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Common Admission Test (CAT-2018) Schedule was announced. This year, CAT 2018 will be conducted by Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta IIM-C and will be conducted on 25th November 2018. The exam will be conducted on computer-based mode only across various centres in India. CAT is the most competitive MBA entrance exam in India which will be attended by over 2 lakh candidates every year for approximately 5000 seats. IIMs conduct CAT on a rotational basis every year for admission to 20 IIMs and more than 100 other top Business schools for MBA aspirants.
CAT-2018 Important Dates
| Event | Tentative Date |
| CAT 2018 Notification date | 28th July 2018 |
| CAT 2018 Registration start date | 4th August 2018 |
| CAT 2018 Registration ends | 20th September 2018 |
| CAT 2018 Admit card release date | 25th October 2018 |
| CAT 2018 Exam date | 25th November 2018 |
| CAT 2018 Result date | Second week of January 2019 |
CAT 2018 Exam Details
Registrations for CAT 2018 will be opened in the first week of August 2018. Advertisement for CAT 2018 Notification will come in Newspapers during July 2018.
| Event | Overview |
| Name of Exam | Common Admission Test (CAT) |
| Purpose of test | Qualifying test for admission to post-graduate management programs(MBA) across the country |
| Conducting Organization | IIM Calcutta |
| Periodicity | Once in a year |
| Score or Grade Validity | One Year |
| Approximate Aplicants | 1,99,632 in 2017 |
| Exam Pattern of CAT | MCQs and Non-MCQs |
| Number of Questions | 100 |
| Test Duration | 3 hours |
| Negative Marking | -1 for each wrong answer in MCQs No negative marking for Non-MCQs or TITA |
| Syllabus | Questions from VARC, QA and DI & LR |
| Mode of Conduct | Computer-based (Online test) |
| CAT 2018 Official Website | iimcat.ac.in |
CAT 2018 Eligibility Criteria
- CAT 2018 is being conducted every year for the Admission into MBA courses across India. The Eligibility to attend for CAT Exam is given below:
- Candidates should have at least minimum 3-year Bachelor’s Degree in any discipline from a recognized University or Institute in India.
- Candidates who passed CA/CS/ICWA degree (Gen: 50% & SC/ST/ PWD: 45%) are also eligible.
- General and OBC-NC category candidates should obtain at least 50% marks in aggregate or equivalent CGPA. Reserved category candidates should get the minimum percentage of 45%.
- Candidates appearing for the final year of Bachelor‟s degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply. However, it may be noted that such candidates, if selected, will be allowed to join the programme provisionally, only if they submit a certificate from the Principal / Registrar of their University/institution (issued on or before the date as stipulated by the respective IIM) stating that they have completed all the requirements for obtaining the Bachelor‟s degree/equivalent qualification on the date of the issue of the certificate. IIMs may verify eligibility at various stages of the selection process.
Post Graduate Programmes in Management offered by Various IIMs
Institutes: Programmes: Website Addresses:
IIM Ahmedabad PGP, PGP-FABM, ePGP www.iima.ac.in
IIM Amritsar PGP www.iimamritsar.ac.in
IIM Bangalore PGP, PGPEM, PGPPM www.iimb.ac.in
IIM Bodh Gaya PGP www.iimbg.ac.in
IIM Calcutta PGP-PGDM www.iimcal.ac.in
IIM Indore PGP (Indore, Mumbai), EPGP, PGP-HRM www.iimidr.ac.in
IIM Jammu PGP www.iiml.ac.in/jammu
IIM Kashipur PGP, EPGP www.iimkashipur.ac.in
IIM Kozhikode PGP www.iimk.ac.in
IIM Lucknow PGP, PGP-ABM, PGP-SM www.iiml.ac.in
IIM Nagpur PGP www.iimnagpur.ac.in
IIM Raipur PGP, PGPWE www.iimraipur.ac.in
IIM Ranchi PGDM, PGDHRM www.iimranchi.ac.in
IIM Rohtak PGP, EPGP, EPGPX www.iimrohtak.ac.in
IIM Sambalpur PGP www.iimsambalpur.ac.in
RGIIM Shillong PGP, PGPEX www.iimshillong.in
IIM Sirmaur PGP www.iimsirmaur.ac.in
IIM Tiruchirappalli PGP, PGPBM www.iimtrichy.ac.in
IIM Udaipur PGP www.iimu.ac.in
IIM Visakhapatnam PGP www.iimv.ac.in
Age Limit
There is no minimum/ maximum limit defined. There is also no restriction on the number of attempts also.
Application Fee for CAT-2018
- The application fee for General Candidates is Rs. 1800 and Rs. 900 for SC/ST/PWD category candidates.
- The Application fee must be paid through Online i.e., Credit/Debit Card or Net Banking.
CAT 2018 Registration Process
CAT 2018 Application Form: CAT 2018 Registration process starts on the second week of August 2018 and lasts till the third week of September 2018. To Register for CAT 2018, candidates first need to Register their Details Online through CAT 2018 Official Website i.e., iimcat.ac.in. To register online the aspirants need to enter details such as your name, Date of birth, Email ID, Country, Mobile Number. The registration details once submitted cannot be changed. They can complete the Registration process with a Login User ID and password which is generated during First Step. They can Submit the application after entering details like Personal Information, Educational Qualification Details, Communication Details, etc. and making online payment through Net banking/Credit card/Debit card. They also need to upload a scanned image of your Photograph and Signature as per the specification and format.
Documents Required to complete CAT Registration
- Educational history
- Mark sheets (10th /12th/ Degree/Diploma)
- Work experience (if any)
- Applicable Certificates to upload (if any)
- Scanned images of your passport size photo and signature. (The photo should not be more than six months old and should have a white background)
- Scanned image of Passport size photo with the dimensions 35mm X 45mm along with the scanned image of your signature with the dimensions 1000mm X 35 mm. is required to be uploaded at the time of registration for CAT 2018. Please note that the documents file format should be .jpg or .jpeg and the file size should not be more than 80KB each. The image should be clear with a minimum resolution of 150px.
- Debit/Credit cards, Net banking
CAT 2018 Exam Pattern
CAT Exam will be conducted only through Online mode. The Exam consists of MCQ and Non-MCQ Questions. There will be negative marking for MCQs. There will not be any negative marking for Non MCQs.
| Section Name | Total Questions | Total Marks | Duration |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 34 | 102 | 60 Minutes |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | 32 | 96 | 60 Minutes |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension | 34 | 102 | 60 Minutes |
| Total | 100 | 300 | 3 Hours |
CAT 2018 Syllabus
There is no official Syllabus is prescribed for CAT 2018 preparation. However, observing the past year question paper and analysis, Following syllabus can be considered for preparation.
SECTION I – VERBAL ABILITY AND READING COMPREHENSION
- Reading Comprehension
- Antonyms
- Synonyms
- Fill in the Blanks
- Para jumbles
- Analogies
- Idioms
- One-word Substitutions
- Error-Spotting
SECTION II – DATA INTERPRETATION AND Logical REASONING
- Data Analysis.
- Data Tables
- Pie Charts
- Bar Charts
- Venn Diagram
- Graphs (Line, Area)
- Assertion and Reason
- Arrangements-based questions
- Set Theory
- Puzzles
- Venn Diagrams
- Sequences and Series
- Syllogisms
- Blood Relations
- Binary Logic
- Direction Test
- Clocks and Calendars
- Data Structures
- Coding – Decoding
SECTION III – QUANTITATIVE ABILITY
- Number systems
- Geometry
- Trigonometry
- Probability
- Permutation combination
- Algebra
- Mensuration
- Time and work
- LCM & HCF
- Averages
- Percentages
- Profit and Loss
- Quadratic and linear equations
CAT 2018 RESULTS AND SHORTLISTING
Information related to CAT 2018 results will be tentatively available starting the second week of January 2019 on the official website. The list of candidates shortlisted for the next level of selection will be made available on the website of the respective IIMs. Each IIM will send interview letters to the shortlisted candidates directly. The criteria for short-listing vary from IIM to IIM. Please visit the admission hotlinks of the respective websites of IIMs for further information.
CAT 2018 ADMISSION PROCESS
Each IIM shortlists candidates for 2nd stage of selection which may be independent of each other. The process may include Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interviews (PI). Performance in CAT 2018 exam is an important component in the admission process. IIMs may additionally use other factors like the previous academic performance of the candidates, relevant work experience and other similar inputs in short listing and ranking of candidates at various stages of the admission process. The processes, academic cut-offs and the weights allocated to the evaluation parameters may vary across IIMs. For more information, refer the admissions policies of IIMs from their respective websites.
Important Links for CAT 2018 Registration
Click Here for Official Website of CAT 2018: https://www.iimcal.ac.in/
About CAT 2018
CAT 2018 is being conducted by IIM Calcutta. Professor Sumanta Basu is the CAT 2018 convener this year. The exam will be conducted on 25 November 2018, Sunday in online mode at more than 140 test centres across India. The registration for CAT is expected to start in August 2018. In 2017, over 2.31 lakh candidates registered for the test and around 2 lakh appeared for it. Apart from IIMs, country’s many top B-schools accept CAT scores for their admission process. The list includes institutes such as FMS, MDI, JBIMS, DMS IIT Delhi, SPJIMR etc.