There is a very marginal increase of about 0.49% in the number of candidates registering for the Common Admissions Test (CAT) in 2011 over 2010.

While the number of vouchers sold for CAT 2011 is more or less the same as that for CAT 2010 — 2.06 lakhs — the number of candidates actually using the vouchers to register for a test slot has marginally increased to 2.05 lakhs over 2010’s 2.04 lakhs.

Mind you, these are only preliminary rounded-off numbers. The exact numbers will be available post October 18.

Of the total number of registrants, 73% are male and 27% are female candidates. The number of women candidates is up by a percent over 2010.

The cities with the highest numbers of scheduled test-takers are New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune.

According to CAT 2011 Convenor Prof Janakiraman Moorthy, “The marginal increase in the number of registrations this year is a sign that management is still a sought after career choice by young Indians.

Would the CAT have attracted the same numbers had the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University and the Indian Institutes of Technology not signed up for the CAT as they did this year?

“Definitely there would be some impact of their joining the CAT, but it will not be very high. It is extremely difficult to quantify the]is impact but I think the overlap between the FMS, JMET and CAT would be quite high as most people who apply to one top school apply to others too,” said Prof Moorthy.

The next step for Prometric is to prepare and check all testing locations to ensure candidates have a smooth testing experience. Candidates should also familiarize themselves with the test day procedures by viewing the video that is available from the CAT website, ensure they bring the right documents, and show up punctually on the right day, at the right location, said Prometric India Managing Director Soumitra Roy.