CAT 2015 Pattern, Exam Date & Non-MCQ Questions

CAT 2015 aspirants should take a note of the changes this year's common admission test will bring. The major deviation in the CAT 2015 pattern is that the test will be held in a single day and not over multiple days like in the recent years. The IIMs have declared that the test will be conducted in multiple sessions, but in a single day. It could very well be a cost cutting measure by the IIMs.

CAT 2015 Pattern:

The test will be divided into three sections (like before):
  • Verbal abilities and reading comprehension: 34 Questions
  • Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning: 32 Questions
  • Quantitative Ability: 34 Questions
Each of the above section will have 60 minutes time limit. Note that earlier, you did not have the time limit on the section; but this year, you will have to answer all the questions from specific section within the time limit. Once your time for specific section is over, you cannot revisit the section; like you'd in earlier patterns.

The big problem with the sectional timings is that students can no longer spend extra time on the sections they were strong or weak in, to score extra marks. Every candidate will have to improve their skill set for all the sections and you will NOT be able to afford to score less in the sections you are weak in.

The change in the pattern seems to be aimed at creating a level-playing field for MBA aspirants from various fields. The CAT conducting team has been criticized for long for being biased towards engineering disciplines.Someone from medical field may not be very good at Math and others may not be good at VR. However, with sectional timings, everyone must be good in all the three sections.

Non-MCQ Questions:

Most of the candidates taking CAT seem to be concerned over the introduction of non-mcq (multiple choice questions). Candidates will be expected to type the answers directly on the computer screen. Which could be bit difficult if you are not very comfortable typing with speed. Candidate preparing for CAT must ensure that they can type faster (Download: #-Link-Snipped-# ).

The good thing about this type of questions is that they will not have any negative marking. So you can definitely attempt at answering them and not skip if you are unsure of the answer. All these non-mcq questions will carry equal marks. It's not clear how many of these questions will make it to each section. However, it'd be reasonable to estimate about 4-6 questions of this category in each of the sections.

Important Dates To Remember For CAT 2015:
  • Admit Card Download: From 25 October Till Exam Date
  • Exam Date: 29 November 2015 (Sunday)
  • Declaration of CAT Results: Sometime in 2nd week of January 2016
Would love to know from our fellow engineers about their test preparation strategy and how are they planning to crack the CAT in the time available. If you have questions or doubt about any of the information provided above, let us know.

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