Time has come for students aspiring to pursue MBA at the coveted IIM’s are to start applying for CAT 2009. CAT has become the largest management entrance exam in the country and the first one to go online. This year on the computerized CAT will differ on the registration, exam format and the duration from the previous year paper based tests.

Before you register for CAT 2009, please make sure that you have:

1. Purchased the voucher from the Axis bank which is available from Wednesday, 9 September 2009 - Thursday, 1 October 2009. General CAT vouchers cost Rs. 1400/- and SC/ST vouchers cost Rs. 700/-.Only 1 CAT voucher is needed irrespective of the number of institutes you are applying to. Voucher must be bought in the name of candidate as it appears in the school leaving certificate. SC/ST candidates must show their SC/ST certificates at time of voucher purchase.
2. Scratch off the voucher number gently with a coin.
3. Have your Personal Information ready.
4. Have your Academic Percentage ready.
5. You will have 20 minutes to complete each page of the application, otherwise your selections will be lost and you will be required to reenter your information. Please ensure that you use the CAT 2009 Registration Proforma to fully prepare your answers before going online.

The CAT applicants who have made wrong selections or other errors in their registration submissions can edit their Candidate Profile and Application Data until 8 October 2009. Rescheduling the date will end on 1 October 2009.Editing of candidate's full name and user ID will not be allowed due to security reasons.

There will be multiple dates for the CAT 2009 from Saturday, 28 November 2009 - Monday, 7 December 2009 with two tests being conducted on each day. Each candidate will be seated at a desk with a computer terminal and will be provided with a scratch paper for calculations. After the test, candidate must leave the scratch paper at the desk. As nothing will be allowed inside the testing room rough work cannot be done on any other sheet.

Know your CAT New Pattern

The duration of the CAT will be 2 hours and 30 minutes which will include 15 minute tutorial. So the total time of the test will be 135 minutes without any breaks. The test will consist of three sections to evaluate a candidate’s quantitative, verbal, and logical & data interpretive abilities consisting of 60 to 70 questions in all.

CAT Exam 2009 will have four multiple choices for each questions and will attract negative marking for every wrong answer.

The computer based test will help you track the number of questions you attempt per section, the ones you want to attempt later and the questions you left unanswered with the review option on your screen.