Last year, the registrations for the CAT 2023 examination recorded a massive number of 3.3 lakh students. Out of these, 2.88 lakh students appeared for the exam the highest since the inception of the exam. The number of MBA aspirants has increased in recent years, and a similar trend is expected. In this article, we are going to discuss why more aspirants are registering for CAT 2024.
There are a few identified reasons for the increase in registrations. For instance, you will notice an increase in CAT registrations every time the economy and job market fluctuate on the lower side of the business cycle.
Recession times that lead to decreased job availability, salary crunch, and mass layoffs see the highest percentage increase in candidate registrations. Have a look at these two instances:
Before 2023, the highest number of registrations, around 2.9 lakh, was recorded in 2008. From 2006 to 2008 there was an average annual increase of almost 50,000 aspirants with an average increase of 23.2% in these two years. A similar but less intense trend was seen in 2015-16.
- 2020 Mass Lay-offs during Covid
After 2020-2021, there has been an absolute increase of 1 lakh exam takers spread over 2 years. Consulting, tech giants, e-commerce, and startups were badly affected resulting in layoffs of thousands. Those who could not find better work moved to pursue an MBA to learn and better their earning potential.
- Lesser/Low-Quality Placements in Under-Grad Colleges
The increase in the registration process can be attributed to lower-quality placements at the undergraduate level. Even tier-1 institutes are unable to place all of their students who are seeking employment after completing their undergraduate degrees.
- Apart from a few big offers, the base salary figures for freshers are low for working in metro cities. For many tech giants, the starting salaries have not changed in the last 7-10 years despite inflation increasing manifold.
- According to a report by Professor Ramgopal Rao (Vice-Chancellor of BITS Pilani group of institutions, former Director of IIT Delhi), “Most tier-2 colleges focused on service-based IT companies are expected to bear the brunt, as Indian software services companies will end FY24 having hired between 70,000 and 80,000 fresh engineers, the lowest intake in over a decade”
- This can also be attributed to the skill gap between company requirements and graduating students. Unsure undergrads move to pursue MBA seeing salary figures of 2-3 LPA.
While the increase in CAT registrations may not match last year's surge, it is expected that the number of MBA aspirants will continue to grow in the coming years. Like the CAT exam, XAT and SNAP also experienced a significant increase in applicants by 25% to 30%.
How does the increased number of exam takers impact percentiles?
With the increase in the exam takers, the cut-offs and competition at each percentile also increase. For example, a 99% tile holder in 2 lakhs registration ranks in the Top 2000 while in 3 lakhs registrations, he/ she will be in the Top 3000.
We have no control over the registrations but what we can ideally do is better prepare ourselves for the CAT 2024 exam. Giving mocks and using the insights from the practice can help us score better and release anxiety while appearing for the paper. InsideIIM is back with its free Mock Test competition where you can earn rewards and learn for the exam together. For more details about the free mock test competition click here.
Quick Links:
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