Common Admission Test (CAT 2008) process starts apply fast

CAT 2008 Eligibility
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) or Persons with Disability (PWD) category], of 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 UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India. The Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent qualification obtained by the candidate must entail a minimum of three years of education after completing higher secondary
schooling (10+2) or equivalent. The percentage obtained by the candidate in the bachelor’s degree would be based on the practice followed by the university/institution from where the candidate has obtained the degree. In case of the candidates being awarded grades/CGPA instead of marks, the equivalence would be based on the equivalence certified by the university/institution from where they have obtained 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 the IIMs by dividing obtained CGPA with the maximum possible CGPA and multiplying the resultant with 100.

Candidates appearing for the final year of bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirement and are awaiting results can also apply. Such candidates must produce a certificate from the Principal/Head of the Department/ Registrar/Director of the university/institution certifying that the candidate is currently in the final year / is awaiting final results and has obtained at least 50% marks or equivalent (45% in case of candidates belonging to SC/ST/PWD category) based on latest available grades/marks.

IIM Admission Process

1. Performance in CAT is an important input in the admission process and is the primary basis for shortlisting candidates for the second round of admission process, which comprises of group discussion and/or personal interview. Candidates should note that it is important to perform well relative to other candidates in each section of the test as the scores in each section and the overall score are used to short list the candidates for the second round. These scores may also be used for final ranking as well. In addition to the performance in CAT, IIMs may use academic performance, relevant work experience and other similar inputs for ranking and shortlisting candidates for group discussions and personal interviews.

2. Please note that each IIM shortlists candidates for Group Discussions (GD) and/or Personal Interviews (PI) independent of other IIMs. Hence it is possible to observe variations in the list of candidates shortlisted by different IIMs. For more details, candidates are advised to read carefully the admission process related information of each IIM, as given in section 4 of the CAT Bulletin and on the web sites of respective IIMs.


3. Details of candidates shortlisted by different IIMs for group discussion and/or interview will be made available on CAT website (www.catiim.in) on January 9, 2009. Shortlisted candidates would also be sent letters from the respective IIMs. GD/PI are conducted by each IIM separately. (CAT 2008 Results on January 9, 2008 )

4. After the GD/PI round, admission offers are made by IIMs to successful candidates. The ranking and final selection is based on a diverse set of attributes and may include performance in CAT, performance in GD/PI, academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular achievements, work experience etc. The weights given to each of these attributes may vary across IIMs as the admission process of each IIM, subsequent to CAT is independent.

5. Disclosure of information about the admission process at IIMs is driven by concerns, which at times conflict with each other. The IIMs would like the admission process to be transparent. At the same time, IIMs would wish to protect the privacy of individual candidates and confidentiality of the process to prevent abuse. Based on these considerations, the performance of an individual is not made available to any other person. Similarly, the performance of candidates in GD/PI including assessment of attributes mentioned under paragraph 4 of this box is not disclosed to anyone to prevent exercise of undue pressure on the panelists participating in the admission/selection process. Moreover, each IIM exercises its own discretion in disclosing weights assigned to diverse sets of attributes mentioned under paragraph 4 above. To ensure that the resultant lack of transparency does not in any way affect the candidates negatively, adequate care is taken in formation of panel, development of objective criteria for assessment, random allocation of candidates to a panel and other such measures.

6. Candidates, who appeared in GD/PI will be able to view whether they have been offered admission by different IIMs on April 10, 2009 by visiting the websites of respective IIMs. Admission offer letter would be sent to all successful candidates by different IIMs for which the candidates have been selected. Candidates, who are offered admission, need to confirm their acceptance by completing all the required formalities by May 1, 2009. Some candidates may also be placed on the waiting list initially on April 10, 2009. Offers to candidates on the waiting list would depend upon the number of successful candidates accepting the offer made by an IIM.

TEST CENTRES
Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Noida, Patna, Pune and Varanasi

Contact Address IIMs:

Admissions Office, Indian Institute of Management, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad – 380015
Admissions Office, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore – 560076
Admissions Office, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, D.H. Road, Joka, Kolkata – 700104
Admissions Office, Indian Institute of Management Indore, Prabandh Shikhar, Rau-Pithampur Road, Indore - 453331
Admissions Office, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, IIM Kozhikode Campus P. O., Kozhikode - 673570
Admissions Office, Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, Prabandh Nagar, Off Sitapur Road, Lucknow - 226013
Administrative Office, Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management Shillong, NEHU Mayurbhanj Complex, Nongthymmai, Shillong - 793014

SALE OF CAT APPLICATION FORM AND BULLETIN BY IIMs
Under exceptional circumstances [such as (a) the stock of bulletins get exhausted in the nearby branch of the bank, (b) the bank branch is inaccessible to the candidate, and/or (c) the bulletin sale through banks has closed], CAT Application Form and Bulletin can also be obtained directly from any one of the IIMs till August 13, 2008 by sending a crossed demand draft for Rs. 1300/- (Rs. 650/- for SC/ST candidates with a copy of the SC/ST certificate) drawn in favour of the respective IIM. Request for the bulletin should be accompanied by a cloth-lined selfaddressed unstamped envelope of size 12" x 10".
The completed application form for CAT 2008 with supporting documents should be sent so as to reach the concerned IIM on or before September 5, 2008.

IIMs will not be held responsible for non-delivery or postal delays in case of CAT Application Forms and Bulletins sent by the speed/
registered post/courier and/or non-delivery or postal delays in receipt of completed CAT 2008 application forms.

website - http://www.catiim.in/

Important Dates
Issue of CAT Bulletins by Axis Bank starts- JULY 14, 2008 (Monday)
Issue of CAT Bulletins by Axis Bank ends- AUGUST 8, 2008 (Friday)
Issue of CAT Bulletins by IIMs ends- AUGUST 13, 2008 (Wednesday)
Last date for receipt of completed CAT 2008 Application Forms- 05th September, 2008
Common Admission Test 2008 Date- NOVEMBER 16, 2008 (Sunday)