Common Admission Test (CAT)

What this exam is

CAT — the Common Admission Test — is India’s most widely taken postgraduate management entrance examination. It serves as the primary gateway to the 21 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and is additionally accepted by more than 1,200 MBA and PGDM programmes across the country.

CAT is conducted once a year, in late November, by one of the IIMs on a rotational basis. IIM Kozhikode conducted CAT 2025 on November 30, 2025. The examination is entirely computer-based and is held in three slots across a single day at hundreds of test centres throughout India.

The exam has been running in its modern computer-based format since 2009. Prior to that, it was a pen-and-paper test. The current structure — three sections of Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Ability (QA), each with a fixed 40-minute time limit — has been in place since 2015 and stabilised at 68 questions (down from earlier formats of 100 questions). The 2020 exam introduced the 120-minute total duration that has remained in subsequent years.

Each year, approximately 3 lakh candidates register for CAT. The exam does not have a pass/fail cutoff — instead, it generates percentile scores that individual institutions use to shortlist candidates for their admission processes. Getting a good CAT score is necessary but not sufficient for IIM admission; the final selection at each IIM involves group discussion, written ability tests, personal interviews, and academic profile evaluation.

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Who should take this exam

CAT is the exam of choice for anyone targeting an MBA or PGDM from an IIM or leading Indian B-school. The breadth of institutions accepting CAT scores — over 1,200 — means it functions as a universal MBA entrance test for the Indian market.

You should take CAT if:

• You are targeting an IIM (any tier), FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR, IIT management schools, or other top-ranked Indian B-schools
• You want to appear for one exam that keeps multiple institution options open, rather than taking separate tests for each school
• You have a bachelor’s degree (or are in the final year of one) from any stream — management education in India is deliberately stream-agnostic at the postgraduate level
• You are a working professional looking to transition or advance through an MBA; CAT has no age limit and many IIMs value work experience in their selection

CAT may not be the only exam you need. Institutions like XLRI (accepts XAT), SP Jain (accepts GMAT and CAT), and ISB Hyderabad (accepts GMAT/GRE) use separate tests. If you are targeting international MBA programmes, GMAT is more appropriate. For programmes that specifically seek CAT alternatives, XAT and CMAT are complementary options worth considering.

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Exam pattern and structure

CAT is a 120-minute computer-based test with 68 questions across three sections. Each section has a strict 40-minute time limit and must be attempted in a fixed order (VARC → DILR → QA). Candidates cannot return to a previous section once that section’s time has expired.

Section	MCQ Questions	TITA Questions	Total Questions	Marks	Duration
VARC	22	2	24	72	40 minutes
DILR	12	10	22	66	40 minutes
QA	14	8	22	66	40 minutes
Total	48	20	68	204	120 minutes

Note: The MCQ/TITA split is approximate; the exact distribution varies by year.

Marking scheme:

• Correct MCQ answer: +3 marks
• Incorrect MCQ answer: −1 mark
• Correct TITA answer: +3 marks
• Incorrect or blank TITA answer: 0 marks (no negative marking)

TITA questions (Type In The Answer) require candidates to type a numerical answer using an on-screen keypad. These questions carry no negative marking, which makes them worth attempting even without full certainty — unlike MCQs where a wrong guess costs a mark.

Key structural features

Fixed section order: Sections must be attempted in sequence — VARC first, then DILR, then QA. This cannot be changed.

Sectional time limits: Strict 40-minute boundaries per section. If a candidate finishes VARC in 30 minutes, those 10 extra minutes cannot be transferred to DILR.

Multiple slots: CAT 2025 was conducted in three slots — morning (8:30–10:30 AM), afternoon (12:30–2:30 PM), and evening (4:30–6:30 PM). Different slot papers are normalised before percentile calculation.

PwD accommodation: Candidates with disabilities get 53 minutes and 20 seconds per section (160 minutes total).

Scoring is percentile-based: There is no absolute pass mark. A raw score of around 96–100 marks out of 204 typically corresponds to the 99th percentile in recent years.

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Syllabus overview

IIM does not publish an official CAT syllabus. The following is based on systematic analysis of previous years’ question papers.

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)

VARC is the first section of CAT and the largest by marks (72 out of 204). Reading Comprehension dominates the section — in CAT 2024, 16 of the 24 VARC questions came from RC passages.

Reading Comprehension:

• 4–5 passages per exam, each 300–500 words long
• Topics span humanities (philosophy, history, ethics), social sciences (economics, sociology, psychology), natural sciences (biology, environmental studies), and contemporary issues (technology, media, politics)
• Question types: main idea identification, inference, tone and author’s intent, vocabulary in context, fact vs. opinion
• RC passages in CAT tend to be abstract and idea-driven, not purely factual

Verbal Ability:

• Para jumbles: 4–5 sentences to be rearranged; answered as TITA (type the correct order)
• Para summary: Choose the best one-sentence summary of a short paragraph; answered as MCQ
• Odd sentence out: Identify the sentence that does not belong in an otherwise coherent paragraph; answered as TITA
• Verbal Ability questions (non-RC) in recent years have been almost entirely TITA-type, meaning there is no negative marking on them

Grammar, synonyms/antonyms, and fill-in-the-blank questions — common in older CAT formats — have not appeared in recent years. The modern VARC section is almost entirely reading-based.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)

DILR tests analytical and reasoning ability through sets of 4–6 questions each. The section is structured around 4–5 sets, and selecting which sets to attempt is itself a key part of performance strategy.

Data Interpretation topics:

• Tables — the most versatile DI format; includes absolute and percentage-based calculations
• Bar graphs and line graphs — trend analysis, comparison
• Pie charts — proportion and percentage distribution
• Caselets — DI presented as text paragraphs rather than visual charts
• Quant-based DI — sets involving mathematical relationships embedded in data

Logical Reasoning topics:

• Games and tournaments — round-robin, knockout, point tables
• Arrangements — linear seating, circular seating with multiple conditions
• Scheduling and sequencing — timetables, ordering problems
• Selection and distribution — team formation, group allocation
• Binary logic — truth-teller/liar puzzles
• Routes and networks — shortest path, flow diagrams
• Venn diagrams — multi-set membership problems

Recent CAT DILR sections have increasingly blended DI and LR within individual sets — a “quant-based LR” set might involve reading a data table and then applying logical constraints to determine outcomes.

Quantitative Ability (QA)

QA tests mathematics at roughly Class 10–12 level extended to competitive exam difficulty. The emphasis is on reasoning and application rather than formula memorisation.

High-frequency topics:

Topic Area	Key Subtopics
Arithmetic	Percentages, profit and loss, simple and compound interest, ratio and proportion, mixtures, time–speed–distance, time and work, pipes and cisterns
Algebra	Linear equations, quadratic equations, inequalities, functions, progressions (AP/GP/HP)
Geometry	Triangles (similarity, congruence, area), circles (chord, tangent, arc), coordinate geometry
Number Theory	Divisibility, HCF/LCM, remainders, prime numbers, factorials, unit digit
Surds, Indices, Logarithms	Simplification, solving exponential and logarithmic equations
Modern Mathematics	Permutations, combinations, probability, sets and Venn diagrams
Mensuration	Areas and perimeters (2D), surface areas and volumes (3D solids)

Arithmetic and Algebra together account for the majority of QA questions in a typical CAT paper. Pure geometry problems appear regularly. Abstract or advanced topics (e.g., complex numbers, calculus) are not tested.

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Eligibility and registration

Eligibility criteria

Criterion	General / NC-OBC / EWS	SC / ST / PwD
Educational qualification	Bachelor’s degree from a recognised university	Same
Minimum marks in graduation	50% aggregate (or equivalent CGPA)	45% aggregate (or equivalent CGPA)
Final-year students	Eligible; must provide eligibility certificate at time of admission	Same
Age limit	No upper age limit	No upper age limit
Stream restriction	None — any stream eligible	Same

Professional degree holders (CA, CS, ICWA/CMA, FIAI) also qualify under the same percentage criteria. The degree must be from a university established by an Act of Parliament or State Legislature, or a deemed university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or an equivalent institution recognised by the Ministry of Education.

Work experience is not a requirement to appear for CAT, but many IIMs factor work experience into their final selection process.

Registration

Registration is conducted entirely online at iimcat.ac.in. The typical CAT annual cycle:

1. Official notification: Late July (newspaper advertisement)
2. Registration window opens: August 1
3. Registration closes: September 20 (extended from the original September 13 deadline in 2025)
4. Form correction window: Early October
5. Admit card release: November (approximately 3 weeks before exam)
6. Mock test availability: Released with admit card
7. Exam day: Last Sunday of November (November 30, 2025)
8. Response sheet and question paper release: First week of December
9. Answer key challenge window: Mid-December
10. Final answer key release: Third week of December
11. Result declaration: First week of January

Application fee (CAT 2025):

• General / EWS / NC-OBC: ₹2,600
• SC / ST / PwD: ₹1,300

The fee is paid online (debit/credit card, net banking, UPI) and is non-refundable under all circumstances. One payment covers all IIMs and member institutions — there is no separate fee for individual institutions at the registration stage.

Candidates select up to three test cities during registration. Seat allocation within a city and specific test centre assignment are communicated through the admit card.

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Cutoffs and score interpretation

How CAT scoring works

Raw scores are calculated as:

• +3 for each correct answer (MCQ and TITA)
• −1 for each incorrect MCQ
• 0 for each incorrect or skipped TITA
• Maximum raw score: 204

Because the exam is conducted across three different slots with potentially different difficulty levels, raw scores are normalised before percentile calculation. This normalisation ensures that a candidate in a harder slot is not disadvantaged compared to a candidate in an easier slot.

The normalised score is then converted to a percentile — representing the percentage of candidates who scored below you. A 99th percentile means you scored higher than 99% of all candidates.

In CAT 2024, a raw score of approximately 96 marks out of 204 corresponded to the 99th percentile, given the overall candidate pool and normalisation.

IIM cutoffs: the two-stage picture

Most IIMs use CAT cutoffs in two stages:

1. PI shortlisting cutoff: The minimum percentile needed to receive a call for group discussion / Written Ability Test / Personal Interview. This is what institutions publicly announce. IIM Ahmedabad, for instance, requires a minimum of 70th percentile in each section and 80th overall to be considered for shortlisting (for General category) — but most called candidates have 99th+ percentile scores.

2. Final admission cutoff: The actual minimum percentile among admitted students, which is typically much higher. For CAT 2024, the lowest CAT score among final admits was approximately 93.76 percentile at IIM Ahmedabad, 91.97 percentile at IIM Bangalore, and 92.92 percentile at IIM Indore.

Category-wise cutoffs at top IIMs (for PI shortlisting)

IIM	General	NC-OBC	EWS	SC	ST	PwD
IIM Ahmedabad	80	75	75	70	60	—
IIM Bangalore	85	75	75	70	65	60
IIM Calcutta	~85	~75	~75	~65	~55	~45
IIM Lucknow	~90	~80	~80	~65	~60	~55
IIM Indore	90	80	90	60	45	45
IIM Kozhikode	~85	~75	~75	~65	~55	~45

These are minimum shortlisting cutoffs published by respective IIMs. Actual competition is significantly higher.

Score targets by institution tier

Institution Tier	Approximate Percentile Needed (General)
IIM A, B, C (Old IIMs)	99+ percentile
IIM L, I, K (Second-gen IIMs)	97–99 percentile
IIM R, Amritsar, Nagpur (New IIMs)	90–96 percentile
Baby IIMs (Sirmaur, Jammu, etc.)	85–92 percentile
FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon	98–99 percentile
IIT management schools	95–99 percentile
SPJIMR, MICA, IIFT	90–95 percentile
GIM, TAPMI, Great Lakes	80–90 percentile
Second-tier non-IIMs	70–80 percentile

How IIMs use the CAT score in final selection

CAT score is never the sole criterion at any IIM. Once shortlisted, candidates undergo:

• Written Ability Test (WAT) or Essay Writing
• Personal Interview (PI)

Final admission is based on a composite score. At IIM Bangalore, for example, the composite includes CAT score (55% weight at shortlisting stage, reduced to 25% at final stage), PI performance (40%), academic scores from 10th, 12th, and graduation (15% combined), and work experience (10%). Similar multi-factor models are used by other IIMs, though exact weights differ.

Work experience is particularly valued: IIM Ahmedabad’s PGP, IIM Bangalore’s PGP, and most second-generation IIMs give meaningful weightage to professional experience of 1–5 years.

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Colleges and programmes that accept this exam

IIMs (21 total)

All 21 Indian Institutes of Management accept CAT scores as the mandatory entrance criterion for their flagship MBA/PGP programmes. These include:

Old IIMs (highest prestige): IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta

Second-generation IIMs: IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode

Third-generation IIMs: IIM Rohtak, IIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi, IIM Udaipur, IIM Trichy, IIM Shillong, IIM Kashipur, IIM Nagpur, IIM Visakhapatnam

New IIMs: IIM Amritsar, IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Sambalpur, IIM Sirmaur, IIM Jammu, IIM Bangalore (Offsite)

Top non-IIM colleges accepting CAT

More than 1,200 non-IIM institutions accept CAT scores. Among the most prominent:

Institution	Programme	Location	Approx. CAT Cutoff
FMS Delhi	MBA	Delhi	98–99 percentile
MDI Gurgaon	PGDM	Gurgaon	94–96 percentile
SPJIMR Mumbai	PGDM	Mumbai	95–98 percentile
IIT Bombay (SJMSOM)	MBA	Mumbai	98–99 percentile
IIT Delhi (DMS)	MBA	Delhi	97–99 percentile
IIT Madras	MBA	Chennai	96+ percentile
IIT Kanpur	MBA	Kanpur	92+ percentile
IIFT Delhi/Kolkata	MBA (IB)	Delhi, Kolkata	90–95 percentile
MICA Ahmedabad	PGDM-C	Ahmedabad	85+ percentile
GIM Goa	PGDM	Goa	90+ percentile
TAPMI Manipal	PGDM	Manipal	85+ percentile
Great Lakes Chennai	PGDM	Chennai	85–95 percentile
XIM Bhubaneswar	MBA	Bhubaneswar	88–92 percentile
TISS Mumbai	MA (various)	Mumbai	70+ percentile
XLRI Jamshedpur	PGDM	Jamshedpur	Also accepts XAT
NMIMS	MBA	Mumbai	—

Programme types that use CAT

Programmes that accept CAT span multiple formats:

• 2-year full-time MBA / PGP — the primary target programme
• 2-year full-time PGDM — diploma-level but industry-equivalent
• Executive MBA / PGPX — for experienced professionals (some IIMs use GMAT/GRE for these)
• Part-time MBA — some institutions accept CAT for evening/weekend programmes
• PhD / Fellow Programme in Management (FPM) — several IIMs use CAT as one input for FPM shortlisting

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How to prepare

Understanding what CAT actually tests

CAT is not a knowledge test — it tests problem-solving speed, accuracy, and pattern recognition under time pressure. The quantitative section does not exceed Class 12 mathematics, the verbal section does not require domain expertise, and the DILR section requires no prior knowledge of specific data types. What separates high performers is the ability to apply known concepts quickly and selectively: knowing when to attempt a question and when to skip it is as important as knowing how to solve it.

The three-stage preparation approach

Stage 1 (0–3 months): Concept building

• QA: Build all arithmetic foundations thoroughly — percentages, ratios, time-speed-distance, time-work, profit-loss. Move to algebra (equations, inequalities), then geometry (triangles, circles), then number theory. Reserve modern mathematics (permutations, probability) for last.
• VARC: Start reading actively and daily — quality long-form writing in English. Do not treat reading as practice; it is the primary skill-building activity. Begin RC practice with timing after 4–6 weeks.
• DILR: Solve individual DI graphs and basic LR puzzles to build familiarity. Do not attempt sets under pressure yet.

Stage 2 (3–5 months): Integrated practice

• Take sectional timed tests (40-minute blocks) regularly. Track accuracy and time per question.
• Build DILR set-selection instinct — not all sets should be attempted; identifying solvable sets within the first 2 minutes of reading them is a learned skill.
• For VARC, practice para jumbles and para summary as standalone question types, but keep RC as the core focus.

Stage 3 (6–8 months): Mock test analysis

• Take full-length timed mocks (minimum 15–20 mocks before the exam), simulating exact exam conditions: three 40-minute blocks, no breaks, no backtracking.
• Dedicate equal time to post-mock analysis as to the mock itself. Identify error categories: conceptual gaps, silly mistakes, time mismanagement.
• Do not chase new material in the final 4–6 weeks. Consolidate and reinforce.

Section-specific strategies

VARC: Reading Comprehension is the single highest-leverage area in CAT. Aim to accurately answer 12–14 out of 16 RC questions — this alone can produce a strong VARC score. Read each passage without pre-judging difficulty; many that look dense become manageable once started. For para jumbles (TITA), use the no-negative-marking advantage to attempt all of them.

DILR: The key decision in DILR is set selection. In 40 minutes across 22 questions (roughly 4–5 sets), most test-takers can thoroughly solve only 3–4 sets. Spend 2–3 minutes at the start of the section skimming all sets and ranking them by apparent solvability. A set that looks complex but is fully deterministic is better than a set that looks clean but has too many variables. Avoid sunk-cost trap: if a set resists progress after 6–7 minutes, move on.

QA: Arithmetic accounts for approximately 35–40% of QA questions in most CAT papers. Mastering arithmetic — especially percentages, ratios, and time-speed-distance — gives the highest return on preparation time. For geometry, focus on triangles and circles. Do not spend excessive time on number theory edge cases or advanced permutation problems unless you are targeting 98+ percentile and have all other areas solid.

Common preparation resources

• CAT official previous year question papers (released by IIM CAT website after each exam)
• Mock test series from major test-prep providers
• IIM reading lists and business publications for VARC practice
• Official CAT notification and mock test released each November

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Key dates and timeline

The following dates reflect the CAT 2025 cycle. CAT follows a consistent annual schedule, with registration opening in August and the exam on the last Sunday of November.

Event	CAT 2025 Date
Official notification released	July 27, 2025
Registration opens	August 1, 2025
Registration closes	September 20, 2025
Form correction window	October 4–7, 2025
Admit card released	November 12, 2025
Official mock test released	November 12, 2025
CAT exam day	November 30, 2025
Response sheet and question paper released	First week of December 2025
Answer key challenge window	Second–third week of December 2025
Final answer key released	Third week of December 2025
CAT result announced	First week of January 2026

Post-result, each IIM conducts its own shortlisting and interview process on its own timeline (typically February–May for PGP programmes). Candidates must apply separately to each IIM during the CAT registration window.

For CAT 2026, the conducting IIM has not yet been announced (as of the time of writing). Registration typically opens the first week of August; check iimcat.ac.in from July onwards.

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Related exams

• XAT — Xavier Aptitude Test, conducted by XLRI; accepted by XLRI, XIM Bhubaneswar, and 150+ B-schools; includes a Decision Making section not present in CAT
• GMAT — used for Indian and global business schools; accepted by ISB, IIM executive programmes, and international MBA programmes; computer-adaptive format, available year-round
• CMAT — Common Management Admission Test, conducted by NTA; accepted by AICTE-approved management programmes, including several PGDM colleges; generally considered less competitive than CAT

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Sources Used

• IIM CAT official website: https://iimcat.ac.in/
• IMS India — CAT Exam Pattern 2026: https://www.imsindia.com/blog/cat/cat-exam-pattern/
• InsideIIM — CAT 2025 Notification and Exam Structure: https://insideiim.com/exams/cat
• TestFunda — CAT 2025 Exam Details, Dates, Syllabus: https://testfunda.com/blog/cat-2025-exam-details-dates-syllabus-pattern-and-fees/
• Mindworkzz — CAT Eligibility Criteria 2025: https://mindworkzz.in/cat/cat-eligibility-criteria/