Over 2.40 lakh candidates have registered for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2019 for entry into the IIMs and other b-schools, the highest in over a decade.
According to IIM Kozhikode, which is conducting the exam this year, 2,44,169 candidates have registered for the exam, which is 3831 candidates more than last year. The registration window closed on September 25.
Data shared by the IIM reflects an upstick in the exam, especially since 2014. That year, 1.96 lakh candidates had registered for the exam. Since then, the number of candidates has kept on rising to touch 2.40 lakh last year and 2.44 lakh this year.
“The establishment of new IIMs across the country have brought MBA aspirants closer to their ambition in studying in one of them” Economic Times said quoting member of CII Education Council Rohin Kapoor.
IIM Kozhikode director Debasis Chatterjee added that the ongoing recession in the market seems to have had no impact on the candidates who are willing to take up the MBA programme. “Brand IIM is more aspirational than it was last year,” he told ET.
Working professionals, the report said, have also applied full stream for CAT 2019 to hone their managerial skills and give their best when the market comes out of recession. This is the best time in a sluggish environment when they can take up the MBA programme, some other news reports said quoting experts.