CAT
Common Admission Test
Conducted by IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management)
About CAT
CAT is the national-level entrance exam for admission to MBA and PGDM programs at the IIMs and over 1,200 B-schools across India. It is conducted by one of the IIMs on a rotational basis. CAT tests candidates on Verbal Ability, Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Aptitude.
Eligibility Criteria
• Bachelor's degree with minimum 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD). • Final year graduation students can also apply. • No age limit. • No limit on number of attempts.
Exam Pattern
• Total Questions: 66 • Sections: VARC (24), DILR (20), QA (22) • MCQ + TITA (Type In The Answer — no negative marking) • Marking: +3 for correct MCQ, -1 for incorrect MCQ • Duration: 2 hours (40 min per section) • Conducted in 3 slots on a single day
Syllabus
VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension): Reading Comprehension passages, Para-jumbles, Para-summary, Sentence Exclusion, Odd one out. DILR (Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning): Bar charts, Pie charts, Tables, Caselets, Puzzles, Seating Arrangement, Blood Relations, Direction sense. QA (Quantitative Aptitude): Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Number System, Modern Maths (Permutation & Combination, Probability).
Previous Year Cutoffs
| Year | General | OBC | SC | ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 99 Percentile | 97 Percentile | 85 Percentile | 70 Percentile |
| 2023 | 99 Percentile | 96.5 Percentile | 83 Percentile | 68 Percentile |
Exam Overview
CAT