Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) Common Admission Test (CAT) 2009
Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, Kozhikode, Lucknow, and Shillong
The Indian Institutes of Management will conduct Common Admission Test (CAT) during Saturday, 28 November 2009 - Monday, 7 December 2009. CAT is conducted by IIMs as a pre-requisite for admission to various management programmes of HMs.These programmes are:
A. Post Graduate Programmes in Management
IIM Ahmedabad PCP, PGP-ABM and PGP-PMP
IIM Bangalore PGP, PGSEM and PGPPM
IIM Calcutta PGP-PGDM and PGP-PGDCM
IIM Indore PGP and EPGP IIM Kozhikode PGP
IIM Lucknow PGP and PGP-ABM RG
IIM Shillong PGP
B. Fellow Programmes in Management (FPM) [equivalent to Ph.D.] of IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, MM indore, IIM Kozhikode, and IIM Lucknow.
Separate advertisements will appear for the Fellow Programme of each institute as well as PGP-ABM of IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Lucknow, PGSEM and PGPPM Programmes of IIM Bangalore, PGDCM Programme of IIM Calcutta, and the EPGP of IIM Indore. Each IIM follows its own admission process independent of other IIMs. Before a prospective candidate makes a decision to appear for CAT, he/she must visit the websites and/or read programme advertisements of the concerned IIMs to ensure which programmes they want to apply for and what are the eligibility requirements and admission processes. List of non-HM member institutions that have registered to avail the CAT 2009 scores is provided at www.catiim.in. CAT score use is restricted only for admission to IIMs and non-IIM member institutions. A candidate can appear for CAT 2009 only once during the 10-day testing window.
CAT ELIGIBILITY
The candidate must hold a Bachelor's Degree, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA [45% in case of the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Differently Abled (DA)1 categories], awarded by any of the Universities incorporated by an act of the central or state legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India. The percentage of marks obtained by the candidate in the bachelor's degree would be calculated based on the practice followed by the university/institution from where the candidate has obtained the degree. In case the candidates are awarded grades/CGPA instead of marks, the conversion of grades/CGPAto percentage of marks would be based on the procedure certified by the university/ institution from where they have obtained the bachelor's degree. In case the university/ institution does not have any scheme for converting CGPA into equivalent marks, the equivalence would be established by dividing the candidate's CGPA by the maximum possible CGPA and multiplying the result with iOO. Candidates appearing for the final year of bachelor's degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply. IIMs may verify eligibility at various stages of the selection process, the details of which are provided at the website www.catiim.in.
Prospective candidates must maintain a valid email account throughout the selection process.
SALE OF CAT 2009 VOUCHERS:
The CAT 2009 Vouchers can be obtained from branches of Axis Bank and their associ ated outlets during the period from Wednesday, 9 September 2009 to Thursday, 1 October 2009 for Rs. 1400/- {Rs. 700/- for SC/ST candidates). Please note that a candidate needs to buy only one CAT 2009 Voucher irrespective of the number of institutes he/she is 1 Also referred to as Persons with Disability (PWD)
applying to. Note that the Voucher must be bought only in the name of the candidate as it appears in the school leaving certificate. If the name has been changed due to events such as marriage, the candidate must show the relevant document such as a marriage certificate and submit a photocopy at the time ot the test, interview and at the time o! joining a programme. SC and ST candidates must show a copy of their SC/ST Certificates at the time of obtaining the CAT 2009 Voucher from the Axis Bank branches. Voucher once sold cannot be refunded under any circumstance including but not limited to loss of voucher, inability to read voucher number due to mishandling of the voucher by candidate, candidate being ineligible for taking CAT, CAT not being a pre-requisite for a programme, and rejection of candidate registration due to incomplete and/or wrong inform ation. If the voucher is lost, voucher number is not readable due to mishandling of the voucher by candidate, and/or candidate thinks he/she has made mistake(s) in filling-out information during the online registration, then the candidate can purchase a new voucher and re-register online,
AXIS BANK BRANCHES:
Visit the website www.catiim.in for exact locations of Axis bank branches and their associated outlets where voucher sale is arranged.
REGISTRATION FOR CAT:
On purchasing the CAT 2009 Voucher, prospective candidates must log on to the website www.catiim.in to register for CAT 2009. The registration window starts on Wednesday, 9 September 2009 and will close on Thursday, 1 October 2009. Details of the registration process are provided at the website www.catiim.in.
TEST CENTRES:
The test will be conducted in venues across many centres. These centres are Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Durgapur, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Noida, Patna, Pune, Ranchi, Siliguri, and Varanasi. IIMs reserve the right to change or cancel any test venue/centre and/or change the test window time and dates at their own discretion.
CAT SCORE:
A candidate's CAT score card will be available to the candidate at the website www.catiim.in from 22 January 2010. Candidates must retain a print-out of their score card.
DISCLAIMER
Instances of incorrect information and process violation detected at any stage of the selection process will lead to disqualification of the candidate from the selection process and he/she will not be allowed to appear for CAT in future. If such instances go undetected during the current selection process but are detected in subsequent years, such disqualification will take place with retrospective effect.
Candidates must retain this advertisement for future reference. Any dispute concerning CAT would be subject to Jurisdiction of the competent Courts within the territorial jurisdiction of City of Ahmedabad only.
Common Admission Test (CAT 2009) Frequently Asked Questions
CAT 2009: Frequently Asked Questions (1 July 2009)
Q1: I hear that CAT will be held online. Is that correct?
A1: CAT is going to be a computer based test (CBT) and not internet based test (IBT). I.e.
Candidate does not take the test on an internet site. Instead of reading the questions in a paper booklet and darkening the ovals on the answer-sheet, a candidate will read the questions on a computer terminal and choose an answer by clicking on the correct option.
Q2: I hear that CAT will be a computer adaptive test. Is that correct?
A2: No, CAT is not going to be a computer adaptive test.
Q3: Will the format of the test change?
A3: The format of the test will remain more or less the same except that a candidate reads
question on a computer terminal and clicks on the correct answer.
Q4: Can I take the test from any computer?
A4: No. A candidate will take the test only at designated test venues in about 25 cities across
India. Detailed information will be provided in the CAT 2009 advertisement.
Q5: But how do I do rough-work and calculations while arriving at the answers?
A5: At the test venue, each candidate will be seated at a desk with a computer terminal and
he/she will be provided with a writing pad with numbered pages for calculations. After the test, candidate must leave the pad including all the pages in it at the desk. Rough-work cannot be done on any other paper/sheet as nothing will be allowed to be taken inside the test hall.
Q6: Can you give more details on taking test in a CBT format?
A6: We will be giving more details at a later stage.
Q7: But when is the CAT 2009 advertisement going to appear in newspapers?
A7: Advertisement for CAT 2009 will appear during the later part of August 2009.
Q8: How much is the test fee for CAT 2009 and how do I pay?
A8: Candidate Testing Fee is Rs. 1400 (Rs. 700 for SC/ST candidates). A prospective
candidate buys a CAT 2009 Voucher from designated locations/bank branches after advertisement appears in newspapers. Sufficient time will be given for purchasing the voucher. More details will be available on our websites after the advertisement appears in newspapers.
Q9: How do I register for CAT 2009?
A9. The Voucher bought by the candidate gives instructions on how to register for CAT
2009. At this time, it would suffice to say that candidates are expected visit CAT website to register for CAT 2009. Sufficient amount of time will be given to register online. More details will be given in the advertisement and the voucher.
Q10: How do I get my admit card for the test?
A10: After you fill-in, review, and submit the registration information during online registration, you will receive an email containing your Admit Card.
Q11. Does that mean I need to have an E-mail account?
A11. Yes, you must have a valid E-mail account throughout the selection process.
Q12: What do I need to bring at the time of test?
A12: You must bring the printed copy of the admit card and one picture ID. Do not bring any other material and personal belongings with you, for no personal belongings and materials will be allowed in test-hall. More details will be provided later.
Q13: Can you please tell me when will the CAT 2009 be conducted?
A13: CAT 2009 will be conducted during a ten-day window starting at the end of November 2009. Exact dates will be mentioned in the advertisement.
Q14: Can I take CAT more than once during the testing window?
A14: No, a candidate can register to take test only once during the CAT 2009 testing window. Admit cards and picture ids of the candidates will be checked, and candidate pictures and biometric information will also be captured at the test venue.
Q15: When are CAT 2009 result expected to be declared?
A15: CAT 2009 results are expected to be declared by the end of January 2010. Exact date of result declaration will be informed at a later stage.
Q16: When will we get more updates?
A16: Any important developments may be posted on IIM sites and CAT website about a month later.
CAT 2009: Frequently Asked Questions (6 August 2009)
Q1: When is the advertisement for CAT 2009 going to appear?
A1: CAT Advertisement will appear in leading newspapers on Sunday, 30 August 2009.
Q2: Once the advertisement appears, is one expected to buy CAT bulletin from designated banks?
A2: No. One does not have to buy a bulky CAT bulletin. We want to go paperless. A prospective candidate buys a scratch-voucher from the designated bank branches, and, later registers online for CAT 2009.
Q3: When does the sale of voucher start and end?
A3: Sale of vouchers starts on Wednesday, 9 September 2009 at designated bank branches and their associate outlets. The sale ends on Thursday, 1 October 2009.
Q4: When and how do I register for CAT 2009 after buying the voucher?
A4: Online registration for CAT 2009 will also begin on Wednesday, 9 September 2009 and end on Thursday, 1 October 2009. Instructions on access to online registration will be given in the voucher, and, detailed registration instructions will be on the CAT website.
Q5: When will CAT be held and can I choose a test date?
A5: CAT will be held during the period Saturday, 28 November 2009 – Monday, 7 December 20009. Yes, you can choose a test date, session (morning/afternoon), and venue across thirty centres (cities) all over India, subject to availability.
Q6: Can you give more details on taking test in a CBT format?
A6: Starting Sunday, 30 August 2009, CAT website (www.catiim.in) will provide all the details.