CAT (Common Admission Test) is the premier all India level management entrance exam conducted by IIMs (Indian Institute of Management). CAT Entrance exam shortlist applicants for admission in 19 IIM’s located at Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Bodh Gaya, Calcutta, Indore, Kashipur, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Nagpur, Raipur, Ranchi, Rohtak, Sambalpur, Shillong, Sirmaur, Tiruchirappalli, Udaipur and Visakhapatnam. Common Admission Test (CAT) is one of the competitive entrance examinations for pursuing postgraduate programmes in Business Administration.
CAT is the largest MBA entrance test conducted annually in India. The CAT score is also accepted by many Non – IIM institutes for admission. CAT is a computer based test held in India. The test scores a candidate on the basis of Quantitative Ability (QA),Verbal Ability (VA) and Reading Comprehension (RC), Data Interpretation (DI) and Logical Reasoning (LR). The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) started this exam. It is the gateway for admission to 19 Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) and various B-schools located across the country. This national level examination is conducted by the IIMs on the rotation basis.
Important Dates
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| Start Date of Online Application | 15 April 2021 |
| Last Date of Online Application | June 2021 |
| Admit Card Download Date | – |
| CAT 2021 Exam Date | 16th, 17th and 18th of July 2021. |
| Result Announcement Date | August 2021 |
Post Graduate Programmes in Management
| Institutes | Programmes |
|---|---|
| IIM Ahmedabad | PGP and PGP-FABM |
| IIM Amritsar | PGP |
| IIM Bangalore | PGP, PGPEM and PGPPM |
| IIM Bodh Gaya | PGP |
| IIM Calcutta | PGP-PGDM |
| IIM Indore | PGP and EPGP |
| IIM Kashipur | PGP and EPGPM |
| IIM Kozhikode | PGP |
| IIM Lucknow | PGP, PGP-ABM and PGPSM |
| IIM Nagpur | PGP |
| IIM Raipur | PGP and PGPWE |
| IIM Ranchi | PGDM and PGDHRM |
| IIM Rohtak | PGP and EPGP |
| IIM Sambalpur | PGP |
| RGIIM Shillong | PGP and PGPEX |
| IIM Sirmaur | PGP |
| IIM Tiruchirappalli | PGP and PGPBM |
| IIM Udaipur | PGP |
| IIM Visakhapatnam | PGP |
Fellow Programmes in Management (FPM) Offering Institutes
| IIM Ahmedabad | IIM Bangalore | IIM Calcutta |
| IIM Indore | IIM Kashipur | IIM Kozhikode |
| IIM Lucknow | IIM Raipur | IIM Ranchi |
| IIM Rohtak | RGIIM Shillong | IIM Tiruchirappalli |
| IIM Udaipur | IIM Kashipur | IIM Raipur |
Eligibility
The Eligibility Criteria required by candidates appearing for the CAT examination are as follows:
- The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s Degree, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA (45% in case of the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PWD)/Differently Abled (DA) category)
- Candidates who are appearing for the final year of bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply.
- IIMs may verify eligibility at various stages of the selection process so candidates are requested to fill in the correct details.
Reservations
Candidates claiming reservations must fulfill the following requirements:
- 15% of the seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and 7.5% for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates. 27% of seats are reserved for Other Backward Classes candidates belonging to the “non – creamy” layer (NC – OBC).
- 3% seats are reserved for Differently Abled (DA) candidates. The three categories of disability are: a) low vision blindness, b) hearing impairment and c) locomotor disability/cerebral palsy.
How to Apply?
- Students have to Register on the website: http://www.iimcat.ac.in/
- Enter the required details: Name of Candidate, Date of Birth, Email Address, Mobile Number. Your User ID and password is generated.
- Login to the official website of CAT. Fill Personal Details and Communication Address.
- Students have to upload following documents: Passport Size Photograph and Signature, NC-OBC/SC/ST Certificate, PWD/DA Certificate.
- Fill Academic details: SSC/10th Std/Equivalent Details, 12th/Equivalent/Diploma Course Details, Bachelor Degree Details, Other Professional Degree Details, Master Degree Details.
- Students having work Experience can enter their details in Work Experience section
- Select Programme Names and interview city
- Select Exam centre City preference. Candidates can select upto 4 choices
- Payment can be done by Net Banking, Credit Card (Visa / Master), Credit Card (American Express), Debit Card (Visa / Master).
- After payment is done you will receive application confirmation Email
- Students can log into the CAT website and see Application Summary and Download Application form
Note: If a candidate does not receive a Confirmation email or have any query or concern, they can connect with the Candidate Help Desk at 1800 266 0207. Please have your User ID and/or Payment Transaction Number details for reference.
CAT Test Duration & Pattern
CAT covers questions in three areas – Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VRC, 34 questions), Quantitative Quantitative Ability (QA, 34 questions) & Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR, 32 questions).
The duration of the exam is 180 minutes. There is no separate time limit on sections.
| S.No | Section Name | No. of Questions | Time Allotted |
| 1. | Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 34 | 60 minutes |
| 2. | Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VRC) | 34 | 60 minutes |
| 3. | Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 32 | 60 minutes |
| Total | 100 Questions | 180 minutes (03 hours) |
- Each candidate will get 3 points for every correct answer.
- Also, 1 point will be deducted for each wrong answer marked by the candidate.
- There is no penalty for questions that will be left unanswered/unmarked by the candidate.
- Candidates will be allowed to use a basic online calculator for doing calculations.
- Entrance Test will have both, objective type questions and a few descriptive questions in each section.
Exam Duration: 170 minutes
Syllabus
There is no prescribed syllabus for CAT but seeing the question pattern a detailed syllabus has been mentioned below:
The Quantitative Aptitude section consists of fundamental mathematics, based on 10 + 2 difficulty level. Problems come from varied topics like Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Commercial Mathematics (Word Problems).
The Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section consists of questions on the given data. The data given can be in the form of graphs, charts, tables and paragraphs. Data Interpretation problems tests the understanding of a candidate of the data and the ability to solve problems accurately. Logical Reasoning questions consists of logic based questions to check candidates presence of mind and and evaluate problems.
The Verbal Ability section consists of questions on comprehension and usage of standard English grammar. Verbal Logic questions checks the candidate’s knowledge of arranging paragraphs in a logical order, determining the type of statements, completing the paragraphs in a proper way.
CAT Exam centres
| State/Union Territories | Exam Cities for CAT |
|---|---|
| West Bengal | Asansol, Burdwan, Bishnupur,Durgapur, Howrah, Kalyani, Hooghly,Kolkata, Siliguri |
| Uttarakhand | Dehradun, Roorkee |
| Uttar Pradesh | Agra, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Allahabad, Bareilly, Greater Noida, Kanpur, Mathura, Meerut, Lucknow, Varanasi |
| Telangana | Hyderabad, Karim Nagar, Khammam |
| Tamil Nadu | Chennai, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelvelli, Coimbatore, Madurai, Namakkal |
| Rajasthan | Ajmer, Alwar, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Sikar, Udaipur |
| Punjab | Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Pathankot, Patiala, Ropar, Sangrur |
| Puducherry | Puducherry |
| Odisha | Balasore, Berhampur, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Sambalpur |
| Meghalaya | Shillong |
| Maharashtra | Ahmednagar, Amravati, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Ratnagiri, Satara, Solapur, Thane |
| Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Sagar |
| Kerala | Kasaragod, Kochi, Kollam, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur, Trivandrum |
| Karnataka | Kolar, Mandya, Mangalore, Mysore, Ramnagara, Shimoga, Tumkur, Udupi, Belgaum, Bengaluru, Bidar, Chikballapur, Davanagere, Hasan |
| Jharkhand | Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Ranchi |
| Jammu & Kashmir | Jammu |
| Himachal Pradesh | Simla |
| Haryana | Gurgaon, Palwal, Panipath, Rohtak, Sonipath, Ambala, Bahadurgarh, Faridabad |
| Gujarat | Ahmedabad, Anand, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara |
| Goa | Madgaon, Verna |
| Delhi | New Delhi |
| Chattisgarh | Raipur, Bhillai |
| Chandigarh | Chandigarh |
| Bihar | Aurangabad, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Patna, Purnea |
| Assam | Dibrugarh, Guwahati |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar |
| Andhra Pradesh | Chittoor, Kurnool, Nellore, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Port Blair |
Admit Card
Admit Card download will be available from July 2021 till Exam day. Students are requested to check the CAT website: https://iimcat.ac.in and stay updated.
Result
Candidates can expect CAT 2021 result in the month of December/January. They have to keep themselves updated by checking the CAT website.
CAT Score Card
Scorecard of candidates will be available at the official website of CAT: www.iimcat.ac.in and candidates will be made aware regarding the same. The Scorecard will be possibly available at its official website in the month of January 2022.
Contact Details
CAT Centre
C/o Admissions Office
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
Joka, Diamond Harbour Road,
Kolkata-700 104
Phone: (+91) (33)-2467 9178(D) / 2467 8300-8306 (Ext.:148)
FAX: (+91) (33) 2438 0892(D), 2467 8062
E-Mail:
