Common Admission Test – CAT

CAT or Common Admission Test, is the most popular test among prospective management students because it is accepted by the best institutes – Indian Institute of Management(s). The test is conducted every year by one of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

Cracking CAT examination is one of the biggest dreams of MBA aspirants and to make it come true, one has to do a lot of effort.

Every year, CAT sees the largest number of registrations among all MBA entrance exams in India. Over three lakh candidates apply for the CAT exam every year.

CAT entrance exam is used as a criteria to shortlist applicants for admissions to the following IIMs:

List of IIMs

First generation IIMs (old IIMs)

  1. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad
  2. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore
  3. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta
  4. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow
  5. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indore
  6. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kozhikode
  7. Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management (RGIIM), Shillong

Second generation IIMs

  1. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Rohtak
  2. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Raipur
  3. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ranchi
  4. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Tiruchirappalli
  5. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kashipuri
  6. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Udaipur

New IIMs

  1. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Amritsar
  2. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bodh Gaya
  3. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Jammu
  4. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Nagpur
  5. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Sambalpur
  6. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Sirmour
  7. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Vishakhapatnam

The CAT score is also accepted by more than 100 non-IIM institutes across India, some of which are as reputed as the IIMs.

Pattern of Examination

Paper Pattern

The question paper is separated into 3 sections.

  1. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC): Reading Comprehension, Para Jumbles, Para Summary, Para Completion and Odd Sentence Out
  2. Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR): Puzzles, Seating Arrangement, Blood Relation, Syllogism, Coding and Decoding Tables, Graphs, Data Caselets
  3. Quantitative Aptitude (QA): Arithmetic, Algebra, Number System, Modern Math, Geometry and Mensuration
  • The Time Duration for the Exam: 120 minutes (40 minutes per section).
  • Number of questions (may vary): 68
  • CAT total marks (may vary): 204

Earlier, CAT used to have 100 questions, now it has 66-68 questions.

Exam Format

CAT is a computer-based test conducted in MCQs and TITA (Type In The Answer) questions.

Section-wise questions in CAT exam (based on the average of previous years’ question papers)

SectionNumber of MCQs and Non-MCQs ( TITA )
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)MCQ -21
Non-MCQ – 3
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)MCQ – 14
Non-MCQ – 6
Quantitative Ability (QA)MCQ – 14
Non-MCQ – 8
Total no of Questions66

Eligibility

At least a three-year bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised university with 50% (45 percent for SC, ST and PWD/DA category) Marks.

Those appearing in the final year examination of graduation are also eligible to appear in CAT.

Candidates who have completed a professional degree (CA/CS/ICWA/FCAI) with the required percentage can also appear for CAT.

There is no age restriction for appearing in CAT.