11 September 2009

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Basic and Useful Information about Cat 2009, the IIM examination

Basic and Useful Information about Cat 2009, the IIM examination -
Common Admission Test (CAT) 2009 goes online
From this year.
The CAT, scores decide admission to the IIMs located in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Indore, Kozhikode, Lucknow and Shillong, will now be a Computer Based Test (CBT),


IIMs have been conducting CAT in paper-and-pencil format for the last 33 years.
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.
The format of the test will remain more or less the same except that a candidate reads a question on a computer terminal and clicks on the correct answer.
A candidate will take the test only at designated test venues in 30 cities across India.
Guidelines and Precautions as you start to register for the Cat examination 2009

Who is eligible to give cat 2009 examination?
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) categories]
There is no age restriction for appearing in CAT.
For 2009, candidates are required to make the fee payment at selected Axis Bank Outlets once the registration for CAT 2009 begins.
A prospective candidate buys a voucher from the designated bank branches, and later registers online for CAT 2009.
The fee is Rs.1400. If you belong to the SC/ST category then you can pay a discounted fee of Rs.700
Sale of vouchers starts on Wednesday, 9 September 2009 at selected Axis Bank branches and associated outlets. The sale ends on Thursday, 1 October 2009.
You are required to fill pay-in-slip at the selected Axis Bank Outlets to obtain the voucher.
There will be two copies of the pay-in-slip.
The bank will retain one copy of the filled pay-in-slip and the other will be stamped and given back to you. Please retain your copy of the pay-in-slip with you during the entire selection process.
Note: The name on the pay-in-slip should match with the name appearing on the school-leaving certificate.
You can find the voucher number under the scratch-off area of the voucher you purchased at an Axis Bank outlet.
Please ensure that you scratch off gently so the voucher number does not become illegible.
Prospective candidates must maintain a valid email account throughout the selection process.
Soon after you fill-in, review, and submit your personal information during online registration, an automated confirmation email, which will contain your Candidate Profile, will be sent to you at the email address provided.
After submitting your personal information, you are expected to continue registration by scheduling your test date, test time, and venue.
Once you have submitted this scheduling information, a 2nd automated confirmation email, which will contain your CAT 2009 Admit Card, will be sent to you at the email address provided.
Only at this stage your CAT 2009 registration is complete
The admit card will contain the name of the candidate, test date, time, venue, confirmation no, CAT registration number and instructions for the candidate.
The admit card will be sent to you as an email on your email address, provided by you, only when you filled in your online application and scheduled a test.
It is therefore, mandatory for you to have a valid email account throughout the selection process.
Note: You are required to take a print out of the Admit Card to bring with you to the test centre.
You can appear for CAT 2009 only once.
It will be deemed a fraudulent activity if one attempts to appear for CAT 2009 more than once.
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.
You can reschedule the location, date and time of your test during/within the registration window (September 9 to October 1, 2009).
No reschedules are permitted once registration window has closed.
Your fees will not be refunded in case you do not appear for your test as per your scheduled location, date and time.
Under no circumstances will a cancellation / refund be allowed.
CAT will be held during the period Saturday, 28 November 2009 – Monday, 7 December 2009.
Yes, you can choose a test date, test time, and venue across thirty cities all over India, subject to availability.
A typical testing day for CAT will have 2 exam sessions. Candidates are allowed to schedule for any one of the sessions, subject to availability. Session timings are as follows:
Session 1: Testing will begin at 10 AM and end at 12:30 PM. Candidate check-in will commence from 8 AM. Candidates are required to arrive at the test center no later than 8:30 AM.
Session 2: Testing will begin at 3:30 PM and end at 6 PM. Candidate check-in will commence from 1:30 PM. Candidates are required to arrive at the test center no later than 2:00 PM.
2 hours prior to the test time. If the test begins at 10 AM, you are advised to reach the test centre by 8AM and no later than 8:30 AM.
2 hours 30 minutes including 15 minutes tutorial. The actual test may contain about 60 to 70 questions.
Candidate will need to bring their CAT 2009 Admit Card, voucher, a valid document as proof of SC/ST eligibility (if applicable). And one photo-identification to the test centre. Acceptable forms of photo identification are Driver's license, Passport, PAN Card, Voter ID, College ID, Employee identification card, or a notarized Affidavit with Photo, Signature, Date of Birth and Residential Address.
Candidates will not be permitted to take the test if photo identification and Admit Card is not presented.
Your name needs to be exactly identical to the name on your school-leaving certificate.
Note: - If the name has been changed due to events such as marriage, you must show the relevant document mentioned below and submit a photocopy at the time of the test, interview and at the time of joining a programme.
Marriage Certificate, Divorce Decree, Legal Name Change Document
CAT consists of questions that evaluate a candidate’s quantitative, verbal, logical & data interpretive abilities. Therefore, there are a total of 3 sections.
You will not be given any breaks during the test.
CAT 2009 results will be declared from January 22, 2010.
If I do not get my Admit Card, whom should I contact?
You need to login into the website https://iim.prometric.com using your user name & password and select “Resend Admit Card”. The Admit Card will be emailed on the email address provided during registration.

Important Dates for Cat 2009
1. Voucher Sale- September 9 to October 1, 2009 - Fee payment & voucher (fee receipt) from AXIS Bank
2. Registration Window - September 9 to October 1, 2009 - Go to CAT Registration Instructions and/or begin registration by visiting https://iim.prometric.com
3. Rescheduling Window - September 9 to October 1, 2009 - Call candidate care services or fill the webform link https://iim.prometric.com
4. Test Dates & Center - November 28 to December 7, 2009 - Center information available on registration portal
5. Exam Results - January 22, 2010 - Visit CAT website at the time of result declaration

CAT 2009 result will be announced from Friday, 22 January 2010 onwards on the CAT website. Simultaneously, CAT website will also list the names of the candidates short-listed for interviews by IIMs for PGP. Each IIM will send interview letters to the candidates it has short-listed. The criteria for short-listing vary from IIM to IIM.

Watch Video - How to register for CAT 2009 Online Examination ?




Take the cat demo examination and understand what CBT is. Below is the link
http://content.catiim.in/catdemo/index.htm.



4 comments:

Anonymous,  September 11, 2009  

great info!!
you did some detail research!
good job!

shraddha

Everymatter September 12, 2009  

nice information

will be very useful for many

sm,  September 12, 2009  

Shraddha,
thanks

sm,  September 12, 2009  

Everymatter,
thanks.