CAT is the entrance test for admission to all 21 Indian Institutes of Management and more than 1,200 other business schools across India. One of the 21 IIMs conducts the exam each year on a rotating basis; IIM Indore is the convening institute for the CAT 2026 cycle. Unlike most national entrance exams, CAT runs only once a year, in a single day across three back-to-back slots, and produces a percentile rather than a pass or fail result. Each participating institute then applies its own shortlist cutoff and its own composite-score formula, so clearing a high CAT percentile earns an interview call, not an automatic seat. The CAT 2026 Information Bulletin is expected around July 27, 2026, with registration opening in the first week of August and the exam itself set for Sunday, November 29, 2026.
| Date | Update | Source |
|---|---|---|
| December 24, 2025 | CAT 2025 result declared at 3:00 PM, IIM Kozhikode convening | IIM Kozhikode |
| November 30, 2025 | CAT 2025 conducted across three slots in 170+ cities | IIM Kozhikode |
| September 13, 2025 | CAT 2025 registration window closed | IIM Kozhikode |
| August 1, 2025 | CAT 2025 registration opened | IIM Kozhikode |
| July 2025 | CAT 2025 Information Bulletin released, IIM Indore confirmed as CAT 2026 convening institute | IIM Kozhikode notification |
| Full name | Common Admission Test |
| Acronym | CAT |
| Conducting body | Indian Institute of Management (rotating convenor; IIM Indore for the 2026 cycle) |
| Mode | Computer-based test (CBT) |
| Level | National |
| Frequency | Annual, single day, three slots |
| Language | English only |
| Total marks | 204 (68 questions, up to 3 marks each) |
| Duration | 120 minutes (40 minutes per section, strictly sectional and non-transferable) |
| Question count | 68 (24 VARC, 22 DILR, 22 QA); a mix of MCQ and TITA (Type In The Answer) |
| Negative marking | -1 for an incorrect MCQ; 0 for an incorrect TITA answer; 0 for unattempted |
| Marks per correct answer | +3 |
| Application fee (General, EWS, NC-OBC) | ₹2,600 |
| Application fee (SC, ST, PwD) | ₹1,300 |
| Official website | iimcat.ac.in |
| CAT 2025 result declared | December 24, 2025 |
| Institutes accepting CAT scores | All 21 IIMs plus 1,200+ other B-schools nationally |
| Information Bulletin release | Around July 27, 2026 tentative |
| Registration opens | Around August 1, 2026 tentative |
| Registration closes | Third week of September 2026 tentative |
| Admit card release | Early November 2026 tentative |
| Exam date | Sunday, November 29, 2026 (announced by IIM Indore; confirm in the official bulletin) tentative |
| Answer key release | Mid December 2026 tentative |
| Result declaration | Late December 2026 tentative |
| Registration opened | August 1, 2025 |
| Registration closed | September 13, 2025 |
| Admit card download window | November 5 to November 30, 2025 |
| Exam date | Sunday, November 30, 2025 |
| Result declared | December 24, 2025, 3:00 PM |
| Individual IIM shortlists released | January to February (following year) tentative |
| WAT / AWT and PI rounds conducted | February to March tentative |
| Final merit lists and admission offers | March to April tentative |
| Fee payment and admission confirmation | April to June tentative |
CAT eligibility requires a bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised university with at least 50% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA, reduced to 45% for SC, ST, and PwD candidates. There is no age limit and no cap on the number of attempts. Final-year students can apply, provided they complete their degree with the required percentage before the specific institute's admission deadline, typically June 30 of the following year.
| Age limit | None. Candidates of any age, including those several years into a working career, are eligible to appear. |
| Educational qualification | A bachelor's degree in any discipline (Arts, Commerce, Science, Engineering, or any other stream) from a university recognised by the UGC, AICTE, or an equivalent statutory body. CA, CS, and ICWA/CMA are generally treated as equivalent, subject to each IIM's own verification. |
| Minimum aggregate, General / EWS / NC-OBC | 50% marks or equivalent CGPA. |
| Minimum aggregate, SC / ST / PwD | 45% marks or equivalent CGPA. |
| CGPA conversion | Converted per the candidate's own university or institute conversion formula, not a fixed national scale. |
| Final-year and final-semester students | Eligible to apply and appear, provided they can produce proof of passing the qualifying examination with the required percentage by the date specified in their offer letter, commonly June 30 of the admission year. |
| Number of attempts | Unrestricted. A candidate can appear in CAT every year for as long as they wish. |
| Nationality and domicile | Open to Indian citizens and, subject to each institute's own foreign-national and NRI policy, international applicants. There is no domicile-based quota system in CAT, since IIM seats are allotted nationally by each institute independently. |
CAT registration is fully online at iimcat.ac.in and typically stays open for about six weeks from early August to mid September. A detail that surprises many first-time applicants: the CAT registration form itself is also the profile-data form every IIM later uses to calculate its composite admission score. Class 10 marks, Class 12 marks, bachelor's degree percentage, work experience, and extracurricular details are all entered once, at registration, months before any interview call, so an error here quietly follows a candidate through the entire shortlisting process.
| Document | Format | Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photograph | JPG / JPEG | As specified in the bulletin | Recent, plain background, clearly visible face |
| Signature | JPG / JPEG | As specified in the bulletin | Handwritten, scanned on plain paper |
| Category certificate (if applicable) | As specified in the bulletin | OBC-NCL, SC, ST, EWS, or PwD as relevant | |
| PwD certificate (if applicable) | As specified in the bulletin | Required only for candidates claiming PwD relaxation |
| Category | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| General / EWS / NC-OBC | ₹2,600 | ₹2,600 |
| SC / ST / PwD | ₹1,300 | ₹1,300 |
CAT has 68 questions split across three sections: VARC (24 questions), DILR (22 questions), and QA (22 questions). Each section carries a strict 40-minute time limit that cannot be exceeded or borrowed from another section, for a total exam duration of 120 minutes. Total marks are 204, since each correct answer is worth 3 marks. Questions are a mix of multiple-choice (MCQ) and Type In The Answer (TITA), where a candidate types a numerical or text response instead of choosing from options.
| Mode | Computer-based test (CBT) |
| Duration | 120 minutes (40 minutes per section, sectional and non-transferable) |
| Sections | VARC, DILR, QA |
| Questions per section | 24 VARC, 22 DILR, 22 QA |
| Total questions | 68 |
| Total marks | 204 |
| Marks per correct answer | +3 |
| Negative marking (MCQ) | -1 |
| Negative marking (TITA) | 0 |
| Unattempted | 0, no penalty |
| Question types | MCQ and TITA in each section |
| Calculator | On-screen basic calculator provided for QA |
| Slots per day | Three (morning, afternoon, evening) |
| Language | English only |
CAT ran as a 3-hour exam with 100 questions and 60 minutes per section through 2019. From CAT 2020 onward, a pandemic-era change that has never been reversed, the exam moved to its current 2-hour, 40-minute-per-section structure, with the exact question count adjusted most years since (76 questions in 2020, settling in the mid to high 60s in the years after). CAT 2024 and CAT 2025 both used 68 questions with an identical 40-40-40-minute split, and the 2026 cycle is expected to carry the same structure forward, though this should be confirmed once the official Information Bulletin publishes.
Under CAT's +3/-1 marking for MCQs, the break-even point for a blind guess on a four-option question sits at exactly 25%: a random guess has an expected value of zero (a 1-in-4 chance of +3, a 3-in-4 chance of -1, which nets out to zero). Eliminating even one wrong option before guessing pushes the expected value positive. TITA questions carry no negative marking at all, so attempting every TITA question a candidate can compute, even from a rough estimate, never costs marks the way a wrong MCQ guess does.
No IIM has ever published an official CAT syllabus document, unlike NTA's published syllabi for JEE Main and NEET UG. The topic breakdown below is derived from analysis of actual CAT papers from 2021 through 2025, and should be read as a pattern description rather than an official curriculum.
Reading Comprehension dominates VARC, typically accounting for 16 to 18 of the 24 questions. The remaining questions are drawn from a small, recurring pool of non-RC formats.
| Unit | Weightage | Key topics |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 66-70% | Passages commonly drawn from economics, sociology, philosophy, and science writing; 4 to 5 passages per slot with 4 to 6 questions each |
| Para jumbles | 8-12% | Rearranging 4 to 5 sentences into logical order, presented as TITA |
| Para summary | 8-12% | Selecting or typing the best one-sentence summary of a short passage |
| Odd sentence out / para completion | 6-10% | Identifying the sentence that does not belong, or the sentence that completes a paragraph |
DILR has not been split into separate DI and LR sub-sections since around 2015. Questions are presented as integrated sets, typically five sets of four to six questions each within a slot, mixing data reading with logical deduction in the same set.
| Unit | Weightage | Key topics |
|---|---|---|
| Graph and chart-based sets | 27-36% | Bar graphs, line graphs, and combination charts requiring multi-step reading |
| Arrangement and sequencing puzzles | 23-27% | Seating arrangements, scheduling, and ordering puzzles |
| Data sufficiency | 14-23% | Determining whether given statements are enough to answer a question, without solving fully |
| Tables and caselets | 9-23% | Data presented as a written scenario or table requiring extraction before calculation |
Arithmetic and Algebra together account for roughly 72% of QA questions across CAT 2021 through 2025, making them by far the highest-leverage topics to master.
| Unit | Weightage | Key topics |
|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic | ~38% | Percentages, profit and loss, time-speed-distance, time and work, averages, ratios, mixtures |
| Algebra | ~34% | Linear and quadratic equations, inequalities, functions, logarithms, progressions |
| Geometry and Mensuration | ~15% | Triangles, circles, coordinate geometry, area and volume |
| Number Systems | ~8% | Divisibility, remainders, factors, base conversions |
| Modern Math | ~5% | Permutations and combinations, probability, set theory |
CAT rewards speed and accuracy under a hard sectional time limit more than it rewards raw content depth, since most of the underlying maths and grammar concepts are covered by Class 10 level education. The plans below assume a November exam date and work backward from it.
12-month plan
Months 1-4 (December-March): Foundation. Across all three sections. For QA, rebuild Class 8 to 10 arithmetic and algebra fluency using Arun Sharma's Quantitative Aptitude book, one chapter at a time with 20 problems each. For VARC, read one long-form article daily from a serious publication (The Hindu, The Economist, Aeon) and practise timed comprehension. For DILR, work through Nishit Sinha's Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation book set-by-set rather than question-by-question.
Months 5-8 (April-July): Layer in speed. Begin one sectional mock per week from month 5, expanding to two full-length mocks per week by month 8. Track accuracy separately from attempt count; a candidate attempting 20 questions at 90% accuracy consistently outscores one attempting 30 at 60%. Start building a personal error log of every wrong answer with a one-line note on why it was missed.
Months 9-12 (August-November): Mock-heavy phase. Three to four full-length mocks per week from month 9, tapering to alternate-day mocks in the final two weeks before the exam. Spend at least as long analysing each mock as taking it. In the final week, no new content, only review of the error log and rest.
6-month plan
Months 1-2 (June-July): Combine concept and practice. Cover one QA topic and one DILR set type per day, testing each immediately with 15 to 20 problems. Read RC passages daily for speed and comprehension, not just vocabulary.
Months 3-4 (August-September): Begin one full mock per week. Calibrate by starting with two-year-old papers before moving to the most recent cycle. Identify the two or three topics dragging down accuracy across QA and DILR, and drill those specifically rather than spreading effort evenly.
Months 5-6 (October-November): Mock-heavy. Three mocks per week rising to alternate-day in the final three weeks. Sectional timing discipline matters more here than raw content, since a candidate who runs out of time in DILR with unattempted easy questions loses more than one who attempts fewer but higher-value questions.
90-day plan
Days 1-30: Triage hard. Identify each section's highest-yield, lowest-effort question types (typically Arithmetic in QA, RC in VARC, arrangement sets in DILR) and concentrate almost all study time there rather than trying to cover every topic shallowly.
Days 31-60: Mock-heavy. One mock every alternate day, alternating full-length and sectional. Read every wrong answer's explanation and log the specific reasoning trap, not just the correct answer.
Days 61-90: Stamina and timing. Mocks three times a week, tapering in the final ten days to review only. Practise the exact slot timing you are assigned (morning, afternoon, or evening) in the final two weeks so your body clock matches exam day.
CAT's biggest coaching value is not content instruction, since most of the underlying maths and grammar is high-school level, but the mock-test ecosystem and the structured analysis discipline that a classroom programme enforces. A full-year classroom programme with IMS, TIME, or Career Launcher typically runs ₹35,000 to ₹75,000, and includes bundled access to that institute's mock series. Self-study built on Arun Sharma plus Nishit Sinha plus a standalone mock series (IMS SimCAT or TIME AimCAT purchased separately, roughly ₹6,000 to ₹9,000) costs well under ₹15,000 total and has produced 99-plus percentile scorers every year.
Online-only coaching (2IIM, CATKing, PW MBA) at ₹8,000 to ₹20,000 sits between full classroom coaching and pure self-study. Honest take: 2IIM's free YouTube content, built around IIM-Bangalore- alumnus Rajesh Balasubramanian's teaching, is unusually strong for a free resource and is a reasonable substitute for a paid concept course, provided the candidate pairs it with a purchased mock series for the analysis discipline.
Topper insight (pending)
Verified CAT topper from the 2025 cycle, 99-plus percentile with scorecard verification, willing to be quoted by name. Without this, the page reads like every other generic prep article. Format to be used once sourced: "[Name], [percentile] percentile in CAT 2025, recommends [specific tactic]. '[direct quote in their own words],' they say."
| Book | Subject | Price (₹) | One-line take |
|---|---|---|---|
| How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT, Arun Sharma | Quant | 500 | The default QA book for a reason; problem sets are genuinely CAT-calibrated, not generically difficult. |
| How to Prepare for Quant, Sarvesh Verma | Quant | 500 | Tougher problem set than Arun Sharma; better for candidates already scoring above 85 percentile in QA. |
| How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT, Arun Sharma | VARC | 450 | Solid grammar and vocabulary base, but RC practice needs daily reading outside the book too. |
| How to Prepare for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning for CAT, Nishit Sinha | DILR | 450 | Best available for set-based practice; explanations walk through the deduction process, not just the answer. |
IMS SimCAT is one of the two dominant mock series, offering roughly 40 full-length mocks plus sectional tests, priced around ₹6,000 to ₹9,000 depending on the package. TIME AimCAT is the other, similarly priced, with a reputation for running slightly tougher than the actual CAT paper, so a lower-than-expected AimCAT score is best read as a diagnostic signal rather than a confidence-breaker. Both are calibrated well enough that most serious candidates use one or the other rather than both.
The activity with the highest score-to-effort ratio in exam prep is mock-test analysis. Solving a mock takes hours; analysing it correctly takes longer. Most candidates skip the analysis. The candidates who score well do not.
| Year | Difficulty | Hardest section | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Moderate to hard | DILR | Sets were reported as more data-dense than 2024, rewarding careful reading over speed |
| 2024 | Moderate | QA | Algebra-heavy paper across multiple slots |
| 2023 | Moderate to hard | VARC | RC passages skewed toward denser philosophical and scientific writing |
| 2022 | Moderate | Balanced | No single section reported as a standout outlier across slots |
| 2021 | Moderate to hard | DILR | Early cycle under the shortened 2-hour format, sets ran longer than candidates expected |
VARC: Reading Comprehension passages on economics and business writing recur most, followed by science and sociology. DILR: arrangement-based sets and graph-reading sets appear in nearly every recent cycle, alongside at least one data-sufficiency set per slot. QA: Arithmetic (particularly Percentages, Time-Speed-Distance, and Time and Work) and Algebra (particularly Equations and Progressions) together account for the largest share of recurring question types. Note: unlike NTA, no IIM has ever released an official CAT question paper or answer key as a public archive; reconstructed past papers on coaching sites are based on candidate recall, not an official release.
| Year | General | OBC-NCL | EWS | SC | ST | PwD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IIM Ahmedabad | 99+ | 90+ | 97+ | 75-85 | 55-70 | — |
| IIM Bangalore | 96-99 | 85-90 | 90+ | 70-80 | 45-60 | — |
| IIM Calcutta | 90-97 | 80-88 | 88+ | 65-75 | 40-55 | — |
| IIM Lucknow | 97-99 | 80-88 | 88+ | 60-75 | 35-55 | — |
| IIM Kozhikode | 97-99 | 80-88 | 88+ | 60-75 | 35-55 | — |
| IIM Indore | 97-99 | 80-88 | 88+ | 60-75 | 35-55 | — |
| College | General (HS) | General (OS) | OBC (OS) | SC (OS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IIM Ahmedabad (sectional minimum, General) | — | Roughly 70-80 percentile in each of VARC, DILR, QA | — | — |
| IIM Bangalore (sectional minimum, General) | — | 80 percentile minimum in each of VARC, DILR, QA | — | — |
| IIM Calcutta (sectional minimum, General) | — | Roughly 75-80 percentile in each of VARC, DILR, QA | — | — |
| IIM Lucknow (sectional minimum, General) | — | Roughly 70-80 percentile in each of VARC, DILR, QA | — | — |
Our 2026 shortlist-cutoff projection uses the 2025 cycle's published and reported thresholds as the anchor, applying a drift correction for year-on-year registration volume changes and any newly announced seat changes at individual IIMs. This model has not yet been calibrated against confirmed 2026 figures, since the CAT 2026 exam itself has not taken place; treat any 2026-specific number as provisional until each IIM publishes its own cutoff criteria after the CAT 2026 result. These figures are aggregated from individual IIM admission policy documents and publicly reported shortlist criteria rather than a single official bulletin, and typically shift by one to three percentile points from year to year.
Use the College Predictor with full methodology disclosure →CAT results are declared as a percentile scorecard, not a pass or fail outcome, roughly three to four weeks after the exam. CAT 2025 results were declared by IIM Kozhikode on December 24, 2025, at 3:00 PM. Scorecards are downloadable from iimcat.ac.in using the registration ID and password or date of birth.
A CAT scorecard is valid for one admission cycle only, through December 31 of the following year. A candidate who wants to use a CAT score for a later admission cycle must reappear; unlike NEET UG's three-cycle validity, CAT scores cannot be carried forward beyond the immediate cycle.
Since CAT runs in three slots on the same day, and each slot can vary slightly in difficulty, the conducting IIM applies an equipercentile normalisation method to map each slot's raw-score distribution onto a common scale before computing percentiles. A candidate at a given percentile in the morning slot lands at roughly the same percentile after normalisation, regardless of which slot they sat. The exact statistical formula is not published in full detail by the conducting IIM.
CAT does not offer rechecking or re-evaluation of scores. Because the exam is entirely computer-scored against a locked answer key, there is no manual answer sheet to re-examine, and IIMs have consistently held that final scores, once published, are not revisited.
CAT itself has no separate central counselling body. Instead, each institute, all 21 IIMs plus every non-IIM B-school accepting CAT scores, independently shortlists candidates against its own percentile and sectional thresholds, then runs its own Written Ability Test (or, at some IIMs, an Analytical Writing Test) and Personal Interview before making admission offers. IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, and IIM Calcutta have all dropped Group Discussion for flagship PGP admission, though several non-IIM B-schools including MDI, SPJIMR, and IMT still include a GD round. IIM Ahmedabad's written round is specifically an Analytical Writing Test built around a short case or scenario with pointed analytical questions, rather than an open-topic essay, a meaningfully different skill to prepare for than a traditional WAT prompt.
Two candidates both score 97 percentile overall in CAT. Candidate A has 85% in Class 10, 82% in Class 12, 75% in a bachelor's degree, and 18 months of work experience. Candidate B has 92% in Class 10, 90% in Class 12, 80% in a bachelor's degree, and no work experience. On a representative composite formula (CAT 55%, Class 10 at 10%, Class 12 at 10%, bachelor's at 20%, work experience at 5%), Candidate B's stronger, more consistent academic record can outscore Candidate A on the composite even though both cleared the exact same CAT percentile threshold. This is the practical reason two candidates with the same CAT percentile sometimes see very different shortlist outcomes at the same institute.
Tick every IIM you would genuinely accept during CAT registration, not just the two or three you have heard of most. The shortlist step only considers institutes you selected months earlier; a strong CAT percentile cannot retroactively earn you a call from an IIM you never selected.
Treat your work experience and academic figures as part of your score, not background detail. A candidate with a 96 percentile but strong, correctly entered academics and 24 months of relevant work experience can out-shortlist a 98-percentile candidate with a thin academic and work-experience profile, because the composite formula weights all of it, not just the CAT score.
Prepare your Personal Interview around your own application, not a generic answer bank. Interview panels at nearly every IIM draw questions directly from the academic background, work experience, and extracurricular details submitted at registration, so a mismatch between what you wrote and what you say in the room is one of the fastest ways to lose interview marks.
Do not skip newer IIMs because of brand perception. Newer IIMs (Nagpur, Sambalpur, Visakhapatnam, Bodh Gaya, Jammu, Sirmaur, Amritsar) generally apply lighter sectional cutoffs and weight CAT percentile more heavily in their composite formula, which can make them a realistic shortlist target for a candidate who is borderline at the top six IIMs.
Know that GD is dead at the top IIMs but not everywhere. If you are also applying to MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR, or IMT Ghaziabad through their separate CAT-based admission process, budget separate preparation time for Group Discussion, since those institutes have not dropped it the way the flagship IIMs have.
Unlike JoSAA's structured Freeze, Float, and Slide rounds, IIM waitlist movement is not centrally coordinated. Each institute manages its own waitlist independently after the initial offer round, releasing further offers as admitted candidates decline or fail to confirm their seat, typically continuing into May and June. A candidate can hold offers or waitlist positions at multiple IIMs simultaneously, since there is no single national portal forcing a single choice the way JoSAA does for JEE Main.
Talk to a counsellor about your strategy →Top 15 CAT-accepting institutes by NIRF Engineering rank. Each links to the full college page with placements, fees, hostel, and student reviews.
| NIRF rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | IIM Ahmedabad | Ahmedabad, Gujarat |
| #2 | IIM Bangalore | Bengaluru, Karnataka |
| #3 | IIM Kozhikode | Kozhikode, Kerala |
| #4 | IIM Calcutta | Kolkata, West Bengal |
| #5 | IIM Lucknow | Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh |
| #7 | IIM Indore | Indore, Madhya Pradesh |
| #9 | MDI Gurgaon | Gurugram, Haryana |
| #12 | IIM Tiruchirappalli | Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu |
| #13 | SPJIMR Mumbai | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| #15 | IIM Udaipur | Udaipur, Rajasthan |
| #16 | IIM Rohtak | Rohtak, Haryana |
| #17 | IIM Kashipur | Kashipur, Uttarakhand |
| #18 | IIM Ranchi | Ranchi, Jharkhand |
| #20 | IMT Ghaziabad | Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh |
| #21 | IIM Raipur | Raipur, Chhattisgarh |
| Comparison | Mode | Conducting body | Frequency | College scope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAT vs XAT | CBT vs CBT | Rotating IIM vs XLRI Jamshedpur | Annual vs Annual | All 21 IIMs plus 1,200+ B-schools vs XLRI plus 160+ institutes |
| CAT vs CMAT | CBT vs CBT | Rotating IIM vs National Testing Agency | Annual vs Annual | 21 IIMs plus 1,200+ B-schools vs 1,000+ AICTE-approved institutes |
| CAT vs SNAP | CBT vs CBT | Rotating IIM vs Symbiosis International Deemed University | Annual, single sitting vs Annual, multiple sessions | 21 IIMs plus 1,200+ B-schools vs 16 Symbiosis institutes |
| CAT vs NMAT | CBT vs CBT | Rotating IIM vs GMAC | Annual, single sitting vs Annual, multiple sessions across a window | 21 IIMs plus 1,200+ B-schools vs NMIMS plus a small set of other institutes |
Pending verified contributors
6 to 8 verified test-taker reviews required. Curation mix: one recent topper (99-plus percentile), one average shortlisted candidate, one candidate who cleared the percentile cutoff but did not convert an IIM call, one repeat test-taker, one first-attempt test-taker, and one candidate with significant work experience for perspective on how the composite formula treated their profile. All must be scorecard-verified and year-stamped. Without these the page cannot meet the experiential E-E-A-T moat requirement.
CAT 2026 registration is expected to open around August 1, 2026, following the official Information Bulletin, expected around July 27, 2026, from IIM Indore, the convening institute for this cycle. Both dates are tentative until IIM Indore confirms them.
CAT 2026 is scheduled for Sunday, November 29, 2026, as announced by IIM Indore. This date should be confirmed once the official Information Bulletin is released.
A bachelor's degree in any discipline with at least 50% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA, reduced to 45% for SC, ST, and PwD candidates. There is no age limit, and final-year students can apply provided they complete their degree with the required percentage by the specified deadline.
There is no cap. A candidate can appear in CAT every year for as long as they wish, since neither an age limit nor an attempt limit applies.
Roughly 99-plus for a realistic shortlist shot at IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Kozhikode, or Indore in the General category; 90 to 97 percentile for most other IIMs and top non-IIM B-schools; 80 percentile and above for a wide range of respected non-IIM programmes. These are shortlist-call benchmarks, not admission guarantees, since composite scoring and interview performance decide the final seat.
Since CAT runs in three slots on the same day, raw scores from each slot are normalised onto a common scale using an equipercentile method before percentiles are calculated, so a candidate's percentile reflects their standing relative to all candidates across all three slots, not just their own slot.
CAT itself only produces a percentile; it does not declare anyone as having passed or failed. Each IIM and each non-IIM B-school separately sets its own shortlist percentile threshold, often with additional minimum sectional percentiles, so the same CAT percentile can clear one institute's shortlist and miss another's.
WAT-PI stands for Written Ability Test and Personal Interview, the stage after an IIM's shortlist where candidates write a timed essay or case response and then sit a personal interview. Most IIMs use this format, though IIM Ahmedabad runs an Analytical Writing Test built around a case scenario rather than an open essay topic, and Group Discussion has been dropped by the top IIMs for flagship PGP admission while some non-IIM B-schools still use it.
No. CAT is entirely computer-scored against a locked answer key, and IIMs do not offer rechecking or re-evaluation once the result is published.
One admission cycle, through December 31 of the following year. A CAT score cannot be carried forward to a later cycle the way a NEET UG score can.
No. Each IIM sets its own percentile threshold and its own composite-score formula independently, so the same CAT percentile produces different outcomes at different IIMs.
TITA stands for Type In The Answer, a question format with no options where the candidate types a numerical or text response directly. TITA questions carry no negative marking for an incorrect answer, unlike MCQs, which lose 1 mark for an incorrect response.
More than 1,200 B-schools nationally, including FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR Mumbai, IMT Ghaziabad, JBIMS Mumbai, NMIMS Mumbai (for its CAT-accepting programme variant), and TAPMI Manipal. Each runs its own separate application process alongside CAT registration.
CAT and XAT are generally considered the two toughest MBA entrance exams in India, given their sectional time pressure and competition volume. CMAT, SNAP, and NMAT are generally regarded as more moderate in difficulty, though SNAP and NMAT allow multiple attempts within a cycle, which changes the practical difficulty calculus for a candidate willing to sit more than once.
No. CAT's underlying content is largely high-school level; what most candidates actually need is a disciplined mock-test and analysis routine, which can be built through a standalone mock series (IMS SimCAT or TIME AimCAT) without a full classroom programme. Coaching is genuinely useful for candidates who need external structure to sustain months of independent study, or who want a bundled mock series without shopping separately.
The admit card (printed), one valid government-issued photo ID matching the application details, and a recent passport-size photograph matching the one uploaded during registration. Check the admit card's exact accepted-ID list before travelling to the centre.
Yes. During CAT registration, candidates tick the specific IIM programmes they want considered for. Only the institutes ticked at registration will consider that candidate for their own shortlist, so it is worth ticking every IIM a candidate would realistically accept an offer from.
CAT 2027 is expected around the last Sunday of November 2027, with the official notification typically released in July of that year by whichever IIM is announced as the convening institute for that cycle.
Because IIMs use those figures directly in the composite score that decides your shortlist and, eventually, your admission offer. CAT registration is the only point at which this profile data is collected; there is no later opportunity to submit or revise it before an IIM's shortlist is computed, so accuracy at registration matters as much as your eventual exam performance.
Not necessarily. Two candidates with the identical CAT percentile can see very different shortlist outcomes at the same IIM if their academic record, work experience, or diversity profile differ, since the shortlist decision runs on a composite score, not on CAT percentile alone. A candidate deciding whether to reattempt CAT for a marginally higher percentile should also weigh whether their academic and work-experience profile is already competitive at their target institutes.
Sources
