IIM CAT 2020: Big changes in exam pattern, duration, application deadline; here are the details

IIM CAT 2020: The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) has announced major changes in the exam pattern for the CAT 2020 exam scheduled for November 29.

The institute has also extended the CAT 2020 application deadline whereby candidates can now apply for the common admission test (CAT) at iimcat.ac.in until 5 pm on September 23.

The computer-based IIM CAT 2020 exam will be held at various centres spread across the country.

CAT 2020 is a prerequisite to secure admission to postgraduate and fellow programmes of IIMs. The exam is conducted for admission to several management courses, comprising PGP, PGDM, PGPEM, EPGP, PGPBM, and PGPEX.

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Below mentioned are the changes in CAT exam pattern:

• The exam time has been cut to 120 minutes from the earlier 180 minutes.
• The CAT exam 2020 will be conducted in three sessions of two hours each instead of the two morning and afternoon sessions that followed until last year.
• The exam paper will have three sections- verbal ability and reading comprehension, data interpretation and logical reasoning, and quantitative ability.
• As per the revised test pattern, the candidates will now get 40 minutes per section, a departure from the earlier 60 minutes per section.
• Candidates will not be allowed to switch between the sections without completing one section.
• The registration date has also been extended until September 23. The IIMS may divulge further details regarding the pattern change on September 20, such as the number of questions per section etc.
• The IIMs will provide mock tests/tutorials on the new CAT 2020 exam format through the CAT website beginning October 2020.

CAT 2020 registration details are as given below:-

• General category candidates will have to pay a registration fee of Rs 2,000, SC, ST and PwD category applicants only need to pay Rs 1,000.
• Following the registration, candidates will be able to download the CAT 2020 admit card from (5 pm) October 29 onwards.
• Candidates will be allowed to edit their CAT 2020 registration even after the registration window is closed. They can edit their signature, photograph and test city preference in the application form.
• The exam will be carried out in test centres across 156 test cities. Applicants will be given the option to choose any six test cities in order of their preference.

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How to apply for IIM CAT 2020 exam:

• Visit the official website- iimcat.ac.in
• Go to the home page and click on 'Register' tab
• Fill out the form by entering all the required details.
• You will receive an OTP on your registered mobile number.
• Fill out the application form by entering the OTP.
• Fill in all the required details asked for in the form and select the programmes you want to enroll for
• Pay the application fee.

IIM CAT 2020 results:

The results of the IIM CAT 2020 exam are expected to be announced by the second week of January 2021.