CAT Full Form Name: CAT Meaning
Full Form of CAT:
Common Admission Test
CAT Full Form
is Common Admission
Test. CAT is a computer-based examination for admitting students to
various post-graduate programs and fellow programs in business administration
and management. This exam is organized by the Indian Institutes of Management.
CAT basically tests the reading comprehension, verbal ability, data
interpretation, quantitative skills and logical reasoning of a student. This
exam helps students to seek admission in various management institutes
throughout India including IIMs and Non-IIMs.
Till 2009, CAT exam was
a paper-based exam. The duration of the test, the pattern of questions, and the
length of the test had been changing over the past years. It was in 2009 CAT was
announced to be a computer based exam. Some of the parameters for candidates to
seek admission in institutions include CAT score, group discussion, work
experience, interview and written assessments. A good CGPA score is also
required for admission.
CAT Full Form – Additional Information
A computer-based test
is conducted in India once every year in order to sort eligible candidates for
the management programs like MBA in numerous prestigious management colleges and
universities, including the IIMs. This test is known as the CAT or Common
Admission Test. This exam is conducted jointly by all IIMs. The skills of the
candidates tested in the exam include logical reasoning, verbal ability, data
interpretation, analytical reasoning, reading comprehension, data sufficiency,
and quantitative aptitude.
The score obtained in
it is valid for one year only. It is usually held in the month of November. The
exam is held over three hundred centres in more than ninety towns and cities
throughout India. This is among the most popular entrance exams in this country.
The exam fee for the candidates of general category is twenty-four dollars or
rupees sixteen hundred. The same for ST and SC categories is twelve dollars or
eight hundred rupees.
Eligibility criteria for CAT Exam
For a candidate to be
eligible for appearing in the prestigious CAT exam, he or she must fulfil
certain criteria. The candidate must be graduated from a college or university
which is recognized and authentic. He or she must have a minimum of fifty
percent marks as the aggregate percentage.
The students who are
still in their final year of graduation can also apply. This comes with the
condition that the student must complete his or her graduation within the
applicable time period and obtain the graduation percentage. The age limit for
this exam is nil. There are certain prestigious B-schools that give preference
to candidates that have prior experience of working. But this does not come
under the candidate’s eligibility criteria.
CAT Exam Registration Process
The CAT’s official
website provides the facility of registering to the aspirants of the CAT exam
before starting the process of application. This process helps in the generation
of a login id as well as a password, which is unique for every candidate. These
login details are essential for the CAT’s application process. The eligibility
criteria must be checked by the aspirant before doing the registration. Absence
to do so may result in the rejection of the application.
In the registration
process, the aspirant needs to visit the CAT’s official website. The details
like name, email address, date of birth and mobile number must be entered
correctly. The aspirant will not be able to change the information once entered.
After the registration process gets completed, the candidate will then receive
their login details on their mail addresses. Additionally, the password will be
sent to them as an SMS.
CAT Exam Pattern and Duration
There are 3 sections
into which the CAT exam is divided. The first section is dedicated to QA or
Quantitative Aptitude, which consists of thirty-four questions. The second
section deals with the logical reasoning and data interpretation and consists of
thirty-two questions. The final section is dedicated to VRC or verbal and
reading comprehension. It has thirty-four questions.
The time allotted to
the candidates for finishing the exam is one hundred and eighty minutes. The
total number of questions they need to attempt is one hundred. In the recent
years, the facility of switching between different sections is discontinued. The
online calculator was allowed for the candidates to use for the 1st time last
year, that is, 2015. The questions of the TITA or type in the answer type
questions were asked last year. In this, the answers needed to be typed by the
candidate in the boxes provided on the screen.
Raw Score
One of the scores used
in this popular management exam is referred to as the raw score. The calculation
of the raw score is done for every section. The basis of this score lies on the
number of questions that were not attempted, and the questions answered
incorrectly and correctly. The candidate gets three points for every correct
answer. One mark is deducted for every incorrect solution. For the unanswered
questions, no points are taken. A process referred to as equating is used for
adjusting the raw scores. The placement of these scores is then done on a metric
scale for ensuring that the scores are interpreted appropriately. This procedure
is usually referred to as scaling.
Scaled Score
Another important type
of score involved in the CAT exam is the Scaled Score. For every candidate, four
scores of this type are presented. Out of these four, one is an overall score of
this type, and the left over three are for every section of the exam. Now, it is
well known that every section helps in evaluating different skills as well as
knowledge sets. The scores obtained across different sections do not correlate
with each other. One thing that must be clearly understood by all aspirants of
the CAT exam is that if one section has a high score, it is not a guarantee of
obtaining a high score in other sections as well.