CAT 2017: Exam on November 26; Registration begins Aug 9; key changes you must know

IIM Lucknow has announced that CAT 2017 exam will be held on November 26, 2017 in two sessions on the same day. The CAT 2017 notification is to be released by IIM Lucknow, in the morning of July 30 in leading news papers. However, the press release sent by IIM Lucknow has confirmed that the CAT 2017 exam date is Sunday November 26 and the registration will begin on August 9. MBAUniverse.com was the first to announce that CAT 2017 exam would be conducted on November 26 in a single day two session testing window.

CAT Centre 2017 has also announced the CAT 2017, testing sessions, registration dates, Number of CAT 2017 exam testing centres and CAT admit card download date.
Important links

• CAT 2017 to be a single-day two-session exam; likely Exam Date is November 26: MBAUniverse.com
• CAT 2017 Notification release on July 30 by IIM Lucknow; 5 dos on this Sunday
• CAT 2017: Registration documents you need for CAT; keep ready - process begins August 1st week

5 Key Information in CAT 2017 notification
During the last 3 years CAT exam has gone with perceptible changes and this year again changes are brought in the dates, pattern and process of CAT 2017 exam. The key information in the notification is shared below:
CAT 2017 exam duration: 3 hours
CAT 2017 exam will be held in a single day and two sessions. The exam duration will be of 3 hours.

There is no change in CAT 2017 exam pattern and like the previous year, CAT 2017 will be divided in 3 sections with individual time limit of 1 hour each. IIM Lucknow has also not provided any facility to toggle between the sections.
There is also no change in number of questions. There will be 100 questions in total. The questions will be of MCQ and Non-MCQ type. While MCQs will carry penalty of negative marking, Non-MCQs will not have negative marking.
CAT 2017 Registration opens on August 9
Registration for CAT 2017 will open on August 9, and will close at 5PM on September 20, 2017. The CAT 2017 website iimcat.ac.in will shortly launch a CAT registration guide and CAT registration video to help and guide the CAT 2017 aspirants in finalizing the registration and application for CAT 2017 without difficulty.

Since there is no facility of self selection of exam centre, the registration done on any day will be treated at par. So, even if you register in the first week or last week of registration window, it makes no difference.
CAT 2017 test centres increased to 140
CAT 2017 exam will have more test cities as compared to last year. In 2016 there were 138 test centres for CAT, however, for CAT 2017 test centres will be 140.

Choice of 4 test cities
CAT Centre 2017 will offer a choice of 4 test cities at the time of registration. While filling up the CAT online registration form, you should choose the 4 preferred test cities from the drop down menu in order of preference. CAT Centre 2017 will try to allot you the test centre as per your preference subject to avalibility.

CAT 2017 Admit card download date: October 18, 2017
You will be able to download your CAT 2017 admit card from CAT website iimcat.ac.in from October 18, 2017 onwards till CAT exam day.
IIM Lucknow is conducting CAT 2017 in partnership with testing agency TCS. Prof Neeraj Dwivedi, faculty and admission chair at IIM Lucknow is the CAT 2017 exam convener. Prof Dwivedi had earlier informed MBAUniverse.com that CAT 2017 Notification was proposed to be out on Sunday July 30 and the CAT website would be activated on the same day.

The CAT 2017 notification contains all the important and relevant details regarding the exam. With no change in exam testing window, CAT 2017 will be summed up in a single day on November 26 in 2 sessions.
CAT 2017: Important dates

CAT 2017 exam related activity
Date

CAT 2017 website activation
July 30, 2017

CAT 2017 Online registration begins
August 9, 2017

CAT 2017 online registration ends
September 20, 2017

CAT 2017 Admit card download
October 18 till exam date

CAT 2017 Exam date
November 26, 2017 (Morning and afternoon session)

CAT 2017 Result declaration
Second week of January 2018

IIMs admission process begins
Immediately after CAT 2017 result declaration

CAT 2017 exam date clashes with IIFT entrance exam date
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) will also be conducting its entrance exam for admission to MBA (IB) 2018-20 batch on November 26 from 10AM to 12Noon. Round 60000 candidates apply for IIFT entrance exam every year. Now with the announcement of November 26 as the CAT 2017 exam date by IIM Lucknow, it will be a tough time for the candidates to choose between the two exams as they would not like to forego either of the two.
There are thousands of candidates who apply for both the exams. Accordingly it will be in the fitness of things that either IIFT or IIM-CAT 2017 change their exam date.

CAT 2017 is the mandatory entrance exam for admission to flagship MBA/PGDM 2018-20 and other programmes in 20 IIMs and other top rated B schools like FMS, MDI, IMI, NITIE, SPJIMR, IMT, JBIMS, BIMTECH, TAPMI, XIMB, Great Lakes among others.
Performance in CAT 2017 examination is an important component in the MBA 2018-20 admission process. IIMs will also use previous academic performance of the candidates, relevant work experience and other similar inputs in short listing and ranking of candidates at various stages of the admission process. The processes, academic cut-offs and the weights allocated to the evaluation parameters may vary across IIMs.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2017
Related links:

• CAT 2017: 3 steps preparation plan for IIM A,B,C admission in 2018; know the success strategy
• CAT 2017: IIMs hidden help for aspirants to get high scores; will IIM Lucknow follow the trend?
• CAT 2017: How working executives can prepare without quitting job; time to plan and execute it
• CAT 2017 in changed pattern:Know all about CAT 2017 exam notification date, registration, pattern, IIM cutoffs
• MBA Ranking 2017:Check MBA Ranking 2017 for top 100 B-schools in India to guide you in MBA admission decision