Common Admission Test (CAT) is a computer-based entrance examination which is conducted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) on a rotational basis every year for taking admission into business courses across IIMs and other renowned B-Schools. It is a highly competitive examination which requires an extraordinary intellect and effort to crack it. Among all the candidates, only a fraction of them can get into their preferred colleges. Let us take a look at its eligibility requirements, preparation tips, top colleges, and others.

CAT Eligibility Criteria

• A candidate who is willing to apply for writing CAT examination must satisfy the following eligibility requirements.
• A candidate should have obtained his/her graduation degree with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA. There is a 5% relaxation for SC/ST and PwD categories.
• Candidates who are in the final year of graduation are also eligible to apply for the CAT examination.
• There is no age limit to appear in the CAT examination.

CAT Exam Pattern

There are altogether 100 questions that are to be solved within 180 minutes. The type of questions asked is MCQs and essay-based. The entire paper has three main sections:

• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
• Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
• Quantitative Ability.

However, for the year 2020 certain changes have been introduced in the examination pattern and duration of examination. Check the revised exam pattern.

Preparation Tips

Now, eligible candidates should follow some tips so that they can prepare well and achieve their dream college. A candidate can prepare either by joining a coaching institute or through self-study. Though joining a coaching institute is preferred by most of the candidates as they are provided with all the stuff and proper guidance. Below are some most effective and fruitful tips which an aspirant should adopt so as to crack the CAT examination

• Practice is the key to success. Solve as many questions as you can. Do solve previous year CAT papers.
• Learn time management and work to improve your speed and accuracy.
• Every time you attempt a mock test, make sure you increase your score. Analyze the paper and work upon the mistakes, if any.
• For quantitative Ability, make sure to study each and every topic and practice them a lot. Improve your mathematics. Know how to prepare Quantitative Ability.
• To prepare for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning practice mentally. While studying don’t use a calculator and solve yourself. Practice finding out the logic quickly. Know how to prepare Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning.
• To prepare the vocabulary portion, solve questions based on synonyms, antonyms, spellings, odd words, and sentence completion. To solve the reading comprehension, develop a habit of reading carefully and grasping out the important lines at one go. It will save you time. know how to prepare for vocabulary, Grammar, and Reading comprehension.
• Always read from authentic and reliable standard sources. If you have joined coaching institutes then read from its module. CAT mock test.

In order to crack such a competitive examination like CAT, a well-planned strategy and effective tips are very crucial and advantageous. We have incorporated all the necessary tips and details above. If a candidate follows the above tips then he/she will certainly crack the CAT examination. Therefore, keep in mind the above efficient tips and see your dream turning into reality.

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In order to initiate preparation for any exam, candidates need to be well acquainted with the syllabus , CAT consists of three sections with their respective syllabus and recommended books are as follows-

Quantitative Ability consists of time and work, simple and compound interest, time, speed and distance, probability, geometry and mensuration, number system, basic arithmetic, algebra, permutation and combination, profit, loss, discounts, trigonometry, logarithms and sets .

Best Books for QA:

How to prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma has provided elaborate examples and further its divided into three levels of difficulty, covers all the important topics.

Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Nishit K Sinha is divided into five modules, it has questions with their solutions along with practice tests.

Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Sharma has topic wise division of chapters with practice tests with more than one solution for the given questions in the books.

Candidates can use NCERTs book from 6th to 10th standard to have conceptual understanding of the topics.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning consists of blood relations, puzzles, data sufficiency, graphs, seating and data arrangement, tables, caslets, clocks and calendars, assumptions and binary logic, syllogism and venn diagram.

Best Books for DSLR:

How to prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT by Arun Sharma is written according to latest syllabus with quick and accurate techniques, new chapters, exercises for practice, mock test and sample paper to analyze preparation level.

Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation by K Nishit Sinha has fundamentals as well as advanced topics with better explanation.

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension consists of word usage, fill in the blanks, odd sentences, para jumbles, para summary, reading comprehension passages, sentence completion and correction.

Best Books for VARC:

How to prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT by Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay is written in lucid manner with topic-wise segregations, analysis of previous year papers including mock tests.

Mastering the Verbal Ability for CAT by Ajay Singh has defined topics in an extensive manner as per latest syllabus with more than 200 passages and test paper for better preparation.

The most important task is to make a timetable and accordingly assign each section to it. You should focus on having a conceptual understanding especially in case of QA and DILR, for this it's best you go through sample papers in order to evaluate your strength and weakness, and towards the nearing of the examination, mock tests are inevitable in order to crack CAT.You can check out CAT sample paper at https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-sample-paper