Dear Jyoti, CAT is the entrance exam for admission to IIMs. And there are 20 IIMs in India.The admission criteria of each IIM is independant to mandate their own eligibility criteria including CAT score, accademic cut offs, past academic performance, relevant work experience, etc. Selection of Candidates for Institutions accepting CAT scores depends upon the Institution you are interested in. The basic step is to check your CAT score and few Institutions conduct further rounds like Written Ability Test, Group Discussion and Personal Interview. The weightage will be given to both the procedures while selecting a Candidate. Candidates will mostly be shortlisted based on their CAT scores. The 20 IIMS and all the Participating Institutions will announce their Cut offs. The cut off is prepared after checking various factors. MBA aspirants will have to apply separately to all the Colleges that accept CAT scores. While CAT score remains the main criteria for selection, IIMs also consider other factors like previous academic performance, work experience, gender and Academic diversity.



CAT is an online examination of 3 hours duration.The questions in the exam will be of MCQ and TITA type totaling 100 questions. MCQ are multiple choice questions, for which candidates get multiple answer choices. Each Question has 3 marks and a wrong answer takes away 1 mark. However Type in the Answer questions are exempted from Negative Marking.



CAT exam paper can be Categorised into 3 parts:



Quantitative Ability

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning



The Verbal Ability section and Reading Comprehension has 34 Questions, Data interpretation-Logical Reasoning section has 32 MCQ questions and Quantitative Ability has 34 MCQ questions totalling up to 100 questions. Each Question has 3 marks and a wrong answer takes away 1 mark.



First things first, know the syllabus. And go through the previous papers to analyse and prepare a comprehensive plan and set priorities according to the importance of different topics across sections.Customise your own study plan based on your strengths and weaknesses. Gauge your preparation from time to time by taking mock tests. Solve questions to check your levels of preparation but not to set any targets. Remember, its ok to have cheat days and relax. But make sure you have a plan and stick to it for the next few months because even Rome wasnt built in a day.





NCERT books will sharpen your basics and you need strong basics for preparing for any entrance examination. Once your basics are in place, because the time period for preparation is quite less, your preparation should be extensive and thorough.



Quantitative Aptitude covers almost 30% of the CAT question paper. QA can be categorised into Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Advanced Mathematics. Practise chapter by chapter and develop mental calculations. Like practise more of basic summation, subtraction, fractions and tables. Numbers, Percentage, Profit and Loss, Simple and Compound Interest, Ratio, Proportionality, Time-Distance, Time-Work, Mixtures, Averages, Partnership, Permutation and Combinations, Probability, Set Theory, Progression and Series, Line, Angles, Triangles, Quadrilaterals, Polygon, Circles, Ares, Volume, Height and Distance, Coordinate Geometry, Basic Trigonometry are few important topics.



Preparation tips:



Because this section involves mathematics and takes most of your time, your focus should be on solving the problems efficiently in the beginning. Even if it takes time, practise upto perfection. Practise as many questions as you can in the conventional way. As and when you get a grip on the subject, you can go for short cuts. Memorise tables, square roots, cube roots, conversion from percent to fraction, etc. Solve sample papers on Mathematics. In the beginning, do not worry about the time it takes. As you practise, you will get the hang of the subject and it will be easier for you.





In Verbal Ability session, command on your English, Grammar, Vocabulary, Understanding of the given paragraph are of more importance. Reading English NewsPaper will also help you in your preparation.



Preparation tips:



Read articles from time to time. Follow newspapers, magazines, and watch the news channels and browse the internet to keep yourself updated. You will need a lot of reading to help you in the comprehension section. You will need speed to help you in this section and you can achieve that only by thorough practise and reading. Take time to understand the question because most answers are interlinked.





Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning needs to be practised as much as possible. Comparison of data, Data Analysis, taking clues, interpreting missing data, coming to conclusions and making future projections will be covered under this Category. The questions here are interlinked and so if you get one formula correct, cracking the next few questions will be easy. So it's important to memorise and practise formulae. You should cover topics like Data tables, Data Charts, Bar Diagrams, Pie Charts, Graphs, Data Comparison and Analysis.



Preparation tips:



As this is the most tricky section, this needs a lot of practise. Solve as many sample papers as possible to get the hang of the section. Make notes when required. Regular practise can help you understand and solve the questions easily as time goes on.



Overall,once you know the syllabus, it's easier from there on.Go through the previous papers to analyse and prepare a comprehensive plan and set priorities according to the importance of different topics across sections. Customise your own study plan based on your strengths and weaknesses. Gauge your preparation from time to time by taking mock tests. Solve questions to check your levels of preparation but not to set any targets. Remember, its ok to have cheat days and relax. But make sure you have a plan and stick to it for the next few months.

Hello,

There are 2 stages that a candidate goes through before getting selected for IIM-Bangalore PGP Programme

1. The first stage is appearing for the CAT Exam conducted by the IIMs (GMAT for international candidates).
2. On clearing the required cut-offs and the composite score, a candidate is called for Written Test and Personal Interview (PI). \The candidate must provide 2 letters of recommendation from people who know them closely for academic and professional validation.
3. The final offers of admission to candidates in each category will be made strictly on the basis of the final aggregate score, taking into account various weights.