CAT 2018 - IIM Calcutta has released the CAT 2018 application form on August 8. The Common Admission Test (CAT) is the most competitive MBA entrance exam of India taken by around 2 lakh candidates every year. IIMs conduct CAT on a rotational basis every year for admission to 20 IIMs and over 100 B-schools across India. Around 4,000 seats are offered through the 20 IIMs. CAT 2018 will be conducted on November 25 in two sessions. Prof. Sumanta Basu will be the CAT convener for this year.

IIM Calcutta had released the official notification of CAT 2018 on July 29. The exam pattern this year will remain the same as last year. The total duration of the exam is 180 minutes with three timed sections, namely VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension), DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning), and QA (Quantitative Ability). CAT 2018 score card will be valid only for one year until December 31, 2019. This article of Careers360 brings to you the detailed information on CAT 2018 regarding the notification, important dates, eligibility criteria, registration process, application form, exam pattern, result, cutoff, etc.

Latest: CAT 2018 Registration begins

From this year onwards, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, will also accept the CAT score for admission to its MBA programme offered by the School of Management and Entrepreneurship. Singapore Management University, joined the list of CAT participating institute last year to become the first ever international B-school to accept the CAT score.

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Whats New in CAT 2018

• Five new exam cities have been added to the list of 140 cities of last year. CAT 2018 will be conducted in 147 cities this year (2 new states added - Mizoram and Nagaland).

• The application fee has also been increased to Rs. 1900 for General/ NC-OBC candidates and Rs. 950 for SC, ST & PWD candidates. Earlier the CAT registration fee was Rs. 1800 and Rs. 900 respectively.

• Addition in Modes of Payment- The new CAT 2018 payment partners are BillDesk, PayU and Paytm. 

About CAT 2018

CAT 2018 Important Dates

IIM Calcutta has released the important dates of CAT 2018. Take a look at the CAT important dates 2018 in the below table.

CAT 2018 Important Dates

CAT Eligibility Criteria 2018

As per the eligibility criteria of CAT 2018, candidates should fulfil the following parameters:

• Candidates should have a Bachelor’s Degree in any discipline from a recognised University or Institute

• General and OBC-NC category candidates should obtain at least 50 per cent marks in aggregate or equivalent CGPA. For reserved category candidates, the minimum percentage to secure is 45

• The duration of the graduation programme should be minimum 3 years

• Final year graduation students are also eligible to apply for CAT 2018 provided they complete their programme within the stipulated schedule

• Age Limit - There is no age limit for applying or appearing in CAT exam

CAT 2018 Registration

The application form of CAT 2018 has been released on August 8. CAT registration process is completely online wherein the aspirants have to visit the official website and click on the Registration tab. After filling up the registration form with basic details such as name, email address and mobile number, they would receive the CAT 2018 credentials- User ID and password through email and SMS respectively. The last date for CAT application form is September 19, 2018.

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How to fill CAT Application Form 2018

In order to fill up the CAT 2018 application form, applicants have to login through their user ID and password and fill up the application form by entering the correct information. The CAT application form 2018 is divided into following categories or sections:

• Personal Details

• Contact Details

• Academic Details

• Work Experience

• Selecting IIMs to apply for

• Selecting Test Centres and Interview Cities

After filling up information on each page, candidates have to click on Save & Next tab. Applicants have to upload their photograph and signature in the given dimension. The last step is to pay the application fee through Credit/Debit Card or Net Banking.

CAT 2018 Application Fee

• The application fee is Rs. 1900 for General category candidates and Rs. 950 for SC/ST/PWD category candidates.

• The mode of application fee payment is through Credit/Debit Card or Net Banking. The CAT 2018 new payment partners are BillDesk, PayU and Paytm.

CAT Application Trend

How to prepare for CAT 2018

The examination of CAT is one of the toughest entrance tests to crack. So “How should one go about preparing for the exam?” is the most fundamental question CAT aspirants have. What you need is a lot of hard work accompanied by smart planning. In order to ensure a higher rate of success in the test, Careers360 brings you some tips and tricks for CAT 2018 preparation:

• Candidates must carefully go through the syllabus of the respective CAT paper they are appearing in.

• Prepare a day-to-day timetable for yourself.

• Have specific dedicated study hours.

• Practise Previous Years Question Papers and Sample Papers

• The practice of sample papers/model papers help to know your strengths and weakness. After knowing the weak areas, you can plan how to work and improve in those areas.

• Take more and more Mock Tests which will give you the real taste and feel of the actual exam.

• Refer to the important CAT Books that cover the entire syllabus.

• Apart from every strategy and planning, the most important aspect of CAT 2018 preparation includes taking good care of your health. 

Watch Video on When and how to start CAT 2018 preparation

Watch video on How to Prepare for CAT 2018

Important links:

CAT Exam Pattern 2018

According to the exam pattern of CAT 2018, it's a computer-based test of 3 hours duration carrying 100 objective type multiple choice and non-multiple choice type questions. The areas or sections from which the questions are asked include Quantitative Ability (QA), Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DI & LR). The table below brings the CAT exam pattern or structure of the exam.

CAT 2018 Exam Pattern

Marking Scheme – Each question carries 3 marks. For each wrong answer, there is negative marking of one mark. There is no negative marking scheme for non-MCQs or TITA (Type In The Answer) questions.

Marking Scheme

CAT 2018 Syllabus

There is no specific syllabus for CAT 2018. The experts have laid out the CAT syllabus 2018 based on the previous years’ exam analysis and the topics covered. While there might be few topics which will be added to the CAT 2018 syllabus and some topics might get omitted, the overall syllabus is likely to remain the same.

CAT Exam Syllabus

CAT Sample Paper 2018

Aspirants can download the CAT Sample Papers from the Careers360 Sample Paper Store for free. By solving the CAT Sample Papers, test takers will be able to test their preparation status, as well as be familiar with the test-taking process.

To Download CAT Sample Paper – Click here

CAT 2018 Mock Test

IIMs will release the CAT mock test on October 17, 2018, to help the candidates to understand the exam pattern/structure. The mock test will enable the test takers to practice and get familiar with the online test format and navigation process of the test. Candidates can also check the usage of the online calculator and timer. However, aspirants must note that the mock test of CAT 2018 is meant for practice purpose only and the questions should not be treated as sample questions as there is hardly and qualitative similarity in the questions.

CAT Admit Card 2018

The admit card of CAT 2018 will be released on October 24. The procedure to download the admit card of CAT 2018 is completely online. IIMs would not send the CAT 2018 admit card by post, hence candidates must ensure that they download the admit card before the exam date, by logging in with their credentials. CAT admit card 2018 is one of the most important documents which must be carried on the exam date and preserved till the admission process is over.

CAT 2018 Exam Centres

The exam centres of CAT 2018 will be located in around 147 cities and 28 states across India. Two new exam centres have been added to the list this year - Mizoram and Nagaland. While filling the CAT 2018 registration form, candidates have to select four exam centres city in the order of preference. The exam centre will be allotted by IIMs and the final centre can be seen on the CAT admit card.

CAT exam centres

CAT Question Paper 2018

In a first, IIMs had released the official CAT question paper for 2017. It is expected that the question paper for 2018 will also be declared by IIMs in the first week of December. Candidates aspiring to appear for CAT 2018 must download the CAT question paper in order to know the types of questions and topics to expect. To Download CAT 2017 question paper - Click here

CAT Answer Key 2018

Along with the question paper, IIMs also released CAT answer key last year. Hence, following the last year’s trend, it is expected that the CAT 2018 answer key will also be released by the conducting IIM. With the help of the answer key of CAT 2018, candidates can check the correct answer and calculate their estimated scores. Moreover, IIMs also provided the option to challenge answer keys or questions by paying Rs. 1000 per challenge within the stipulated deadline. Based on the validity of the challenge, IIMs would take appropriate action and refund the challenge application fee.

CAT Result 2018

The result of CAT 2018 is expected to be declared in the second week of January 2019. The CAT 2018 result will be declared in the form of scorecard. To download the result of CAT 2018, candidates will have to enter with their user ID and password. The CAT result or scorecard will carry information like sectional and overall scaled scores and percentiles. The CAT 2018 result will be available only in online mode and IIMs won’t send it to the test takers by post. Candidates must take print out of the CAT score card and preserve it till the admission process is over.

CAT 2018 Normalization Procedure

CAT 2018 is conducted in multiple slots across single day window, it is necessary to normalize the scores of test takers from both slots. IIMs normalize the CAT scores using a formula similar to that of GATE. At the time of result, scaled scores for each section along with percentiles will be announced. The practice is followed in order to equate the scores and to ensure that none of the candidates from either slot be in an advantaged or disadvantaged position.

CAT Cutoff 2018

The cutoff of CAT refers to the minimum percentile to secure in order to get shortlisted by the participating institutes. The CAT cutoff varies from institute to institute. While the top running B-schools have the higher range of CAT cutoff and vice versa. The cutoff of CAT 2018 generally depends on the factors like difficulty level of the exam, number of test takers, number of seats among others. The following table brings to you the CAT cutoff of IIMs for the previous year (CAT 2017, the admission year 2018).

CAT Cutoff for IIMs

CAT Selection Procedure 2018

According to the selection procedure of CAT 2018, each participating institute conducts its admission process separately. They shortlist candidates based on CAT cutoff. The shortlisted candidates have to then appear for the selection rounds including Group Discussion (GD) or Writing Ability Test (WAT) or both and Personal Interview (PI) rounds. The new IIMs conduct Common Admission Process (CAP) where the shortlisted candidates from all participating IIMs have to appear for WAT and PI rounds. Followed by the CAT selection procedure, each IIM release their separate merit list. The final selection process of B-schools or the CAT selection procedure of participating B-schools is based on multiple criteria such as performance in CAT, GD/WAT & PI rounds and past academic records and or work experience. The criteria or parameters vary from institute to institute. IIMs release their detailed admission criteria after the CAT notification every year.

CAT 2018 Reservation Criteria

IIMs and other Government institutes follow the reservation criteria of candidates. The following table brings to you the category wise seat reservation percentage.

Category wise seat reservation

CAT 2018 Counselling

CAT authorities do not conduct a common counselling process for the final admission. The participating institutes conduct their selection procedure separately. However, the new IIMs conduct a Common Admission Process (CAP) or a common counselling process for the candidates who have been shortlisted by all the new IIMs. Candidates shortlisted for the CAT 2018 counselling rounds of new IIMs will have to appear for essay writing (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI) rounds. Apart from the new IIMs, other B-schools do not conduct CAT counselling process.

CAT 2018 Participating Institutes

A total of 115 B-schools accepted CAT scores last year out of which 114 are in India and one is in Singapore. In a first, there is an international CAT participating institute. It is expected that more than 100 B-schools in India and abroad will register for being the CAT 2018 participating institutes. Out of the total number of participating institutes, 20 are IIMs. Apart from that, CAT participating institutes include public and private institutes. Among the former, noted ones are IITs, NITs, FMS Delhi, MANAGE Hyderabad, IISc Bangalore to name a few. The top private participating institutes include MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR Mumbai, IMT Ghaziabad to name a few. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has also joined the list of CAT participating institute from this year for admission to its MBA programme. 

Check the fee, number of seats and programmes offered by IIMs in the table given below:

IIMs Seats and Fee