CAT 2024 - Common Admission Test
Common Admission Test (CAT) is the most popular entrance exam for MBA admissions. It is computer-based national level entrance test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) for admission to to MBA/PGDM courses at 21 IIMs as well as more than 500 B-Schools across India.
CAT is a prerequisite for admission to various Post Graduate and Fellow/Doctorate programmes of IIMs. CAT scores are allowed to be used by listed non-IIM member institutions.
On the basis of CAT percentile score, eligible candidates are short listed and called for a Written Aptitude Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI).
Important Dates
- Start of Registration: 1 August, 2024
- Last Date to Apply: 13 September, 2024
- Download Admit Card: From 5 November, 2024
- Computer Based Test Date: 24 November, 2024
- Declaration of Results: Second week of January, 2025
How to Apply
Application Procedure: You have to first register and create your unique User ID and Password. After registration, login again and fill up the application form. You must have a valid email id as IIMs will do all the communications by that email id only.
At the time of registration, you have to select any five test cities, as per your preference, from a drop-down menu. After the last date of registration, you will be allotted one among the five preferred cities subject to availability.
Registration Fees
- Rs. 1250 for SC, ST and PwD category candidates
- Rs. 2500 for all other categories of candidates
Eligibility Criteria
You must hold a Bachelor's Degree, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA (45% in case of the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PwD) categories).
If you are appearing for the final year of bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply.
Age Limit: There is no age limit for applying to or appearing in CAT.
Exam Pattern
CAT is a computer based test. It has three sections:
- Quantitative Ability (QA)
- Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DI & LR)
- Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VA & RC)
QA and VRC consists of 34 questions, whereas DILR section has 32 questions, making total of 100 questions in the paper. The duration of the exam is 120 minutes (2 hours). Some questions in each section may not be of multiple choice type. Instead, direct answers are to be typed on the screen. Basic on-screen calculator is available for computation.
| Section | MCQs | Non-MCQs | Questions | Marks | Time (minutes) |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 | 10 | 34 | 102 | 40 |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DI & LR) | 24 | 8 | 32 | 96 | 40 |
| Quantitative Ability (QA) | 27 | 7 | 34 | 102 | 40 |
| Total | 75 | 25 | 100 | 300 | 120 |
You are allotted exactly 40 minutes for answering questions in each section and you cannot switch from one section to another while answering questions in a section.
Marking Scheme: You are awarded three marks for each correct answer. The test carries negative marking, one mark is deducted for each wrong answer. However, there is no negative marking for non-MCQs or TITA (Type In The Answer) questions.
Admission Process
Each IIM is independent to mandate their own eligibility criteria (including academic cut-offs and relative weights) and follow different selection processes. Performance in the CAT examination is an important component for consideration in the selection process. IIMs may also use the previous academic performance of the candidates, relevant work experience and other similar inputs in short-listing of candidates at various stages of the selection process.