Know everything about CAT 2021: Application Form, Registration Date, Admit Card, Exam Dates, Result

Considered one of the most competitive exams in India, CAT (Common Aptitude Test) certainly is a big deal for management aspirants. 20 IIMs, 100+ Top B-schools, 4,000 seats, and years of preparation, and all applicants eye for the best seat on offer. Such is the power of CAT!

The CAT 2021 Test is composed of a total of 100 objective and subjective questions. This year Common Aptitude Test (CAT) exam has 3 sections-

• Section I: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension,
• Section II: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning,
• Section III: Quantitative Ability. Candidates will be allotted exactly 40 minutes for answering questions in each section and they will not be allowed to switch from one section to another while answering questions in a section.

Common Aptitude Test (CAT) 2021 is not far away! It will be conducted by IIM Indore in three slots and the duration of the Common Aptitude Test (CAT) 2021 will be 120 minutes. The results would be announced in the first week of January 2020. With the announcement of cut-offs, the admissions will commence.

Common Aptitude Test (CAT) 2021 – Important dates and details

1. CAT Registration start date – 4th August 2021
2. CAT Registration the last date – 15th September 2021 (5.00 PM)
3. CAT Admit card release date – 27th October 2021
4. CAT Exam date – 28th November 2021
5. CAT Result announcement date – Second week of January 2022

How to Apply  for Common Aptitude Test (CAT) Exams – Process of Registration

The registration process for CAT 2021 begins from the first week of August 2020. Visit https://iimcat.ac.in for online registration. Once the registration process is completed, the login details to fill the application form are sent via email.

Once the candidate receives the login details, the application form can be filled. The form requires details that include personal information, communication mode, educational qualification, scanned photograph, and signature. The application fee for general/OBC candidates is Rs. 2200 and Rs. 1100 for SC/ST/PWD candidates.

Eligibility criteria for Common Aptitude Test (CAT)

As per the official eligibility criteria of CAT, the candidates for the exam should meet the following parameters –

• A bachelor’s degree in any discipline with a minimum of 50% marks or equivalent CGPA from a recognized institute or university.
• There’s no age limit to appear for Common Aptitude Test (CAT) 2021.
• The candidates belonging to SC/ST/PWD category need to score a minimum of 45% in bachelor or any discipline from a recognized institute or university.
• The students who have appeared for their final year bachelor’s degree exam with the required percentage and are awaiting results can apply for CAT 2021.

Important announcement on eligibility criteria for writing CAT 2021
The CAT Centre has received several queries from candidates regarding their candidature due to the “promotion/pass” certificate awarded instead of the “marks” certificates in the last two years (pandemic years) of their bachelor’s program. Currently, the CAT application requires candidates to meet eligibility criteria of at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA [45% in the case of candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Persons with Disability (PwD) categories]. This has raised queries in the application process for CAT2021.
In view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting disruptions in the evaluations across the country, the CAT Committee has made the following exceptions for CAT2021.
1. Candidates in the final year: Candidates with “promotion/pass” instead of “award of marks” certificates in any of the last two years of the bachelor’s program can enter the “Promotion or Pass” option in the application form. This will allow the candidate to complete & submit the CAT 2021 application form despite the requirements of minimum eligibility criteria (45% and 50% [or equivalent CGPA] respectively). This eligibility relaxation is also applicable to those final year students with an “award” of marks.
This exception is available only to candidates who are completing the bachelor’s degree this year or are in the final year bachelor’s programme (graduation years – 2021 and 2022)
2. Candidates graduated in 2020 and 2021: Due to the implementation of point 1, and considering that there could be different evaluation patterns adopted by different universities across the country due to the covid-19 pandemic, the CAT Committee has decided to remove the minimum percentage of marks (45% and 50% [or equivalent CGPA] respectively) for appearing for the CAT 2021 exam.
This exception is made to ensure parity to candidates who have completed their bachelor’s degrees in 2020 and 2021.
Note: This announcement is only applicable to the eligibility criteria for writing the CAT 2021. Candidates are advised to look at and follow respective institution-specific admission policies.

Reservation

As per the legal requirements, 15% of the seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates, 7.5% for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, 27% for Other Backward Classes candidates belonging to the “Non-Creamy” layer (NC-OBC), up to 10% for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) candidates and 5% for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwD).
As defined in The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act 2016), “Person with Benchmark Disability” means a person with not less than forty percent (40%) of a specified disability where t h e specified disability has not been defined in measurable terms and includes a person with disability where the specified disability has been defined in measurable terms, as certified by the certifying authority. “Specified disability” means the disabilities as specified in the Schedule of the RPwD Act 2016. The categories of disability are:
a) Blindness and low vision,
b) Deaf and hard of hearing,
c) Locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy,
d) Autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness
e) Multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (d),
f) other ‘specified disabilities’ mentioned in ‘The Schedule’ of the RPwD Act 2016.
For the purpose of being considered for reservation, the applicable Central Government list as on the last date of CAT registration shall be binding. No subsequent changes will be effective for CAT 2021 and any subsequent selection process of the IIMs.

Test Centres

Common Aptitude Test (CAT) will be conducted in centers spread across 156 test cities. Test cities will be mentioned on the CAT website and the name of the test center will be indicated in the Admit Card.

IIMs reserve the right to change or cancel any test center/city and /or change the test time and date at their discretion.

How to get admission to the Jaipuria Institute of Management?

Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow, Noida, Indore, and Jaipur accept CAT / MAT / XAT / ATMA / GMAT / CMAT score for entry to its Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) Course. If selected, applicants got to sit in group discussions and personal interview rounds.

Below is the selected parameter with due weightage:

• Score in CAT/MAT/XAT/ATMA/GMAT/CMAT: 45%
• Case-Based Group Discussion: 15%
• Personal Interview: 20%
• Academic Performance in X Std., XII Std., Degree/Post Graduate Degree: 15%
• Work Experience, Sports & Extra Curricular Activities: 05%