The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), taking into notice the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2009 fiasco has come up with a resolution to make these exams a year long affair.

The aspiring management students now have a reason to cheer as they now would be allowed to take the entrance exams into the most coveted central government-run management schools all year long.

The decision will allow them to take the test any number of times, on any day.

The IIMs are heading towards a realm of changes as they also plan to make CAT a computer adaptive test, which means, the difficulty level of the test would be set according to the ability of the candidate.

According to IIM sources, the initial idea to hold the CAT throughout the year was mooted for 2009 but due to lack of question bank with the management schools the process could not be initiated.

Registration for the Common Admission Test (CAT) to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) will begin on September 9.

This year, because of the computerbased test, registration will take place online through the CAT website. From this year onwards, it will replace its traditional paper and pencil test with a computer-based test.

To register, candidates will first have to purchase vouchers and then register on the CAT website.

Test schedule

CAT will be held during the period Saturday, November 28 to Monday, December 7. A typical testing day for CAT will have two exam sessions: morning (10 am-12.30 pm) and afternoon (3.30 pm-6 pm). Candidates can choose a test date, test time and venue across 30 cities all over India, subject to availability. Candidates will be allowed to reschedule within the registration window.

Result

CAT 2009 results will be declared on January 22, 2010.

More Information About CAT Exam Notification 2009

The Common Admission Test to the six IIMs ( IIM A, B, C, L, I, K and the Rajiv Gandhi IIM Shillong) is also the entrance test for few other top B-Schools such as SP Jain, MICA, and T A Pai. CAT tests your skills in five broad areas viz.

1. Verbal Ability (VA)
2. Reading Comprehension (RC)
3. Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
4. Data Interpretation (DI) and a bit of Data Sufficiency (DS)
5. Logical reasoning (LR)

Number of Questions in CAT

The test used to comprise upwards of 180 questions in the early 90s. ( when i wrote the CAt) From 1999 onwards, the number of questions in the CAT exam has been steadily decreasing. What was a 165 questions paper in CAT 1999 and 2000 reduced to a 150-questions paper in 2001 to 2003. In 2004, the test had only 123 questions and in 2005 the CAT posed just 90 questions. The number was reduced further in 2006 to a 75-questions paper divided equally into three sections. Typically this test can be expected to comprise between 75 to 150 objective type questions and is usually divided into three to four sections. Each question has a question statement followed by four or five alternate answer choices and the candidate has to choose the best answer for each of the questions and mark it on an OMR sheet.

COMMON ADMISSION TEST (CAT)
www.catiim.in

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT (IIMs)

IIM AHMEDABAD, VASTRAPUR, AHMEDABAD-380015
E-MAIL : pgpabm@iimahd.ernet.in / mdp@iimahd.ernet.in
WEBSITE: www.iimahd.ernet.in

IIM BANGALORE, BANNERGHATTA ROAD, BANGALORE-560076
WEBSITE: www.iimb.ernet.in E-MAIL : director@iimb.ernet.in / dean@iimb.ernet.in

IIM CALCUTTA, P.O. JOKA, DIAMOND HARBOUR ROAD, KOLKATA-700104
E-MAIL : aomdp@iimcal.ac.in  WEBSITE: www.iimcal.ac.in

IIM LUCKNOW, PRAHANDH NAGAR, OFF.SITAPUR ROAD, LUCKNOW-226013
E-MAIL : dsingh@iiml.ac.in / deanaa@iiml.ac.in / mdp@iiml.ac.in
WEBSITE: www.iiml.ac.in

IIM INDORE, PIGDAMBER, RAU, INDORE-453331
E-MAIL : mdp@iimidr.ac.in / biswajeet@iimidr.ernet.in
WEBSITE: www.iimidr.ac.in / www.iimidr.ernet.in

IIM KOZHIKODE, KUNNAMANGALAM P.O., KOZHIKODE-673571
E-MAIL: iimk@ac.in / mdp@iimk.ren.nic.in   WEBSITE: www.iimk.ac.in

RGIIM SHILLONG, NEHU MAYURBHANJ COMPLEX, NONGTHYMMAI, SHILLONG-793014. E-MAIL: admissions@rgiim.ac.in  WEBSITE: www.rgiim.ac.in