It is time for MBA aspirants vying for a seat in the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other top B-schools to give it their best shot at the Common Admission Test (CAT) that begins across 40 cities on Wednesday. CAT will be conducted over 20 days till November 11.
As many as 1.94 lakh candidates across the country have registered for the online test, which is the gateway to 3,335 seats. There are seven test centres in Bangalore.
In a press release, test provider Prometric said candidates were expected to arrive at their test centre at least ninety minutes before their scheduled test time.
Session 1 begins at 10 a.m. and Session 2 at 3.15 p.m.
At the centre
Only registered candidates will be allowed inside the test centre. They will have to present their admit card and photo identification, and carry them at all times. Candidates will have to store small personal belongings in a plastic bag (to be provided) away from the exam hall. They have been advised not to bring bags, valuables and large items to the test centre.
As part of the biometric check-in process, a candidate’s digital image and fingerprint will be captured to allow the IIMs to verify his/her identity during any follow-up interviews. Once the check-in process is completed, candidates will be escorted to their assigned seats.
The test
Prior to the commencement of the test, there will be a 15-minute tutorial that candidates are advised to go through. The test will begin after the candidates read and accept the non-disclosure agreement.
All candidates will first be presented with the section on Quantitative Ability (QA) and Data Interpretation (DI). A countdown timer set at 1 hour 10 minutes will appear on the top right corner of every screen. Candidates can navigate within this section using the ‘Next’, ‘Previous’ and ‘Review’ buttons. As the two sections are separately timed, candidates can focus on one section at a time.
Once the time ends for the first section, candidates will no longer be able to go back to it. The second section on Verbal Ability (VA) and Logical Reasoning (LR) will then begin, with the timer counting down once again from 1 hour 10 minutes.
The release added that all test areas would be audio and video recorded and “any suspicious or disruptive behaviour could lead to a candidate’s test being invalidated by the IIMs.” A technician will also be on standby at every location and candidates have been advised to immediately alert a test centre administrator in case of any technical issue.
