The official notification about the CAT 2016 has already been released on 31st July, 2016. This year, Common Admission Test will be conducted by the IIM Bangalore.
Those of you, who are preparing for CAT 2016, must know that the CAT is a computer-based test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management also abbreviated as IIMs (on rotational basis) to select the right candidates for their business administrative programs. This year for the first time IIM Bangalore is going to conduct the exam. It was speculated by industry gurus that there might be big changes this year but after the notification it has been clear that there are some minor changes in the main features of the test.
Here we are going to give you information about those minor changes and the aspects which are unchanged.
CAT 2016 Exam Date
As per the official notification, the CAT 2016 is scheduled to be conducted on 4th December, 2016 which is the first Sunday of December. It will be conducted in two sessions.
The CAT 2016 exam date came as a welcome surprise for the aspirants as the CAT has always been conducted in November. Last it was conducted in December was way back in 2009 where it was conducted in multiple sessions starting in the month of November and some in December. The reasons for the change in exam date for CAT 2016 is still unknown but it has certainly given a few more days of preparations to the aspirants who are preparing to bell the CAT day and night.
It was speculated that the CAT will be conducted somewhere in mid-November as IIFT is scheduled to be held on 27th November, 2016 but this date of exam in December has bring happiness among CAT applicants.
CAT Exam Dates Previous Years
The table below will give you information about the CAT Exam Dates for Previous Years:-
| CAT 2006 | 19th November |
| CAT 2007 | 18th November |
| CAT 2008 | 17th November |
| CAT 2009 | From 28th November to 7th December |
| CAT 2010 | From 27th October to 24th November |
| CAT 2011 | From 22nd October to 18th November |
| CAT 2012 | From 11th October to 6th November |
| CAT 2013 | 16th October and 11th November |
| CAT 2014 | 16th November and 22nd November |
| CAT 2015 | 29th November |
| CAT 2016 | 4th December |
Registration Window
The candidates who want to register themselves for CAT 2016 will be able to do so from 8th August, 2016 to 22nd September, 2016. So, this year the registration window will remain open for 46 days which means candidates this year will get one more day to register.
Even though the window will remain open for a long time it is always advisable to register early so that you will be able to get the Test Center of your choice. If you will register in the last days you might not get the CAT 2016 test center of your choice. The test center is allocated on the basis of first come first serve basis and each center has the specific number of seats allotted to conduct test. So, it is always better to register early and avoid last minute hitches.
Last year also technical hitches were reported and then the registration window was extended for 5 days.
We have given here the number of candidates who have registered themselves and the no. of candidates who have actually appeared for the exam over the last a few years.
| Year of Exam | No of Candidates Registered | No of Candidates Appeared |
| 2015 | 218,664 | 1,79,602 |
| 2014 | 196,988 | 1,67,829 |
| 2013 | 194,516 | 1,73,714 |
| 2012 | 214,000 | 1,95,000 |
| 2011 | 205,000 | 1,86,000 |
| 2010 | 204,000 | 1,85,000 |
| 2009 | 241,000 | 2,30,000 |
| 2008 | 290,000 | 2,76,000 |
| 2007 | 250,000 | 2,30,000 |
CAT Application Form: Revisions
Every year many candidates make mistakes while registering themselves and to make changes in the form they have to contact the CAT helpline. So, in order to aid the candidates this year the IIMS have decided to give a window of certain time period when applicants will be allowed to make corrections in some sections of the form. The details of the edit window are still to come.
- Particulars which can be revised– Candidates will be able to make changes to the particulars mentioned in percentage of marks scored, programmes selected, work experience etc.
- Particulars which cannot be revised– Candidates will not be able to make changes in the personal detail, academics section except the percentage marks scored and exam centre city preference. If in case you make any mistakes in one of these sections, you will be required to register again with a new email ID.
Exam Pattern
As IIM Bangalore is going to conduct the exam for the first time it was anticipated that there might be some changes in the exam pattern of CAT 2016 but to all aspirant’s relief there are no changes in the pattern of the exam.
As there are no changes in the pattern it is expected that there will be changes in the difficulty level of the exam. So, candidates should be prepared for the surprises at the time of exam.
Stay tuned to know how to tweak your preparation strategy to deal with the surprises in the CAT 2016!
You May Also Like:
- Guidelines for CAT Aspirants Applying for the First Time
- CAT 2016-17 Participating Institutes with Fee Details
- How your CAT 2016 Score will Affect the Percentile?
- CAT 2016 Preparation Tips and Tricks
- CAT Exam Pattern & Syllabus
- CAT 2016 Registration Details
