CAT Exam Pattern: The Common Admission Test will be conducted in the coming November hence, the students should assess the CAT Exam Pattern. The students should go through the CAT Syllabus and the previous year’s papers of the CAT exam. In this article, we will discuss the CAT Exam Pattern and its syllabus in depth. The post also covers the CAT Counselling process in depth.
CAT Exam Pattern
Table of Contents
The CAT Exam Pattern consists of three subjects viz Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Ability. The questions asked in the examination are based on these subjects. The questions asked are divided into two parts viz the MCQ and the descriptive type. In the MCQ question, the students have to mark the correct answer out of the different options provided. While in the descriptive answer the students have to type in the answers on the computer. The students must go through the syllabus and the weightage mentioned in the post along with the CAT Exam Pattern.
Once, the students are done with the examination the authority releases the final score obtained by the students. The students can then approach and apply for the different colleges based on the scores obtained in the CAT exam. The counselling process is also a tiring process which is mentioned at the post below.
Summary of CAT Exam Pattern
| Summary | Details |
| Recruiting Organisation | IIM Indore for the year 2020. |
| Notified Exam | CAT/ Common Admission Test |
| Notification Date | 27 July-28 July 2020 |
| Online Registration | August 2020 |
| Application Process | Online |
| Latest Exam Dates | Computer Based Test- 29 November 2020 Personal Interview- To be notified later |
| Total IIMs participating | 20 IIMs, and top B-schools in India |
| Qualification | The candidate needs to have completed his graduation in any of the disciplines as notified in the notification. The candidate needs to possess work experience. |
| Selection process | Computer Based Test Group Discussion and Personal Interview |
| Official notification | To be released in the last week of July 2020 |
| Official Website | Click Here |
CAT Exam Pattern
The CAT Exam Pattern is based on a written examination and a Personal Interview, the written exam will be a computer-based test. The students will be given 3 marks for each correct answer while 1 marks will be deducted for each wrong objective type questions. There will be no negative marking for Type In The Answer (non-MCQ) type questions. The CAT Exam Pattern and the written examination of the Common Admission Test will have the following CAT Exam Pattern:
| Subject | No of Question | Total Marks | Duration |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 34 | 102 | 60 minutes |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 32 | 96 | 60 minutes |
| Quantitative Ability (QA) | 34 | 102 | 60 minutes |
| Total | 100 | 300 | 180 minutes |
CAT Syllabus
| Subject | Syllabus |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension | Algebra, Geometry, Number System, Probability & Statistics, Sequence & Series, Mensuration, Profit & Loss, Simple & Compound Interest, Permutation & Combination, etc |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning | Venn Diagram, Data Sufficiency, Coding & Decoding, Seating Arrangement, Syllogism, Puzzles, Blood Relations, Logical Sequence, Binary Logic, Graphs, Charts, Tables, etc |
| Quantitative Ability | Algebra, Geometry, Number System, Probability & Statistics, Sequence & Series, Mensuration, Profit & Loss, Simple & Compound Interest, Permutation & Combination, etc |
Section-wise weightage of topics
The CAT exam is divided into three sections namely Quantitative ability, DI and LR and Verbal Ability. Although, there is a fixed number of questions that are asked from the sections. However, there are some sections which are given more weightage in the past years. This important topics always carry a good number of questions.
Quantitative Ability
| Topic | Total weightage | Objective Question asked | Non-objective question asked |
| Number System | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Modern Maths | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Arithmetic | 14 | 9 | 5 |
| Geometry | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Algebra | 9 | 6 | 3 |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
| Topic | Total weightage | Objective Question asked | Non-objective question asked |
| Odd Sentence | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Paragraph Summary | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Reading Comprehension | 24 | 24 | 0 |
| Para jumbles | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
| Topic | Total weightage | Objective Question asked | Non-objective question asked |
| Pie chart | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Bar diagram & Charts | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| Tables & Charts | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| Statement based Reasoning | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Seating arrangement and reasoning | 5 | 2 | 3 |
CAT Counselling
Counselling process
The students who score good marks in the CAT exam can approach different colleges based on their overall score. For securing admission in any college the students have to go through the CAT Counselling process which is based on some factors. Let’s now check the counselling process step by step:
| Criteria | Weightage |
| Common Admission Test 2020 score | 25 |
| Written Ability Test (WAT) | 10 |
| Personal Interview | 30 |
| Class 10 Board Results | 10 |
| Class 12 Board Results | 5 |
| Undergraduate Programme Final Score | 10 |
| Weighted Work Experience | 10 |
| Total | 100 |
Common Admission Test 2020 score: As given on the above table, the first step is to appear for the CAT exam, the total score the students acquire get 25% weightage in the whole counselling process. So, if you have scored 240 marks then from that only 60 marks will be counted for the final selection.
Written Ability Test (WAT): The next is the WAT which means that whichever the college the students is applying he will have to appear for the WAT. The Written Ability Test mostly comprises of an essay test in which a burning and trending topic is given and students have to share their opinion on the given topics. The candidates are given around 30 minutes to complete the test. Its score accounts for 10% of the total weightage in the counselling process.
Personal Interview: This is the most crucial stage and it accounts for a whopping 30% of the total weightage which is more than all of the stages. Here, the personality of the student is assessed and his oratory skills are checked. The students have to perform exceptionally well in this stage.
The other stages accounts for 35% of the weighatge hence, they cannot be overlooked but it is totally based on past results.
Documents required for CAT
There is a prescribed list of documents that the students have to carry in the CAT Counselling process. The students who fail to carry any of these documents can lose their seats.
- Class X mark sheet and Passing certificate
- Class XII mark sheet and Passing certificate
- ID proof such as Adhaar card or pan card
- Graduation degree certificates
- Work experience or internship certificate attended previously
- Reservation category certificates (if applicable)
- CAT Application form
- Interview Letter
- CAT Score Card
Previous year Cut-off of CAT
| Top IIM College | CAT Cut-off |
| IIM Ahmedabad | 99 |
| IIM Bengaluru | 99 |
| IIM Delhi | 99 |
| IIM Kolkata | 99 |
| IIM Khojikode | 99 |
| IIM, Bangalore | 90 |
| IIM, Calcutta | 90 |
| IIT, Roorkee | 90 |
| IIM, Lucknow | 90 |
| IIM, Kozhikode | 90 |
| IIM, Indore | 90 |
| IIM, Rohtak | 90 |
| IIM, Raipur | 90 |
| IIM, Ahmedabad | 80 |
| IIM, Trichy | 90 |
Dear reader, if you have any queries regarding CAT Exam Pattern, feel free to share with us through the comment section. We will assist you and provide appropriate information regarding your queries. Thanks!
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