It’s time to bell the CAT as it has been caught in the net! The CAT as it is popularly called or the Common Admission Test is going online this year. Instead of one day now, the test will be conducted over a few days and will follow the prototype of the GRE and GMAT. Students aspiring to be a MBA graduate can now execute their choice judiciously and enjoy greater flexibility in choosing the date and time of giving computer-based tests (CBT).
With CAT going online the students are now reward with quite a few advantages. Flexibility in scheduling and timing of the test will let more MBA aspirants appear for the test generating greater and healthier competition. There is a possibility of retaking the test in the same year instead of a long one year wait. However, the process is still in moderation and depends on the CAT policy. The online test will significantly reduce the cost of administering the exams and will do away with the time consuming manual checking. Encouraged by CBTs, IIMs are likely to bring forth more testing centers in the coming years. Since the price tag associated with students taking a CBT is less than the manual process, it will provide additional flexibility for the students to take the exam. Test scores will be available immediately soon after the test giving the students the scope to apply to colleges in a more systematic manner. The CBT has surely given the MBA aspirants the reasons to raise a toast!
There is other side of the coin too. There are major challenges associated with a computer based CAT, scoring problem being one of them. Uniformity in the question pattern is a big issue with CBT. Earlier the results were comparable as all students had to appear for the same exam. But with CBT, students are made to tackle different questions on different days. This process raises a doubt regarding the same level of difficulty of the questions. Lack of computer skills and limited access to computers and internet connection can also pose a problem to the student as CBT demands proficiency in using a computer.
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