CAT – The Career Assistance

CAT Exam

Common Admission Test or CAT is a national level management aptitude test conducted by the IIM for admission to MBA and other postgraduate courses offered by its 21 campuses (NITIE Mumbai has been added to the cluster as IIM Mumbai). Over two lakh candidates apply for the CAT exam every year. In CAT 2023, applications touched the record high of 3.30 lakh. The total number of CAT 2024 registration is 3.29 lakh. Candidates who clear the CAT exam are eligible for admission to over 1300 MBA colleges in India, apart from the IIMs.

CAT exam is a speed based test that includes questions from Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Ability (QA). Difficulty level of the exam is moderate to high.

Courses Offered Through CAT at IIMs

Apart from full-time MBA programmes, the CAT score is valid for admission to Executive MBA, PhD and FPM programmes of IIMs and other B-Schools. This exam is open for not only graduates but also post graduates and working professionals. Check below the list of courses offered by the IIMs through CAT.

IIM	Courses Offered
IIM Ahmedabad	PGP, PGP-FABM, ePGP, PhD
IIM Amritsar	MBA, EMBA, MBA-Business Analytics, MBA-HRM, PhD
IIM Bangalore	PGP, PGPEM, PGPBA, PhD
IIM Bodh Gaya	PGP, PhD (FPM)
IIM Calcutta	MBA, PhD
IIM Indore	PGP, PGP-HRM, FPM
IIM Jammu	PGP, PhD
IIM Kashipur	MBA, MBA (Analytics), MBA (WX), PhD, EFPM
IIM Kozhikode	PGP, PGP-BL, PGP-F, PGP-LSM, PhD, PhD (PT)
IIM Lucknow	PGP, PGP-ABM, PGP-SM, FPM
IIM Nagpur	PGP, PhD
IIM Raipur	PGP, FPM/PhD, EFPM
IIM Ranchi	PGP, PGP-HRM, PGP (Business Analytics), PhD, EPhD
IIM Rohtak	PGP, EPGPX, EPGDSM, PhD, Part-Time FPM
IIM Sambalpur	MBA, PhD, E PhD
IIM Shillong	PGP, PGPEX, PGPWE, PhD, PhDWP
IIM Sirmaur	MBA, MBA (T&HM), PhD
IIM Tiruchirappalli	PGPM, PGPM-HR, PGPBM, FPM, E-FPM
IIM Udaipur	MBA, PhD
IIM Visakhapatnam	PGP, PGPEx, PGPDGM, PhD
IIM Mumbai	MBA, MBA in Sustainability Management, MBA in Operations and Supply Chain Management

CAT 2024 Exam Highlights

The number of test cities have been increased this year. Here are the highlights of CAT 2024, take a look at the table below:

CAT Exam Particulars	CAT 2024 Details
CAT Full Form	Common Admission Test (CAT)
Conducting Institute for 2024	IIM Calcutta
Exam Level	National
CAT Entrance Exam Frequency	Once a year
CAT Exam Date 2024	November 24, 2024
CAT Exam Timings	Session 1: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM Session 2: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM Session 3: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM
CAT Exam Fees	INR 2,500 (General category) and INR 1,250 (Reserved category)
Eligibility Criteria	Graduation with 50% aggregate (45% for SC/ST students)
Number of Applications	3.29 lakh (in 2024)
Number of Test Takers	2.93 lakh (in 2024)
Exam Purpose	Admission to IIMs, SPJIMR, FMS, MDI, IMT and over 1,200 B-Schools in India
Courses Offered	MBA/PGDM
CAT syllabus	Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) Quantitative Ability (QA)
CAT exam mode	Computer Based Test (CBT) with MCQs and non-MCQs
No. of test cities	170
CAT exam website	https://iimcat.ac.in
Exam helpdesk no.	1-800-210-1088 (Toll Free)

Every year, CAT sees the largest number of registrations among all MBA entrance exams in India. About 2 lakh candidates apply for CAT every year. In 2023, CAT recorded the highest ever registration of over 3.30 lakhs out of which about 2.88 lakh candidates appeared for the exam. The number of students registered for CAT 2024 was also 3 lakh plus. IIM Calcutta received a total of 3.29 lakh applications

CAT 2024 Syllabus

CAT exam syllabus encompasses topics that are useful in developing all the skills and abilities essential for a being a successful business leader. It is broadly divided into three sections – VARC, DILR and Quantitative Aptitude. Check below the main topics of CAT syllabus 2024 for exam preparation. Maximum questions are asked from the following topics. Candidates are advised to pay special attention on these topics during exam preparation:

CAT Syllabus sections	CAT Syllabus topics
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)	Reading Comprehension, Para Jumbles, Para Summary and Odd Sentence Out
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)	Set Theory (Variables), Set Theory + Puzzles, Puzzles with Additional Data, Coding-Decoding and Series
Quantitative Aptitude (QA)	Number System, Algebra, Arithmetic, Geometry and Mensuration

CAT Exam Pattern & Test Structure 2024

CAT question paper 2024 had three sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude. The duration of exam was 120 minutes with sectional time limit of 40 minutes per section. The pattern has been slightly changed with increase in number of questions by 2. Check the highlights of CAT 2024 exam pattern below:

CAT Paper Pattern 2024
Mode of CAT exam	Computer Based Test
Duration of exam	120 minutes 40 minutes per section
CAT exam slots	Morning: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM Afternoon: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM Evening: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM
Number of questions	66 68
CAT total marks	198 204
Language of question paper	English
Number of answer choices	4
Question Type	MCQ and non-MCQ

CAT Eligibility Criteria 2024

The minimum academic requirement is graduation in any stream from a recognised university. Read below detailed CAT eligibility criteria:

Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree with minimum 50 per cent aggregate or equivalent CGPA (45 per cent aggregate for SC, ST and PWD/DA category) to appear in CAT 2024.
Candidates who have completed a professional degree (CA/CS/ICWA/FCAI) with the required percentage can also appear for CAT.
Candidates appearing for the final year of bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification or awaiting the result are also eligible to appear for CAT 2024 exam. However, the aggregate of their first- and second-year marks must meet the minimum score requirement.
The education mode of the bachelor’s degree can be regular or distance learning, but should be a 3-year programme and from a UGC recognised institution.

IIM CAT Cut Offs 2024

CAT cut off for IIM admission is fixed by each institute category wise. While the qualifying cut offs range between 80 and 90 percentile (General category), the final cut offs are much higher. For the top IIMs, the final CAT cut offs are usually between 98-100 percentile, whereas for other IIMs, the cut offs range between 90-97 percentile. PI shortlisting is based on final CAT cut offs. Given below is the table indicating qualifying CAT cut off percentiles of 21 IIMs:

IIM	CAT cut offs (qualifying)
IIM Ahmedabad	85
IIM Bangalore	85
IIM Calcutta	85
IIM Lucknow	90
IIM Kozhikode	85
IIM Indore	90
IIM Rohtak	95
IIM Visakhapatnam	80
IIM Trichy	92
IIM Udaipur	92
IIM Ranchi	92
IIM Amritsar	85
IIM Shillong	75
IIM Kashipur	92
IIM Sambalpur	92
IIM Jammu	92
IIM Sirmaur	92
IIM Nagpur	85
IIM Raipur	92
IIM Bodhgaya	92
IIM Mumbai	94

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