The Common Admission Test (CAT), which is a computer-based aptitude exam, is held by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) for selecting pupils for business administration programs. Students can give the exam only once a year and the score is valid for one year. The registration cost is about 1600 INR and students should set aside two hours thirty-five minutes for writing the exam. Apart from the IIMs, many other well-known institutions also accept the CAT score. Examples include Jaipuria Institute of Management (Lucknow), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and FORE School of Management, Delhi. Many students are not aware of the fact that the CAT score is even accepted by foreign colleges or international Top MBA Colleges. This is because the CAT-based selection process is quite rigorous and the credibility of the IIMs is known all over the world. Thus, candidates who qualify are the best or simply the cream of the cake! It should be highlighted that seats based on CAT scores are very limited for international colleges and hence, it is suggested that students should either try for GMAT or GRE.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of the International Top MBA Colleges accepting CAT scores:
- Top MBA Colleges Singapore Management University (SMU, Singapore) for its 18 months Master of Science in Management (MM) program. The course fee is about 45,000 (Sing Dollars). SMU provides American style education.
- SP Jain School of Global Management Top MBA Colleges(Dubai, Singapore and Sydney) for its Masters of Global Business program. Although the main campus is located in Mumbai, the other campuses accept a CAT score of 95 percentile and above.
- ESCP Europe Business School Top MBA Colleges (Germany) for its Master in Management program. The cost associated with the course is approximately €20,000 per annum excluding living costs for non-European students.
- Asian Institute of Management (Philippines)
- Skema Business School Top MBA Colleges (France)
- Illinois of Institute Technology (United States)
- BI Norwegian Business School (Norway). The fees for this program are comparatively less.
- La Rochelle Business School (France)
- ESC Rennes (France)
- Audencia Business School (France)
- DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University
Overview of the CAT Exam
The test was paper-based until 2009 when it moved on to become computer-based. Next exam is scheduled for November 25, 2018 and the results will be available early next year (tentatively). CAT Exam is meant to test would-be managers. As such, it simulates situations that a manager encounters in everyday business life. The exam tests more than simply skills in English language and quantitative aptitude. It includes 4 sections on Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Logical reasoning and Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary. Each section has it own importance and requires exhaustive study and use of intelligence.
Checking your CAT Result
- Aspirants should visit the official website of CAT 2018 and login with their registration credentials e.g. CAT user id and password;
- Click on the tab, ‘Score Card’ after logging in;
- Download the CAT 2018 result or the scorecard;
- Print the CAT scorecard and preserve it until the admission process is complete.
But what is a good CAT score, after all? Experts claim that you will need to answer between 55 and 60 questions correctly in order to get a good overall score of 165 – 180. This will roughly pull you in the 99 percentile. Percentiles above 90 are admirable. If you are above 90 then this means that that you have scored better than 90% of test-takers! Well as simple as it sounds, it is indeed very competitive. With many aspirants taking up this exam in the recent years, the competition has become tough. The exam preparation require a lot of dedication and consistent effort.
Factors for Considering Business Schools
Now that you know about the list of international Top MBA Colleges accepting CAT score and have a brief overview of the exam, it is time to take note of some other factors that may affect your decision to study at a school. Your selection of a foreign business school should be a balanced judgment based on the following factors:
- Placements versus Cut-Offs – Reputation of colleges is linked to the salaries that alumni earn and reputed business schools consider candidates with a percentile cut off between 90-98. The higher the reputation of the school, the higher the employment prospects. This is a simple rule of thumb! So, students should think twice before going in for a college that has a low cut-off. It may be easier to gain entry in a college with low cut-off but it may be harder to find a good placement upon the completion of the course. The bottom line is to work hard and secure a good percentile.
- Quality Education and Pedagogy – Quality of education and teaching methodology is also important especially if one comes from a non-management background. This makes transition easier. Anyways, aspirants expect an enriching experience irrespective of their educational background.
- Infrastructure – Students should not neglect this factor while choosing a college. Prospective students can only be trained well when they have access to the latest technology and have ample of opportunities to merge their classroom learning with real world encounters.
Good luck in the search of the right institution!
