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CAT Exam
Common Admission Test Exam
What is CAT Exam?
CAT (Common Admission Test) is a national level entrance examination, which is conducted for admission to management programs in Indian Institutes of Management (IIM's) and top B-Schools across the country. It tests a candidate on his quantitative ability, data interpretation skills, verbal ability and logical reasoning.
CAT also serves as the eligibility criteria for being admitted into the business administration courses in various IIM's spread across the country. The test is designed to evaluate the management aptitude of students by testing his analytical and communication skills. It demands up to three to four months of intense preparation.
The test is open to all graduates. Usually, CAT examination will be held in November every year. CAT is conducted online at the examination centres. In August 2011, it was announced that the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) would also use the CAT scores, instead of Joint Management Test (JMET).
IIMs spread across the country offer post-graduate, doctoral and executive education programmes. The flagship programme is the two-year post-graduate programme, which is residential in nature. The admission to the two-year post-graduate programmes in IIMs is purely based on merit in the Common Admission Test (CAT).
CAT Exam Highlights
| Exam name | Common Admission Test (CAT) |
| Organised by | Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) |
| Exam level | National |
| Frequency | Once a year |
| Mode of exam | Computer-based |
| Number of IIMs | 20 |
| Application fee | Rs 1900 |
| Application mode | Online |
| Admit card mode | Online |
| Duration of the exam | 3 hours |
| Type of questions | MCQ and Non-MCQ |
| Official website | www.iimcat.ac.in |
| Help desk number | 1800-209-0830 |
| cat2019@iimk.ac.in |
CAT 2019 Exam Dates
Aspiring candidates should check all the important dates such as registration date, application date, admit card date, exam date, result date and counselling date.
| Event | Date |
| CAT 2019 Notification | July 28, 2019 |
| CAT registration | August 7 to September 18, 2019 (tentative) |
| CAT admit card | October 23, 2019 (tentative) |
| CAT exam date | November 24, 2019 |
| CAT answer key | December 2, 2019 (tentative) |
| CAT result | January 7, 2020 (tentative) |
CAT Notification 2019
The organising institute for Common Admission Test (CAT) 2019 is IIM Kozhikode. According to the sources, the institute is expected to release the CAT notification 2019 on July 28. The registrations for the entrance exam will begin from the second week of August. The official website for CAT 2019 will be active after the release of notification. Interested candidates can visit iimcat.ac.in to explore all the information about the CAT 2019 examination.
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CAT Eligibility
To apply online for the CAT examination, the candidate must hold a bachelor's degree with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA (45% in case of the candidates belonging to SC, ST and PWD categories. Students appearing for the final year bachelor's degree are also eligible for the examination. However, they have to produce the bachelor’s degree certificate at the time of admission. Candidates are advised to check the CAT eligibility details meticulously before applying online.
Courses In IIMs Through CAT
The CAT examination is conducted for admission to several Post Graduate Programmes (PGP), Doctoral and Executive programmes in IIMs spread across the country. Some institutes even offer Fellowship Programmes in Management (FPM) which is equal to PhD. List of courses offered in IIMs.
- PGP (Post Graduate Program in Management)
- PGP- FABM (Food and Agribusiness Management)
- PGPEM (PGP in Enterprise Management)
- PGPPM (PGP in Public Policy and Management)
- EPGP (Executive Post Graduate Program in Management)
- PGPSM (PGP in Sustainable Management)
- PGPWE (PGP in Management for Working Executive)
- PGPBM (PGP in Business Management)
- FPM (Fellow Program in Management)
List Of IIMs In India
There are a total of 20 IIMs across the country. Explore the complete list of IIMs with the year of establishment and state located.
| S No | Name Of Institute | State Located | Year Of Establishment |
| 1 | IIM Ahmedabad | Gujarat | 1961 |
| 2 | IIM Calcutta | West Bengal | 1961 |
| 3 | IIM Bangalore | Karnataka | 1973 |
| 4 | IIM Lucknow | Uttar Pradesh | 1984 |
| 5 | IIM Indore | Madhya Pradesh | 1996 |
| 6 | IIM Kozhikode | Kerala | 1996 |
| 7 | IIM Shillong | Meghalaya | 2007 |
| 8 | IIM Raipur | Chhattisgarh | 2010 |
| 9 | IIM Ranchi | Jharkhand | 2010 |
| 10 | IIM Rohtak | Haryana | 2010 |
| 11 | IIM Kashipur | Uttarakhand | 2011 |
| 12 | IIM Tiruchirappalli | Tamil Nadu | 2011 |
| 13 | IIM Udaipur | Rajasthan | 2011 |
| 14 | IIM Amritsar | Punjab | 2015 |
| 15 | IIM Bodh Gaya | Bihar | 2015 |
| 16 | IIM Nagpur | Maharashtra | 2015 |
| 17 | IIM Sambalpur | Odisha | 2015 |
| 18 | IIM Sirmaur | Himachal Pradesh | 2015 |
| 19 | IIM Visakhapatnam | Andhra Pradesh | 2015 |
| 20 | IIM Jammu | Jammu and Kashmir | 2016 |
CAT Registration 2019
Candidates who are aiming to appear for the CAT entrance test should submit the registration form successfully. The CAT online registrations will be accepted between August 8 and September 25, 2019. At the time of registration, candidates have to select any four Test Cities as per their preference from the drop-down menu. After the last date of registration, candidates will be allotted one among the four preferred cities subject to availability. In the rare case that a candidate is not allotted any of the preferred cities, he/she will be allotted a nearby city. The candidates can download the admit cards in October/November. Explore the CAT registration process step by step.
Note: All the candidates must declare and maintain a valid and unique email id and a mobile phone number throughout the selection process.
CAT Application Fee
Candidates have to pay the prescribed application fee to complete the CAT registration process. The application fee can be paid through net banking, debit card, credit card, BillDesk, PayU and Paytm.
- For General Category Candidates – Rs 1900/-
- For NC - OBC Category Candidates – Rs 1900/-
- For SC/ST/PwD Category Candidates – Rs 950/-
- For All Others – Rs 1900/-
CAT Reservation Criteria
As per the legal requirements, 15% of the seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC), 7.5% for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, 27% of seats for Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates belonging to the “Non-Creamy” layer (NC-OBC), and 5% for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwD). The categories of disability are:
- Blindness and low vision
- Deaf and hard of hearing,
- Locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy
- Autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness, and
- Multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (d)
- Other 'specified disabilities' mentioned in 'The Schedule' of the RPwD Act 2016
CAT Test Centres
The test is going to be conducted across 140 test cities. Test cities will be mentioned below and the name of the test centre will be indicated in the Admit Card. IIMs reserve the right to change or cancel any test centre/city/change the test time and date at their own discretion.
| State | Test Cities |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Port Blair |
| Andhra Pradesh | Guntur, Kakinada, Kurnool, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Tirupathi, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar |
| Assam | Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Silchar |
| Bihar | Aurangabad, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Patna, Purnea |
| Chandigarh | Chandigarh |
| Chhattisgarh | Bhilai, Raipur |
| Delhi | Delhi, New Delhi |
| Goa | Madgaon, Verna |
| Gujarat | Ahmedabad, Anand, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara |
| Haryana | Ambala, Bahadurgarh, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Palwal, Panipath, Rohtak, Sonipat |
| Himachal Pradesh | Shimla |
| Jammu & Kashmir | Jammu |
| Jharkhand | Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Ranchi |
| Karnataka | Belgaum, Bengaluru, Bidar, Chikkaballapur, Davanagere, Hassan, Kolar, Mandya, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Ramnagara, Shimoga, Tumkur, Udupi |
| Kerala | Kasaragod, Kochi, Kollam, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur, Trivandrum |
| Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Sagar |
| Maharashtra | Ahmednagar, Amravati, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Pune, Ratnagiri, Satara, Solapur, Thane |
| Meghalaya | Shillong |
| Odisha | Balasore, Berhampur, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Rourkela |
| Puducherry | Puducherry |
| Punjab | Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Pathankot, Patiala, Ropar, Sangrur |
| Rajasthan | Ajmer, Alwar, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Sikar, Udaipur |
| Tamil Nadu | Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelvelli |
| Telangana | Hyderabad, Karim Nagar, Khammam |
| Uttar Pradesh | Agra, Allahabad, Bareilly, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Greater Noida, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mathura, Meerut, Noida, Varanasi |
| Uttarakhand | Dehradun, Roorkee |
| West Bengal | Asansol, Burdwan, Durgapur, Hooghly, Howrah, Kalyani, Kolkata, Siliguri |
CAT Exam Pattern
The CAT is a computer-based test carrying a total of 100 questions. It contains both multiple-choice questions (MCQ) and non-MCQ questions. The duration of the exam is three hours. Check the complete details of the CAT exam pattern here.
| Name of Section | No of Questions | Total Marks | Duration |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 34 | 102 | 60 minutes |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 32 | 96 | 60 minutes |
| Quantitative Ability (QA) | 34 | 102 | 60 minutes |
| Total | 100 | 180 | 180 minutes |
CAT Admit Card 2019
The organising institute is responsible for issuing the CAT admit card. The online CAT admit card will be released during the last week of October. Candidates should download the admit card and check all the details such as personal and test venue details besides exam day guidelines. One should also save the soft copy of the admit card until the end of the admission process. According to the sources, the CAT admit card 2019 will be released on November 10. Check the steps to download CAT admit card online.
CAT Syllabus
The CAT exam consists of three subjects namely, Quantitative Aptitude (QA), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC). The syllabus remains the same for every year despite the changes in the number of questions. We advise students to check the CAT syllabus before preparation that gives an overall view of weightage topics. Download the CAT syllabus pdf file here.
CAT Question Papers
The previous year question papers and sample papers help aspirants in preparation. One should start their CAT preparation by solving these papers. Aspirants can download CAT question papers here.
CAT Result 2019
The CAT 2019 results will be tentatively available starting from the second week of January 2020 on the CAT official website. The list of candidates shortlisted for the next level of selection will be made available on the website of the respective IIM's. Each IIM will send interview letters to the shortlisted candidates directly. The criteria for shortlisting vary across all the IIM's.
CAT Exam Analysis
The CAT 2018 examination was held across the country on November 25, 2018. The results of the examination were released in the second week of January. The competition in this examination will not be easy because this is the only way to get admission to the pioneer management institutes (IIMs) in the country besides top business schools.
Around two lakh candidates appeared for the CAT 2019 examination at more than 140 test centres. The examination was held in two sessions – morning and evening. Aspirants who have appeared for the examination found that the quantitative section was tough. While other sections such as Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) were moderate compared to last year.
Verbal Ability And Reading Comprehension (VARC)
This section was easier than expected to many test-takers. The pattern of the paper was different from the sample paper provided by the CAT organising body. The paragraphs in the reading comprehension consisted of around 500 words. For every passage, the candidates found 1-2 inference-based questions. In verbal ability, test takers have found four questions on para-jumbled, three questions on summary and three questions on odd sentence out.
Data Interpretation And Logical Reasoning (DILR)
The DILR section surprised the candidates. The questions were easily cracked and there was an increase in the accuracy level. Very few sets had one difficult question. The logical reasoning sets were moderate to easy. However, the data interpretation questions were moderate. Many found that the questions on matrix adjacent cells, committees research/teaching/economist and petrol pumps were easy to do.
Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
The quantitative aptitude section is not a pleasant one to many candidates. This section could have affected the morale of the candidates who had not prepared this section effectively. If anyone compares the question paper with the last four years, they will find that the QA questions in the CAT 2018 were difficult. Out of 34 questions, 12 were non-MCQ questions. The options in the MCQ were confusing to many test-takers. The number system and logarithm questions had two questions each. However, the question paper was dominated by arithmetic and geometry.
On the whole, the score of 150 to 155 could result in 99 percentile score in CAT 2018. A candidate who has attempted more than 60 out of 100 questions accurately can expect a good score. The good attempt for VARC and DILR is more than 28 and 16, respectively. However, a good attempt for quantitative aptitude is more than 15 questions.
IIM Kozhikode, the organising institute for CAT 2019, has extended the registration date for the entrance examination. The last date to register online for CAT 2019 is extended to September 25. Earlier, the registration window to close on September 18, 2019.
Candidates who are aiming to earn a seat in IIMs spread across the country for admission to management programmes can register for the exam. It is advised to register for the exam early.
The official notification reads that “CAT 2019 registration deadline is extended to September 25, 2019 (5:00 pm).”
Earlier, IIMs released the CAT Percentile Calculation Method, which is available on the official website.
18 September 2019
The online application window for CAT 2019 to close on September 18. Candidates who are aspiring to join IIM for management programmes can register online until the day after tomorrow. Aspirants can register online only through the official website of CAT.
Candidates have to pay the application fee amount of Rs 1900 to complete the registration process. The application fee is Rs 950 for SC/ST/PWD category candidates. One should keep their scanned photograph and signature ready before starting the application process.
Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode will be conducting the CAT 2019 examination on November 24. The admit card will be released a month before the exam date. The CAT 2019 result is likely to be announced on January 7, 2020.
16 September 2019
Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode has opened the application window for CAT 2019. Interested students who are seeking admission to management programmes in IIMs spread across the country can register online for the examination until September 18, 2019.
Candidates are advised to register for CAT 2019 through Internet Explorer (version 11 and above), Google Chrome, (version 50 to 69) and Mozilla Firefox (version 50 to 61) to avoid any technical glitch.
Click here to apply online for CAT 2019 exam
The CAT exam will be held in computer-based in two slots. The written test will take place on November 24. Candidates who qualify the written exam are only eligible for the next round of selection process, i.e., group discussion and interview.
7 August 2019
The organising institute for the Common Admission Test (CAT), IIM Kozhikode, has released the exam details and activated the official website. According to sources, the CAT exam 2019 will be held on November 24. Professor Shubhasis Dey is the convener for CAT 2019 examination.
Interested candidates who are aiming for admission to management programmes offered at 20 IIMs spread across the country can register for the examination between August 7 and September 18, 2019. The registration fee is Rs 1900 for all others except candidates belonging to SC, ST and PWD categories. One can apply for CAT 2019 with a bachelor degree from a recognised institute.
The selection of candidates will be based on a Written Ability Test (WAT) and a Personal Interview (PI). The admit card for the written test will be released on October 23, 2019. The CAT result is expected to be released during the first week of January.
29 July 2019
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode, the organising institute for Common Admission Test (CAT) 2019, is all set to release the notification during the last week of July. According to the sources, the CAT 2019 notification will be released on July 28. The CAT 2019 registration is likely to commence from the second week of August.
The most important point candidates should consider is that there might be the criteria for economically weaker sections of society which has been included in the government institutions. CAT 2019 likely to be conducted on the last Sunday in November, i.e., 24. The application fee will be Rs 2,000 for general category and Rs 1,000 for reserved category candidates.
Annually, CAT is conducted for admission to MBA at IIMs and other top B-schools. The entrance test will be conducted in online mode and results will be announced in December.
11 July 2019