CAT 2018: Number of applicants highest in last eight years

CAT 2018 application process concluded on September 26, 2018 and as expected the number of application received was above two lakh.

The number of CAT 2018 application forms received this year is more than the previous year. 2.41 lakh forms were received by the IIM Calcutta this year as opposed to 2.31 lakh in 2017. Though this is a marginal rise from last year, looking back at the past few years, this year’s number can been seen as considerable increase in number of candidates applying for admission to the IIMs.

CAT 2018 is scheduled to be held on November 25, 2018 in about 4000 exam centres across the country.  The application process for CAT 2018 began on August 8, 2018 and the aspirants had about a month and a half to fill the forms. The registration process was set to end on September 19, 2018 but was extended for a week. The CAT 2018 registration window finally closed on September 26, 2018.

Looking at the trend of past eight years (since 2010), we notice that the number CAT applicants have increased every year, except in 2013 and 2014 when the number of registrations was below 2 lakh.

In 2010, the total number of CAT registration stood at 2.04 lakh which rose to 2.05 lakh the next year (2011). In 2012, the total number of applicants increased further to 2.14 lakh. However, In CAT 2013 the total number applicants fell to 1.95 lakh. In CAT 2014 the total number of CAT applicants saw a minimal rise of 2000 (1.97 lakh applications received).

Let’s take a look at the number of CAT applications received since 2010:

*Value in lakh

CAT 2018 will be held in two sessions: forenoon and afternoon. The forenoon session will be held from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and the afternoon session will be held from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Click here to check CAT 2018 exam pattern.

The CAT 2018 syllabus will consist of the following sections:

Section	Questions	Time
Quantitative Aptitude (QA)	34	60 minutes
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)	32	60 minutes
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)	34	60 minutes
Total	100	180

CAT 2018 will be conducted in online mode. Candidates will be given 180 minutes to answer the questions and each section is allotted 60 minutes.

Last year's CAT question paper had 100 questions. There were 34 Quantitative Ability (QA) questions, 34 Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) questions and 32 Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DI-LR) questions.

Section	No. of MCQs	No. of non-MCQs	Total questions	Total marks	Good Attempts
VARC	27	7	34	102	23-26
DI-LR	24	8	32	96	15-18
QA	23	11	34	102	22-25
Total	74	26	100	300

CAT 2018 admit card will be issued from October 24, 2018. The result of CAT 2018 is expected to be announced in the second week of January 2019. Click here for previous years CAT cut offs.