Comprehensive guide for CAT exam for MBA Aspirants 2024

What is CAT?

The Common Admission Test (CAT Exam) is a management entrance exam that is given at the national level and is administered by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) for admission into more than 100 business schools in India. The administration of the test is delegated to one of the more seasoned IIMs on an annual basis. More than two lakh people take the Common Admissions Test each year, but only a few thousand of them get into the top business schools that they want to attend. Other top business schools in India, such as MDI (Gurgaon), IITs, SP Jain (Mumbai), IMT (Ghaziabad), FMS (Delhi), KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies (Mumbai), Great Lakes Institute of Management (Chennai), and Xavier Institute of Management (Bhubaneshwar), also accept CAT scores.

Notification of the CAT Exam 2022  and Registration

The CAT exam is always conducted in November of each year. The in-depth notice is often posted on the official website between July and August, at which point you will need to register online. The notice will tell you the important dates, the cost of applying, the MBA/PGP programs, and other important details.

CAT Exam 2022: Important Information to Remember

• It is required that the CAT application form be submitted online.
• The CAT 2022 test will be administered in over 150 different cities throughout India.
• The registration period for the CAT has been extended to roughly 45 days after it first opened.
• The most crucial thing for CAT candidates to do is to ensure that they have a cell phone number and a legitimate email account. This will ensure that the selection process goes as smoothly as possible.
• After a month has passed since the CAT test, the results are made public.

CAT Exam 2022: Important Dates

Here is an overview of the dates of CAT 2022:

CAT Exam 2022: The Application and Registration Procedure

When applying online for the CAT 2022, be sure to follow the instructions listed below:

• To create your login credentials, go to the official website and click the button that says “Register Now.” Please provide the necessary information (name, date of birth, email address, etc.).
• In addition to that, an email and a text message will be sent to you about your login details.
• The next step requires you to enter your user ID and password to proceed. After that, you will need to finish filling out your CAT application form and upload scanned copies of the required papers.
• Always ensure that you have clicked the “Save & Continue” button before going on to the next stage. The CAT application form may also be completed in several sessions; all that is required is to log in again and do so.
• You need to include data on your employment experience, if appropriate, in addition to the information about your personal life and your academic background. You will also have to choose the interview locations from the options given and say which programs or institutions (IIMs) are the most important to you.
• In the end, you will need to pay the CAT application fee using Net Banking, a credit or debit card, or one of the other available payment methods. After you have submitted the form and paid the fee, you will no longer have the ability to make any changes to it. Therefore, verify the form thoroughly before submitting it and making the payment.

CAT Exam 2022 Admit Card

You will need to visit the official website to get the admit card for the CAT 2022. The CAT admission card includes information such as the location of the test center, the time you should report for the exam, the exam’s start and end times, a link to a Google Map that will help you find the facility, and any other necessary exam day instructions.

You need to provide a hard copy of the admission card that you have printed off to the testing location. Follow these instructions to successfully download your CAT 2022 admission card:

On the official website, enter your CAT user ID together with your password to log in. Simply follow the link that says “Download CAT Admit Card.” Your hall will be shown, and you will have the option to download and print a copy of it. You may also save a copy of it in digital form for future reference.

Do's and Don'ts on the Day of the CAT Exam 2022

You need to have certain documents in your possession before coming to the test. At the testing facility, you are asked to carry the following items with you at all times:

• Admit Card: Ensure that you have two printed copies of your admission cards, each of which should have a picture of you attached to it.
• Identity Documentation: You are expected to carry a picture identification with you (employer ID, PAN card, Aadhaar card, driving license, passport, or voter ID). If you have recently changed your name, you will also be asked to provide a document or certificate proving your new identity.

Things that are strictly prohibited in the CAT center:

• Any electronic device, such as a calculator, watch, phone, or tablet, including:
• Jewelry and other items made of metal.
• Items such as bags, jackets, clothes with pockets, and footwear
• Eatables or drinks
• One notable exception is that anyone who has any kind of metal implant in their body is required to provide a medical certificate attesting to this fact.

CAT Exam 2022 Answer Key

On the official website of the CAT 2022, the answer key and the candidate response sheet will be made available about a week after the conclusion of the test. If you want to get the CAT answer key 2022 from the official website, follow the instructions listed below:

• On the official website, you will need to log in using your CAT user ID and password.
• Simply pick the “download as PDF” option after clicking on the “CAT 2022 answer key.”
• Please take note that the time for submitting objections to the CAT answer key will remain available for four days after its publication. To file a complaint about this kind of mistake or inconsistency, you will need to fill out an online form on the official website, send in the document or documents that support your complaint, and pay the fee that is listed.
• The results of the College Admission Test (CAT) will be released in January 2022. The PDF version of its scorecard is available for download on the site’s official page. The following instructions will walk you through the process of checking and downloading your CAT 2022 result: On the official website, look for a tab labeled “CAT scorecard/result.”
• Please include your CAT application number and password if you have them.
• Find the area labeled “scorecard,” and then download the report containing your CAT score.
• Your scorecard for the CAT 2022 will include your sectional scores, the sectional percentiles for those scores, your total score, and your overall percentile.

Exam Locations for the CAT Exam 2022

The CAT exam is given in a variety of Indian locations. Therefore, the applicants may choose their desired cities from the provided list simply and expediently. Based on data from the previous year, here is a full list of places where you can take the CAT: 

CAT Exam 2022 Result & Scorecard

The scorecard for the CAT Result 2022 will be posted on the official website as soon as it becomes available. According to the timeframe that was used in the past, the CAT 2022 results are not likely to be announced until January 2023. The results of the CAT are sent to applicants in the form of a scorecard, which may be accessed by logging in. On the scorecard for the CAT 2022, each candidate’s results and percentile (both for each section and for the whole test) are listed

Instructions on How to Check Your CAT Exam 2022 Result

Follow the steps below to make sure that your CAT MBA result is correct.

• Simply enter your user ID and password to access the official website.
• You’ll find the scorecard over there.
• According to the schedule, the results will be posted on the same website.
• You can also save a copy of your cumulative scorecard on your computer for use in the future.

CAT Score versus Percentile

Both the CAT score and the percentile are included on the CAT Scorecard and Results. The CAT score you get is valid for one year from the day you get the result. Both concepts should be well understood because of the significance they each bring to the application process for admission to IIMs and other MBA programs. 

Using the normalization procedure that was made available by IIM, raw CAT scores are transformed into CAT percentiles. You should learn how to figure out your CAT percentile so that you can do well on the next test.

One of the most important steps in the process is to figure out a candidate’s overall and sectional CAT percentile scores.

Step 1: The total number of applicants who applied for the CAT 2022 across all three slots.

Step 2: Each applicant who submitted an application and took the CAT will be assigned a rank. The scaled scores that were earned in the QA, DILR, and VARC sections will be used to determine this.

When determining the CAT scaled scores, numerous elements and actions are taken into consideration to normalize the score that is achieved by each CATspirent. In the first step of the normalization process for the CAT, the raw scores of each applicant are determined by tallying the number of correct and erroneous answers they provided. 

After that, the raw ratings for each candidate are normalized by taking into account the following factors:

• The degree of difficulty of the CAT examination slot or shift in which the test was taken by the candidate
• counts as one of the top scorers in that position overall.

This method is used for calculating section-wise scaled scores in addition to overall results.

Eligibility Requirements for the CAT Exam 2022

To be considered eligible for the CAT test, candidates need to satisfy several requirements. Make sure that you have the required level of education, which is as follows:

Candidates need to have a Bachelor’s degree or a degree that is comparable to a Bachelor’s degree from a board or institution that is recognized. Students who are in their last year of undergraduate study are eligible to take the CAT test as well.

Candidates are required to have earned a grade point average of at least 50% in their bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. Please refer to the New Eligibility Criteria for CAT 2022 for more information.

It is important to keep in mind that the precise qualifying requirements for admission to MBA programs vary not just across different business schools but also between different courses offered by the same institutions.

In addition, nearly all business schools set aside spots in their student bodies for underrepresented groups of applicants. Check out the official websites of the universities in question since they will have more information about qualifying requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)