CAT 2014 Notification finally out with significant changes (New Pattern).

CAT 2014 Notification details: 
CAT 2014 notification is finally out! and registration will be start from August 6,  2014. The exam will be held on two days on  November 16 and November 22, 2014.

New Pattern with significant changes:

Exam duration has been increased to 170 minutes from the existing limit of 140 minutes. Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation will consist of 50 questions and Logical Reasoning and Verbal Ability will have 50 questions each. The tutorial which was made available before start of examination will not be available this time. The examination will be conducted in 99 cities comprising 354 test sites. Last year, there were 45 test sites only. The registration for the CAT 2014 will remain open for 56 days beginning from August 6 and closing on September 30. Candidates will have to make the payment for registration fee through online modes only including credit card, debit card or through net banking.

Important Dates:
Registration begins on:          August 6, 2014 (Wednesday)
Last date of registration:          September 30, 2014 (Tuesday)
Download of Admit Card:  October 16, 2014 (Thursday)
CAT exam dates :                     November 16, 2014 (Sunday) & November 22, 2014 (Saturday)
Results:                                 3rd week of December 2014.

Official website: http://www.iimcat.ac.in (Online from August 01, 2014).

Sources: leading newspapers.

CAT 2014: Eligibility Criteria, Question Pattern & Test Duration, Syllabus and notification.

CAT 2013 Written Results have been declared by IIM Indore (Organizing Institute ) on 14 January 2014 and also GD-PI Rounds have been concluded by end of March 2014. All IIMs have published their final list for PGP-2014-16 and new session will start from June 2014. Now, CAT Aspirants for CAT 2014 are egarely waiting for notification for CAT 2014 Examination. Notification for CAT 2014 will be released in next 1-2 months. We are highlighting here following Important factors regarding CAT 2014 based on previous year notification:-

CAT 2014: Eligibility Criteria 

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) (It may also referred to as Persons with Disability (PWD) category)], awarded by any of the Universities incorporated by an act of the central or state legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India. The percentage of marks obtained by the candidate in the bachelor’s degree would be calculated based on the practice followed by the university/institution from where the candidate has obtained the degree. In case the candidates are awarded grades/CGPA instead of marks, the conversion of grades/CGPA to percentage of marks would be based on the procedure certified by the university/ institution from where they have obtained the bachelor’s degree. In case the university/ institution does not have any scheme for converting CGPA into equivalent marks, the equivalence would be established by dividing the candidate’s CGPA by the maximum possible CGPA and multiplying the result with 100. 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. If selected, such candidates will be allowed to join the programme provisionally, only if he/she submits a certificate latest by June 30, 2015 from the Principal/Registrar of his/her College/Institute (issued on or before June 30, 2015) stating that the candidate has completed all the requirements for obtaining the bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification on the date of the issue of the certificate.

CAT 2014: Question Paper Pattern & Time Duration 

The CAT 2013 had only two sections. The first section is Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation; the second section is Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning. These two sections will be implemented sequentially with separate time limits. The examination will be 140 minutes. Candidates will have 70 minutes to answer 30 questions within each section which will have an on-screen countdown timer. Within the 70 min provided for the section, candidates can review the answers. Once the time ends for the first section, they will move to the second section and will no longer be able to go back.

Section-01: Subject:- Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation, Time Duration:- 70 Minutes, No. of Questions:- 30 Questions.

Section-02: Subject:- Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning, Time Duration:- 70 Minutes, No. of Questions:- 30 Questions

CAT 2014: Admission Process
The Process of Admission will Include Written ability Test + GD + PI and IIMs can also consider previous academic performance of candidates. CAT 2014 will have important factor for screening of candidates for GD-PI stage and also for final Selection. IIMs can also consider previous work-experience of candidates in screening for stages.

A. CAT 2014: Written ability Test
B. GD+PI Round
C. Academic Background
D. Work- Experience
E. Reservation for SC/ST, OBC, PWD candidates as per norms of Govt. of India

CAT 2014: Offered Courses
IIMs generally offer two years Post graduate program in management and Post graduate program in ABM. They also offer Executive Programs for working professionals and fellow-ship program for research scholars.
A. PGDM, PGDCM, PGDHRM
B. PGP-ABM
C. EPGP
D. FPM

We will notify all registered CAT Aspirants on this blog when Notification for CAT 2014 will be released by IIMs on their registered email id with us in meanwhile continue your studies as your study plan and try to optimize all available resources to you.

Best regards.

Team CATAspirants

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How to study Verbal ability & Reading Comprehension for CAT & other MBA entrance examinations

Verbal ability and reading comprehension is one of the scoring component of CAT & other MBA entrance examinations. In recent years, this section has been changed a lot from straight forward questions to Questions based on usage of English literature. The Syllabus is open-ended and questions can come from anywhere. 

Here we can classify this component on basis of their nature of testing and evaluation:-

A.) Word Structure

B.) Meaning of Words

C.) Correct Syntax, structure and formation of sentences

D.) Identification of Theme, Ideas and important facts from Thematic passage or Comprehension

E.) English Grammar

Recommended Study Material and Resources:

1. One National Daily Newspaper: The Hindu, The telegraph, Hindustan Times etc.

2. One Daily Financial Newspaper: Economics Times of India, Financial Express, Business Standard, Mint etc.

3. One International Magazine: The Economist, Time, Harvard Business review etc.

4. One International Daily Newspaper: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington post etc.

5. War speeches of Winston Churchill, Letters of Abraham Lincoln, Autobiographies of Andrew Carnegie, Adolf Hitler, Benjamin Franklin, M.K. Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Writings of Vivekananda etc.

6. Books mentioned in our previous blog http://cataspirants2013.blogspot.com/2013/06/cat-2013-14-book-list.html

7. English Grammar book: Wren & Martin

8. GRE

9. Verbal ability: Arun sharma

Effective Approach & Plan: 

One should practice daily 2 comprehensions or passage, 2 question sets of fill in the blanks problems based on analogies, 10 new words and one module based online mock test. Practice can only increase your accuracy and speed in this particular section. Set highest priority to passage or comprehension because it is very easy and scoring component of this very section.

Component	Duration	Time Period	Remarks
English Grammar	01.30 hr.	Daily	Revision of Concepts: 45 Minutes Question Practice/ Solving: 45 Minutes
Reading Book	01.30 hrs.	Daily	Reading Book: 1:15 hr Vocabulary: 15 minutes
Newspaper	02.00 hrs.	Daily	National:       30 Minutes Financial:      30 Minutes International: 30 Minutes Vocabulary:  30 Minutes

P.S: Control over English language is not only important for CAT exam but it is essential and critical factor for developing Strong communication skill required for MBA studies and career growth. So, you should put sincere efforts to get good control over this very subject.

Best regards,

Team CATAspirants.
Like us at https://www.facebook.com/Page2CATAspirants
Follow us at www.cataspirants.com

How to study Data Interpretation & Logical reasoning for CAT & Other MBA entrance Examinations

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning, one of the most difficult components of CAT and other MBA entrance examinations. If one has interest to solve puzzle and logical reasoning problems then he or she can score high percentiles in this particular section. We recommend you to understand and revise concepts and theories learnt in school up to 10+2 Level. A good understanding of concepts and theories will increase your accuracy and confidence. One should follow following books for Understanding concepts & theories:-

Books	Author	Remarks
GRE	GRE	Practice Book
Puzzle	Shakuntla Devi	Logical Reasoning
Data Interpretation	Arun Sharma	Basics Concepts
Previous Year Question Bank	CAT, XAT previous year papers	Practice Book

Engineering students are familiar with concepts & theories, so they can directly go for mock tests but working professionals should revise basic concepts and theories before taking any mock test series. Other Stream Students should start with basic concepts & theories from zero level. DI & LR can be divided into three fundamental blocks as mentioned in below table.

Modules	Subjects	Remarks
DI & LR: I	§  Data Interpretation	§  Various data tables and form of representation   §  Identify the useful data and convert it into required format
DI & LR: II	§  Logical Reasoning	§  Very tricky and scoring   §  Time consuming   §  Don’t invest too much time in one problem   §  Practice of variety of questions can make a difference   §  Practice previous years questions
DI & LR: III	§  Data sufficiency	§  2-3 Questions   §  Should attempt at last   §  Very tricky   §  A lot of Practice required

When one will have complete control over basic concepts and theories then he or she should go for module based online mock tests and full length online mock Tests. Practice only can increase accuracy and speed and maximize your odds in one of the toughest examinations in India.

Regards,

Team CATAspirants.

How to study Quantitative aptitude for CAT and other MBA entrance examinations

We recommend you to understand and revise concepts and theories learnt in school up to 10+2 Level. A good understanding of concepts and theories will increase your accuracy and confidence. One should follow following books for Understanding concepts & theories:-

Books	Author	Remarks
NCERT	NCERT	Basic Concepts
Algebra	K.C. Sinha	Basic Concepts
Trigonometry	K.C. Sinha	Basic Concepts
Calculus	K.C  Sinha	Basic Concepts
Co-ordinate Geometry	Loni	Basic Concepts
Quantitative Aptitude	Arun Sharma	Ready Reckon-er
Data Interpretation	Arun Sharma	Ready Reckon-er
Higher Algebra	Hall & Knight	Basic Concepts

Engineering students are familiar with concepts & theories, so they can directly go for mock tests but working professionals should revise basic concepts and theories before taking any mock test series. Other Stream Students should start with basic concepts & theories from zero level. Quantitative aptitude can divided into three fundamental blocks as mentioned in below table.

Modules	Subjects	Remarks
Quantitative Aptitude: I	§  Geometry   §  Co-ordinate Geometry   §  Mensuration	§  25-30 % Weight-age in CAT Paper   §  3-5 Questions from Geometry   §  2-3 Questions from Co-ordinate Geometry   §  2-3 Questions from Mensuration
Quantitative Aptitude: II	§  Algebra   §  Number Theory   §  Time & Work   §  Arithmetic	§  50 % Weight-age in CAT Paper    §  3-4 Questions from Number System   §  2-3 Question from Progression   §  2-3 Questions from Permutation & Combination   §  2-3 Questions from Probability   §  2-3 Questions from Time & Work   §  3-4 Questions from Arithmetic
Quantitative Aptitude: III	§  Trigonometry   §  Calculus   §  Miscellaneous	§  15-20 % Weight age in CAT Papers   §  2-3 questions from Trigonometry   §  2-3 questions from Calculus and miscellaneous

When one will have complete control over basic concepts and theories then he or she should go for module based online mock tests and full length online mock Tests. Practice only can increase accuracy and speed and maximize your odds in one of the toughest examinations in India.

Regards,

Team CATAspirants.

10 Months Study Plan for CAT and other MBA entrance examinations

Every effective preparation requires a systematic planning to optimize available resources and to achieve maximum possible outcome. Here we are presenting a effective 10 Months Study Plan for CAT and other elite MBA examinations. First of all one should lists all available resources and then accordingly plan his or her Study plan. One should also go for SWOT analysis to recognize his or her Strength,   Weakness, Opportunities and Threats.

CAT preparation is combined mix of Theory, Concepts, Practice, Simulated Tests and Effective evaluation on All India level. By considering all Principles , We devised a 10 Months Study Plan for CAT and other MBA entrance examinations. Students and aspirants can change the said plan according to their strength and weakness and available resources available to them.

Phase	From -To	Duration	Activities
Foundation	01 Jan – 30 April	16 Weeks	§  Understand basic concepts and theories.   §  Practice Solved questions based on concepts and Theories   §  Practice exercise based on concepts and theories
Aspire	01 May – 31 July	12 Weeks	§  Take Module based online Test Series   §  Solve Previous years CAT papers   § Practice problems from a good question bank
Elite	01 Aug – 30 Sep	08 Weeks	§Work on your flank areas   §Revise concepts and theories   §  Take full length Mock tests for CAT
Achievers	01 Oct-15 Oct	02 Weeks	§  Solve Previous year CAT, XAT Papers   §  Take Full length Online Mock Test for CAT

Regards.
Team CATAspirants

CAT 2013-14: Book List

All Aspirants should read these stories and novels as your preparation for Verbal part of CAT 2013-14. Reading of  stories  and novels will strengthen your control on this very language and increase your percentile in this tricky section.

CAT: Eligibility Criteria

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) (It may also referred to as Persons with Disability (PWD) category)], awarded by any of the Universities incorporated by an act of the central or state legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India. The percentage of marks obtained by the candidate in the bachelor’s degree would be calculated based on the practice followed by the university/institution from where the candidate has obtained the degree. In case the candidates are awarded grades/CGPA instead of marks, the conversion of grades/CGPA to percentage of marks would be based on the procedure certified by the university/ institution from where they have obtained the bachelor’s degree. In case the university/ institution does not have any scheme for converting CGPA into equivalent marks, the equivalence would be established by dividing the candidate’s CGPA by the maximum possible CGPA and multiplying the result with 100. 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. If selected, such candidates will be allowed to join the programme provisionally, only if he/she submits a certificate latest by June 30, 2013 from the Principal/Registrar of his/her College/Institute (issued on or before June 30, 2013) stating that the candidate has completed all the requirements for obtaining the bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification on the date of the issue of the certificate.

(Sources: www.catiim.in )

CAT: Question Paper Pattern & Test Duration

The CAT 2012 had only two sections. The first section is Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation; the second section is Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning. These two sections will be implemented sequentially with separate time limits. The examination will be 140 minutes. Candidates will have 70 minutes to answer 30 questions within each section which will have an on-screen countdown timer. Within the 70 min provided for the section, candidates can review the answers. Once the time ends for the first section, they will move to the second section and will no longer be able to go back.

(Sources: www. catiim.in)

Hopefully, CAT 2013 will have similar examination pattern and test duration for two sections Quantitative ability + Data Interpretation and Verbal ability + logical Reasoning. So, keep explained examination structure and pattern before preparation and make strategies aligned with the above plan that will enhance your chances. If you have any queries and doubts over examination plan, Feel free to ask here.

Best Regards,
CATAspirants.Com