A day after breaking the news that CAT 2018 will be held on November 25, MBAUniverse.com is ready with another Breaking News. According to our sources, IIM Calcutta will be the CAT 2018 Convener. This will mean that IIM Calcutta will be organizing CAT 2018, which includes setting of CAT 2018 Paper and overall conduct of CAT.. Read More
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta is one of the top three IIMs in India. It is the only management Institute in India to have been accredited by all the 3 reputed International Accreditations of AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS.
One of the key changes that IIM Calcutta has brought about, immediately after taking over the charge of CAT convener from IIM Lucknow who conducted CAT exam last year, is that it took no time to announce the CAT 2018 exam date as Sunday November 25. This is the first time that CAT exam date has been officially announced by CAT convening IIM two and half months before the release of CAT Notification.
MBAUniverse.com had predicted in March 2018 that Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta is the top contender to become the CAT 2018 convening IIM.
During the past six years this is the first time that IIM Calcutta will be conducting Common Admission Test (CAT). Traditionally, one of the top six older IIMs convenes CAT every year. IIM Indore is the only IIM which has conducted CAT exam for consecutive two years during last 6 years.
Role of CAT Convening IIM
- Organizing and setting the CAT Exam Time Lines
- Coordinating with the CAT Committee consisting of all IIMs to decide on the changes in CAT Exam Pattern, Test Sections, Components, Test duration and other changes
- Effectively guide and Review the setting up of CAT Test Paper, pool of questions by experts for different CAT sessions
- Ensuring that the CAT remains a transparent exam promoting academic diversity and the test paper is not skewed towards any particular type of candidates
CAT 2018 Timelines
Key Time Lines for CAT 2018 are:
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CAT 2018 Exam Activity
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Important Dates
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CAT 2018 Notification date
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July 28, 2018
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CAT 2018 Registration start date
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August 4, 2018
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CAT 2018 Exam date
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November 25, 2018
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CAT 2018 Result date
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January 2019 second week
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IIM Calcutta as CAT 2018 convenor has many important implications for CAT 2018 Aspirants. Key implications are:
- Early Announcement of CAT 2018: Immediately after taking over the charge of CAT convener, IIM Calcutta has announced the CAT 2018 Exam date as Sunday November 25. This is the first time that CAT exam date has been officially announced by CAT convening IIM two and half months before the release of CAT Notification.
- Expect More Test Sessions: CAT aspirants have been requesting the CAT convening IIMs during last 2-3 years to conduct CAT in two days – one on Sunday and other on Saturday, so that they could have the alternative testing day in case of any exigency or any other exam clashing with CAT exam. It may be possible that IIM Calcutta might accede to their request.
- Expect Early Mock Test on CAT Website: With the early announcement of the CAT 2018 exam date, IIM Calcutta has sent the message that it is going to make CAT 2018 more aspirant friendly and more transparent. Accordingly, CAT 2018 aspirants can expect to have official CAT Mock available on IIMCAT website much earlier than in last 2-3 years.
- Changes in Non-MCQs: You may also expect changes in number of No Negative Marking Questions in CAT 2018. This number has been in the range of 25 to 28 questions so far.
CAT Convening IIMs with Key Changes in last 6 Years
CAT has seen many changes during last 5-6 years. Not only the CAT Convening IIM is changed every year, the CAT exam pattern, Test Duration, Type of Questions has also changed:
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CAT Exam Year
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CAT convening IIM
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Key changes
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CAT 2018
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IIM Calcutta
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1.Nov 25 Exam Date Announced 2½ months before CAT Notification Date. 2.Expect more changes
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CAT 2017
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IIM Lucknow
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1.More No-Negative Marking questions
2.Answer keys made available for the first time. Each candidate could view his questions and answer keys
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CAT 2016
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IIM Bangalore
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Number of non-MCQs reduced from 28 to 25
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CAT 2015
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IIM Ahmedabad
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Number of sections increased from 2 to 3; Non-MCQs introduced alongwith MCQs; testing window got shortened to 1 day
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CAT 2014
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IIM Indore
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Testing partner changed from Prometric to TCS; Testing window reduced from 20 to 2 days; Number of questions increased from 60 to 100
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CAT 2013
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IIM Indore
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On the same pattern as of 2012
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IIMs-CAT: Largest MBA entrance exam
Common Admission Test (CAT) is the largest MBA entrance exam in India leading to MBA admission in 20 IIMs, FMS Delhi, IITs, SPJIMR, MDI, IMI, IMT, JBIMS, NITIE, XIMB among others who accept CAT scores and offer admission on the basis of CAT percentile.
More than 2 lakh candidates appear in CAT every year. In 2017 around 2.32 lakh candidates had registered for CAT exam, same number of candidates had registered for CAT 2016.
CAT 2018 Exam pattern is expected to remain the same as was last year. IIM Calcutta will conduct CAT 2018 as a Computer Based Test on Sunday November 25, 2018 in two slots - morning and afternoon session.
In 2015, IIM Ahmedabad changed CAT exam pattern by increasing its sections from two to three. It is expected that IIM Calcutta will follow the same exam pattern in CAT 2018 with 100 questions divided in three sections.
IIM Calcutta is expected to release the CAT 2018 Notification on July 28, 2018. IIMCAT website says “CAT 2018 will be held on Sunday, November 25, 2018. Detailed notification for CAT 2018 may be released in July / August 2018.” CAT 2018 exam date and related exam schedule with the MBA programmes offered by IIMs will be available in CAT 2018 Notification.
It is expected that CAT 2018 will be conducted in more than 140 test cities in India. The Test Venues for CAT 2018 are expected to be more than 400 to accommodate more than 2 lakh candidates who would register and apply for CAT 2018.
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2018
