All you need to know about CAT
1) What is CAT :
CAT (Common Admission Test) is the most sought after entrance test for MBA programs in India.
CAT, along with Other Management Entrance Tests (OMETs) like XAT, SNAP, and NMAT are some of the various computer based MBA entrance tests in India conducted by various business schools (B-Schools). These tests provide B-Schools with means to compare the preparedness of applicants for their MBA programs.
Each test is conducted either once in a year or within a specific
window in a year. Test takers can write the test at a predefined center
location. Some tests are also available to be taken from home.
After the written test, the students who make it, have to appear for a
second elimination round that involves writing Essays or Written Ability Test
(WAT), Group Discussions (GD) and Personal Interviews (PI).
Then comes the process of B-School selections by the candidate,
requisite applications, Statement of Purpose (SOP) submission, etc.
B-School admission committees’ use the written test scores of the first round, the performance in the second
round, the work experience of the
candidate, the overall academic record of the candidate, and the overall
profile detail to assess if the candidate who has applied is ready to undertake
their MBA program, and give admission offer to the candidate.
CAT is conducted once a year, with question papers being set by Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) in turn every year. Unconfirmed news suggests 2026 question paper is to be prepared by IIM Indore (will be confirmed by July26).
2) Exam Date :
It is generally on the last Sunday of November, in three slots. Slot 1
is from 8.30 to 10.30 am, Slot 2 from 12.30 to 2.30 pm, and Slot 3 from 4.30 to
6.30 pm.
3) Registration Start :
Generally the 1st of August.
4) Registration End :
Generally the 3rd week of September.
5) Admit Card Generation :
Generally the 2nd week of November.
6) Result of CAT :
7) Eligibility for CAT :
Graduate (min 3 yrs) with minimum 50% marks for General & OBC and
45% for SC/ST/Person with Disability (PwD). Final year students eligible but
must fulfill criteria before admission. Work Experience can be nil or otherwise,
but experience has its advantages. Age no bar.
8) Markings for CAT :
3 marks for correct answers, for both Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)
and Type In The Answer (TITA) type questions. 1 mark negative marking for wrong
MCQ answer, but no negative marking for wrong TITA answer. No deduction for
unattempted questions.
9) Exam Pattern for CAT :
There are three sections, Section A – Verbal Ability and Reading
Comprehension (VARC) with 24 questions, Section B – Data Interpretation and
Logical Reasoning (DILR) of 22 questions, and Section C – Quantitative Analysis
(QA) of 22 questions. Each question can either be of the MCQ type with 4
options, or the TITA type where there are no options. Total of 68 questions of
total 204 marks.
10) Exam Duration :
Total duration is of 2 hours (120 minutes). Sectional time limit is of
40 minutes. First Section A, then Section B, and finally Section C has to be
attempted. 1 minute 50 seconds is the average time to answer per question.
11) Top B-Schools using CAT as a selection medium :
a) All the 21 Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) as on date of
March 2026, the top 6 ones being IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIM Bangalore,
IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, and IIM Kozhikode, and the rest being baby-IIMs
b) All the 6 Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs) who offer
management courses, namely IIT Kharagpur, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur,
IIT Madras, and IIT Roorkee
c) All the 4 Indian Institutes of Foreign Trade (IIFTs), at Delhi,
Kolkata, Kakinada, and Gandhinagar
d) Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi
e) Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon
f) Shreyans Prasad Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR),
Mumbai
g) Shreyans Prasad Jain School of Global Management, Mumbai, Dubai,
Singapore and Sydney
h) Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad
i) Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar (XIMB)
j) International Management Institute (IMI), Delhi, Kolkata,
Bhubaneshwar
k) T A Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal
l) Goa Institute of Management (GIM), Goa
m) K J Somaiya Institute of Management, Mumbai
n) FORE School of Management, Delhi
