Register & enjoy the perks of a Universal College Application, Easy Process, Time-saving, and Free Contact details and Brochures.
Monthly Users
Monthly Applications
Admissions
No Result Found
Updated on 03rd April, 2024 , 6 min read
CAT Exam – Candidates who wish to pursue their career in the field of management from Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) must start preparing for IIM CAT Exam at the earliest. CAT is a national level MBA entrance exam conducted annually by one of the IIMs. CAT 2023 is all set to be conducted on 26 November 2023. CAT 2022 was conducted by IIM Bangalore on 27 November 2022, similarly CAT 2023 is being conducted by IIM Lucknow. The exam will be conducted in three slots i.e. morning, afternoon, and evening.
IIM Lucknow is the conducting body of CAT Exam 2023.
The CAT Exam is the most popular MBA Exam conducted for admission to IIMs. Pursuing MBA from a business school of national importance is a dream of many MBA aspirants. Candidates seeking admission to MBA in any such institute must take and qualify CAT Exam since it is the only way to get admission into the IIMs and India’s top business schools. This article explains almost everything about CAT Exam. It covers topics such as CAT Eligibility Criteria, CAT Syllabus, CAT Exam Pattern, etc. as well as the time required to complete the entire syllabus to qualify the exam and various other programs offered by the IIMs.
Also Read: Preparation Strategy Of CAT Toppers
CAT stands for Common Admission Test. CAT exam is the most prestigious national level MBA entrance examination in India for admission to the top management institutes. It is, for obvious reasons, the biggest MBA Exam in the country. The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) conduct the Common Admission Test on a rotational basis and enrol students based on the marks secured by them in the examination.
Q1. What is CAT Full Form?
A1. CAT Full Form is CAT Admission Test and it is a national level MBA Entrance Exam which is conducted by Indian Institutes of Management.
CAT Exam 2023 is scheduled to be conducted on 26 November 2023, which is the last Sunday of November. This computer-based test will be held across 156 cities in India. If an MBA aspirant is planning to take CAT 2023, they he/she must gear up with their CAT Preparation right away.
In the table given below, are some of the important highlights about CAT Exam:
CAT Exam Highlights | |
CAT full form | Common Admission Test (CAT) |
CAT exam official website | https://iimcat.ac.in/ |
Conducting body | IIM Lucknow |
CAT exam duration | 2 hours i.e. 120 minutes (2 hours 20 minutes i.e. 160 minutes for PwD candidates) |
CAT registration fees | INR 2400 (for general and OBC candidates) INR 1200 (for SC/ST/PwD candidates) |
CAT total questions | 66 questions |
CAT exam date | 26 November 2023 |
Medium of exam | English |
Mode of exam | Online, computer-based test (CBT) |
Type of questions | MCQs and Non MCQs |
CAT exam sections | Quantitative Aptitude Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning |
CAT Eligibility | Bachelor’s degree in any field with 50% marks in aggregate (45% for reserved category) |
The total number of students who apply for the exam reaches 2.30 lakh approximately every year. The IIM CAT 2023 is scheduled to be held on November 26, 2023. CAT 2023 official notification has already been released on the official website of CAT – iimcat.ac.in 2023.
Below mentioned are the CAT Exam Date 2023 that students can refer to for strategic preparation:
Event | Date |
CAT Exam 2023 Registration Date | 2 August 2023 |
CAT Exam 2023 Application Form Last Date | 13 September 2023 |
CAT Exam Date 2023 | 26 November 2023 |
CAT Exam Result Date 2023 | To be notified |
The examination conducting body began CAT exam 2023 registration procedure on 2 August 2023. The officials of IIM CAT Exam have activated the online application link and invited applicants to apply for the examination. The registration process of cat is to be conducted only through online mode. Below mentioned is the brief of the CAT 2023 registration process that candidates must follow in order to register themselves of the exam:
Read More - CAT Exam 2023 Registration
Candidates applying for the exam must also make the payment of CAT Exam Fee before submitting the CAT Application Form. The registration process will not be considered complete without the payment of CAT Application Fee. The registration fee for CAT Exam varies for candidates belonging to various categories.
Below mentioned is the CAT Form Fees that candidates must pay while filling the CAT Registration Form:
Category | CAT Exam Fees |
General and OBC | INR 2400 |
SC, ST, and PwD | INR 1200 |
Read More - CAT Exam Fees
The IIM CAT Exam has undergone several changes since the time the exam was switched to Computer based mode. It was previously conducted in Paper pen mode.
Year | Duration | Section | Total No. of Questions | CAT Total Questions |
CAT 2023 | 120 minutes | VARC | 24 | 66 |
DILR | 20 | |||
QA | 22 | |||
CAT 2022 | 120 minutes | VARC | 24 | 66 |
DILR | 20 | |||
QA | 22 | |||
CAT 2021 | 120 minutes | VARC | 26 | 76 |
DILR | 24 | |||
QA | 26 | |||
CAT 2020 | 120 minutes | VARC | 34 | 100 |
DILR | 32 | |||
QA | 34 | |||
CAT 2019 | 120 minutes | VARC | 34 | 100 |
DILR | 32 | |||
QA | 34 | |||
CAT 2018 | 180 minutes | VARC | 34 | 100 |
DILR | 32 | |||
QA | 34 | |||
CAT 2017 | 180 minutes | VARC | 34 | 100 |
DILR | 32 | |||
QA | 34 | |||
CAT 2016 | 180 minutes | VARC | 34 | 100 |
DILR | 32 | |||
QA | 34 | |||
CAT 2015 | 180 minutes | VARC | 34 | 100 |
DILR | 32 | |||
QA | 34 | |||
CAT 2014 | 170 minutes | QA and DI | 50 | 100 |
VA and LR | 50 | |||
CAT 2013 | 140 minutes | QA and DI | 30 | 60 |
VA and LR | 30 | |||
CAT 2012 | 140 minutes | QA | 21 | 60 |
DI | 9 | |||
VARC | 30 | |||
CAT 2011 | 140 minutes | VA and LR | 30 | 60 |
QA and DI | 30 |
Below mentioned are some of the CAT Exam resources that candidates can check by clicking on them. These links will help students understand CAT Exam and various aspects in a better manner so that they can start preparing for the upcoming exam in a more modified way.
CAT Syllabus is another equally important aspect of CAT Exam that all the aspirants must be thoroughly aware of. Understanding of CAT Exam Syllabus is the best way to determine your direction. It will become easier to determine how much time students must spend on each topic.
Below mentioned is the brief of CAT Exam Syllabus that students must make sure they study before appearing for the examination:
IIM CAT Syllabus | Topics |
Quantitative Aptitude | Quantitative Aptitude – Number System, Geometry Time and Work, Algebra, Mensuration and Arithmetic |
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning | Puzzles, Seating Arrangement, Blood Relation, Syllogism, Coding and Decoding Tables, Graphs, Data Caselets |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension | Reading Comprehension, Para Jumbles, Para Summary, Verbal Ability, Odd Sentence Out |
Read in Detail - CAT 2023 Syllabus
The total number of questions in CAT IIM is 66 (as per the previous year question paper) and these questions are to be completed in 120 minutes. CAT Total Marks is 198 marks. Below mentioned is the CAT IIM Marking Scheme:
Below mentioned is the outline of the MCQ and Non MCQ questions for CAT Exam:
CAT Exam Sections | |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | MCQ – 21 |
Non MCQ – 3 | |
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) | MCQ – 14 |
Non MCQ – 6 | |
Quantitative Aptitude | MCQ – 14 |
Non MCQ – 8 | |
Total No. of Questions | 66 |
Also Read - CAT Exam Pattern
IIMs | Programs offered |
PGP, PGP-FABM | |
MBA, EMBA, MBA-Business Analytics, MBA-HRM | |
PGP, PGPEM, PGPBA | |
PGP | |
IIM Calcutta | MBA |
PGP, PGP-HRM | |
MBA | |
IIM Jammu | Executive MBA (Blended Mode) |
IIM Jammu | PGP in Health Care Management (Jointly with AIIMS Jammu and IIT Jammu) |
IIM Jammu | PGP in Hospital Administration (Jointly with AIIMS Jammu and IIT Jammu) |
MBA, MBA (Analytics), EMBA | |
PGP, PGP-BL, PGP-F, PGP-LSM, EPGP Kochi | |
PGP, PGP-ABM, PGP-SM | |
PGP | |
IIM Raipur | PGP |
PGP, PGP-HRM, PGP (Business Analytics) | |
PGP, EPGPX, EPGDSM | |
MBA, Executive MBA | |
PGP, PGPEX, PGPWE | |
MBA, MBA (T&HM) | |
PGPM, PGPM-HR, PGPBM | |
MBA, MBA-DEM, MBA-GSCM, PGDBA | |
PGP, PGPEX, PGPDGM |
More than 2 lakh candidates apply for the CAT Exam every year. In order to ace the examination, there should be an extensive preparation running over a period of at least 10 months before the commencement of the exam. However, candidates who started preparing for the exam a little late and are behind the schedule, must be fully committed to passing the examination. They can still do well if they have devoted at least 4 months to the preparation.
Below mentioned is the list of CAT Test Cities where the CAT 2023 will be conducted:
Name of the State | CAT Exam Cities |
Andaman and Nicobar | Port Blair |
Andhra Pradesh | Guntur |
Kakinada | |
Kurnool | |
Nellore | |
Rajahmundry | |
Tirupathi | |
Vijayawada | |
Visakhapatnam | |
Vizianagaram | |
Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar-Naharlagun |
Assam | Dibrugarh |
Guwahati | |
Jorhat | |
Silchar | |
Tezpur | |
Bihar | Gaya |
Aurangabad-Bihar | |
Arrah | |
Bhagalpur | |
Darbhanga | |
Muzaffarpur | |
Patna | |
Chandigarh | Chandigarh |
Chhattisgarh | Bhilai Nagar |
Bilaspur | |
Raipur | |
Dadar and Nagar Haveli | Silvaasa |
Goa | Panaji |
Madgaon | |
Gujarat | Ahmedabad |
Anand | |
Gandhinagar | |
Mehsana | |
Rajkot | |
Surat | |
Vadodara | |
Haryana | Ambala |
Faridabad | |
Gurugram | |
Himachal Pradesh | Bilaspur |
Shimla | |
Hamirpur | |
Jammu & Kashmir | Jammu |
Srinagar | |
Jharkhand | Dhanbad |
Hazaribagh | |
Jamshedpur | |
Ranchi | |
Karnataka | Belagavi (Belgaum) |
Bengaluru | |
Hubli-Dharwad | |
Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) | |
Mangaluru (Mangalore) | |
Mysuru (Mysore) | |
Shivamogga (Shimoga) | |
Udupi | |
Kerala | Kannur |
Ernakulam | |
Kollam | |
Kottayam | |
Kozhikode | |
Thrissur | |
Trivandrum | |
Ladakh | Leh |
Lakshadweep | Kavaratti |
Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal |
Gwalior | |
Indore | |
Jabalpur | |
Sagar | |
Satna | |
Ujjain | |
Maharashtra | Amravati |
Ahmednagar | |
Aurangabad-MH | |
Bhiwandi | |
Boisar | |
Jalgaon | |
Kolhapur | |
Mumbai | |
Nagpur | |
Nanded | |
Nashik | |
Pune | |
Raigad | |
Satara | |
Solapur | |
Thane | |
Vasai | |
Manipur | Ukhrul |
Meghalaya | Shillong |
Mizoram | Aizawl |
Nagaland | Kohima |
New Delhi | New Delhi |
Odisha | Balasore |
Berhampur | |
Bhubaneswar | |
Cuttack | |
Dhenkanal | |
Rourkela | |
Sambalpur | |
Punjab | Bhatinda |
Jalandhar | |
Ludhiana | |
Mohali | |
Patiala | |
Amritsar | |
Puducherry | Puducherry |
Rajasthan | Ajmer |
Bikaner | |
Jaipur | |
Jodhpur | |
Kota | |
Sikar | |
Udaipur | |
Tamil Nadu | Chennai |
Coimbatore | |
Madurai | |
Salem | |
Tirunelveli | |
Tiruchirappalli | |
Vellore | |
Telangana | Hyderabad |
Karimnagar | |
Warangal | |
Uttar Pradesh | Agra |
Aligarh | |
Bareilly | |
Ghaziabad | |
Gorakhpur | |
Greater Noida | |
Kanpur | |
Jhansi | |
Lucknow | |
Meerut | |
Moradabad | |
Muzaffarnagar | |
Prayagraj | |
Varanasi | |
Uttarakhand | Dehradun |
Haldwani | |
Roorkee | |
West Bengal | Asansol |
Bankura | |
Burdwan | |
Durgapur | |
Hooghly | |
Kalyani | |
Kolkata | |
Siliguri |
Besides CAT Exam, there are other MBA Entrance Exams that CAT Aspirants are usually aware of. The other MBA Exams are mentioned below:
Was this Article Helpful/Relevant or did you get what you were looking for ?
👍 1,234
👎234
D Pharmacy: Admission 2024, Subjects, Colleges, Eligibility, Fees, Jobs, Salary
By - Nikita Parmar 2023-11-04 08:11:48 , 7 min readHow to Become a Pilot after 12th: In India, Courses, Exams, Fees, Salary 2023
By - Nikita Parmar 2023-08-25 09:48:44 , 11 min readCAT stands for Common Admission Test. It is a national level MBA Entrance Exam conducted by the IIMs on a rotational basis. It is conducted for admission to management programs offered by the top management institutions across the country.
As per the CAT Eligibility, candidates with a bachelor's degree securing at least 50% marks in aggregate from a recognized university will be considered eligible for taking CAT Exam. This is the minimum educational qualification required to appear in the exam. There is no age limit in cat exam.
CAT Exam is the only gateway to get into Indian Institutes of Management. Candidates who qualify IIM CAT Exam with a valid score will be considered eligible for admission to the IIMs. Apart from IIMs, there are other reputed management institutions across the country that accept CAT Score for admission. These institutions are SPJIMR Mumbai, FMS Delhi, IMT Ghaziabad, MDI Gurgaon, etc.
No. CAT is not compulsory for MBA Admission to all the business schools. There are several other management institutes that accept other MBA entrance exams for admission. Some of the other MBA Exams are SNAP, XAT, CMAT, MAT, NMAT, etc.
CAT and IIT JEE Main, both are national level entrance exams conducted for admission to management and engineering programs respectively. If we consider the topics covered in both the exams, we can say that the IIT entrance exams are completely subject specific while on the other hand CAT consists of aptitude questions that can consist of any type. Considering this, we can say that CAT Exam is a little more difficult than JEE Main.
If the preparation goes strategically, it is not very difficult to secure 100% marks in CAT Exam. Candidates are required to work smartly, strategically, and consistently.
For admission to IIMs, nothing less that 98 percentiles is acceptable. But there are other MBA colleges that accept less than that of IIMs Cutoff.
Yes. There is negative marking in CAT Exam. Each correct answer is rewarded with +3 marks while every incorrect answer comes with a penalty of 1 mark.
communication@collegesearch.in
+91 84482 99862 
Download Brochure
