CAT 2019 is going to be conducted on 24th November (Sunday), 2019. Registrations for CAT 2019 will be open on 7th August 2019 and will close on 18th September 2019 at 5:00 PM. Admit cards for CAT 2019 will be available to download from October 23rd 2019 to November 24th 2019. CAT 2019 will be conducted by IIM Kozhikode.
CAT 2019 will follow the same pattern as last year. CAT 2019 will have three sections - Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability. The exam will be conducted into two slots of 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM, across 156 cities in India. Last year, IIM Calcutta conducted CAT 2018. Approximately 2.41 lakh CAT aspirants registered for the test in 2018.
Preparing for CAT 2019? Jump to this section for preparation tips from CAT 99%ilers and experts.
CAT 2019 Official Notification - The Basics
1. Registration for CAT 2019 will begin on 7th August 2019, and the registrations will close by 5:00 PM on 18th September 2019. Candidates will have to register for CAT 2019 on the official CAT 2019 website -
iimcat.ac.in.
2. In case of any difficulty in the registration process, you can refer to the official
CAT 2019 registration guide or refer to an easy process mentioned below.
3. The CAT 2019 registration will cost you Rs. 1900 (General), or Rs. 950 (Special category).
4. It is very important to fill in your Class 10th, 12th, Graduation and Work experience details correctly, as these will be used to calculate a weighted composite score that will ultimately decide if you get shortlisted for IIM interviews. Take a look at the
selection criteria in 2018 for top IIMs here.
5. Please keep with yourself a digital copy of a passport-size photo of yourself and a digital copy of your signature. This will have to be uploaded during the registration process.
Also read: Everything You Need To Know About CAT Exam - Imp. Dates, Syllabus, Prep Tips, Books, etc.
CAT 2019 Official Notification - Important Documents To Have
Before you sit down to register for CAT 2019, ensure that you have the following documents with you:
10th Marksheet
Your class 10th marksheet will be required to fill in your Class 10th percentage as well as raw scores. If your scores are in CGPA, you can convert them to your raw scores by multiplying them with a factor assigned by your board. E.g., in case of CBSE, multiply your CGPA with 9.5 to arrive at your Class 10th overall score.
12th Marksheet
Your class 12th marksheet will be required to fill in your Class 12th percentage as well as raw scores. In CAT 2018, you could fill your total and maximum marks, and the aggregate percentage would be calculated automatically. The same process is likely to be adopted for CAT 2019 registration as well.
Graduation Marksheet
Your graduation marksheet will be required to fill in your graduation scores and other relevant details.
CAT 2019 Official Notification - Registration Process
The following is the registration process for CAT 2019:
Step 1 - Register on the official CAT 2019 website -
iimcat.ac.in. You will be required to fill in your personal details and upon submission of the preliminary form, you will be a sent an OTP on your phone. Verify your profile via this OTP. Your login credentials will be useful later to download your exam admit card, and to check the CAT 2019 answer-key and official results post-CAT.
Step 2 - First, you will be required to enter your personal details. Then, you will be required to upload your passport size photo as well as your signature, and any other documents that may be applicable. You will then be redirected to fill the 'Academics' section of the registration form.
Step 3 - You will be required to fill your SSC/10th marks, HSC/12th marks, Graduation scores, Bachelor's marks, and any other professional details that may be applicable. You will then be redirected to fill the 'Work Experience' section of the registration form.
Step 4 - You will now be required to fill in your work experience details as of
31st July 2019, i.e., if you started working on 1st August 2018, your work experience would be 12 months as of 31st July 2019. Once the details for your work experience have been filled, you will be re-directed to the 'Programmes' form.
Step 5 - You will be required to select from the various programmes, such as PGP or PGP-ABM, offered by the 20 IIMs in India. Select whichever programmes you would like to apply to. Candidates applying for PGP courses at the following IIMs are required to select the same interview city for all the selections because of their Common Admissions Process:
1. IIM Kashipur
2. IIM Raipur
3. IIM Ranchi
4. IIM Rohtak
5. IIM Tiruchirappalli
6. IIM Udaipur
For example, if you have selected the PGP courses at IIM Kashipur, and at IIM Ranchi, your interview city should be the same, say Chennai, from the given choices (Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai) for both the courses. Once completed, you will be re-directed to the 'Test City' section of the form.
Step 6 - You will be required to select from a drop-down menu. Please be cautious while selecting your preferred cities, as changing your preferences post-form submission may be incredibly difficult.
Step 7 - Finally, you will be re-directed to payments gateway to complete your registration process. You will be notified of your candidacy for the CAT exam via e-mail, as well as via SMS.
CAT 2019 Official Notification - Eligibility Criteria
The following are the criteria that all CAT aspirants must meet in order to take CAT 2019:
- 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 Persons With Disability (PwD) categories], awarded by any University or educational institution as incorporated by an Act of the Parliament or State legislature in India or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification.
- 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. However, it may be noted that such candidates, if selected, will be allowed to join the programme provisionally, only if they submit a certificate from the Principal/Registrar of their University/Institution (issued on or before the date as stipulated by the respective IIM) stating that they have completed all the requirements for obtaining the Bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification on the date of the issue of the certificate.
- Candidates applying for CAT 2019 should fulfil any one of the following conditions:
a) Completed Bachelor’s degree with the required percentage of marks*
b) Completed professional degree (CA/CS/ICWA) with required percentage*.
c) Should be in the final year of Bachelor’s degree with required percentage*.
For eligibility criteria of reserved and special categories, take a look at
this document.
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Must-Read Immediately After CAT 2019 Official Notification
Preparing for CAT 2019? Here is an ultimate collection of tips from CAT 99+%ilers, IIM students and CAT experts that can help you ace CAT 2019! Also read this guide on mock test analysis by CAT 99%ilers and CAT experts!
To read the analysis of CAT 2018, click the following links: