The CAT Exam is the most popular of all IIM entrance exams held every year. Getting an MBA from a reputed institution is a dream for many aspirants. Applicants seeking admission to MBA programs must appear for the CAT Exam.
The CAT exam is an entry requirement for admissions into the IIMs and India’s top business schools. By reading through this post you can learn all about CAT, CAT Eligibility criteria, as well as the time needed to complete the entire syllabus to get through CAT and various other programmes offered by IIM.
Table of Contents:
What is the CAT Exam?CAT Exam HighlightsCAT Exam Related VideosAbout CAT Exam Timeline and RegistrationEvolution of CAT Exam over the YearsCAT Exam ResourcesCAT Exam Tips & Tricks Related ResourcesVarious Programs Offered by IIMsTime Required to Complete the CAT Exam SyllabusCAT Exam States and CitiesFrequently Asked Questions on CAT Exam
What is the CAT Exam?
The Common Admission Test (CAT) is India’s most prestigious national level entrance examination, which permits aspirants to get into top management institutes. There is no doubt that it is the biggest MBA entrance test in the country. The IIMs (Indian Institute of Management) conduct this Common Admission Test on a rotational basis.
CAT Exam 2022 is expected to be held on 27th November 2022. It is a computer-based test that is held across 156 cities in India. If you are a B-school aspirant planning to take up CAT 2022, gear up with your CAT preparation right away, with BYJU’S CAT learning programme.
CAT Exam Highlights:
|
CAT Exam 2022 Highlights |
|
|
Name of the Exam |
Common Admission Test (CAT) |
|
CAT Official Website |
https://iimcat.ac.in/ |
|
Conducting Body |
Yet to be announced |
|
Exam Duration |
2 hours (160 Minutes for PWD candidates) |
|
CAT Exam Fees |
INR 1100 (Reserved categories) INR 2200 (Other categories) |
|
Exam Date |
27th November 2022 (Tentative date) |
|
Medium of Exam |
English |
|
CAT Exam Pattern |
Computer Based Test (CBT) |
|
CAT Exam Question Type |
MCQ and Non-MCQ questions |
|
Syllabus |
Quantitative Aptitude Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension |
|
Eligibility |
Bachelor’s degree with 50% aggregate (45% aggregate or equivalent for reserved categories) |
Explore CAT Exam Highlights by Year:
CAT Exam Related Videos:
Here, you can find answers to all your burning questions about CAT from BYJU’S team of CAT experts.
About CAT Exam Timeline and Registration:
Every year, the total number of registered eligible candidates is approximately 2.30 lakh. CAT Exam 2022 is expected to be held on November 27, 2022. CAT Exam 2022 official notification will be released in the last week of July or the first week of August 2022 (tentatively).
iimcat.ac.in will be the official website where the CAT Exam 2022 notification will be released. Following is a table showing the tentative calendar of events for the CAT exam.
|
CAT Exam Events |
Expected Date |
|
Release of Online Notification |
Last week of July 2022 |
|
Commencement of Online Application |
First week of August 2022 |
|
Date of CAT Exam |
November 27th 2022 |
|
CAT Exam Result Declaration |
First week of January 2023 |
Evolution of CAT Exam Over The Years:
The CAT Exam has undergone numerous changes since the time the test switched from paper pen mode to computer-based testing:
|
Year |
Time -Duration |
Section |
Total Number of Questions in each Section |
Total Number of Questions |
|
2021 |
120 |
Verbal ability and Reading comprehension Data Interpretation and Logical reasoning Quantitative Ability |
24 20 22 |
66 |
|
2020 |
120 |
VARC DILR QA |
26 24 26 |
76 |
|
2019 |
180 |
VARC DILR QA |
34 32 34 |
100 |
|
2018 |
180 |
VARC DILR QA |
34 32 34 |
100 |
|
2017 |
180 |
VARC DILR QA |
34 32 34 |
100 |
|
2016 |
180 |
VARC DILR QA |
34 32 34 |
100 |
|
2015 |
180 |
VARC DILR QA |
34 32 34 |
100 |
|
2014 |
170 |
QA DI VARC |
34 16 50 |
100 |
|
2013 |
140 |
Verbal ability, Logical reasoning & Quantitative Ability , Data interpretation |
30 30 |
60 |
|
2012 |
140 |
QA DI VARC |
21 9 30 |
60 |
|
2011 |
140 |
VALR & QADI |
30 30 |
60 |
Visit Change in CAT Pattern over the past 5 years to know more in detail.
CAT Exam Resources:
Here, we have provided the CAT Exam resources, applicants can directly access it by clicking on the links below.
CAT Exam Tips & Tricks Related Resources:
CAT Exam Syllabus:
A thorough understanding of the CAT exam syllabus is important for determining your direction all through this CAT journey. It will be much easier to determine how much time you should spend on each segment, when you have a reasonable understanding of the CAT syllabus.
|
CAT Exam Syllabus |
Topics |
|
Quantitative Aptitude |
Quantitative Aptitude – Number System, Geometry Time and Work, Algebra, Mensuration and Arithmetic |
|
Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation |
Puzzles, Seating Arrangement, Blood Relation, Syllogism, Coding and Decoding Tables, Graphs, Data Caselets |
|
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension |
Reading Comprehension, Para Jumbles, Para Summary, Verbal Ability, Odd Sentence Out |
CAT Exam Marking Scheme:
- For each correct answer, candidates will receive 3 marks.
- Candidates will receive a negative marking of 1 mark for every incorrect answer for the objective questions.
- For non-MCQ-type questions, negative marks will not be deducted.
The table below will give you an outline of the MCQ and Non-MCQ questions for CAT:
|
Section |
Number of MCQ and Non-MCQs In each Section |
|
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) |
MCQ -19 Non-MCQ – 5 |
|
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning |
MCQ – 15 Non-MCQ – 5 |
|
Quantitative Aptitude |
MCQ – 14 Non-MCQ – 8 |
|
Total no of Questions |
66 |
Visit, CAT Exam Pattern to know more in detail.
Various Programs Offered by IIMs:
|
IIMs |
Programmes Offered |
|
IIM Ahmedabad |
PGP, PGP-FABM |
|
IIM Amritsar |
MBA, EMBA, MBA-Business Analytics, MBA-HRM |
|
IIM Bangalore |
PGP, PGPEM, PGPBA |
|
IIM Bodh Gaya |
PGP |
|
IIM Calcutta |
MBA |
|
IIM Indore |
PGP, PGP-HRM |
|
IIM Jammu |
MBA |
|
IIM Jammu |
Executive MBA (Blended Mode) |
|
IM 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) |
|
IIM Kashipur |
MBA, MBA (Analytics), EMBA |
|
IIM Kozhikode |
PGP, PGP-BL, PGP-F, PGP-LSM, EPGP Kochi |
|
IIM Lucknow |
PGP, PGP-ABM, PGP-SM |
|
IIM Nagpur |
PGP |
|
IIM Raipur |
PGP |
|
IIM Ranchi |
PGP, PGP-HRM, PGP (Business Analytics) |
|
IIM Rohtak |
PGP, EPGPX, EPGDSM |
|
IIM Sambalpur |
MBA, Executive MBA |
|
IIM Shillong |
PGP, PGPEX, PGPWE |
|
IIM Sirmaur |
MBA, MBA (T&HM) |
|
IIM Tiruchirappalli |
PGPM, PGPM-HR, PGPBM |
|
IIM Udaipur |
MBA, MBA-DEM, MBA-GSCM, PGDBA |
|
IIM Visakhapatnam |
PGP, PGPEX, PGPDGM |
Time Required to Complete the CAT Exam Syllabus:
Every year more than 2 lakh CAT aspirants register for the CAT Exam. To ace the examination, an intensive preparation period of 7-9 months prior to taking the exam is highly recommended. However, candidates who are behind schedule, and those who are fully committed to passing the test, can do well with a 3-4 month dedicated preparation period.
CAT Exam States and Cities:
|
Sl No: |
Name of the State |
CAT 2021 Exam Cities |
|
1 |
Andaman and Nicobar |
Port Blair |
|
2 |
Andhra Pradesh |
Guntur |
|
3 |
Kakinada |
|
|
4 |
Kurnool |
|
|
5 |
Nellore |
|
|
6 |
Rajahmundry |
|
|
7 |
Tirupathi |
|
|
8 |
Vijayawada |
|
|
9 |
Visakhapatnam |
|
|
10 |
Vizianagaram |
|
|
11 |
Arunachal Pradesh |
Itanagar-Naharlagun |
|
12 |
Assam |
Dibrugarh |
|
13 |
Guwahati |
|
|
14 |
Jorhat |
|
|
15 |
Silchar |
|
|
16 |
Tezpur |
|
|
17 |
Bihar |
Aurangabad-Bihar |
|
18 |
Arrah |
|
|
19 |
Bhagalpur |
|
|
20 |
Darbhanga |
|
|
21 |
Muzaffarpur |
|
|
22 |
Patna |
|
|
23 |
Chandigarh |
Chandigarh |
|
24 |
Chhattisgarh |
Bhilai Nagar |
|
25 |
Bilaspur |
|
|
26 |
Raipur |
|
|
27 |
Goa |
Panaji |
|
28 |
Madgaon |
|
|
29 |
Gujarat |
Ahmedabad |
|
30 |
Anand |
|
|
31 |
Gandhinagar |
|
|
32 |
Mehsana |
|
|
33 |
Rajkot |
|
|
34 |
Surat |
|
|
35 |
Vadodara |
|
|
36 |
Haryana |
Ambala |
|
37 |
Faridabad |
|
|
38 |
Gurugram |
|
|
39 |
Hisar |
|
|
40 |
Karnal |
|
|
41 |
Kurukshetra |
|
|
42 |
Panipat |
|
|
43 |
Rohtak |
|
|
44 |
Sonipat |
|
|
45 |
Himachal Pradesh |
Shimla |
|
46 |
Hamirpur |
|
|
47 |
Jammu & Kashmir |
Jammu |
|
48 |
Srinagar (NEW) |
|
|
49 |
Jharkhand |
Bokaro Steel City |
|
50 |
Dhanbad |
|
|
51 |
Hazaribagh |
|
|
52 |
Jamshedpur |
|
|
53 |
Ranchi |
|
|
54 |
Karnataka |
Belagavi (Belgaum) |
|
55 |
Bengaluru |
|
|
56 |
Hubli-Dharwad |
|
|
57 |
Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) |
|
|
58 |
Mangaluru (Mangalore) |
|
|
59 |
Mysuru (Mysore) |
|
|
60 |
Shivamogga (Shimoga) |
|
|
61 |
Udupi |
|
|
62 |
Kerala |
Kannur |
|
63 |
Ernakulam |
|
|
64 |
Kollam |
|
|
65 |
Kottayam |
|
|
66 |
Kozhikode |
|
|
67 |
Thrissur |
|
|
68 |
Trivandrum |
|
|
69 |
Madhya Pradesh |
Bhopal |
|
70 |
Gwalior |
|
|
71 |
Indore |
|
|
72 |
Jabalpur |
|
|
73 |
Sagar |
|
|
74 |
Satna |
|
|
75 |
Ujjain |
|
|
76 |
Maharashtra |
Amravati |
|
77 |
Ahmednagar |
|
|
78 |
Aurangabad-MH |
|
|
79 |
Bhiwandi |
|
|
80 |
Boisar |
|
|
81 |
Jalgaon |
|
|
82 |
Kolhapur |
|
|
83 |
Mumbai |
|
|
84 |
Nagpur |
|
|
85 |
Nanded |
|
|
86 |
Nashik |
|
|
87 |
Pune |
|
|
88 |
Raigad |
|
|
89 |
Satara |
|
|
90 |
Solapur |
|
|
91 |
Thane |
|
|
92 |
Palghar |
|
|
93 |
Navi Mumbai |
|
|
94 |
Vasai |
|
|
95 |
Virar |
|
|
96 |
Meghalaya |
Shillong |
|
97 |
Mizoram |
Aizawl |
|
98 |
Nagaland |
Kohima |
|
99 |
New Delhi |
New Delhi |
|
100 |
Odisha |
Balasore |
|
101 |
Berhampur |
|
|
102 |
Bhubaneswar |
|
|
103 |
Cuttack |
|
|
104 |
Dhenkanal |
|
|
105 |
Rourkela |
|
|
106 |
Sambalpur |
|
|
107 |
Punjab |
Pathankot |
|
108 |
Bhatinda |
|
|
109 |
Jalandhar |
|
|
110 |
Ludhiana |
|
|
111 |
Mohali |
|
|
112 |
Patiala |
|
|
113 |
Sangrur |
|
|
114 |
Amritsar |
|
|
115 |
Puducherry |
Puducherry |
|
116 |
Rajasthan |
Ajmer |
|
117 |
Alwar |
|
|
118 |
Bikaner |
|
|
119 |
Jaipur |
|
|
120 |
Jodhpur |
|
|
121 |
Kota |
|
|
122 |
Sikar |
|
|
123 |
Udaipur |
|
|
124 |
Tamil Nadu |
Chennai |
|
125 |
Coimbatore |
|
|
126 |
Madurai |
|
|
127 |
Salem |
|
|
128 |
Tirunelveli |
|
|
129 |
Tiruchirappalli |
|
|
130 |
Vellore |
|
|
131 |
Telangana |
Hyderabad |
|
132 |
Karimnagar |
|
|
133 |
Warangal |
|
|
134 |
Uttar Pradesh |
Agra |
|
135 |
Aligarh |
|
|
136 |
Bareilly |
|
|
137 |
Ghaziabad |
|
|
138 |
Gorakhpur |
|
|
139 |
Greater Noida |
|
|
140 |
Kanpur |
|
|
141 |
Jhansi |
|
|
142 |
Lucknow |
|
|
143 |
Meerut |
|
|
144 |
Moradabad |
|
|
145 |
Muzaffarnagar |
|
|
146 |
Noida |
|
|
147 |
Prayagraj |
|
|
148 |
Varanasi |
|
|
149 |
Uttarakhand |
Dehradun |
|
150 |
Haldwani |
|
|
151 |
Roorkee |
|
|
152 |
West Bengal |
Asansol |
|
153 |
Bankura |
|
|
154 |
Burdwan |
|
|
155 |
Durgapur |
|
|
156 |
Hooghly |
|
|
157 |
Kalyani |
|
|
158 |
Kolkata |
|
|
159 |
Siliguri |
Other MBA Entrance Exams:
Aspirants enrolled in CAT Coaching must be familiar with all of the MBA entrance exams in India. Other Management entrance exams include XAT, MAT, CMAT, etc.,
Frequently Asked Questions on the CAT Exam:
What is CAT?
IIMs conduct the Common Admission Test on a rotational basis for admission into management and business courses. CAT is conducted in three sessions every year, on the last Sunday of November.
The CAT Exam consists of 3 sections:
- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
- Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DII-LR)
- Quantitative Ability (QA)
What is the CAT eligibility criteria?
In order to qualify for CAT, a candidate must have finished or be appearing for his or her Bachelor’s degree, final year examination, with at least a 50% aggregate score. The degree should be granted by any university, incorporated or declared to be deemed under Section 3 of the UGC Act 1956, or an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India.
When should I start preparing for CAT?
The right time to start preparing for an exam is 12 months in advance. It is recommended that CAT aspirants start their preparation at least 11-12 months before the exam, considering the increased competition and peer pressure. If you have plenty of time on your hands, you can go over the basics again in the last 1-2 months.
How do I get a good percentile in Quants?
Practice is the key to attaining quantitative ability. More practice will help a student score well on the quant section. A detailed understanding of the CAT paper pattern, understanding the weightage of each topic is essential for CAT candidates. Getting a score of 99% on the CAT QA section requires an in-depth understanding of Arithmetic and Algebra.
How do I get a good percentile in DILR?
As for the CAT DILR section, 99%iles are achieved by selecting the correct sets to answer. This takes daily practice, so CAT aspirants must become habitual to solving at least 3-5 sets everyday. This will help aspirants become proficient in choosing the right type of sets, and solving them within the time-frame, without any hassle.
Why CAT Coaching?
The CAT (Common Admission Test) is a national-level computer-based management entrance examination conducted every year by the IIMs. CAT is the premier IIM entrance exam that allows candidates into several Postgraduate Business Management courses. CAT is considered one of the most challenging entrance examinations in India, and you need to obtain a good score to apply to any of the top business schools. CAT 2021 was conducted by IIM Ahmedabad on November 28, 2021. Since CAT scores set the benchmark for IIM acceptances, candidates need to equip themselves with the best tips and tricks to crack the CAT Exam in the shortest possible time.
In order to speed up the process of cracking the CAT Exam, BYJU’S CAT app and online preparation program have been specifically designed to use shortcut tricks and methods to achieve a top score. The CAT preparation module at BYJU’S helps students access the entire program from any location and at any time, as the whole program is made available offline. It offers online practice tests, study materials, mock tests, and tutorials, with sessions conducted by India’s top CAT trainers. Detailed time-based performance metrics, topic-wise discussions, and an LOD analysis provide a comprehensive view of a candidate’s performance.
|
CAT Related Links | |
|---|---|
CAT Preparation | CAT Question Papers | CAT Sample Papers | CAT Mock Tests | CAT Exam Analysis | CAT Preparation Online
