Common Admission Test (CAT) Exam cat exam common admission test cat logical reasoning data interpretation quantitative ability mock test exam pattern eligibility

Common Admission Test CAT – Introduction

CAT (Common Admission Test) is one of the best entrance exam for almost all aspiring students looking forward for MBA, PGDM and other Post Graduate Level Management Courses is CAT. The CAT exam will be conducted on November 29, in two sessions. CAT is the only entrance exam for admission in MBA and PGDM programs in IIMs in India.

CAT Exam has always been a tough gamble and has always given surprises to all its aspirants. There have been multiple variations in CAT Exam pattern over the years including number of questions and duration. However, it is expected that modification in the difficulty level might be seen.

CAT Exam Highlights

Conducting Authority	Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM Calcutta)
Exam Type	National Level
Mode of Exam	Online
Periodicity	Once in a year
Score / Percentile Validity	One Year
CAT Exam Eligibility Criteria	Graduation with 50%
Exam Pattern	3 Hours (1 hour for each section)
Syllabus	Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Data Sufficiency, Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension, Logical Reasoning and Analytical Reasoning
Participating Institutes	IIMs, IITs, FMS, ISB and Other Management Institutes
Official Website	iimcat.ac.in

CAT Exam Important Dates

CAT Exam Event	Dates
CAT 2024 notification release	30th July 2024
CAT Exam 2024 Registration Dates	03rd Aug 2024 (10:00 AM) to 15th Sep 2024 (5:00 PM)
CAT Form Correction	Last week of September 2024
CAT Admit Card 2024	25th Oct 2024
CAT Exam 2024 Date	24th Nov 2024
CAT Answer Key Release	1st week of December 2024
Answer Key Challenge Process	1st week of December 2024
Declaration of CAT 2024 result	Last week of December 2024 or 1st week of January 2025

CAT Exam Eligibility Criteria – Eligible to apply

• In order to be eligible to apply for CAT Exam, an aspirant must be a graduate degree holder in any stream
• Candidates appearing in the final year / semester of their degree program can also apply for CAT
• The percentage requirement for the exam is different for different categories. It is explained in the table below:

Category	Percentage Required
General and OBC	50%
Scheduled Caste	45%
Scheduled Tribe	45%
Persons with Disabilities	45%

CAT Exam Application Form

CAT Exam Application Form is expected to start from 8th August – 26th September,. The entire procedure will be conducted in online mode only at iimcat.ac.in.

Documents Required to complete CAT Registration:

• Academic history
• Mark sheets (10th /12th/ Degree/Diploma)
• Work experience (if any)
• Certificates (if any)
• Scanned images of your passport size photo and signature
• Debit/Credit cards, Net banking

Steps to Apply for CAT Exam

Registration for the exam is usually a 4-step procedure. Read the instructions mentioned at the start before beginning to fill up the form. In case of filling incorrect information not only the candidature will be treated as invalid but CAT registration fee will also be forfeited. The steps are as follows:
Step 1: Registration – Visit the official website of CAT and enter your email id, phone number and date of birth.
Note: Number and ID must be active and valid, as the entire communication related to the exam will be notified on it.
Step 2: Fill CAT Application Form – Enter your personal details, contact information, academic details, work experience, program preference and exam center preference.
Note: In case, any information is found incorrect, there is a risk of application rejection. A one-time facility to make corrections in the form is also provided.
Step 3: Upload Documents – Scan and Upload your documents (Photograph, Signatures & Required certificated) according to CAT Photo Size, Dimension, Format and Other Details
Note: You can resize the documents using MS Paint or MS Office Picture Manager. The steps are available on the link given above.
Step 4: Payment of Application Fee – CAT Application Fee can be paid online via net banking/credit card/debit card. Mentioned below is the category wise application fee for CAT:

Category	CAT Application Fee (in INR)
General and OBC	1900/-
SC/ST/PWD	950/-

CAT Application Form Status

• After CAT Application Form is finally submitted, an email, a pop-up message on the screen and a message on the registered mobile number are sent related to the status of the application.
• As the process of applying for CAT is completely online, no delay can occur during final submission.
• If the application form is successfully submitted, the application status is “Successfully Submitted” else “Application Rejected”.

CAT Application Form Correction

• It may be possible that some of the candidates had entered incorrect details due to lack of proper information or documents.
• As CAT Exam is an important exam, the exam authority allows candidates to make corrections in few entries only.

CAT Exam Syllabus

CAT exam consists of 3 sections namely Verbal and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Ability. Each section is further divided into multitude of topics. The topics covered in each section for CAT exam is detailed below:

Topics	Sub-topics
Verbal and Reading Comprehension	Critical Reasoning, Fill in the Blanks, Idioms, Sentence Correction, Synonyms and Antonyms, Verbal Reasoning and Analogies
Data Interpretation	Area Graph, Line Graph, Charts (Columns, Bar, Pie), Tables, Venn Diagrams
Logical Reasoning	Binary Logic, Blood Relations, Clocks and Calendars, Coding-Decoding, Directions, Linear and Matrix Arrangement, Syllogism
Quantitative Ability	Compound Interest, Geometry, Mensuration, Number System & Problems, Permutations and Combinations, Profit and Loss, Quadratic Equation & Linear Equation (Algebra), Ratio and Proportion, Simple Interest, Time and Work, Trigonometry

How to Crack CAT Exam? – Useful Tips

• Identify specific areas of discomfort and try to read as much in those diversified areas. This will help in Reading Comprehension; Theme based questions and Para formation questions.
• Focus on Grammar. The weight-age for the same is increasing day by day.
• Always carry a small dictionary and a stopwatch with you and make it a habit.
• Work on your mental mathematics. Learn to do calculations mentally. Memorize standardized formulae and try to use shortcuts wherever possible.
• Stick to time. If you are taking a 2 hour test, take it for 2 hrs only. Don’t let anything disturb you in those 2 hrs.
• In Quantitative Areas – focus on Geometry and Number systems. Number Systems have always been an important chapter from CAT exam's point of view and Geometry has gained a lot over the last 2 years.
• Ensure that you take proper rest, sleep and meals; do not burn yourself on some specific question, take some time off and then try again.
• Create your own thumb rules based on your strategy.

CAT Exam Pattern

CAT exam pattern is quite random in nature and almost every year it undergoes some changes which are not even notified before the exam. It is expected that IIM Lucknow may introduce some changes in CAT Exam Pattern but as per the notification, no change is introduced.

• CAT is a computer-based test which consists of three sections, i.e. Quantitative Ability, Verbal and Reading Comprehension and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
• It is a 3-hour duration exam, where one hour is assigned for each section
• The paper will have 100 questions of both MCQ and Non-MCQ nature
• Around 70% – 75% of questions are multiple choice questions whereas the remaining 25%- 30% are non-MCQs
• For every correct answer, a candidate will be awarded +3 marks and -1 mark will be deducted for each incorrect answer

Note: Apart from CAT Score Card students are required to go through group discussion and personal interview round at respective colleges to get into MBA at IIMs or other Non-IIMs and Top Management Colleges. Marks in Graduation and 10+2 are also considered as metrics for admission. Various IIMs and other top B-schools in India use CAT scores/grades for Management admissions. Validity of CAT score card is 1 year i.e. candidates can apply only for current academic session.

Post CAT Entrance Exam, the qualified Candidates can use their CAT Score Card to apply for the selection process of various IIMs.

CAT Mock Papers

Year: 2017

Question Papers and Mock Papers	PDF Resources
Actual CAT 2017 Slot I (Solved Question Paper)	Download
CAT Mock Paper – 1 (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning – Mock Test)	Download
CAT Mock Paper – 2 (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning – Mock Test)	Download
CAT Mock Paper – 1 (Quantitative Ability – Mock Test)	Download
CAT Mock Paper – 2 (Quantitative Ability – Mock Test)	Download
CAT Mock Paper – 1 (Verbal Ability – Mock Test)	Download
CAT Mock Paper – 2 (Verbal Ability – Mock Test)	Download

CAT Exam Centers

The exam will be conducted in three shifts in 155 cities across India.

• Registration fee for CAT exam is Rs 1,900.
• The time slot for CAT Examination is generally allocated randomly
• Preferences for up to 4 test cities can be provided in the form and CAT Exam Centers will be allotted based on these preferences
• Candidates are required to carry additional document i.e. a government-approved identification proof such as Pan Card, Voter ID, Aadhar Card etc. along with the admit card

CAT Exam Results

• CAT Result will be declared in the last week of December 2024 or 1st week of January 2025.
• The result will be announced in the form of score card
• Candidates can check their results on the official website of IIM CAT
• The scorecard contains the sectional and overall score obtained by candidates in CAT Exam
• Based on the number of participants and average percentile scored, IIMs determine their individual cutoff
• On the basis of cut off, candidates will be called for Group Discussion and Personal Interview rounds

CAT Exam Cutoffs

Post the declaration of results each IIM will declare a separate cut off list for shortlisting candidates for the selection procedure. The overall cut off for the IIMs generally falls in the bracket of 90-99 percentile. The cut off comprises an overall cut off and a sectional cut off. Sectional cut off is the percentile score a candidate must score in each section to qualify the exam.