Over 1 lakh CAT vouchers sold in 10 days; CAT Convenor hopes record numbers

NOIDA, India - Aug. 16, 2013 - PRLog -- The CAT voucher sales has crossed 6-digit mark with more than one lakh MBA aspirants purchasing the application forms in less than 10 days since the voucher sale opened on August 5 even as CAT Convenor hoped applications to reach a record high this year.

CAT 2013 Convenor Dr Rohit Kapoor told MBAUniverse.com that the total number of CAT application may reach record high this year even as online voucher sale is receiving a good response from the MBA candidates. Dr Kapoor said that the overall number of sold CAT vouchers has already increased by around 6 per cent as compared to last year for the same duration.

“Over 10,000 vouchers are being sold every day through online & offline mode. The number has already crossed one lakh in last 10 days and we expect the numbers to reach around 2.5 lakh when we close the process on September 24,” said Dr Rohit Kapoor, adding the online voucher sale introduced from this year has outsmarted the offline sale.

According to official data, the percentage of online voucher sale is more than 55 per cent of the total CAT voucher sale.

 With the number of CAT applicants (http://www.mbauniverse.com/article/id/7054/) likely to increase this year, the competition might get tougher for entry to IIMs and other top B-schools. The number of CAT takers dipped significantly since the year 2008 and only showed a sign of revival last year when the number grew to 2.14 lakh.

CAT numbers over past years:

Year:  2008

CAT Application Numbers:  2, 46,000

Year: 2009

CAT Application Numbers: 2, 41,000

Year: 2010

CAT Application Numbers: 2, 04,000

Year: 2011

CAT Application Numbers: 2, 05,000

Year: 2012

CAT Application Numbers: 2, 14,000

The early trend of voucher sales for CAT 2013 indicates to a continued revival in CAT applications. While this may be a welcome trend for the B-schools which are struggling to fill their seat capacity, the growing applications will make the exam more competitive for MBA Aspirants.

Simultaneously, the IIMs have also increased capacity to accommodate more students from this year. The 13 Indian Institutes of Management have altogether added 115 more seats for admission year 2014. “This year’s CAT Aspirants will have greater opportunity for admission into the IIMs,” Dr Kapoor said, adding, “Across all IIMs, 115 seats have been added for B-School admissions this year, taking the total number of seats in IIMs to 3,335.”

The gateway to the prestigious IIMs and many other top B-schools in India, CAT is scheduled to be conducted in a 20 days window between October 16 and November 11, 2013. The last date for CAT 2013 registration (http://www.mbauniverse.com/article/id/7049/) is September 26. Prometric is the testing partner for this prestigious MBA entrance exam.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more news and updates on CAT and other MBA exams.