A Practical Guide to the CAT 2010

27 October – 24 November 2010

The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2010 will be conducted over a 20-day testing window between 27
October and 24 November 2010.

The window for registration & scheduling ends on Thursday, 7 October and you will not be allowed to
make any further changes to your profile, application or test schedule after this date. However, you
may still log on to https://iim.prometric.com using your username and password to print your Admit
Card. This facility will be available until the end of the testing window.

All registered candidates must attend their most recently scheduled session and bring along their most
recent Admit Card on test day. Candidates are also encouraged to watch the Test Day Procedures
video on http://www.youtube.com/user/IIMCAT#p/u/2/Sjo7dSIWQzI before coming for the test.

Reporting for the Test

You should arrive at your allocated test centre at least 2 hours before your scheduled appointment.
This will allow time for security checks, identity verification and checking in.

If you have registered for Session 1 (morning session), you should

be at the test centre by 8am. You must not arrive later than
8:30am. Testing will begin at 10am and end at 12:30pm.

If you have registered for Session 2 (afternoon session), you should

be at the test centre by 1:30pm. You must not arrive later than
2pm. Testing will begin at 3:30pm and end at 6pm.

Please make sure you have your most updated Admit Card and
check your date, time and test location carefully.

You will not be allowed to test if you arrive less than 1½ hours
before your test time.

What to Bring

Candidates must bring:

1. CAT 2010 Admit Card

2. One original and valid photo identification
3. CAT 2010 Voucher

In addition, SC/ST candidates will also need to bring a valid document as proof of SC/ST eligibility.

DA candidates requiring support during the test must also bring along an authorisation from Prometric
and photo identification of a scribe if applicable.

Acceptable forms of photo identification are Driver's license, Passport, PAN Card, Voter ID, College
ID, Employee identification card, or a notarized Affidavit with Photo, Signature, Date of Birth and
Residential Address. Candidates will not be permitted to take the test if photo identification and Admit
Card is not presented. If the name has been changed due to events such as marriage, you must show
the documents such as Marriage Certificate, Divorce Decree, Legal Name Change etc. and submit a
photocopy at the time of the test, interview and at the time of joining a programme.

Page 1 of 6
 You will be required to keep any small personal items in a bag which will be
stored away from the testing area. Candidates will not be permitted to take
anything into the testing area, including but not limited to wrist-watch, pen,
cellphones, calculators, etc. Do not bring bags, valuables or any large items to the
test centre as Prometric will not be able to store these for you.

Differently Abled (DA) candidates who have been approved for special requirements such as
wheelchair or hearing aid will need to bring along those devices. Only the magnifying screen will be
provided by Prometric.

Getting to your Test Centre

Maps and directions to each test centre are available on www.catiim.in.

Please ensure you allow for sufficient travel time. It might also be
advisable to make a trip to your allocated test centre a day or two earlier
to familiarise yourself with the location, travel time and traffic conditions.
Look out for signs and staff wearing official CAT 2010 jackets to assist
you once you arrive.

Security at the Test Centre

Identity checks will be made upon arrival at the test centre to ensure that there are no unauthorised
candidates and that you are at the right test location on the right day and time. Please be patient, get
in line and await your turn. Only registered CAT 2010 candidates will be allowed into the test centre.
Friends or relatives who accompany you to the test centre are not allowed to wait in the test centre or
be in contact with you while you take the test.

After security checks, you will proceed to check-in for your test.
Only your Admit Card, photo identification, Voucher, SC/ST
certificate (if applicable) and DA Scribe Document (if
applicable) will be allowed to be brought in beyond this point
The check-in procedure includes your image and fingerprint
capture. This is a security feature which will allow the IIMs to
verify your identity should they call you up for an interview after
your results are announced. Once escorted to your designated
lab (indicated by the site code on your Admit Card) and
assigned workstation, a Test Centre Administrator (TCA) will sign you in. Your image will appear on
the computer screen once you’re signed in. You may have to wait in your seat for some time for all
candidates to be signed in. During this time, if you need to visit the restroom, please inform the TCA.
Your Admit Card and photo identification will be checked when you are escorted back to your
workstation so please carry that with you at all times. Note that no further restroom breaks will be
allowed 30 minutes prior to the test time or during the test.

The lab door will close 30 minutes before the start of the test. Two pencils, an
eraser and scratch paper will be distributed to each candidate. Listen to the
TCA’s instructions to begin the test. During the test, you may use the scratch
paper to do your calculations. Each workstation will be blocked on three sides –
front, left and right. Do not look around at other candidates as there will be
surveillance cameras that record both audio and video. Any suspicious or
disruptive behaviour could lead to your test being invalidated by the IIMs. For
any issues during the test, raise your hand to notify a TCA. A technician will
also be on stand-by at every site. In case of any major disruptions, rest assured that if you are a
registered candidate, you will get to test within the testing window. All scratch paper must be returned
to the TCA after the test.

Page 2 of 6
Test Duration and Pattern

The actual duration of the test is 2 hours and 15 minutes. Candidates with scribe requirements will be
scheduled for an extra hour. Prior to the start of the test, there will be a 15-minute optional tutorial to
familiarise candidates with navigation and functionality available during the test. Candidates are
advised to go through this tutorial.

All candidates will start the test at the same time. Candidates are to remain at their seats for the entire
duration of the test even if they complete their test early. No breaks will be given during the test.

The test consists of multiple choice questions that evaluate a candidate’s quantitative, verbal, and
logical & data interpretation abilities. There are a total of three sections and 60 questions in the test.
TCAs are not allowed to answer any questions pertaining to the test content. If you do not understand
a question on the test, you should answer the question to the best of your ability. Three (3) points will
be awarded for each correct answer, one (1) point will be deducted for each wrong answer. There is
no penalty for questions that are left unanswered.

A practice test is available on www.catiim.in to familiarise you with the navigation and functionality of
the CAT. The sample questions in the practice test are NOT representative of the content or difficulty
level of the actual test. You may try the practice test as many times as you like.

Useful Tips during the Test

Tutorial
Candidates are advised to go through the 15-minute tutorial prior to the start of the test which will
demonstrate the following:
 Navigating around the screen – question number, on-screen timer, Next, Previous, Mark and
Review buttons
 Reviewing questions – how to identify which questions are complete, marked or incomplete; and
how to go directly to a specific question or review all marked or incomplete questions
 You will notice that the question number appears at the top centre of the screen and the timer
appears on the top right

Selecting / de-selecting answers

Every question will have 4 options – A, B, C and D. Read the question on the screen and click on the
circle next to your selected answer. You can change their answer simply by clicking on any other
circle. If you’ve already selected an answer but later decide that you would prefer not to answer that
question, all you need to do is click on the clicked circle again.

Marking questions for review

If you are unable to answer a particular question or unsure if your response is correct, you may ‘mark’
it and return to review it later. Simply click on the ‘Mark’ button on the bottom of the screen. Once
clicked, the button changes to red so you know that it has been marked successfully. To unmark it,
click the red ‘Marked’ button. Note that if you have selected an answer, it will be evaluated even if it
remains ‘Marked’ when you end the test. The ‘Mark’ feature only serves as a reminder to you.

Page 3 of 6
Reviewing questions
At any time during the test, you can go to the review screen to see which questions you have
completed, marked, or are incomplete. Click on the ‘Review’ button on the bottom of any question
screen to do so. The review screen shows a list of all the questions, along with a symbol next to it
which indicates if it is marked, complete or incomplete. From here, you can double-click on a particular
question to go to it, or select ‘Review Incomplete’ or ‘Review Marked’ from the bottom of the screen.
Selecting ‘Review Incomplete’ or ‘Review Marked’ takes you to the first ‘Incomplete’ or ‘Marked’
question as appropriate.

Time management
The on-screen timer is found on the top right corner of every screen. This counts down from 2 hours
and 15 minutes so what you see is the time remaining for you to complete the test. For example,
01:35:48 means the time remaining is 1 hour, 35 minutes and 48 seconds. Do check this timer
regularly and allocate your time carefully to ensure you have sufficient time to attempt all the
questions.

Final checks
Allow some time to do final checks before ending the test.

Ending the test

When you have reviewed all your answers and are ready to end your test, click on ‘Quit Test’ at the
bottom of the screen. If you have questions that are incomplete, you will be prompted by a pop-up
box. Click ‘No’ to return to the test, or ‘Yes’ to end the test.

Page 4 of 6
Even if you have answered all the questions, you will still see a pop-up box to reconfirm if you would
like to end the test. If you click ‘Yes’, your test will end. Be reminded that you will not be allowed to
leave your seat until the entire test duration is up.

Getting Assistance

If you require any assistance during the test, please raise your hand and a TCA will come to you.

Results

CAT 2010 results are expected to be available on the CAT website www.catiim.in from 12 January
2011. Candidates must retain a print-out of their results. Candidates short-listed by the IIMs for
interviews for PGP will also be listed on the CAT website. Each IIM will send interview letters to short-
listed candidates. Please refer to the individual IIM websites for their selection criteria.

Test Centre Facilities

All the CAT 2010 test centres have been specifically selected as they
meet Prometric’s standards for computer hardware and software,
generators and uninterrupted power supplies (UPS), internet connectivity
and physical security. All testing areas will provide individual testing seats
with partitions on either side as well as the front, for privacy.

Contingency Plans

Contingency plans have been put in place in the event of any disruption.

In the event of a power outage, or any other disruptions such as computer issues, all of the
candidates’ responses are safely housed on the server’s hard drive which is backed up by an
uninterrupted power supply (UPS). When power is restored, or the candidate is transferred from a
defective testing station to another computer, the test can be resumed exactly where the candidate left
off. Prometric has built in excess capacity that will allow candidates to be accommodated, if possible,
on the same day.

If, under any circumstances, testing cannot take place on a particular day, candidates will be
contacted by Candidate Care and rescheduled within the testing window.

Page 5 of 6
Candidate Care

The Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) is available on 1800 103 9293. You should use this as
well as the FAQs found on www.catiim.in to help answer most of your queries. In case you are still
facing issues, you may contact CAT Candidate by phone, or send a web query.

Phone support availability:

Registration Phase: 30 August – 7 October 2010, 9:00am to 6:00pm from Mondays to Saturdays.
Pre-testing window: 8 – 26 October 2010, 9:00am to 6:00pm from Mondays to Saturdays.
Testing window: 27 October – 24 November 2010, 8:00am to 7:00pm daily
Post-testing window: 25 November – 7 February 2011, 9:00am to 6:00pm Mondays to Fridays

Phone support will not be available on the following days:

 Saturday, 2 October 2010 – Gandhi Jayanti
 Monday, 18 October 2010 – Dussehra
 Friday, 5 November 2010 – Diwali

Webmail support availability:

Webmail support will be available from the beginning of registration till candidates receive their score
reports. Click on ‘Contact Us’ from www.catiim.in. Queries, received by webmail, will be responded to
within 2 working days. Do not send the same email multiple times, as it will delay the response
process.

Useful Links

 www.catiim.in – information on CAT 2010 including Practice Test and test centre maps/directions
 https://iim.prometric.com – CAT Registration / Scheduling website
 Videos
o http://www.youtube.com/user/IIMCAT#p/u/0/3ZAKi-hcNBs – Introduction from Soumitra
Roy, Managing Director, Prometric India
o http://www.youtube.com/user/IIMCAT#p/u/1/0vff1qWVIWM – Introduction from Professor
Himanshu Rai, Convenor, CAT 2010
o http://www.youtube.com/user/IIMCAT#p/u/5/eid8aylsPYo – CAT 2009 Candidate Video
o http://www.youtube.com/user/IIMCAT?feature=mhum#p/u/5/kceHO44cdS4 – CAT 2010
Registration & Scheduling Process
o http://www.youtube.com/user/IIMCAT#p/u/2/Sjo7dSIWQzI – CAT 2010 Test Day
Procedures
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3woubVW7ja0 – CAT 2010 Test Format
o http://www.youtube.com/user/IIMCAT#p/u/3/G8KFAfMjDR4 – CAT Scoring Process
o http://www.youtube.com/user/IIMCAT#p/u/4/0Rjk8lVmLUI – CAT 2010 Additional
Information
o If you have limited connectivity, you may ring +91 124 451 7178 to listen to a short
recording

Page 6 of 6