Despite an overall dip in number of overall registrations for CAT ( Common Admission Test) , the ratio of women candidates over two years has continued to increase to 29 per cent this year, said data released by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) for the CAT 2013.
The female aspirant registrations are up from 27 per cent in 2012.
According to Professor Rohit Kapoor, CAT 2013 Convenor, the rise of candidates with two or more years of work experience, registering for CAT, has risen to 16 per cent over the same span, while candidates with little to no work experience have declined to 66 per cent.
“It is understandable, in our current economy that many working professionals are choosing to acquire greater work experience before diverting attention from their present employment to undertake an MBA. We now set our focus on delivering the CAT for nearly 2 lakh aspirants seeking to earn a place among this year’s available IIM seats,” said Kapoor.
Candidates with little to no work experience are down from 68 per cent last year. Across all IIMs, 115 seats have been added for B-School admissions this year, a total of 3,335 seats.
Other trends include technology/engineering backgrounds comprising 70 per cent of candidates, an increase of 6 per cent from last year, continuing a two-year increase. Economics, Management and Science make up the remaining 23 per cent, while all others make up the remaining academic backgrounds.
By region, Maharashtra had the highest number of CAT registrations, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
CAT 2013 will be conducted over a period of 20 days from 16 October to 11 November 2013.
Deepa.nair@thehindu.co.in