:

The CAT 2015 dates are as followszz zAnnouncement of CAT 2015 by IIM Ahmedabad:

Sunday, July 26, 2015zz CAT 2015 Application Start Date: August 6, 2015zz CAT 2015 Application End Date: September 20,

2015zz CAT 2015 Admit Card Download starts: October

15, 2015zz CAT 2015 Exam Date: November 29, 2015

zz CAT 2015 Result Date: Second week of January, 2016

CAT 2015 Test Centers: CAT 2015 will be con-ducted in 136 Cities comprising of 650 Test Sites.

CAT 2015 Result: The CAT 2015 Result is expected to be declared by the second week of January, 2016

CAT 2015 participating institutes: 19 IIMs of India and around 100 B-schools across the country.

Address: Indian Institute of Management AhmedabadVastrapur, Ahmedabad 380015, Gujarat, IndiaPhone: +91-79-66323456 / 26308357Fax: +91-79-66324631 / 26306896Website: www.iimcat.ac.in

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All About CAt 2015

CAT 2015 ElIGIbIlITy CRITERIA

The official announcement of CAT 2015 exam has been made by IIM Ahmedabad on Sunday, July 26, 2015. Before you decide to take the test or even apply for it, you must be aware

about the CAT 2015 Eligibility Criteria.

For over the years, the eligibility process in CAT has remained the same and it is similar even for CAT 2015. The eligibility criteria are same as per last year, accord-ing to which graduate candidates can register for the exam. Conducted by IIMs, CAT is the most competitive MBA entrance exam in India taken by around 2 lakh MBA aspirants.

In order to be eligible for appearing in CAT 2015, the aspirants should be graduates in any discipline from a recognized university or institute with minimum 50% marks or in aggregate or equivalent CGPA. The final year graduation students are also eligible to apply pro-vided they complete the degree and obtain the cut-off percentage within the stipulated time frame.

There is no age limit for candidates for taking CAT. Although IIMs and other top B-schools prefer students with significant work experience, it is not mandatory as far as eligibility is concerned. However, the B-schools have their separate eligibility criteria for final admission.

Only the eligible candidates will be able to apply for CAT 2015.

List of equivalent qualifications for CAT 2015 are:

1. Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Technology (4 years after 10+2/Post B.Sc./Post Diploma ) or B.E/B. Tech equivalent examinations, of Profes-sional Societies, recognized by MHRD/UPSC/AICTE (e.g. AMIE by Institution of Engineers-India, AMICE by the Institute of Civil Engineers India).

2. Any Qualification recognized by Association of Indian Universities New Delhi which is equivalent to a Bachelor’s Degree awarded by UGC recognized University/Institutions.

3. Cases not covered above equivalency certificate to be produced from Association of Indian Universi-ties New Delhi

CAT 2015 Reservation As per the Government of India requirements, 15% of the seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and 7.5% for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates. 27% of seats are reserved for Other Backward Classes candi-dates belonging to the “non-creamy” layer (NC-OBC).

This year, IIM Ahmedabad will be conducting CAT 2015 with TCS as its online testing partner. Till last year, the total number of seats in IIMs was 3,351.

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All About CAt 2015

CAT 2015 APPlICATIoN PRoCEDuRE

CAT 2015 application procedure has started from Thursday, August 6, 2015 and will con-tinue till Sunday, September 20, 2015. The application fee of CAT 2015 is same as last

year, Rs. 1600 for General and NC-OBC Category candidates and Rs. 800 for the reserved category candidates. As per the official notification released by IIM Ahmedabad, the conducting body, on Sunday, July 26, 2015, the application procedure of CAT 2015 is completely online like last year. The details of the appli-cation process are provided below.

The CAT 2015 Application Form is a 2 step process. The first step is to register yourself followed by creating your profile. Let us start with the details of each step. Before starting the process, ensure that you fulfil the eligibility criteria of the test.

CAT 2015 Registration-The first step is to register before filling up the appli-cation form. Till 2012, the CAT vouchers had to be bought offline from select Axis Bank branches. From the year 2013, there was option of buying the vouch-ers either online or from Axis Bank. In 2014, the process was made completely online. For application form, the process remains same for the candidates.

Ensure that you have a valid email id and mobile number so that you receive all the important commu-nication from IIMs. After registration, you will receive username and password which will act as your login credentials.

For the registration process, you will have to fill up the following information:zz Name of Candidatezz Date of birthzz Email addresszz Countryzz Mobile Number

Enter the captcha in the box provided and click on the ‘I Agree’ check box before clicking on the Submit button.

You will receive email and SMS stating your Registra-tion ID and password. You have to login once again by clicking on the Existing User tab on the home page with these credentials.

CAT 2015 Application ProcedureThe CAT 2015 Application Form is divided into 5 cat-egories as follows:zz Personal Detailszz Academicszz Work Experiencezz Programmeszz Payment

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All About CAt 2015

While filling up the Online Application Form of CAT 2015 you will have to upload your recent passport size photograph and signature in .jpg or .jpeg format, not exceeding 80 KB in the given dimensions, 35mm x 45mm for photograph and 80mm x 35mm for the signature. In case you belong to NC-OBC/SC/ST/PWD-DA categories, you will need to upload the req-uisite certificates with proper attestation.

The candidates have to select the IIMs and pro-grammes for which they wish to apply for. No separate application would be required for IIMs. They will also need to select the interview cities.

At the time of registration, the candidates have to select any four Test Cities as per their preference from the drop down menu. Candidates will be allotted one among the 4 preferred Cities in any 1 of the 2 sessions after the last date of registration. The candidates can download the admit cards from 15th October, 2015 till their exam date.

CAT Application Form Fee 2015The fee is Rs.1600 (General and NC-OBC candidates) and Rs.800 (SC/ST/PWD/ DA) candidates.

Choosing Test Center Cities -Unlike the previous years, the candidates will not be given the choice to select the slot. They can only give the preference of 4 cities order wise where the test will be scheduled. Last year, CAT was conducted in 354 test centers across 99 cities in India. This year the number of test cities has been increased to 136 Cities comprising of 650 Test Sites.

IIM will send you a confirmation email after success-fully completing the CAT 2015 Application Form.

The IIM aspirants need not apply separately for the flagship programmes at the 19 IIMs. However, for the other CAT 2015 participating B-schools, which is around 100, the candidates have to apply separately.

Unlike the previous years, you will not be able to know your test schedule then and there. You will have to wait for the Admit Card to come in order to know the test date, slot and center. The Admit Card will be available from October, 15, 2015. 1 pm onwards.

For CAT 2014, the total number of applicants was 1,96,988 and the actual number of test takers was 1,67,830. Since last year, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was the testing partner for CAT. From 2009 to 2013, Prometric was the test conducting agency for the computer based CAT. After the exhaustion of the 5 year contract, TCS is the new agency.

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All About CAt 2015

How To FIll CAT 2015 APPlICATIoN FoRm – STEP by STEP GuIDE

The CAT 2015 application process has started from Thursday, August 6, 2015. Since last year, the process has become completely online. There has not been any change in the

process as compared to last year. If you are applying for the first time, the step by step guide by Careers360 will ease the process for you.

Although the official CAT 2015 website mentions that the process will take approximately 30 minutes,

it might take more than that owing to the fact that you have to put accurate data of your past academic records, upload photograph, signature and requisite document, selecting the IIM programmes, test and interview cities etc. which will take around an hour.

Before starting the application process, ensure that you have the following information and documents handy.

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CAT 2015 Application Checklist

The entire CAT 2015 application process is divided into 3 parts:zz Registrationzz Filling Application Processzz Payment and Application Receipt

Step 1 - Registration

The registration process includes filling up the form which includes questions on personal and communication details. You have to enter your name, email ID, mobile number and country. Before submitting the form, you will have to add the Captcha and tick on the ‘I Agree’ check box.

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All About CAt 2015

You will receive the password through email and SMS in the email address and mobile number provided by you.

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Step 2 - Fill up Application Form

In order to complete the application form, you will need to logout and login once again. Click on the ‘Go to Application Form’ tab to complete the application procedure. The application form will be divided into 5 categories given as follows:zz Personal Detailszz Academicszz Work Experiencezz Programmeszz Payment

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All About CAt 2015

The application form is divided into 5 sections, namely:Personal DetailsAcademicsWork ExperienceProgrammesPayment

After completing filling a section, click on Save & Continue tab to move further.

Personal DetailsUnder the personal details section you have to fill up the information regarding parents’/guardian’s name, full address, date of birth, gender, category and nationality.

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All About CAt 2015

After filling up the form, you will have to upload the scanned recent passport size photograph and signature. The photograph should be of 35mm x 45 mm. The dimension for the signature is 80 mm x 35 mm. The file size in both cases should not exceed 80 KB. The photograph and signature should be in .jpg or .jpeg format.

Documentszz NC-OBC/SC/ST Certificate: Download the Certificate from the CAT Website, enter the required information

and attest signatures from the appropriate authorities, self-attest, and scan as PDF document to upload here.zz PWD/DA Certificate: Download the Certificate from the CAT Website, enter the required information and attest

signatures from the appropriate authorities, self-attest and scan as PDF document to upload here.

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Academics

In this section, you will have to enter the aggregate percentage, total obtained marks, maximum marks, Board/University name, stream, subject and degree obtained in the following stages of academics.zz SSC/10th Std/Equivalent Detailszz 12th/Equivalent/Diploma Course Detailszz Bachelor Degree Detailszz Other Professional Degree Detailszz Master Degree Details

For computing percentages of marks obtained in SSC or equivalent and HSC or equivalent examination, the aggregate marks of all subjects that appear in the mark sheet/grade sheet would be considered.

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All About CAt 2015

For graduates and postgraduates, the percentage of marks awarded by the Institute/University will be treated as final. If the Institute/University does not award the percentage of marks, it will be calculated on the basis of the marks obtained in all subjects listed in the mark sheet.

If any Board/Institute/University awards only letter grades without providing an equivalent percentage of marks on the grade sheet, the candidate should obtain a certificate from the Board/Institute/University specifying the equivalent marks which should be used for filling the online CAT application form.

If you are in the final year of your Bachelor’s Degree, enter the current year and semester of education. Enter the marks percentage or equivalent CGPA obtained for the years or semesters completed till date.

If you are pursuing an integrated Master’s Degree programme after 10+2, calculate the percentage of marks obtained in the first 3 years as per your University/Institute norms which is considered equivalent to Bachelor’s Degree. Enter the remaining 2 years percentage in the Master’s Degree marks.

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All About CAt 2015

Work Experience

This section is applicable only for candidates with prior full time work experience. You have to select the working area given in the list. In case it does not match your professional experience, select ‘Other’. Mention the work experience in months.

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Selection of IIM Programmes and Interview CitiesYou may select any number of Programme Names in this section. Then, select the Interview City for interview as per the cities in the respective drop down list.

Note: Candidates applying for PGP/PGDM courses at the following IIMs are requested to select the same interview city for all the selections.1. IIM Kashipur2. IIM Raipur3. IIM Ranchi4. IIM Rohtak5. IIM Tiruchirappalli6. IIM Udaipur

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All About CAt 2015

Exam city preferenceYou have to give the choice of 4 cities in order of preference for taking CAT 2015. IIM Ahmedabad will allocate the city and center to you on the basis of center and node availability. You will not be allowed to choose the same city more than once.

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All About CAt 2015

PaymentThe last and final step is that of fee payment. For General and NC/OBC candidates, the application fee will be Rs. 1600 and for the SC/ST/PWD (Differently Abled) candidates, the application fee would be Rs. 800. The final amount will include the additional charges as given in the table below.

It is mandatory to select the I Agree checkbox in the Declaration section before you click the Submit and Pay button and proceed to the payment gateway.

Service Transaction Processing Fee

Net banking Rs. 20 per transaction

Credit Card (Visa/master) 1.20% of the transaction amount, subject to minimum of Rs. 5

Credit Card (American Express) 2.85% of the transaction amount, subject to minimum of Rs. 5

Debit Card (Visa/master) 1. 0.75% of Transaction amount for value upto Rs 2000, subject to minimum of Rs 5

2. 1.00% of Transaction amount for value above Rs 2000, subject to minimum of Rs 5

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After successful transaction of your payment, a Payment Successful message will be displayed on the screen along with the Payment Transaction Number. You will then be redirected to the CAT 2015 website.

Application Confirmation EmailYou will receive a confirmation email from CAT 2015 authorities after your application process is over. The email will also contain communication on additional details such as Admit Card download window.

The last date to apply for CAT 2015 is Sunday, September 20, 2015. The admit card will be available for down-load from Thursday, October 15, 2015.

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CAT 2015 ADmIT CARD

After the completion of the application process of CAT 2015, the candidates will be entitled to receive the CAT 2015 Admit Card. This year, the admit card will be available for download

from Thursday, October 15, 2015. Since last year, when CAT underwent massive changes in multiple aspects, the Admit Card for CAT is not available instantly after the application is over, but has to be downloaded from the website on the scheduled date.

The application process started from Thursday, August 6 and will continue till Sunday, September 20, 2015. It is expected that there will be no changes in the process of obtaining the Admit Card. This article will share the details on how to download the admit card and its contents.

How to download the CAT 2015 Admit CardThe candidates have to follow the given steps to download the admit card.zz Visit the CAT 2015 Official Websitezz Login with your CAT 2015 credentialszz Click on the tab saying CAT 2015 Admit Cardzz Download the Admit Card and take a print out

Now let us come to the contents of the Admit Card. The main and most important information that it will provide you is the test date, slot and center. The other information to include in the admit card are as follows:

zz Candidate namezz Candidate Registration Numberzz Addresszz Test Datezz Test Center Addresszz Important Instructions

The Admit Card is the most important document for appearing in the exam apart from the Photo Identity Card. The hard copy of the admit card will not be sent, hence the candidates must take the print outs and preserve it carefully.

Not only for the exam day, the admit card will con-tinue to be an important document till the entire selec-tion process is over.

This year IIM Ahmedabad is conducting CAT 2015. In the year 2009, when CAT became computer based, IIM Ahmedabad was the conducting body under the convenorship of Dr. Satish Deodhar. This year Prof. Tathagata Bandyopadhyay is the Convenor.

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CAT 2015 ExAm PATTERN

CAT or Common Admission Test 2015 will be conducted in one day in two sessions (fore-noon and afternoon) on Sunday November 29, 2015. The CAT 2015 exam pattern has

been changed entirely. We bring to you the detailed pattern as announced by the officials in the notification on Sunday, July 26, 2015.

As per the new pattern, the total duration of the exam has been increased to 180 minutes or three hours, with total 100 questions to be answered. Below are the changes that have been done in the Exam Pattern of CAT 2015,zz CAT is a computer based objective type test with

multiple choice questions.

zz The total duration of the exam is 180 minutes with exact 60 minutes to answer each section. CAT 2015 will have sectional time limit of 60 minutes, meaning that a candidate have to attempt one section in exact 60 minutes. The total number of questions is 100, divided into three sections. The exam will be divided into three sections namely, Quantitative Aptitude (QA), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VRC). Candidates will not be allowed to switch from one section to another while answering questions in a section.

zz QA and VRC will have 34 questions each, and DILR will have 32 questions. Some questions in

each section may not be of multiple choice type, instead, candidate have to type direct answers on the screen

zz One of the major changes, and also first time in the history of CAT, candidates will be allowed to use basic on-screen calculator for calculation. The tutorial, explaining the CAT 015 Exam Pattern will be launched on October 15, 2015, for the candidates to have a better understanding of the changed pattern, and the procedures to be followed at the time of CAT 2015 exam.

Now we will discuss in detail about the individual aspects of CAT 2015 Exam Pattern.

Duration – 60 minutes for each sectionThe duration of CAT 2015 will be 180 minutes or three hours. Unlike the previous year, the sections were not time bound and the candidates could select any sec-tion to attempt first. The exam was divided into two sections, Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation and

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Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning. This year, there are three sections to attempt. Candidates will not be allowed to switch from one section to another while answering questions in a section. They will be given exact 60 minutes to attempt each section. Unlike previous year, the liberty to attempt any section in any order or switch between the sections has been scrapped.

SectionsOne of the major changes in the CAT 2015 Exam Pat-tern is an addition of one more section. This year the exam will have three sections, namely, Quantitative Aptitude (QA), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VRC). QA and VRC will have 34 questions each, and DILR will have 32 questions. Some questions in each section may not be of multiple choice type, instead, candidate have to type direct answers on the screen.

Last year, the number of sections in the exam was 2, Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation and Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning. As mentioned before, there are no sectional time limits and each section consists of 30 questions.

Scoring ProcessTill last year, each question had 3 marks. For each wrong answer, there was a penalty of 1 mark. No marks were awarded or deducted on unattempted questions. This year the scoring process is the same. However, for non multiple choice questions, there will not be any negative marking.

Additions in the Mode of ExamCAT is a computer based multiple choice objective type exam. This will be the first time in the history of CAT that the candidates will be allowed to use basic on-screen calculator for calculations. Candidates will not be allowed to switch from one section to another while answering questions in a section. Some ques-tions in each section may not be of multiple choice type, instead, candidate have to type direct answers on the screen.

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CAT 2015 SyllAbuS

If you are keen to join the MBA bandwagon, you must be thorough with the CAT 2015 Syllabus. Although there is no official syllabus for CAT 2015, if you introspect on the past years’ analysis of CAT,

you would be able to grasp the areas you need to prepare for the exam. The exam pattern has under-gone major change. There are 3 sections, Quantita-tive Ability, Verbal and Reading Comprehension and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning. Hence, you need to prepare of a total number of 4 areas, namely, Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning. The Quantitative Ability and Verbal & Reading Comprehension will have 34 ques-tions and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning will have 32 questions.

This article will bring to you the topics for each of the above mentioned 4 areas.

Quantitative AbilityThe overall topics are given as follows:zz Arithmeticzz Algebrazz Geometryzz Number Systemzz Modern Mathematicszz Higher Mathszz Mensurationzz Trigonometry

The sub topics from the above mentioned topics are given as below:

zz HCFzz LCMzz Arithmetic progressionzz Arithmetic meanzz Geometric progressionzz Geometric meanzz Harmonic meanzz Medianzz Modezz BODMASzz Ratio and proportionzz Percentagezz Averagezz Partnershipzz Time speed distancezz Work and timezz Profit and losszz Installment and paymentszz Partnershipzz Clockszz Work & timezz Pipe and cisternszz Lineszz Angles, triangles, sphere’s rectangles, cubes, cone

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Out of 50 questions in the section Quantitative Abil-ity & Data Interpretation, there are 30 questions that come from the Quantitative Ability area.

Verbal AbilityThis section basically tests the English language skill of the test takers. The question types are divided in 2 parts, Reading Comprehension and English Usage. The English Usage questions can be further classi-fied into Vocabulary, Grammar and Verbal Reasoning. There are 30 questions in this section. The following topics in this area include the following:zz Sentence Correctionzz Para Jumblezz Para Completionzz Fact Inference Judgmentzz Word Usage (Vocabulary)zz Fill in the blankszz Grammar

Data InterpretationThe questions from this area are mainly in the form of caselets. The test takers have to analyze the data given in various ways and answer the questions. The question types include the following:zz Pie Chartzz Bar Graphzz Line Graphzz Tableszz Combination of Graphszz Caseletzz Data Sufficiency

There will be 20 questions on the Data Interpretation area from this section.

Compared to the 2 sections, this section is consid-ered to be tougher over the years by the test takers.

Logical ReasoningThe Logical Reasoning area will consist of 20 ques-tions. Like Data Interpretation area, this area too con-sists of questions in the form of caselets. The following topics are commonly asked in the Logical Reasoning area:zz Data Arrangementzz Seating Arrangementzz Blood Relationszz Family Treezz Venn Diagramzz Matching Puzzleszz Constraint based puzzleszz Syllogismzz Propositionzz Assumptionszz Statementszz Binary Logiczz Clocks and Calendarszz Sets

Before you start preparing on the basis of the above mentioned sSyllabus, let us clear a caveat. These are not the sole topics and you have to prepare. It is vast enough starting from Class VIII to Graduation level subjects. Moreover, the CAT paper comes up with surprises every year, hence grip yourself with all pos-sible preparation measures in order to secure a high percentile and clear the cutoff.

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CAT 2015 ImPoRTANT DATES

The CAT 2015 Important Dates have been announced along with the notification. How-ever, the exam date was announced earlier, which will be conducted on Sunday, November

29, 2015 and the application procedure has started from August 6, 2015.

This article will share with you the important dates for CAT 2015. The following table brings to you the expected dates for CAT 2015.

CAT 2015 Important Dates

Events Important Dates

CAT 2015 Notification Sunday, July 26, 2015

CAT 2015 Application Start Date

Thursday, August 6, 2015

CAT 2015 Application End Date

Sunday, September 20, 2015

CAT 2015 Admit Card Download starts

Thursday, october 15, 2015

CAT 2015 Exam Date Sunday, November 29, 2015

CAT 2015 Result Date Second week of January, 2016

Unlike last year, CAT 2015 will be conducted on a sin-gle day in two slots. In order to get the students accus-tomed to the changes, the tutorial will be released on October 15, 2015, on the same date when the Admit Card download will start.

In terms of result also, CAT 2015 saw a postpone-ment, which will be declared on second week of January, 2016. Last year, the result was declared on December 27, 2014, i.e. third week of December.

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CAT 2015 PARTICIPATING INSTITuTES

CAT or the Common Admission Test is the big-gest MBA entrance exam which is targeted by around 2 lakh MBA aspirants every year. The total number of CAT 2015 Participating

Institutes will be 19 IIMs and around 100 B-schools. As on August 17, the official website of CAT 2015 has enlisted total of 81 non IIMs B-schools across states. It is likely that the number of non-IIM B-schools will increase.

During application process, candidates have to select the IIMs and programmes as well.

Apart from the IIMs, the participating institutes can be divided into the following categories:zz National Institutes – This category includes the

management faculties or departments of national level institutes such as Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), National Institute of Technology (NIT), FMS Delhi University etc. There are 15 institutes in this category.

zz Private B-schools – This includes around 85 institutes across India. Some of the top names include MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR Mumbai, IMT Ghaziabad etc.

Last year, 118 B-schools across India participated for CAT 2014 apart from the 19 IIMs.

Let us have a look at the top institutes accepting CAT 2015 scores across different parts of the country.

North Zonezz Management Development Institute (MDI)

Gurgaonzz Institute of Management Technology (IMT)

Ghaziabadzz International Management Institute (IMI) New Delhizz FORE School of Management New Delhizz Birla Institute of Management Technology

(BIMTECH) Greater Noida

East Zonezz Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar

(XIMB)zz Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS) Ranchizz Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business

Management (IISWBM) Kolkatazz Department of Business Administration, Tezpur

University

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West Zonezz Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India

Gandhinagarzz Institute of Management, NIRMA University (IMNU)

Ahmedabadzz Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA)zz Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad

(MICA)zz S. P. Jain Institute of Management & Research

(SPJIMR) Mumbaizz K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies &

Research (KJSIMSR) Mumbaizz Welingkar Institute of Management Development

& Research Mumbai

South Zonezz Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE) Hyderabadzz Indian Institute of Plantation Management

Bangalorezz T A Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipalzz Bharathidasan Institute of Management (BIM)

Trichyzz Institute of Financial Management and Research

(IFMR) Chennaizz Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA)

Chennai

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CAT 2015 ExAm CENTERS

This year CAT will be conducted in 136 Cities comprising of 650 Test Sites. The number of CAT 2015 Exam centres this year has been increased by the officials. Candidates who will

be appearing in the test can check the details about the Exam Centres of CAT 2015 here.

Last year CAT was conducted in 99 cities and 307 test centres across India. However, this year the number of exam centres have been increased by the authorities. The list of the Exam States and Cities is provided below.

CAT 2015 Exam Centre

CAT 2015 Exam State CAT 2015 Exam Cities

Andaman & Nicobar Islands Port blair

Andhra Pradesh Chittoor, Kurnool, Nellore, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam

Arunachal Pradesh Itanagar

Assam Dibrugarh, Guwahati

bihar Aurangabad, Gaya, muzaffarpur, Patna, Purnea

Chandigarh Chandigarh

Chattisgarh Raipur, bhillai

Delhi New Delhi

Goa madgaon, Verna

Gujarat Ahmedabad, Anand, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara

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CAT 2015 Exam Centre

CAT 2015 Exam State CAT 2015 Exam Cities

Haryana Ambala, bahadurgarh, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Palwal, Panipath, Rohtak, Sonipath

Himachal Pradesh Simla

Jammu & Kashmir Jammu

Jharkhand Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Ranchi

Karnataka belgaum, bengaluru, bidar, Chikballapur, Davanagere, Hasan, Kolar, mandya, mangalore, mysore, Ramnagara, Shimoga, Tumkur, udupi

Kerala Kasaragod, Kochi, Kollam, Kozhikode, malappuram, Thrissur, Trivandrum

madhya Pradesh bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Sagar

maharashtra Ahmednagar, Amravati, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, mumbai, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Navi mumbai, Pune, Ratnagiri, Satara, Solapur, Thane

meghalaya Shillong

odisha balasore, berhampur, bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Sambalpur

Puducherry Puducherry

Punjab Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar, ludhiana, mohali, Pathankot, Patiala, Ropar, Sangrur

Rajasthan Ajmer, Alwar, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Sikar, udaipur

Tamil Nadu Chennai, Coimbatore, madurai, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelvelli

Telangana Hyderabad, Karim Nagar, Khammam

uttar Pradesh Agra, Allahabad, bareilly, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Greater Noida, Kanpur, lucknow, mathura, meerut, Varanasi

uttarakhand Dehradun, Roorkee

west bengal Asansol, bishnupur, burdwan, Durgapur, Hooghly, Howrah, Kalyani, Kolkata, Siliguri

The details of candidates’ exam centres will be available in the admit card of CAT, which the students have to download from the official website from October 15, 2015.

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CAT 2015 SCoRING AND EquATING PRoCESS

The Scoring and Equating Process of CAT 2015 is announced by the official conducting body Indian Institute of Ahmedabad (IIM-A). This year CAT 2015 exam pattern has been entirely

changed. Candidates will now have 180 minutes to complete 100 questions and a 60 minutes sectional limit to complete one of the three sections.

Candidates who will appear in the test can check the Scoring and Equating Process here, so as to have clarity on how the score will be calculated.

CAT 2015 will be conducted in two sessions- fore-noon and afternoon. Each session will have different question paper for the candidates. In order to ensure fairness in the scoring process for both the sessions a normalization process for CAT 2015 will be followed. The Normalization process to be implemented shall adjust for location and scale differences of score dis-tributions across different forms, as mentioned in the CAT 2015 website.

Each question will carry 3 marks. For the MCQ type questions, there will be negative marking of 1 mark for each wrong answer. For the non-MCQ type questions, there will not be any negative marking scheme. No marks will be allotted or deducted for not attempting any question.

Further, the CAT 2015 official website says that after normalization across different forms the scores shall be further normalized across different sections and the scaled scores obtained by this process shall be converted into percentiles for purposes of shortlisting.

In the results, Scaled Scores for each section (Sec-tion I: Quantitative Aptitude (QA), Section II: Data Inter-pretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Section III: Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VRC) and Total along with the Percentiles shall be published.

CAT 2015 has been using normalization and Scoring and Equating process for calculating the results for the candidates who appeared in the exam.

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CAT 2015 NoRmAlIzATIoN PRoCESS

The Normalization Process of CAT 2015 is announced by the officials, which is IIM Ahmedabad. The CAT 2015 Normalization Process is used in calculating the results, and

to ensure fairness in the scoring process.

After the exam, the CAT 2015 results will declare the sectional scaled scores, overall scaled score and overall percentile. As per the IIM-A officials, the CAT 2015 scores will be subject to normalization, “The Normalization process to be implemented shall adjust for location and scale differences of score distributions across different forms. After normaliza-tion across different forms the scores shall be further normalized across different sections and the scaled scores obtained by this process shall be converted into percentiles for purposes of shortlisting”, says CAT 2015 official website.

What is Normalization Process of CAT 2015?A normalization process is followed to ensure fairness and equity in comparison of performances of the can-didates across different test sessions. The CAT 2015 official website describes the CAT 2015 Normalization as, “The process of Normalization is an established practice for comparing candidate scores across mul-tiple Forms and is similar to those being adopted in other large educational selection tests conducted in

India such as Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE)”.

Method of NormalizationAs per the officials, for normalization across sections a sort of percentile equivalence method will be used.

After normalization across different forms the scores will be further normalized across different sections and the scaled scores obtained by this process will be converted into percentiles for purposes of shortlisting. For purposes of reporting, Scaled Scores for each section (Section I: Quantitative Ability, Section II: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning and Section III: Verbal Ability) and Total along with the Percentiles shall be published.

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CAT 2015 RESulT

The Common Admission Test or CAT 2015 result will be declared by the second week of January 2016. The result will be declared within a couple of months after the exam is held.

The result declares the composite score, sectional and overall percentile. The 3 sections, Quantitative Ability, Verbal and Reading Comprehension and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning will carry equal marks.

Last year, the result schedule was preponed to third week of December. This year, the result will be declared in January 2016.

The process to check the result is given below:zz Login to your account in the CAT 2015 websitezz Click on the CAT 2015 Result tabzz Download the score card and take a print out

Since no hard copy of the score card will be sent, you have to take the print out of your score card and preserve it till your admission process is complete.

On the basis of the sectional and overall percentiles, the participating institutes will announce the shortlist of candidates based on their admission criteria and CAT 2015 cutoff. The shortlisted candidates have to appear for Group Discussion/Written Ability Test and Personal Interview rounds.

The new IIMs conduct a Common Admission Pro-cess consisting of Written Ability Test (WAT) and Per-sonal Interview (PI) rounds.

Last year, 1,67,830 candidates had taken CAT out of 1,96,000 registrations. A total number of 16 can-didates secured 100 percentile. Among the 16 top-pers, 1 was a female candidate, Neha Manglik who happened to be the only girl to secure 100 percentile since 2009.

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CAT 2015 CuToFF

For pursuing management programme from one of the IIMs or a top B-School accepting CAT scores, it is very important to know the CAT 2015 Cutoff. Right after an MBA aspirant

decides to take CAT, the first question that comes to his mind is, “What would be the cutoff for CAT?” Here we will share with you the expected cutoffs for IIMs and other top B-schools.

Cutoff refers to the minimum score or percentile which a candidate must secure to get shortlisted by the participating institutes for the next rounds of the

selection process. While the top B-schools will have higher range of CAT 2015 cutoffs, 90+ percentile, the mid rung B-schools’ cutoffs range from 75 to 80 per-centile and that of the lower rung B-schools is around 50 percentiles.

CAT 2015 cutoff for IIM Ahmedabad

Category PGP

Sec.1 (QA+ DI) (%) Sec2. (VA +LR) (%) Total (%)

General 85 85 90

NC-obC 75 75 80

SC 55 55 75

ST 50 50 70

DA 55 55 75

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CAT 2015 cutoff for IIM Bangalore

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 80 90 90

NC-obC 70 80 80

SC 50 50 70

ST 50 50 70

DA 50 50 60

CAT 2015 cutoff for IIM Calcutta

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General >90 >90 >95

NC-obC >75 >75 >85

SC >65 >65 >75

ST >60 >60 >70

DA >60 >60 >70

CAT 2015 cutoff for IIM Lucknow

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 85 85 90

NC-obC 75 75 80

SC 55 55 75

ST 50 50 70

PwD 55 55 75

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CAT 2015 cutoff for IIM Indore

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 85 85 90

obC 75 75 80

SC 65 65 70

PwD 50 50 55

ST 55 55 60

CAT 2015 cutoff for IIM Kozhikode

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 80 80 90

obC 70 70 80

SC 50 50 65

PwD 40 40 55

ST 40 40 55

CAT 2015 cutoff for IIM Shillong

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR)

General & obC 70 70

SC 60 60

ST 50 50

DA 50 50

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CAT 2015 cutoff for IIM Ranchi

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 70.77 71.09 96.82

SC 50.53 67.53 67.53

ST 41.42 50.71 50.71

NC-obC 63.95 81.35 81.35

PwD 41.72 50.71 50.71

CAT 2015 cutoff for IIM Rohtak

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 80 80 85

obC 70 70 75

SC 45 45 60

ST 40 40 60

PwD 50 50 60

CAT 2015 cutoff for IIM Raipur

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 70.77 71.09 96.82

SC 50.52 67.53 67.53

ST 41.42 50.71 50.71

NC-obC 81.35 63.95 81.35

PwD 41.42 50.71 50.71

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CAT 2015 cutoff for IIM Trichy

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 70.77 71.09 96.82

SC 50.52 67.53 67.53

ST 41.42 50.71 50.71

NC-obC 63.95 81.35 81.35

PwD 41.42 50.71 50.71

CAT 2015 cutoff for IIM Kashipur

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 70.77 71.09 96.82

SC 50.52 67.53 67.53

ST 41.42 50.71 50.71

NC-obC 63.95 81.35 65

PwD 41.42 50.71 50.71

CAT 2015 cutoff for IIM Udaipur

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 70 70 90

SC 60 60 75

ST 50 50 65

NC-obC 63 63 81

PwD 55 55 70

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CAT 2014 cut off for IIM Nagpur

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 80 80 96.3

SC 50.4 50.4 63

ST 41.42 40.80 50.71

NC-obC 61.43 61.43 78.98

DAP 41.42 42.21 50.71

CAT 2014 cut off for IIM Visakhapatnam

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 80 85 90

SC 60 60 75

ST 50 50 65

NC-obC 70 75 80

DA 50 50 65

CAT 2014 cut off for IIM Bodh Gaya

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 80 80 96.3

SC 50.4 50.4 63

ST 41.42 40.80 50.71

NC-obC 61.43 61.43 78.98

DAP 41.42 42.21 50.71

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CAT 2014 cut off for IIM Sirmaur

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 80 80 96.3

SC 50.4 50.4 63

ST 41.42 40.80 50.71

NC-obC 61.43 61.43 78.98

DAP 41.42 42.21 50.71

CAT 2014 cut off for IIM Sambalpur

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 80 80 96.3

SC 50.4 50.4 63

ST 41.42 40.80 50.71

NC-obC 61.43 61.43 78.98

DAP 41.42 42.21 50.71

CAT 2014 cut off for IIM Amritsar

Category Section 1 (QA & DI) Section 2 (VA & LR) Aggregate

General 80 80 96.3

SC 50.4 50.4 63

ST 41.42 40.80 50.71

NC-obC 61.43 61.43 78.98

DA 41.42 42.21 50.71

Source: Respective IIM websites.

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Note: The above mentioned CAT 2015 cutoffs for the 19 IIMs are tentative and based on that of last year. We will update the cutoffs as and when they are declared.

Now let us have a look at the expected cutoffs of the top non-IIM B-schools.

B-School CAT 2015 Cutoff (expected)

Faculty of management Studies, university of Delhi (FmS, Du) 98.20 Percentile

DmS, IIT Delhi 98+ Percentile

SJmSom, IIT bombay 99+ Percentile

Department of management Studies, IIT madras 95+ Percentile

management Development Institute (mDI) Gurgaon 95+ Percentile

S P Jain Institute of management and Research (SPJImR) mumbai 85+ Percentile

xavier Institute of management bhubaneswar (xImb) 90+ Percentile

Institute of management Technology (ImT) Ghaziabad 90+ Percentile

International management Institute (ImI) Delhi 90+ Percentile

Department of management Studies (DmS), IIT Delhi 95+ Percentile

National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) mumbai 95+ Percentile

T A Pai management Institute (TAPmI) manipal 85+ Percentile

loyola Institute of business Administration (lIbA) Chennai 90+ Percentile

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CAT 2015 SElECTIoN PRoCEDuRE

After the declaration of the result of CAT 2015, the final admission process will be conducted by the 19 IIMs and around 100 B-schools across India. It is likely that the result will be

announced by the second week of January 2016, and the selection procedure will start in the month of February 2016.

The selection procedure is basically a two-step pro-cess, which is broadly described in the paragraphs below.

CAT 2015 Selection ProcedureThe first step of the selection or the admission process is to take the CAT 2015. After the announcement of the exam, the IIMs will declare their individual admis-sion criteria. This would include the CAT 2015 cutoff and the other selection criteria such as past academic profile, work experience, diversity factor etc.

Once the CAT 2015 result is declared, the IIMs and other participating institutes declare the shortlist of candidates on the basis of the CAT 2015 Cutoff. After the shortlist, the second step of the selection proce-dure will start.

In the second stage of the process, the candidates will have to appear for the Group Discussion, Written Ability Test and Personal Interview rounds. While Per-sonal Interview round is common in all the B-schools’ admission process, GD and WAT rounds vary from

B-School to B-School.

Over the years, the B-schools have started to prefer WAT rounds more than the GD rounds. The IIMs, apart from IIM Calcutta conduct WAT and PI rounds only.

The other factors which will also be considered for the final selection include past academic records, rel-evant and significant work experience, extracurricular activities and diversity (gender and academic) factors. These factors vary from B-School to B-School.

While the IIMs conduct the admission process indi-vidually, the new IIMs conduct a Common Admission Process which includes WAT and PI rounds. The new IIMs will declare a common shortlist where the candi-dates have to appear for the above mentioned rounds. On the basis of their performance, the individual IIMs will declare the final admission list.

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