CAT 2020

Common Admission Test or CAT 2020 will be held on the last Sunday of November or first week of December by the Indian Institutes of Management. CAT notification 2020 will be released in the last week of July. CAT 2020 dates will be announced with the notification. While the details of the IIM conducting CAT 2020 will be announced in the last week of July, it is highly likely that Indian Institute of Management, Indore may organize it if past trends are considered. Common Admission Test scores will be used for MBA admission 2021 at the IIMs and other top MBA colleges in India. CAT 2020 registration will start by the first week of August. The authorities will activate the CAT mock test in the third week of October, 2020. The admit card of CAT 2020 can be downloaded soon after in the last week of October.

Latest: Know Your Chances, Eligibility & Required Cut-offs for getting Calls from IIMs & other Top MBA Colleges through CAT 2019 - CAT Pathfinder - IIM & Non-IIM MBA Call Predictor

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CAT 2019 saw 2,44,169 candidates registered out of which 2,09, 926 appeared for the exam. CAT 2020 result will be announced in the first week of January 2021 following which candidates must apply for IIM admissions. Read the full article on CAT 2020 to know all the information such as important dates, eligibility criteria, application process, exam pattern, syllabus, mock test, hall ticket, answer key, result, etc.

Common Admission Test is the full form of CAT. It is conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management with one of the six designated IIMs organizing it every year in rotation. CAT is a computer based test to gauge the quantitative ability, verbal ability and reading comprehension, data interpretation and logical reasoning. The scores of CAT are used to screen admissions to post graduate management programmes at the IIMs and leading Bschools in the country.

Which IIM will conduct CAT 2020?

As per past trends, only six IIMs have been designated to conduct CAT. These are IIM Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kolkata, Kozhikode and Indore. Check the trends below

CAT 2020 - Overview

CAT 2020 Notification

Candidates can avail the notification for CAT 2020 tentatively in the last week of July. CAT 2020 notification will include the date for the release of the application form, the last date to register, the admit card release date, answer key and announcement of result. Other details mentioned in the CAT notification will include details of the participating institutes.

CAT Eligibility Criteria 2020

Only students who meet the specified eligibility criteria of CAT 2020 can fill the application form and appear for the exam. The CAT 2020 eligibility criteria specifies the academic qualifications, age and the nationality and other parameters.

• Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree from a recognized institute or university
• Candidates who are in the final year of graduation are eligible to apply for CAT 2020
• General and OBC-NC category applicants must have scored at least 50 per cent marks in aggregate or equivalent in their graduation. Reserved category candidates must have scored 45% in their graduation
• CAT 2020 has no age criteria.

CAT 2020 Important Dates

Management aspirants can check the CAT 2020 exam dates and other dates in the tabel below. Since the CAT 2020 notification will be available in the last week of July, the CAT dates given below are tentative. This would enable them to prepare well not just for the CAT 2020 exam but also other related events of the exam.

CAT 2020 Dates

CAT Application Form 2020

Applicants can register and fill CAT 2020 application form tentatively in the first week of August. The last date of CAT 2020 registration will be third week of September. CAT application form can be filled in 4 easy steps as given

Step 1 - Generate CAT user id and password

Step 2 - Login for CAT 2020 Registration and fil details

Step 3 - Upload required documents and images

Step 4 - Pay the CAT 2020 application fee through debit card or credit card and submit

CAT 2020 Registration Fee

*as per 2019

CAT 2020 Application Form - Important Guidelines

• Keep Personal Details, Academic qualifications and Contact details handy to fill the form easily

• Make a list of the IIMs you wish to apply to. It will be convenient to enter them during CAT 2020 registration.

• Work experience if any must be mentioned in the application form of CAT. Hence its advisable to keep the details handy.

• Choose four cities from the given CAT 2020 test centres and the interview cities. Since these cannot be changed at a later stage, due consideration must be given to this.

• Note that Google Chrome 3.0, Internet Explorer 8 and above and Mozilla 3.0 and above are the browsers allowed. So make sure these are installed and the CAT registrations goes smooth.

• Keep images of the photograph and signature ready beforehand to upload while filling the application form. Photograph - 30 mm (width) x 45 mm (height) and signature - 80 mm (width) x 35 mm (height). These must be in JPEG/JPG and 150 px/inch (min) in a file not more than 80 KB. In addition certificate to be uploaded are PwD / EWS/NC-OBC/SC/ST as applicable.

• after submission of the application form, the authorities will send a confirmation email and SM. In addition, CAT 2020 Application status will show “Successfully Submitted.”

Correction of CAT application form will be allowed for a short period of time. the facility to correct the application form of CAT will be opened in September after the conclusion of the CAT registration process. Candidates can use this facility to edit or correct any mistakes made in the details.

CAT Application Statistics

CAT Exam Centres 2020

The exam will be held in 374 exam centres across 156 cities. At least four test cities must be chosen while filling the CAT 2020 registration form. The CAT 2020 test centre allotted will be mentioned on the admit card/hall ticket with clear address details and the location code. The list of states and the number of CAT 2020 test cities are given below

CAT Exam Centres and States

CAT Exam Pattern 2020

One important factor in CAT 2020 preparation is the knowledge of the exam pattern. Knowing how many sections, subjects types of questions, marking scheme etc will give an upper hand in cracking the exam and this is given in the CAT 2020 exam pattern as detailed in the table below.

CAT Exam Pattern

CAT Syllabus 2020

There is no specific syllabus for the exam. However, preparation cannot be accomplished without know how of what to prepare. CAT 2020 syllabus has been garnered on evaluation of past test papers and expert as well as topper analysis. The syllabus given below is based on the CAT exam analysis of the past years. Candidates can also download the CAT syllabus pdf to keep it handy during preparation.

CAT Syllabus

CAT Previous Year Papers

One way to cement preparation is to put the amount of study done to test. This is where the previous year papers of CAT and sample papers as well as mock test plays a role. CAT previous papers must be used regularly to enable a student to change exam strategy if required and to know the areas to build on.

CAT Question Papers with Answer Key

CAT Toppers - Preparation Tips

All exams have students who excel and top them. The topper preparation strategies are useful to to make a good schedule, know which topics to give weightage to, how to plan the exam and more.

CAT 2019 topper Rahul Gupta put in five to six months of hard work. For English, he made his preparation fun with reading of fiction novels and combined it with a serious reading of newspapers on a daily basis. For quantitative ability, he strengthened his arithmetic concepts and practised mock tests regularly. Data interpretation and logical reasoning preparation was entirely through mock tests.

Rishi Mittal - CAT Topper only used his classroom material for study, practised regularly with mock tests to crack the exam.

CAT Topper Interviews

How To Prepare for CAT 2020

A good and smart strategy combined with hard work can make cracking Common Admission Test 2020 easy. Given below are some pointers in this direction compiled from expert opinions and analysis. A little homework before starting preparation can yield good dividends. Students can know which books to refer to, how to hone each section and best practices to crack CAT 2020.

How to prepare for CAT 2020- Easy Pointers

• Know the CAT exam pattern and the syllabus

• Draw a time table and adhere to it

• Be conceptually strong.

• Solve as many past years question papers as you can

• Take as many mock tests as possible

• Study from the right books for CAT

• Do not overexert yourself

• Take care of your health

Important links:

CAT Mock Test 2020

The official mock test of CAT 2020 will be released tentatively in the third week of October. CAT mock test gives a true picture of the test. While IIMs only give one or two mock tests, candidates can get these on the net from various coaching centres and otherwise too. CAT mock tests should be an integral part of preparation as this allows students to know how exactly to time their answers, navigation between sections and more. The CAT official mock test (2019) can be used in the meantime to understand how the test goes.

IIMs have a separate mock test for PwD candidates. These candidates get twenty minutes extra for each section and need to complete CAT 2020 in four hours or 240 minutes. So the CAT mock test for PwD is released separately along with the regular one. The 2019 official CAT mock test for PwD candidates can be used for practice in the meantime.

CAT Admit Card 2020

To appear for the exam, the admit card of CAT 2020 is a must. This can be availed after IIMs issue the CAT 2020 admit card tentatively in the fourth week of October. The CAT hall ticket can be only downloaded by the registered candidates after entering their login details. The admit card of CAT 2020 will mention exact address of the test centre and exam day instructions to be followed on the day of the test. CAT hall ticket must be printed on A4 size paper. The picture of the candidate and the signature must be clear on the admit card/hall ticket. Candidates are required to affix their photo in the space provided on the admit card in the presence of the invigilator and then hand it over. It is mandatory to carry a valid ID proof along with the CAT admit card 2020.

Discrepancies in CAT 2020 Admit Card?

Any mistakes or discrepancies in the CAT hall ticket must be rectified by writing an email to the authorities at cathelpdesk@iimcat.ac.in or calling them on 1800-266-3549.

CAT 2020 Exam Day Instructions

The day of the exam is crucial for all. It is vital to avoid any kind of mistake on that day. CAT 2020 exam day guidelines specify the do’s and don’ts to be followed in the exam hall. Other exam day guidelines include what to carry, what to avoid and such.

CAT test day - Do's and Don'ts

What to Carry to CAT Exam Centre?

• Candidates must bring with a valid government identity proof along with the hall ticket

• A Medical certificate is mandatory if the candidate requires a scribe

• CAT 2020 dress code specifies that plain pullovers, sweaters, cardigans without pockets are permitted inside the test centre

• Candidates with a metal implant, pacemaker, etc. in their body must bring the medical certificate to the CAT test centre.

CAT 2020 Exam Day Guidelines

CAT Exam Analysis 2020

Post exam, CAT 2020 exam analysis will be provided for the overall and sectional papers. CAT exam analysis from students who have appeared for the exam will be available. In addition, in depth CAT 2020 exam analysis by experts from the coaching institutes will also be available after the exam concludes. The difficulty levels of the exam and expected cutoffs can be gauged from this analysis.

CAT Candidate Response File 2020

All candidates who have appeared for the exam can download their CAT 2020 response file after it is released by IIMs in the first week of December by entering the CAT login id and password. The response file of CAT 2020 will mention the answers which the candidate gave to a particular question. The details of the unanswered questions will also be given.

CAT Answer Key 2020

IIMs will release the final CAT 2020 answer key in online mode within a fortnight of the exam. The final answer key will contain the correct responses to the questions asked in the test. Candidates can challenge it within a stipulated time with proof in support of their claim. They will be required to pay Rs 1200 per question. The authorities will refund the amount only for all challenges found correct. Candidates can gauge their probable CAT 2020 score.

CAT Result 2020

Candidates can know their qualifying status in the first week of January when the authorities release the CAT 2020 result. To download their CAT 2020 scorecard, aspirants must use their registered CAT ID and password. The scorecard of CAT 2020 will contain sectional and overall scaled scores and percentiles. Candidates must take the print out of the CAT result 2020 and keep it safely till the completion of the admission process. CAT scorecard will be valid for a year.

CAT Normalization Process

Since the exam is conducted in two slots, the equivalence of the papers is ensure through the normalization process of CAT adopted by the IIMs. The details of the CAT 2020 normalization process can be availed on the official website. The CAT normalization process takes adjustment for location and scale differences of score distributions across different forms into account before the normalizing the scores. Achieved CAT scaled scores will be converted into percentiles to shortlist candidates for selection. The overall scaled score is computed by adding scaled scores of the three sections.

CAT Percentile Predictor

Once the exam concludes, candidates are curious to know about the likely percentile which they would score. The CAT 2020 percentile predictor is a tool which can be used by the candidates to know their probable percentile. BY using this tool, candidates will be able to know their overall and sectional score even before the announcement of CAT result. By knowing the percentile well in advance, candidates will get an idea as to which IIMs and other B-schools they can apply to. By judiciously using the CAT percentile predictor, candidates will be able to prepare for the next round of selection.

CAT Cutoff 2020

The minimum qualifying marks which are required by the candidates to be eligible for next round of selection are referred to as the CAT 2020 cutoff. The minimum percentile is generally referred to as the CAT cutoff 2020. Some of the important factors which are taken into account while determining the CAT cutoff 2020 are the overall difficulty level of the entrance exam, the total number of candidates who appeared for the entrance test, the seats that are offered in different programmes.

CAT Cutoff for IIM Ahmedabad

Minimum Cut-offs of CAT-2019 Percentile Ranks

Legend: Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Non-creamy Other Backward Castes (NC-OBC), Persons with disabilities (PwD).

CAT 2019 Cutoff for IIM Bangalore

CAT 2019 Cutoff for IIM Calcutta

Table 1: Minimum requirements of CAT percentiles for Stage I

CAT 2019 cutoff for IIM Lucknow

CAT 2019 Cutoff for IIM Indore

CAT 2019 Cutoff for top colleges

CAT Selection Procedure 2020

Candidates who clear the entrance exam will have to participate in the selection procedure of CAT 2020 that include sshortlisting of candidates by the IIMs for the next round of selection. CAT election procedure will comprise Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interviews (PI). Some of the important components of CAT 2020 selection procedure include academic performance of the candidates at the school and college level, gender, requisite work experience etc. The respective IIMs determine their own cutoff on the basis of which they shortlist the candidates and also allocate weightage to different sections.

CAT Reservation Criteria 2020

All the IIMs and the management institutes follow the reservation criteria that has been laid down by the candidates. The category wise reservation percentage is given below in the table:

Category wise seat reservation

CAT Participating Institutes 2020

All colleges which admit candidates on the basis of the score of CAT 2020 are deemed the CAT participating institutes. About 115 CAT 2020 participating institutes allow admission on the basis of the CAT scores. A total of 20 IIMs use CAT scores for admissions. Other public and private CAT participating institutes include at least 6 IITs, NITs, IISc Bangalore, IMT Ghaziabad, MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR Mumbai. Since 2019, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, is also offering admission to the candidates on the basis of CAT score.

Programmes offered at the IIMs