Everything you need to know about CAT. Explore the exam structure, eligibility, syllabus, top colleges, and expert strategies.
Exam Month
November
Duration
120 mins
Total Qs
66
Attempts
Once a year
Top Institutes
20 IIMs & 1000+ B-Schools
July
August
October
Last Sunday of November
December / January
Candidates must hold a Bachelor's degree or its equivalent in any discipline from a recognized university or educational institution. General category candidates are usually required to have secured at least 50% marks or an equivalent CGPA in their qualifying degree. For reserved categories (Scheduled caste, Scheduled Tribe and Persons with Disability), the minimum percentage requirement is often relaxed to 45%.
There is no specific age limit for candidates applying for CAT. Anyone meeting the educational qualifications can apply.
CAT is conducted for Indian candidates as well as foreign nationals. However, eligibility criteria related to educational qualifications remain the same.
Candidates should check the specific eligibility criteria of the individual IIMs and other participating institutions because there may be slight variations.
The CAT paper has a total of 66 MCQ-type questions to be attempted in 120 mins. There are 40 minutes allocated for each section. The order of sections is : Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). Every correct answer fetches 3 marks while a wrong answer leads to the deduction of 1 mark. However, there is no negative marking for wrong non-MCQ answer.
Para Jumbles, Para Completion, Para Summary, Odd One Out.
Business & Economy; Psychology, Biology, Physics, Politics & Political Science, Ecology, Sociology, Culture, Literature, History and other Humanities.
Tables (Calculation based), Tables (Non-Calculation), Bar Charts, Pie Charts, Line Graphs, Spider Graphs, Triangle Graphs, Scatter Diagrams, Caselets, Miscellaneous.
Arrangements (Linear, Circular), Grouping & Distribution, Selection, Networks & Routes, Binary Logic, Venn diagrams, Games & Tournaments, Cubes.
Percentages, Profit & Loss, Ratios & Proportion, Simple Interest, Compound Interest, Averages, Mixtures & Alligation, Time & Speed, Distance, Time & Work.
Equations & Special Equations, Quadratic Equations, Progressions (Sequence and Series), Indices and Logs, Functions, Inequalities, Maxima and Minima, Functions and Graphs, Coordinated Geometry.
Classification of Numbers, Prime Numbers & P/Q Form, Divisibility Rules & Multiples, Cyclicity, Factorial, Factors, HCF, LCM & Applications, Remainders, Base System, Calendars & Digit Counting, Surds & Indices.
Lines, Angles & Triangles, Polygons, Circles, Mensuration (2-D/3-D).
Set Theory, Trigonometry, Permutations and Combinations, Probability.
| Section | Questions | Total Marks |
|---|---|---|
| VARC | 24 | 72 |
| DILR | 20 | 60 |
| QA | 22 | 66 |
| SECTION | NO. OF QUESTIONS | NO. OF NON-MCQs | TIME ALLOTTED (mins) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| VARC | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| DILR | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| QA | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| TOTAL | 66 | 66 | 66 | 66 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 |