The 2015 Common Admission Test (CAT) for admission to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other top business schools will be held on 29 November.
According to the schedule released on 26 July, online registration for CAT 2015 will start on 6 August and close on 20 September.
Slot to download admit cards will open at 1 pm on 15 October and will remain open until the day of the CAT. The IIMs will announce CAT 2015 results in the second week of January 2016.
The CAT, to be conducted by IIM-Ahmedabad this year, will be held in 136 cities comprising 650 test sites, according to the schedule.
Changes in Common Admission Test pattern
The IIMs have introduced changes in the examination pattern examination this year. Unlike last year, the CAT question paper will have three sections comprising Quantitative Aptitude (QA), Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VRC) and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR).
The first two sections – QA and VRC – will have 34 questions each, while DILR will have 32 questions. There will also be some descriptive questions, unlike last year, when there were only multiple choice questions.
"Some questions in each section may not be of multiple choice type. Instead, direct answers are to be typed on the screen," PTI quoted CAT 2015 Convenor Tathagata Bandyopadhyay as saying.
The duration for CAT 2015 has also been increased by 10 minutes to 180 minutes, with 60 minutes allotted for each section. The candidates cannot switch from one section to another while answering questions in a section.
The IIMs have also allowed the use of onscreen calculators, which will be provided by the authorities at the exam centres.
Students will be selected for admission to some prestigious B-schools on the basis of CAT (written test), group discussion and personal interview.
